Westerns and Regency Ladies, Plus My Terrible Knowledge of Geography

I usually like to give people a mid-week blogging break, and that usually happens on Wednesday, but people like having more stuff in their feed, right? Totally. Plus I feel like updating.

In typical obsessive fashion, I've gone from dismissing opera singer Diana Damrau as "some Czech dramatic soprano" (I'm totes not anti-Czech -- ahoj!) to buying four of her operas on DVD (see other blog). So that's happening. Oh, and she's not Czech, she's German. I think I confused her with Elīna Garanča. Who also isn't Czech; she's Latvian, but it's closer? Linguistically? I'm gonna stop now.

This is the part of my life you don't normally see, people. Be glad.

I started The Sisters Brothers, and DAMN that is a well-crafted book. Based on the first like ten pages. I wasn't expecting to like it, because Western-type books with gruff men whose closest relationships are with their ponies don't quite tally with my love of books that have characters named Winifred Whiffgussit and humorous tea parties, but this seems to be excellent.

Accurate representation of today

I'm also still reading The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister, which has gems like:

Went to Mr Knight’s & sat ½ hour. Mentioning my despair of getting on with my studies, he proposed my giving up altogether the thought of pursuing them. This, I did not think it necessary to dissemble, I scouted entirely.

and

My aunt, unable to keep her feet, slid down on her honourable part, Marian ditto, & we all laughed exceedingly.

She also spends a bit of time in love with a Miss Brown, who is an idiot.

She told me she walked a great deal in the garden and she liked it by moonlight for it made her melancholy. She owned to being a little romantic and said she admired a little romance in people.

Miss Brown is like Catherine Morland, only not awesome and hilarious. Instead she spends her time asking Anne why she won't call ("it is my place to offer the thing, not hers to ask it"), which Anne will not do because Miss Brown is middle class and Anne is A LITTLE ABOVE THAT, thank you very much.

Also, apparently in 1818 it took HOURS to put new paper lining in your traveling trunk. Good to know.

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