Like, Stop Saying That, Dad!

I've been told to stop.

"I was like, what are you talking about?" 

"Dad, you're not allowed to say 'like'."

My 10 year old informed me that "old people" can't use "kid words".  Well, I told that young lady a thing or two!  I grew up in the 70's and 80's.  We invented half the slang they use today.

"I know, right?" 

"Dad, you can't say 'right' anymore, either."

Book Review: Tess of the d'Urbervilles, by Thomas Hardy (1891) - First Thoughts

Even after just a few chapters, I could feel this thing driving forward with a single purpose, to a predetermined end that left no room for conjecture - the destruction of a young girl.

Well this is it.  After all the ranting and raving I've done about uptight Victorian prudence and backwards views towards women, I'm finally reading the end-all, be-all book on that very subject.  It's all about how mean society is towards "fallen women".  Yep, that's this book in a nutshell.  From that, you can guess the entire premise of the book as well as the ending.  And even though I'm only half-way through, I can guess everything that will happen.

Book Review: Uncle Tom's Cabin, by Harriet Beecher Stowe (1852) Part Two

Several characters in this book are worth mentioning.  Uncle Tom, of course.  He's the hero.  I know, I know, we've all been told he is not the hero, that he was weak.  We've been told the heros of the book are the ones that ran away, that escaped to Canada.

Well, I'm here to tell you that is not true.  Anyone willing to die for their faith and for the protection of others is a hero.  Uncle Tom was a hero.

But I can't discount the part Eliza and George played in this book.  That was exciting and kept me on the edge of my seat.  Early in the story, she took her son and ran away.  One of the most dramatic moments of the book was when Eliza picked up her son and ran across the Ohio River, jumping from ice patch to ice patch.  To be honest, I really thought she was going to die.  I thought that Harriet Beecher Stowe planned to kill her off as an example of the brutality of slavery.  But she didn't.  I'm so glad!  We were all in her corner, rooting for her!  Go Eliza!!

Book Review: Uncle Tom's Cabin, by Harriet Beecher Stowe (1852) Part One

I felt this book.  Not as much as I wished, but I felt it.

I’m not surprised that it’s unpopular today.  It shows racism in its bleakest form.  It shows how slaves lived and how they acted and the things they said - not from a modern day viewpoint, but from the viewpoint of people who saw it happening at the time, who experienced it.

There is a strong possibility you will never read this book.  I'll give spoilers here, and I'm going to tell you how it ends.  Got it?  Okay.

It's All in the Details

We can accept a book about vampires.  Or how about a search for Atlantis?  Or better yet, the Holy Grail?  From Dracula to dinosaurs, we don't mind reading these books.  We take them at face value.

But what we can't accept is poor research into the real world.  You'd better know your stuff, and make it believable.

Lessons on Writing from Downton Abbey

Raise your hand if you thought it was Downtown Abbey.  Yeah, me too.

If you like that show, you may have something in particular about either the format or storyline that keeps you watching.  I noticed something that is so obvious yet so subtle that many people might have overlooked it.  It's something that's well worth remembering, and is worth applying to my own writing style.

Book Review: Bleak House (Charles Dickens, 1853) Conclusion

Poor Richard!  He spent all his time worrying over that dreaded court case.  When it finally went wrong, he just wasted away and died within hours.  Really?  I mean, is it that easy to die in Victorian Britain?  Well, if you’re not in the “working class”, the answer is yes.  Those leisured classes were dropping like flies, swooning away for this and that at the drop of a hat.  When the court ended, Richard couldn’t even yell at the judge because he had blood in his mouth.  What?  Did he bite his tongue?  They kept alluding to him wasting away for months before this under the care of the good and wise Woodcourt.  Wasting away?  From worry?  Are they going to stamp that on the official certificate of death, signed by the coroner?  Cause of death – worry.

Book Review: Bleak House (Charles Dickens, 1853) Wacky Characters Part II

Esther and her mother.  Okay, not so wacky, but wacked out, maybe.  Don't get me wrong.  I'm not here to throw mud on these people.  But let's be honest, the idea that Esther spends her whole life longing to do things for other people just to be loved is a bit hard to take.  At some point she's got to realize she is not the person her evil aunt told her she was.