Co-sign to needing a week for my brain to catch up with my body. We went straight from sacramental gauntlet (I kid, sort of, but we’re in! We all made it!!) to road trip across the country and see all our family and friends and I still have a full weekend of seeing people ahead of me (but! but! I got to meet a real-life Substack friend, Meredith Hinds, and we confirmed that yes, the people on the Internet are real.
Sitting in our (very messy - remember the road trip) van to nurse the baby, at a cold and windy graduation party and all my kids are whiny because they’re tired. I am also whiny because I’m tired 😂
Anyway, I am still reading, but also not writing because my brain exploded sometime this spring and usually this level of writing ambivalence means I’m beyond tired, even though I try to make it mean that I’m stupid and nothing I write will ever be good again. Happy planting! I’m worried my garden is turning into a jungle on the other side of the country…
I can only imagine what a jungle it could be with humidity and heat! Two things I never worry about here! ;)
It is a real gauntlet, and of course, a good gauntlet. But I would love it to ease up so I can catch my breath. Then I always fool myself into thinking that summer will have lazy days to recover, but now with older kids that happens very rarely! But good luck with the van life, that's also stressful!
Motherhood feels like I'm being steamrolled all the time, and my oldest is only nine. Good to know the feeling doesn't end anytime soon haha. I have never heard of Anya Seton, but nothing gives me a dopamine hit like learning about a new twentieth century woman author :) And I also rarely have a hankering for historical fiction, but when it's done well, I can really appreciate it. Did you read Charis in the World of Wonders for WRM? If you did, I'm curious what you thought about it.
I think the only reason people don't tell you it never stops is that people remember how intense toddlerhood is, and they don't want to scar you permanently!
I'd recommend starting with Katherine, I think. Although, The Winthrop Woman is turning out to be pretty great, definitely not too Puritan heavy which is what I was worried about. Once you've read The Scarlet Letter in high school, you're always going to be a bit Puritan traumatized. But Katherine is about the Plantagenets and Katherine who married John of Gaunt and it's a terrific story. I don't think I've ever read anyone weave romance, historical accuracy, and great writing together so well. They are big books, but once you're into the story you are in and there's no way you're stopping!
I did read Charis in the World of Wonders and was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. It wasn't a perfect novel, but I thought she did things with the story that were unexpected and worked well.
Oh wow that's high praise! And my library system has a whole bunch of Seton's novels. Very exciting! Also that's so funny about the high school Scarlet Letter experience. I reread it reluctantly as an adult when I had to teach it to high schoolers and I was surprised by how different it read a good ten years on. I found it incredibly beautiful.
I had an opposite experience with Charis. I had really high hopes and then I felt it wore it's historical research a bit heavily. But I was reading Shadows on the Rock around the same time which is set in the same time period. It's unfair to read anyone against Cather. And I have really enjoyed Youmans' interviews on writing and her poetry, so she's still a contemporary writer I have an eye on.
I’ve since read The Scarlet Letter as an adult and really appreciated it. But it did not rid me of Puritan trauma! It’s there forever!
Oh, so you thought Charis relied too heavily on its historical-ness? For some reason I remember my book club having a bigger problem with the flowery prose at times? I had extremely low expectations going in, so that probably boosted it a bit, and I have very little memory of what I actually liked about it now, which probably takes away from it!😂
The flowery language was a difficulty too! I think maybe the historical details (and mainly it was the vocabulary and syntax of the dialogue which I heard she tried to get historically accurate) felt heavier to me because of how naturalistic Cather's writing is.
I do remember being struck by the image of a character spinning with red thread, which is how Mary is depicted in Eastern icons of the Annunciation, so I think maybe there was a lot more symbolism embedded into the novel that I missed and if I was tuned in to those things, I'd have a richer experience.
I thought at the time that it was a fairly genre-bending book. Was it actually trying to be historical fiction? Was it trying to hit magical realism? Was it being literary? It definitely doesn't have the important point of view which Cather's work always has, but again, I don't remember much!
That's a good point. I went in thinking (based on the cover and title) that it would be much more full of magical realism and was disappointed it was mainly a puritan witch hunt. The few places where it has an ambience of magical realism were some of my favorites. I think I remember the main character wondering if there were unicorns or other mythical beasts in the woods. Perhaps that is how people of the time actually thought, though? It's interesting to think about the 17th century experience of North America filtered through that kind of magical imagination.
It's set not all that far from when Shakespeare was writing, so maybe I more wanted 1600s America mixed with the flavor of the Tempest or Midsummers Night Dream?
I didn't know Anya Seton had written a Camelot book, but now I'm interested. Katherine is my favorite of hers (and one of my favorite historical fiction books generally) and as a bonus was my introduction to Julian of Norwich.
Are you reading The Betrothed with Clise Reads? I am following that one and actually just switched from reading on Kindle to audiobook, and I have found I am more engaged with the audiobook than I was reading on the Kindle. Usually I stick to nonfiction for audiobooks but this one is an exception!
I loved Katherine too! Now I just by Anya Seton books whenever I see them at used book stores or thrift stores so that I'll just pick one up when the mood strikes me.
Yes, I am reading along with Close Reads and I found that it was easier for me to stay engaged with the story by listening as well! It helped me with the digressions a lot I think. It's one of those books that is daunting to pick up, and once you're in those tough parts you want to pick it up even less, so audiobooks are so helpful for that.
As a fellow master gardener errr I mean gardening nerd- you are starting your own new garden this year. I am on my third garden, really my worst due to circumstances but I have 3 David Austen climbing roses that I finally figured out how to care for and they are magical. What are you doing differently or are you, since you have bought a new home? Please over share
David Austen's are the dream! There are only maybe one or two that would even attempt to stay alive in my zone, sadly. Some diehards overwinter them in garages, but I haven't reached that level of expertise yet. I would say that I've never had opportunity to grow the perennials that I've always wanted to, so I'm finally putting in large rows of perennial flowers at the back of our property for cut flower purposes, think 25 foot rows of peonies, then mixed cut flowers, delphiniums, echinacea, yarrow etc. And I'm currently revamping the front border which is skinny and around the walk into the house. I've already maxed out my budget on hydrangeas! Then I'm trying to get a shade bed going, which I basically created around a line of older trees, again, lots of flowers-columbine, forget me nots, bleeding hearts, and some lungwort and hosta. It's always hard at the beginning when everything looks microscopic and you can't believe it will grow!
If you like well done romance and historical fiction she's the best. She really makes it feel as if you're totally immersed in the historical time without it feeling like a chore, and her romance is really well done.
I feel all over this. So much! We just finished school and we are in the swing of baseball/softball/tee-ball season. I need a break but now that's school is done my plan is to de clutter a lot. And then I can relax a bit.
Co-sign to needing a week for my brain to catch up with my body. We went straight from sacramental gauntlet (I kid, sort of, but we’re in! We all made it!!) to road trip across the country and see all our family and friends and I still have a full weekend of seeing people ahead of me (but! but! I got to meet a real-life Substack friend, Meredith Hinds, and we confirmed that yes, the people on the Internet are real.
Sitting in our (very messy - remember the road trip) van to nurse the baby, at a cold and windy graduation party and all my kids are whiny because they’re tired. I am also whiny because I’m tired 😂
Anyway, I am still reading, but also not writing because my brain exploded sometime this spring and usually this level of writing ambivalence means I’m beyond tired, even though I try to make it mean that I’m stupid and nothing I write will ever be good again. Happy planting! I’m worried my garden is turning into a jungle on the other side of the country…
I can only imagine what a jungle it could be with humidity and heat! Two things I never worry about here! ;)
It is a real gauntlet, and of course, a good gauntlet. But I would love it to ease up so I can catch my breath. Then I always fool myself into thinking that summer will have lazy days to recover, but now with older kids that happens very rarely! But good luck with the van life, that's also stressful!
Motherhood feels like I'm being steamrolled all the time, and my oldest is only nine. Good to know the feeling doesn't end anytime soon haha. I have never heard of Anya Seton, but nothing gives me a dopamine hit like learning about a new twentieth century woman author :) And I also rarely have a hankering for historical fiction, but when it's done well, I can really appreciate it. Did you read Charis in the World of Wonders for WRM? If you did, I'm curious what you thought about it.
I think the only reason people don't tell you it never stops is that people remember how intense toddlerhood is, and they don't want to scar you permanently!
I'd recommend starting with Katherine, I think. Although, The Winthrop Woman is turning out to be pretty great, definitely not too Puritan heavy which is what I was worried about. Once you've read The Scarlet Letter in high school, you're always going to be a bit Puritan traumatized. But Katherine is about the Plantagenets and Katherine who married John of Gaunt and it's a terrific story. I don't think I've ever read anyone weave romance, historical accuracy, and great writing together so well. They are big books, but once you're into the story you are in and there's no way you're stopping!
I did read Charis in the World of Wonders and was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. It wasn't a perfect novel, but I thought she did things with the story that were unexpected and worked well.
Oh wow that's high praise! And my library system has a whole bunch of Seton's novels. Very exciting! Also that's so funny about the high school Scarlet Letter experience. I reread it reluctantly as an adult when I had to teach it to high schoolers and I was surprised by how different it read a good ten years on. I found it incredibly beautiful.
I had an opposite experience with Charis. I had really high hopes and then I felt it wore it's historical research a bit heavily. But I was reading Shadows on the Rock around the same time which is set in the same time period. It's unfair to read anyone against Cather. And I have really enjoyed Youmans' interviews on writing and her poetry, so she's still a contemporary writer I have an eye on.
I’ve since read The Scarlet Letter as an adult and really appreciated it. But it did not rid me of Puritan trauma! It’s there forever!
Oh, so you thought Charis relied too heavily on its historical-ness? For some reason I remember my book club having a bigger problem with the flowery prose at times? I had extremely low expectations going in, so that probably boosted it a bit, and I have very little memory of what I actually liked about it now, which probably takes away from it!😂
Shadows on the Rock is an almost perfect book to me, so I agree, reading anything near it will colour everything!!
The flowery language was a difficulty too! I think maybe the historical details (and mainly it was the vocabulary and syntax of the dialogue which I heard she tried to get historically accurate) felt heavier to me because of how naturalistic Cather's writing is.
I do remember being struck by the image of a character spinning with red thread, which is how Mary is depicted in Eastern icons of the Annunciation, so I think maybe there was a lot more symbolism embedded into the novel that I missed and if I was tuned in to those things, I'd have a richer experience.
I thought at the time that it was a fairly genre-bending book. Was it actually trying to be historical fiction? Was it trying to hit magical realism? Was it being literary? It definitely doesn't have the important point of view which Cather's work always has, but again, I don't remember much!
That's a good point. I went in thinking (based on the cover and title) that it would be much more full of magical realism and was disappointed it was mainly a puritan witch hunt. The few places where it has an ambience of magical realism were some of my favorites. I think I remember the main character wondering if there were unicorns or other mythical beasts in the woods. Perhaps that is how people of the time actually thought, though? It's interesting to think about the 17th century experience of North America filtered through that kind of magical imagination.
It's set not all that far from when Shakespeare was writing, so maybe I more wanted 1600s America mixed with the flavor of the Tempest or Midsummers Night Dream?
I didn't know Anya Seton had written a Camelot book, but now I'm interested. Katherine is my favorite of hers (and one of my favorite historical fiction books generally) and as a bonus was my introduction to Julian of Norwich.
Are you reading The Betrothed with Clise Reads? I am following that one and actually just switched from reading on Kindle to audiobook, and I have found I am more engaged with the audiobook than I was reading on the Kindle. Usually I stick to nonfiction for audiobooks but this one is an exception!
I loved Katherine too! Now I just by Anya Seton books whenever I see them at used book stores or thrift stores so that I'll just pick one up when the mood strikes me.
Yes, I am reading along with Close Reads and I found that it was easier for me to stay engaged with the story by listening as well! It helped me with the digressions a lot I think. It's one of those books that is daunting to pick up, and once you're in those tough parts you want to pick it up even less, so audiobooks are so helpful for that.
As a fellow master gardener errr I mean gardening nerd- you are starting your own new garden this year. I am on my third garden, really my worst due to circumstances but I have 3 David Austen climbing roses that I finally figured out how to care for and they are magical. What are you doing differently or are you, since you have bought a new home? Please over share
David Austen's are the dream! There are only maybe one or two that would even attempt to stay alive in my zone, sadly. Some diehards overwinter them in garages, but I haven't reached that level of expertise yet. I would say that I've never had opportunity to grow the perennials that I've always wanted to, so I'm finally putting in large rows of perennial flowers at the back of our property for cut flower purposes, think 25 foot rows of peonies, then mixed cut flowers, delphiniums, echinacea, yarrow etc. And I'm currently revamping the front border which is skinny and around the walk into the house. I've already maxed out my budget on hydrangeas! Then I'm trying to get a shade bed going, which I basically created around a line of older trees, again, lots of flowers-columbine, forget me nots, bleeding hearts, and some lungwort and hosta. It's always hard at the beginning when everything looks microscopic and you can't believe it will grow!
Infinity wars for sure! And COME ON, i’d send tequila, but i never got a Christmas card. That might be opening a wound though😈
You know, I never got YOUR Christmas card either, so I guess you owe me tequila!
Shoot! Yeah i guess I do.
First Things HAS been cranking out so many good pieces!! Good on your for finally signing up for a subscription, something I have not yet done.
It was because I maxed out a day before the Conclave began, and I just thought, well, now I just have to! For $25 a year it's cheaper than a substack!
Thanks for the heads up on Anya Seton! I’ve never heard of her!
I think you'd really like her! The other title I've read and loved was Katherine, highly recommend!
I have never heard of Anya Seton!
If you like well done romance and historical fiction she's the best. She really makes it feel as if you're totally immersed in the historical time without it feeling like a chore, and her romance is really well done.
I feel all over this. So much! We just finished school and we are in the swing of baseball/softball/tee-ball season. I need a break but now that's school is done my plan is to de clutter a lot. And then I can relax a bit.
There's always something! My house has definitely fallen apart, and I do reach a point where I'm like, well, when winter hits I'll clean again! ;)
Anya Seaton has been a favorite since I stumbled upon Katherine as a teen! I’m enjoying the Hearth and the Eagle now.