Curious to hear your thoughts on A Severe Mercy if you get around to sharing. I loved the CS Lewis bits but am perplexed by the hype about the love story. I found so much of Van & Davy’s relationship (as he wrote it) really troubling.
Yes, I think that was my book clubs general consensus. For me it was a love story I couldn't stand which made me feel like a very old, unromantic person. I thought the conversion parts were good and Davy's death and Lewis' reactions really interesting.
I love getting your Royal Family analysis! We are hoping (and I need to add her to my prayer list) Princess Catherine is healing, for her sake and the sake of her family.
😂😂😂 Ty for this. I live in the UK and all my US relatives and friends keep asking me where Kate is. Doesn’t seem like people here are panicking! Hope her recovery from surgery goes well though
I just can't do it anymore. I am at my LIMIT. It just feels so stupid and for people to not believe the video makes me feel like we're are living in a post-civilization hellscape.
Thank you THANK YOU for sharing your level-minded take on this! I knew you’d have an admirable approach.
I also finished A Severe Mercy en route to book club (last week). I really enjoyed Chasing Bright Medusas aside from the author’s bias toward sex? sex-positivity? and his related criticism on Cather’s approach. I’m not quite sure how to put it into words, but certain passages in the text didn’t sit quite right with me. SO…I look forward to hearing your review!
I just finished Chasing Bright Medusas tonight and thought it was overall very lovely. I don't know if I totally agree with his hypothesis about her views on sex but a lot of the texts would support that. I love Willa Cather.
I think what I am trying to say is that where his comments describe her as somewhat repressed, I actually wish more modern day writers would take her tact with regards to sex. Allude to it without describing it. And it doesn’t need to be on a pedestal as The Greatest Good which is how culture can often regard it. He describes that aspect of her writing as a bug. But for me it’s a feature!
I agree with you! But I guess I'm just used to most other biographies which make and detail the sex life of author's life a much, much, much bigger deal. This was refreshingly subtle in comparison to most. Her treatment of it in her novels is definitely a feature!
"You really have to be knowledgable about a subject to be able to properly judge if a story is being accurately reported on." Quite right--and yet the "hot take" social media culture works against this kind of sobriety, the kind that looks ot actual experts instead of random people's gut feelings based on a tweet or something.
Why I can't be on Twitter is because it really values snark and I already struggle in that department, but it also does just straight up deal with gossip which I realize is not great, but I guess because most celebrity gossip is never about people I actually feel invested in I don't give it much thought. This however, is a public person who has a very clear public appearance and duty. We do know what we know and it seems so stupid to think that a royal family would want to trot out body doubles when they know they are under unprecedented scrutiny for no good reason. I could go on. It just enrages me so badly I really have had to stay off the internet this week.
I have been awaiting your thoughts on this whole thing 😂 I don’t follow the royals closely at all and generally am not very abreast of the news these days but I’ve read a few things about the Kate situation here on Substack and have been very perplexed by the reactions. Glad to have your commentary to keep us all right 😂
Haha, I am here to boss people around and tell them off for Kate stupidity. I have not been able to be on the internet this week, it's harming my blood pressure I swear! I just have so little patience for denying facts that I don't even find the jokes funny, well, most of the jokes. It makes me feel like a grumpy old man.
I literally almost texted you for your take on Kate xD So glad it's fully addressed here. And I 100% am with you on this!
If you want to listen to some actual shady disappearing princess stuff I highly recommend the podcast series "The Runaway Princesses" all about the Dubai royal family
Omg I was going to listen to that podcast a couple months ago because another friend of mine recommended it! If only people who think the British royal family is scandalous had one single clue about any of the other ones they'd be bored stiff.
Curious to hear your thoughts on A Severe Mercy if you get around to sharing. I loved the CS Lewis bits but am perplexed by the hype about the love story. I found so much of Van & Davy’s relationship (as he wrote it) really troubling.
Yes, I think that was my book clubs general consensus. For me it was a love story I couldn't stand which made me feel like a very old, unromantic person. I thought the conversion parts were good and Davy's death and Lewis' reactions really interesting.
I just put my bookmark into Chasing Bright Medusas after finishing a book last night, twins!!!
Just finished! Such a lovely biography!
I love getting your Royal Family analysis! We are hoping (and I need to add her to my prayer list) Princess Catherine is healing, for her sake and the sake of her family.
😂😂😂 Ty for this. I live in the UK and all my US relatives and friends keep asking me where Kate is. Doesn’t seem like people here are panicking! Hope her recovery from surgery goes well though
My next newsletter will be called, "WHY THE WORLD IS DOOMED BECAUSE IT THINKS KATE MIDDLETON IS MISSING AND WONT READ ONE SINGLE ARTICLE"
I just can't do it anymore. I am at my LIMIT. It just feels so stupid and for people to not believe the video makes me feel like we're are living in a post-civilization hellscape.
Thank you THANK YOU for sharing your level-minded take on this! I knew you’d have an admirable approach.
I also finished A Severe Mercy en route to book club (last week). I really enjoyed Chasing Bright Medusas aside from the author’s bias toward sex? sex-positivity? and his related criticism on Cather’s approach. I’m not quite sure how to put it into words, but certain passages in the text didn’t sit quite right with me. SO…I look forward to hearing your review!
I just finished Chasing Bright Medusas tonight and thought it was overall very lovely. I don't know if I totally agree with his hypothesis about her views on sex but a lot of the texts would support that. I love Willa Cather.
I think what I am trying to say is that where his comments describe her as somewhat repressed, I actually wish more modern day writers would take her tact with regards to sex. Allude to it without describing it. And it doesn’t need to be on a pedestal as The Greatest Good which is how culture can often regard it. He describes that aspect of her writing as a bug. But for me it’s a feature!
I agree with you! But I guess I'm just used to most other biographies which make and detail the sex life of author's life a much, much, much bigger deal. This was refreshingly subtle in comparison to most. Her treatment of it in her novels is definitely a feature!
"You really have to be knowledgable about a subject to be able to properly judge if a story is being accurately reported on." Quite right--and yet the "hot take" social media culture works against this kind of sobriety, the kind that looks ot actual experts instead of random people's gut feelings based on a tweet or something.
Why I can't be on Twitter is because it really values snark and I already struggle in that department, but it also does just straight up deal with gossip which I realize is not great, but I guess because most celebrity gossip is never about people I actually feel invested in I don't give it much thought. This however, is a public person who has a very clear public appearance and duty. We do know what we know and it seems so stupid to think that a royal family would want to trot out body doubles when they know they are under unprecedented scrutiny for no good reason. I could go on. It just enrages me so badly I really have had to stay off the internet this week.
100% agree with you on Kate and what is going on in the media.
Thank you! But also, you're just agreeing with facts...so...I won't pump my own tires here!
I have been awaiting your thoughts on this whole thing 😂 I don’t follow the royals closely at all and generally am not very abreast of the news these days but I’ve read a few things about the Kate situation here on Substack and have been very perplexed by the reactions. Glad to have your commentary to keep us all right 😂
Haha, I am here to boss people around and tell them off for Kate stupidity. I have not been able to be on the internet this week, it's harming my blood pressure I swear! I just have so little patience for denying facts that I don't even find the jokes funny, well, most of the jokes. It makes me feel like a grumpy old man.
I literally almost texted you for your take on Kate xD So glad it's fully addressed here. And I 100% am with you on this!
If you want to listen to some actual shady disappearing princess stuff I highly recommend the podcast series "The Runaway Princesses" all about the Dubai royal family
Omg I was going to listen to that podcast a couple months ago because another friend of mine recommended it! If only people who think the British royal family is scandalous had one single clue about any of the other ones they'd be bored stiff.