Quick Life Update

I've enjoyed the last 5 months off from work immensely. It's allowed me to rest and recuperate from a rather intense and stressful job and just get reacquainted with myself.

One thing I obviously did was stay off blogger. I was pretty much off social media entirely. And it was heavenly. I was able to gain some new perspective, figure out what interests of mine were being used as a coping mechanism for stress, and so forth. I did a lot of growing, just as a result of the layoff circumstances. God has been very gracious.

In other news, I start a new job next Monday! Unlike my previous roles, I'm not going to go into specifics about the company or the position other than to say that it is still with an NGO. I'm excited to start and see where it leads.

I am now a business owner. My earrings boutique is called Butterflies and Bows Boutique and is proving very successful. I make primarily dangle earrings although I did branch out into little post earrings for my last craft fair and they were quite popular so I'll keep with that trend. They're super fun to put together anyway, so I enjoy that. But dangle earrings are still my favorite. Click here to visit my etsy shop if you're at all interested. I only have about 1/8 of my inventory online so I'll be working on that the rest of the month. I've sold roughly about 175 pairs of earrings so far, a lot in person at craft fairs, but several online too so that's been a lot of fun.

Which leads me to the last update, which is, I finally caught covid. Or it caught me. Not sure how that works. Anyhow, I tested positive this week so I'm just keeping a low profile. Thankfully my new job will allow me to work remote whenever needed so I don't need to worry about that. And my brain is working just fine. It's this darn sore throat and sinus pressure that's the most annoying. I did have to bail out on a craft fair this weekend which I'm not happy about, but I do realize life happens so I just let it go. 

I just finished reading Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express for the first time so there should be a post with my thoughts coming out on that sometime soon for my Agatha Christie Project.

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The ABC Murders by Agatha Christie (1936)

It's hard to believe that The A.B.C. Murders is #13 in Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot series, yet there it is. It is the story of a serial killer running rampant through England killing people in the chronology of the alphabet. So Mrs. Ascher is murdered in Andover and Betty Barnard is murdered in Bexhill, and so on and so forth. Clearly a madman is behind the murders, and like most serial killers, this individual must write a letter to someone, either to give them a sporting chance at stopping them or to gloat over their genius. The recipient of said letters is, naturally Hercule Poirot, and so he partners with the police on this manhunt.

The A.B.C. Murders is undoubtedly intriguing, but it would have been more so if it hadn't been for Captain Hastings as the storyteller. I've only really read one or two other Poirot novels, so I found Hastings to be quite the irritant. This is a shame, because I love Hastings in the series with David Suchet, but found him irksome in this novel.

Poirot was his usual genius self, as expected, and I enjoy that he has a twinkle in his eye and good humor about many things as the story progresses. I heard Suchet's voice in my head and enjoyed envisioning an episode of the series that I know remarkably well.

Agatha Christie is quite the master craftsman. The plot is excellent from start to finish and based on my understanding, she developed the ending first and them worked backwards, which makes a lot of sense and is probably the best way to write a solid mystery. If you're not familiar with this story then you may have some surprises in store.

The copy of The A.B.C. Murders in the photo is one that I newly acquired. It is a HarperCollins edition and was available for purchase from England through Waterstones. I love the art deco cover style and am pleased with the quality.

I am very slowly reading Agatha Christie novels as part of my personal Agatha Christie Project. Emphasis on the slowly. And clearly I am not reading them in any particular order.

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Next steps

I interviewed for an entry level IT position today, at the same ministry where I worked previously. Both gentlemen were engaging and warm types of individuals, so that was terrific to encounter. I wasn't nervous at all and we had a solid conversation going. I'm not sure what will happen, but I am very pleased with my interview and am grateful to have had the opportunity. Let me reiterate again in case I haven't said it enough. I love the ministry where I've worked for almost a decade. I want to continue to work for them. Just not in the position I held prior or for the department I previously worked with. IT would be a completely different set of management and if what I saw in the interview is indicative of the trend for management styles in IT, then I think it's a positive working environment.

I don't believe in crossing my fingers for anything, but I do believe that this situation is in God's hands and if I'm meant to start a career in IT, then it will happen.

Meanwhile, the data entry team of people at my local pro-life pregnancy center have been tons of fun to work with. We're a diverse group of ages, which I prefer, and all of our youngsters are college boys. Those conversations are lots of fun to be a part of and also very interesting. It's easy to lose confidence and hope based on what you see as trending on Twitter or TikTok. But these young men, almost boys, are passionate Christians who want to serve the Lord in all seriousness. They're also crazy fun to talk to. So it's been a really lovely experience for the last week and a half. It was also nice to have additional income on top of my severance. And now I consider myself trained on the Etapestry data software system so that's cool.

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An overcast day in Colorado

We'd had an abundance of rain in Colorado for the last few weeks and it's turned our usually brown plants a very nice and lush green. It's not quite like Oregon, but it's still close enough that I'm enjoying the weather patterns right now. For those who don't know. I spent 6 of my childhood years on the Oregon coast, so I'm very familiar with wet and rainy weather. Folks in Colorado aren't accustomed to it so I can see a little emotional strain happening with all of the cloud cover.

I spent a good portion of the day today with my mother. We went to a local tea house that is owned and operated by a couple of Christian ladies. If you're ever in Colorado Springs, I highly recommend you checking out Festivitea. They have their own delicious tea blends and you have the freedom to be spontaneous because reservations aren't required for a basic cream tea. The cost is about $10 for a small pot of tea and a scone. The scones are very much American style, which is fine, and they're quite tasty. They do book full teas as well, but those require reservations. 

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Watching Amazon's Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets

Disclaimer: The people who suffered at the hands of the Institute in Basic Life Principles are victims. Their stories are their stories and I will never demean or diminish those stories. What happened to each of them was horrific and absolutely grieves my heart. So anything said in this post is not aimed at these people who suffered.

I knew next to nothing about the Duggar family. My family was never interested in reality tv. In fact, I kinda hate it. But I love true crime, which is why I watched Shiny Happy People at all. True crime tends to reveal the worst about humanity, and sometimes it is done with excellence and sometimes it is done poorly. This series falls somewhere in the middle.

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When God closes a door . . .

 

Ya'll may or may not have noticed that I've been missing in the month of May. Almost sounds like a song! I've had some life changes going on, things that I didn't foresee happening and have shaken me quite a bit. I'm in a calmer state right now and today is the first day of the rest of my life.

My workplace had a restructure and in the shifting of positions, my job was eliminated. Or rather, they made some alterations and moved only some of the roles from my team to a new team. People had to reapply, but as the opportunity came up, I knew it was time for me to let go. I've been in my role for almost 4 years, and the last 2 or 3 years have been hard. I haven't really loved my work for at least that long and it's worn me out. So I chose not to apply. My three teammates who I love dearly got the three available positions and I am so relieved for them. As for me, well, today is my final day with my organization.

My personal laptop is literally on its last legs so I knew I wanted to get one more post in on my speedy work laptop before I turned everything in at the front desk. This has been a hard season for me. I found out on May 4th and my emotions have been all over the place every since. I trust that God's got this, that He's got me. But it doesn't make this experience any less difficult and painful. I've served in this ministry for almost a decade. The people here are like family. It's comfortable and warm and safe. The world out there is a scary one. 

But I am ready to do something different. I don't know what, but something other than technical writing.

I start at a temporary data entry position at a local pro-life pregnancy center next Wednesday. Just for a month to give me something to do and I can still earn a little money. I have a severance package that will easily last me 8 months or so. That's a huge blessing. But I can't see around the corner of my life and that is God teaching me to trust Him in this desert time. I'm excited and terrified all at once.

A friend of mine, also someone who was released during the restructure, is giving me her old laptop since she bought a new one right at the beginning of May, right before the news. So this new one will be only 7 years old vs. 20 years old. I'll share some things in my journey, as I learn and discover myself apart from my job. Because I want to know who I am and not just let my identity be completely wrapped up in what I do.

Blessings to all of you and I'll touch base later. I still need to read those last few posts you made for the Children's Classic Literature Party, sorry it's taken me so long to get those read. 

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Children's Classic Literature Party Wrap-Up Post

Thanks to everyone who participated in the Classic Children's Literature Party! You can read all the associated posts and book reviews in the Mister Linky here!

My plan is to read over the remaining book reviews and thoughts next week and comment on them, but I'm thrilled that we had a chance to read some old favorites and try some new books. I hope you enjoyed the time spent.

I'll ponder formatting for next year's event, which will also be held in April. I'm thinking maybe extending to all children's literature instead of just classic children's literature. Any thoughts or preference on keeping it classic children's literature or extending it to all children's literature? And as I've had a chance to think about it, movie adaptations of children's literature do play an integral role in childhood. I mean, the reason I decided to read The Hobbit was because I had seen the animated film first. The same with The Princess and the Goblin, although the book for that is waaaaaaaay better. 

Ivy Miranda, I think I'll integrate your idea next year, and we can enjoy some in-depth discussions on what our favorite film adaptations are of children's literature and why!

Anyway, that's a wrap for this year! Blessings to everyone and thanks again for participating!

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CCLP Reads: From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg (1967)

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler is a genuinely fun read. It's also set in the year it was written, so 1967, which means that little things like cameras in museums probably just didn't exist at the time. Which is just brilliant. Thanks to an anonymous comment on my Reading Ideas post,

This is the last book I read for my Classic Children's Literature Party and I'm finally able to write about it! Work has been chaotic the last week.

Anyway, the story is about two children, Claudia and Jamie Kincaid, who decide to run away from home to New York City. Claudia, being the planner she is, doesn't want to just run away from something, but to something, so she plans for them to live in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. And that's exactly what they do. While there, they undertake to solve a mystery of a new statue recently acquired by the museum, that may or may not be a Michelangelo. There adventure is full of twists and turns and random meals from the automat and the ability to live in New York City for almost two weeks on just around $24, most of it in change from Jamie's tendency to hoard his savings.

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Mind Blown! My worlds just collided!

Ok, so I love Hugh Dancy. Anyone who's been around long enough and is a professed anglophile knows him as Daniel Deronda and I adored him as the prince in Ella Enchanted with Anne Hathaway. 

Yes, I've also seen him as Will Graham in the tv series Hannibal that, for me, just didn't work. I'd rather take the movie Red Dragon any day of the week than that series and not even Dancy could save it.

What I had never in a million years expected was for Hugh Dancy to become the new lawyer for the district attorney's office in Law and Order! First off, I didn't realize until recently that they had actually started it up again after a decade hiatus. That's impressive. So, naturally, the lawyer we left off with 10 years ago isn't going to be the same one now.

Hugh Dancy as Nolan Price

But HUGH DANCY! Wow, I totally did not see that coming.

He's a good actor and always seems to give a pretty solid performance so I'm hopeful for him here.

I hear rumors, though, of the series delving more into his character's personal life, so I'm not entirely sold on that idea. The unique part of Law and Order is that they just never did that, minus the occasional personal remark that let the audience get a glimpse of who they were outside the office. I prefer that businesslike approach to the series, so we'll see what my thoughts are as they traverse more personal roads.

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CCLP Reads: The Black Cauldron by Lloyd Alexander (1965)

To my surprise, I enjoyed The Black Cauldron more than The Book of Three. Some of my issues with the first installment weren't really a problem in the second. Eilonwy seems to be mellowing, but I suppose that only makes sense since it's been about a year between books one and two. Taran is as noble as ever. There's event a sense of Taran coming into his own, overcoming the stigma that comes along with being of a lower rank. There is more to heroism than being a warrior. Although I do still think Lloyd Alexander followed some of the same basic plot ideas as Tolkien. A fellowship of individuals who set out on a quest to retrieve an item of great power and evil and destroy it? I'm sure Tolkien isn't the first to come up with the idea, but still, I wish Lloyd Alexander had deviated just a little bit more. Even the "villainous" character of Ellidyr, who I do greatly pity just like Taran does, behaves quite a lot like Boromir.

Anyway, there is less objectionable content than in the The Black Cauldron Disney film, even with the three enchantresses who are a version of The Fates from Greek mythology. In the film, there are some serious issues, but in the book, there's no changing into frogs and no frogs falling into an enchantress's cleavage. So I was glad. It's a sad story, and a few of the companions do die, although not the main group of 4 characters from The Book of Three, so Taran, Eilonwy, Gurgi, and Fflewddur live to the end. A new favorite character of mine, sadly, didn't make it through to the end of the story, which is a shame. He was lovely, patient, and gracious.

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CCLP Reads: The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander (1964)

My only prior experience with Lloyd Alexander is the rather terrifying 1985 Disney film The Black Cauldron. I've watched it multiple times and still don't really like it. I was hoping that I might feel different about the book series, The House of Prydain, that the movie was based on.

Taran is an assistant pig-keeper for a pig named Hen Wen who can somehow tell the future, so she's called an oracular pig. Long story short, the Horned King is a terrifying enemy and a servant of Arawn, Death-Lord of Annuvin. When The Horned King comes close to Taran's home, all the animals make a run for it, including Hen Wen, and Taran, loyal boy that he is, chases her. He has one adventure after another, bumping into the cornw prince of Prydain named Gwydion. They travel together for a while, still searching for Hen Wen, but also now needing to reach Caer Dathyl, a home castle base as it were, of the Horned King's movements. Enter Gurgi, a bizarre, half-human and half-animal creature who is surprisingly loyal to Taran and Taran's develops a fondness for him, especially when Taran provides him with his "munchings and crunchings" as a reward for his help. There's a capture that happens, Taran's locked up, he meets a girl named Eilonwy who is by far one of the most annoying female characters I've ever encountered, but she manages to free him. It really just goes on and on, so for such a short book, it crams a lot into it.

I really wish I could say that I liked it, but all the way through I couldn't stop thinking that it was a poor substitute for Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. I mean, it really is a bit of a knock-off. Maybe that wasn't Alexander's intent, but that's what happened, even down to these flying creatures who serve the Death Lord and Gurgi, who's a slightly tamer version of Gollum. It's interesting, but as a child if I'd read it, I wouldn't have liked it much. I don't like the idea of oracular pigs and word sticks being used to tell the future, especially not in children's fiction. And I genuinely disliked Eilonwy, the lone "good" female character. That girl prattles and rattles and believes she knows best and holds grudges, and is just downright obnoxious. She's arrogant and insufferable and one of the reasons I dislike her is because some of her traits are some of the ones I don't like about myself, so yeah, they always say the characters we dislike the most are the ones we resemble (even if it's just slightly), so there you go.

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CCLP Read: The Borrowers by Mary Norton (1952)

Yay, The Borrowers is my first read for the Classic Children's Literature Party that I'm hosting!

If you've never read this delightful book then I highly encourage it! I just bought the boxed set of the first four novels last year and did read them last year, and I can honestly they are some of my favorites, with the first book, The Borrowers, being an absolute classic. I thoroughly enjoyed re-reading it this month.

The story follows a family of tiny people, known as Borrowers, who live in the houses of big people, meaning us. This family has Pod Clock, his wife Homily, and their only daughter Arrietty. They're probably the size of 1/12 dollhouse people, and so their belongings are a hodgepodge of items they've created, such as Arrietty's bedroom that's made of two cigar boxes, or things they've borrowed and repurposed, like the cog they use for their fireplace. They live under the kitchen floor in an old Victorian house, and their only entry too and from their home is under the enormous Grandfather Clock that must never be moved or it might stop working.

Arrietty is a lover of adventure, and a quite educated girl, for a Borrower. She even knows how to read and to write, and she has tiny Tom Thumb editions of certain books that she peruses regularly. Unfortunately for Arrietty, she has reached that frustrating age of feeling stifled, so just hitting the teenage years, which I myself remember quite well. Arrietty so desperately wants to be allowed to go borrowing with her father. Except, only boys are trained as borrowers. 

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Children's Literature Party Reading Ideas!

This post is written for the Classic Children's Literature Party for 2023!

Ok, so if you're anything like me, then there's a good chance when you try to think of classic children's authors, you draw a bit of a blank. Actually, anything that's more than 50 years old is pretty much considered to be a classic, and that widens your reading options considerably! If you also have a list of suggestions, I encourage you to share it on your blog and then add your link to the party!

I've read quite a few books from the Newbery Medal list and am always pleasantly surprised by the results. Here's some I gleaned from the list, names that I know, some of my sister's favorites, and a few of my own!

• Frog and Toad Together by Arnold Lobel (1973)
• Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George (1973) 
• Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien (1972) 
• Sing Down the Moon by Scott O'Dell (1971) 
• Sounder by William H. Armstrong (1970) 
• The High King by Lloyd Alexander (1969)
• From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg (1968)
• The Black Cauldron by Lloyd Alexander (1966)
• A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle (1963) 
• Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell (1961) 
• The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare (1959) 
• The Family Under The Bridge by Natalie Savage Carlson (1959) 
• Old Yeller by Fred Gipson (1957) 
• Charlotte's Web by E. B. White (1953) 
• The Door in the Wall by Marguerite de Angeli (1950) 
• Strawberry Girl by Lois Lenski (1946) 
• Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes (1944) 
• Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink (1936) 

And of course, there are always old series standbys like, some of the following series of children's books.

• Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren
• Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
• The Borrowers by Mary Norton
• The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis
• Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle by Betty MacDonald

We mustn't forget those incredible classics that we've probably read so many times that we forget about them being children's books.

• A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
• The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
• Little Lord Fauntleroy by Frances Hodgson Burnett
• The Princess and the Goblin by George Macdonald
• The Princess and Curdie by George Macdonald
• The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
• Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
• Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll
• Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
• Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne
• Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery
• Emily of New Moon by L. M. Montgomery

These are only a few humble suggestions, for my own benefit as well as anyone else who needs a handy list. Enjoy browsing through your bookshelves or raiding your public library or used bookstore for some new reads! Happy Reading!

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Welcome to the Classic Children's Literature Party for 2023!

Welcome to the Classic Children's Literature Party of 2023!

If it goes well, I may host it every year.

My personal experiences with children's literature when I was an actual child pretty much stayed in its own little wheelhouse of Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, and Trixie Belden. And I read a lot of wonderful Christian children's series that I would check out from my church library. I honestly don't recall reading much else, and I really never delved into what we would now call classic children's literature. I did read Narnia, naturally, and I plan to read at least one book for this party, and I read The Princess and the Goblin, one of my favorite children's books by George Macdonald. But nothing else that would fall into the classic children's literature bracket.

My reading has expanded in recent years, and thanks to my sister, I have actually found a lot of wonderful children's classic literature that I wish I had read as a child. But there's something special about reconnecting with children's literature as an adult, finding a new story that sparks our imagination. That's my goal with this party, that your imagination would be sparked and that you would just feel warm and comfortable and joyful as you proceed through your reads.

I have some guidelines below that have been tweaked a little bit from my initial Announcement post, and we've got a Mister Linky for you to add your blog posts to the Party list. It's going to be very casual and I hope hope you have a wonderful time! 😘

• I consider children's classics to be in the Jfiction arena, so probably for elementary or preteen age groups.
• A common measuring tape using for classic literature is that it must be at least 50 years old. So let's stick with that measure, only books 1973 and older. I'm good with the publication month being after April in 1973. 
• Go wild with books from other countries and translations other than English.
• Since Ivy Miranda asked about movies based on classic children's literature, I will give that the green light. If one of your favorite movies is based off classic children's literature, by all means, please feel free to write about it.
• Once you've written your blog post, add the link to the Mister Linky below and comment this post.
• The party runs the entire month of April to give you ample time to schedule your reading and so we don't feel rushed!

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Looking Back at February 2023 Reads

I didn't accomplish all of my February Reading Goals, but I accomplished enough of them that I'm quite happy. And I enjoyed most of my reads too.

Apologies if anything in my post seems a little bit off from the norm. I experienced a personal loss on Friday (which is also why I didn't get around to participating in the Danny Kaye Blogathon). I wish I had been able to participate, but I didn't feel like watching The Kid from Brooklyn due to the grieving process and I didn't prep anything beforehand. I was going to watch it on Saturday, oh well.

You'll find my thoughts on Emily of New Moon by L.M. Montgomery, The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz, The Belle of Belgrave Square by Mimi Matthews, and The June Boys by Court Stephens in this post.

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The L. M. Montgomery Tag

This fun tag is part of Hamlette's We Love L. M. Montgomery Week. ♥

1. Who introduced you to L. M. Montgomery's writing?  Tell us the story!

I honestly think it was me. I grew up with the Megan Follows miniseries so when I reached my late teens I just decided to try some of her Anne books. I'm not sure when I first saw the miniseries, only that it's always been there, just like the Road to Avonlea miniseries that I adore.

2. What LMM books have you read?

I have an awful confession. I know that I've read some of the Anne books when I was a teenager, but I have no idea which ones or how far into the series I got. But I read at least 3 and I have also, now, read Emily of New Moon.

3. What movies or shows based on her books have you watched?

I swear someone showed me something about Jane of Lantern  Hill at some point, although I might be misremembering. I've also watched the classic Anne series with Megan Follows, all 3 of them. I've seen a few other Anne movies along the way and, yes, I did watch 2 seasons of Anne with an E although I cannot recommend it other than the first season which I found rather brilliant.

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We ♥ L. M. Montgomery Week - Emily of New Moon (a review)

Emily of New Moon was read for Hamlette's We Love L. M. Montgomery Week. ♥

This was my first time reading Montgomery's Emily of New Moon. It's incredible how fast I read it. It was hard to put it down when I had to do other things, like, oh work or sleep or go run errands. It's a very enchanting, melancholy sort of story, and I was completely pulled into it.

Creative souls are hard to come by sometimes and Emily Byrd Starr is, if at all possible, even more creative and imaginative than Anne Shirley. She's a wild thing, born of the fey, on so many levels.

For the unfamiliar, like I was, Emily is orphaned early in the book and, through no other alternative, goes to live with her mother's family. She was raised wild by a father much like herself in personality, and her mother's family despised him. So it's a struggle for her, going to live with an aged aunt who appears to find her troublesome at best and hateful at worst. Aunt Elizabeth Murray is the matriarch of New Moon farm. Aunt Laura is the sweeter, meeker younger sister, and Cousin Jimmy is kind, but also appears to have some sort of interesting mental defect that might make him slightly dangerous. Or at least, there are times when Emily feels slightly fearful of him, although she's not entirely sure why.

I won't go in depth into the darker side of the book here, or the elements that troubled me, but it's impossible to read Emily of New Moon without realizing and appreciating that Montgomery herself must have felt things very, very keenly. I looked a bit into her life, not much, but just a bit, and realized she was much like her heroines in a variety of ways. I had no idea that her use of "the flash" for Emily's brilliant and spiritual inspirations came from her own experiences with it.

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Great Expectations: Time Marches On

Time is cruelty for Miss Havisham, the eccentric owner of Satis House in Charles Dickens’ fine novel Great Expectations. The progression of time drives her mad; to protect what little sanity she has left she must stop time’s progression. It’s impossible to do so. Time is powerful and in its willful determination to do as God dictates, Miss Havisham leads a fantasy life where she protects herself from the hurt of abandonment.

Wronged by her fiancé, Miss Havisham locks her doors, leaves the wedding feast on the table, and commands that all her clocks be stopped. Time is not permitted to work. Yet there is something in the saying that time is the great healer. It allows wounds to scab over and scar. The memory of the hurt remains, but the pain is gone. Time heals those wounds, but when Miss Havisham stops time for herself, she stops the healing process. There is no progression for Miss Havisham. Instead, she locks herself into the memory of the wrong done her, scraping off the healing scab every single day in order to feel the pain afresh.

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First Classics Club Read of 2023 - Pride and Prejudice (1813) by Jane Austen

I'm sitting at my laptop with my cup of delicious Blackcurrent Breeze tea from Twinings and my fingers freezing due to the dip in temperatures outside. I am so immensely grateful today. I'm grateful for my cup of tea. For my space heater that is working its little tail off to warm my home office space. For my cozy slippers and wool socks. And I'm grateful for Jane Austen.

I first encountered Austen probably 19 or so years ago now. My father is a huge Laurence Olivier fan, so when I was in my late teens, we watched the 1940 Pride and Prejudice as a family, with Olivier in the starring role as Mr. Darcy, naturally (read my review, if you wish). It's still my favorite film adaptation, despite its historic and literary inaccuracies.

But I hadn't picked up Pride and Prejudice to read until at least a decade later. And it certainly wasn't my favorite of Austen's novels. I always thought my dislike is because I'm quite stubborn about joining a fandom with a high rate of support.

I'm not sure what's changed in 2023, but something clearly has because I loved re-reading Pride and Prejudice. Perhaps my outlook has softened somewhat where this novel is concerned. But really, I think that my propensity to be like Lizzy is what annoyed me most about the novel, because the tendency annoys myself. We are not even remotely the same personality type, but we do both leap to judgements and criticisms, especially when our feelings and personal pride have been offended. 

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Japanese Movie Review: We Love (2018)

Rin (Hirano Sho) and Yuu (Sakurai Hinako) have been childhood friends forever, but their relationship has always been rocky due to Rin's bullying techniques and Yuu's extreme anxiety disorder. They happen to live next door to one another in the same apartment complex, go to the same high school, and even share the same set of friends in Koyomi and Keita. Yuu lacks confidence in herself in spades and any confidence she might develop is constantly undercut by Rin's biting remarks. Privately, Rin worships the ground Yuu walks on, but he can't tell her that because he doesn't know any other way to interact with her because they've been toxic for so long.

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Looking Back at January 2023 Reads

One goal/non-goal I have for 2023 is to set aside time to read. It's so easy to get caught up in scrolling on your phone randomly and before you know it, you've fallen down the YouTube rabbit hole for hours with nothing to show for it. Other than baking recipes you'll never make or debunking videos for things you would never try in the first place. If you get my drift.

So for me, reading five books in January is monumental! And not a single one of them was manga! Not that there's anything wrong with reading manga. I personally love reading it. But it's usually a pretty quick read and not very challenging. So I'm proud of myself for reading five non-manga books in January.

My favorite read in January was actually The Woodcarver's Daughter, followed closely by Pride and Prejudice.

How about you? What was your reading accomplishment in January? Did you have a favorite read?

Enjoy scanning my list of reads and my thoughts on each of them. You can also see my February 2023 Reading Goals. I would love to know if you've set any reading goals for yourself this year!

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Setting February 2023 Reading Goals

I don't usually set reading goals for myself since I technically fail at them. But I sense that setting them here and in my bujo rather than on Goodreads will have a positive impact. I would like to complete 5 books in February, just like I did in January (yay!).

Finish reading Emily of New Moon by L.M. Montgomery, for the We ♥ L. M. Montgomery Week that starts on February 20th, hosted by Hamlette. I'm already pretty much addicted to the book and am suffering when I have to put it down to do other things. So finishing it won't be difficult.

Read The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz. Now, I haven't even started it so if I get a little ways in and find myself hating it, then I likely will stop. And I won't feel guilty about stopping if that happens. 

Read My Story! His Song! Blessed! by Sherman Andrus (a member of the gospel singing group The Imperials).  I bought the book at the end of January and I'm very excited to give it a read and learn his story. My parents raised me on gospel music so The Imperials played regularly in our home.

Read a kid's fiction or YA novel, my choice, whatever strikes my fancy.

Read a Christian fiction novel, whatever strikes my fancy. Maybe one by Camy Tang because she's a Japanese American Christian novelist and she wrote an entire Christian series featuring Asian leads. That's right up my alley, and I already love her style because she's written Regency Christian fiction under the name Camille Elliot.

How about you? What reading goals do you have in mind for February?

You can find my January 2023 List of Reads here!

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Sherlock Holmes: The Shadow in the Window

As thin shadows swayed across my window blind, my fingers clutched the book to my chest. My throat muscles convulsed, and the blood trapped in my veins by the shock suddenly thundered on, rushing heat through my body.

It was him… the creeping man.

This was my first identifiable memory as a Sherlock Holmes fan.

Of course, the creeping man wasn’t actually outside my window; it was a crazy shadow cast by a tree devoid of its leaves in the winter. But that moment of utter terror experienced in my early twenties decided my favorite Sherlock Holmes short story for me.

The Creeping Man startles the imagination with its ghastly and Gothic possibilities, making it one of the most iconic of Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories.

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Announcing the Classic Children's Literature Party April 2023

Updated April 2023: Join the Classic Children's Literature Party!

I cannot lay claim to the idea. A lovely blog called Simpler Pastimes hosted CCLE for quite a few years, but the last one was in April 2017 so I have decided to begin hosting my own version with a slight name change to Classic Children's Literature Party or CCLP. I have dearly missed the event for a few reasons. One being that reading really is a simpler pastime and it's lovely to take a break from the hectic race of life to read children's literature. Another is that classic children's literature reminds us of a more innocent time for children. And finally, I discovered so many amazing children's books by participating in the event and I wish the same delight for other readers.

So let us begin as we mean to go forward. 

Classic Children's Literature Party 2023 - Basic Guidelines

Throughout the month of April, read children's classics, as many or as few as you like. There are no minimum or maximum expectations. Post your thoughts and impressions about each of them on your blog and leave a comment with your link on the main Event page that I will post on April 1st (no fooling!). I'll also compile a link-up page and publish that at the end of the month.

Use your own judgement for what fits the idea of being a "children's classic" but here are some helpful guidelines:

• Children's classics are not going to be picture books, as in primarily pictures with very little text. So keep with the idea of the book being children's fiction in the elementary or preteen age bracket.
• A common measuring tape using for classic literature is that it must be at least 50 years old. So let's stick with that measure, only books 1973 and older. I'm good with the publication month being after April in 1973. 
• Go wild with books from other countries and translations other than English. I'm partial to British literature myself so that will likely be my focus.
• You can join at any time during the month of April. 

This is intended to be a fun, relaxing party with no pressure or expectations other than to enjoy reading. If you like, you can always post a list of anticipated reads on your blog and share that here so others might be inspired with your ideas. If you read one book or 10, you are welcome to participate. Classic children's literature is inspiring and I hope you will delight in the time spent reacquainting yourself with old favorites and even finding some new ones. 😘

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Japanese Drama Review: Alice in Borderland, Season One (2020)

 

Stories that involve being trapped in a game are the popular it thing right now. I love trapped in a game stories, but while I "enjoyed" AinB, it's really not that original. I could get the same thing watching Tron, The Hunger Games, or The Maze Runner, and actually enjoy those more. If not for the likeable leads of Arisu and Usagi, I would have dropped it halfway through the first season. Why the threat of dropping? Because it's far more violent than was necessary. Lots and lots of gore, showing the impacts of bullets, knives and swords actually cutting, a brain dissection, etc. It went overboard, probably because the manga is also big on over-the-top gore, but I'm only guessing at that part since I haven't read it, and probably won't. I'm also not keen on attempted rape, so keep that in mind as being triggering for a lot of folks. 

2023 Update: I published this review on another blog last year, but have decided to keep everything at Musings of an Introvert. So if you find any odd references, like not mentioning S2 is already released, oops, that's why! I also binged S2 over Christmas break so I will be releasing that review soon. Um, can I just say, as a precursor to the S2 review, Yamashita Tomohisa, what the heck, man!? I felt like I was in anaphylactic shock for hours!

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Kamenashi Kazuya gears up in 2023 for season two of the hit Japanese law drama, Seigi no Tenbin

Seigi no Tenbin tells the story of Takano-san, a defense attorney with a a vendetta against criminals due to personal loss in his life. Some think the character is better suited for a prosecuting attorney, but I disagree since Takano-san has to put aside his own prejudice in order to serve his ethically serve his clients. It would be so easy for a prosecuting attorney to just go full-tilt into revenge mode. It takes a bit more moral dilemma juggling for him to be a defense attorney. He has to plead for leniency, to put himself in the position of the criminal, to seek for compassion on their behalf. Season One of Seigi no Tenbin is deeply moving.

I know literally nothing about what Season Two might entail, only that I love, love, love Season One and have been hoping and praying for Kame to end up in a drama that would be worthy of a second season. I am so glad that Seigi no Tenbin is that drama!

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The Apartment (1960): A Lesson in Power Harassment

The Apartment (1960)

starring Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, and Fred MacMurray

One of my favorite Christmas movies is actually a very depressing movie about power harassment and attempted suicide that happens to take place over Christmas. Weird, right?

There will be some spoilers, so keep that in mind when reading.

The Apartment was released in 1960 and stars Jack Lemmon as C.C. Baxter, Shirley MacLaine as Fran Kubelik, and Fred MacMurray as Mr. Sheldrake a.k.a the hound from hell. It is the brainchild of Billy Wilder (a favorite writer/director of mine) and I.A.L. Diamond and is brilliant and funny and horrifying all at the same time. Like a lot of those 1960s dramedies.

Power harassment is a manipulative tactic. If you go along to get along, you'll receive some benefit in return, or you'll just be able to keep your job. If you don't go along, then you'll lose your chances at promotion and possibly even lose your job. Not surprisingly, the term power harassment was originally coined in Japan, but not nearly as long ago as you might think, just in 2002. Japan has been and still is notorious for power harassment issues (like the majority of Asian countries), but based on the existence of movies like The Apartment, it is a wide-reaching demon that affects everyone.

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Welcome to 2023!

Yes, things were sporadic last year, for a variety of personal reasons. It was not an easy year, by any means, but there is a somewhat brighter outlook right now so I'm making plans for this blog that you can count on going forward.

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