pickI‘ve enjoyed Kiernan‘s other books so I thought it was finally time to read her book on Thanksgiving and Gratitude - and I‘m so ‘thankful‘ I did 🤗 This is a very well written history of the Thanksgiving holiday and the woman who fought to make it a national day of gratitude. It was at times hard to read (I made more than 1 exasperated sigh at how history repeats itself), but a fascinating read nonetheless.
One picture to show that yesterday was my payday 🤣 I went onto Pango to see if someone was selling a copy of the tagged book and then 3 others just hopped in my cart 🤷🏼♀️ -Starts to hum ‘Anticipation‘ by Carly Simon-
This was an LT Early Reviewer win for me. The first time I tried reading it, I felt it was trying too hard to be 'of the period'. This time, having read a heap of 'Regency romances' which fell short or didn't try at all, it flows better. And I'm finding the letters of Camlet jr. an amusing diversion.
It‘s a Wordsworth Wednesday. Next three poems:“Anecdote for Fathers,” “We Are Seven,” and “Lines Written in Early Spring.” The first two are well-delivered anecdotes with gentle morals. The last, a short and not too deep reflection on human destructiveness. What I am enjoying most about Wordsworth is the simplicity factor which can catch you off guard with emotion. Idk- they sort of capture a coy childlike naivety perhaps, an innocence.
I‘m on a new medication and feeling a bit loopy this morning, so I‘m jumping ahead to some Coleridge, “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.” I‘m reading in fits and starts, shutting my eyes when I get too zonked out. Martin Scofield, in his introduction to this volume, notes that the poem looks forward to the work of Poe and others, and I agree. The use of archaic language, the way the meter shifts, and the imagery are all clear marks of lineage.
I‘ve been enjoying Wordsworth‘s poems (a lot more than his poetics thankfully). I got to three this morning: “Goody Blake and Harry Gill,” “Lines Written at a Small Distance from My House,” and “Simon Lee.” Of these, Goody Blake was my favorite, more a traditional ballad than any of the poems so far, a story with a moral, and a more overt or obvious rhyme scheme with repetition.
#catsoflitsy
Notes on “Lines Left upon a Seat in a Yew-Tree,” and “The Female Vagrant” :
I found “Yew-Tree” to be quite affecting. It spoke to the conflict between the solitary self and community and how we treat ourselves when we are at our lowest. Quite philosophical.
“Female Vagrant” was superb- lots of pathos. I love the lines about war- “Oh! dreadful price of being to resign/ All that is dear in being!”
Slow reading is helping me enjoy this volume so far!
