tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-717233037560933311Wed, 09 Sep 2026 20:35:30 +0000BooksAuthorsTravelEnglish LifeLeedsFilm and TVFun with FriendsAustenGood EatsUniversityBronteDogsHolidaysFamily TimeLiterary PilgrimageDickensLiterary KitschVictoriansPhotographyBritish BitesPercy PostBarrett BrowningLondonMusingsSimple PleasuresGeorgette HeyerShakespeareWodehouseArtChildren's LiteratureClassics ClubGaskellHarry PotterItalyRegency EnglandBiographyReadathonWilkie CollinsNeo-VictorianPoetryRoald DahlWoolf18th CenturyBill BrysonConan DoyleCulture VultureGeorge EliotKeatsLibrary LootMusicNon-FictionPenguin English LibraryPeriod FashionRomanticismTop Ten TuesdayWhartonWordless Wednesdayhttp://theorderoftheday.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Diana)Blogger190125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-717233037560933311.post-7666789698654276490Thu, 25 Apr 2013 11:47:00 +00002013-04-25T05:47:39.796-06:00AuthorsBooksPenguin English Library After administering a final exam on Monday, my spring semester is nearly over -- there's just some marking to do! Since I won't be teaching over the summer, I decided it would be worthwhile to take on a new reading project. Also, I desperately need to catch up on the bookish goals that were pushed to the backburner while school's been in session. When I saw O post this list of classics from http://theorderoftheday.blogspot.com/2013/04/the-penguin-english-library-project.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Diana)18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-717233037560933311.post-7242770077931463079Wed, 17 Apr 2013 10:02:00 +00002013-04-17T04:02:25.261-06:00Film and TVPhotography Since the tragic decline of Downton Abbey (oh, what a waste!), there's hasn't been much in the way of period drama to attract my attention. Recent adaptations of Ford Madox Ford's Parade's End and Emile Zola's The Ladies' Paradise still haven't made their way to my side of the pond, nor has the second series of the poignant Call the Midwife. I've been feeling the lack of new material keenly. http://theorderoftheday.blogspot.com/2013/04/mr-selfridge.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Diana)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-717233037560933311.post-4388127341174085289Mon, 15 Apr 2013 10:45:00 +00002013-04-15T04:48:27.973-06:00Georgette HeyerRegency England It's not you, it's me. This trite phrase has become the ultimate dating cliche, but it effectively summarizes my experience reading The Grand Sophy. Georgette Heyer's knack for comedy and memorable characterization makes her novels the ultimate escapism for Regency nuts like me, and I've sung her praises since I randomly picked up Arabella a few years ago. This time, unfortunately, she just http://theorderoftheday.blogspot.com/2013/04/the-grand-sophy-by-georgette-heyer.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Diana)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-717233037560933311.post-3045303628607736961Fri, 12 Apr 2013 08:45:00 +00002013-04-12T02:45:11.598-06:00Film and TVSimple Pleasures Jimmy Stewart and Margaret Sullavan in The Shop Around the Corner (1940) I don't know what it is about old movies, but I'm crazy about them. They evoke happy childhood memories of family togetherness and make me feel nostalgic for the seeming simplicity of former times. Still, it's difficult to articulate what it is about the films themselves I love so dearly, but I turn one on whenever I http://theorderoftheday.blogspot.com/2013/04/simple-pleasures-old-movies.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Diana)15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-717233037560933311.post-2433946087134959257Tue, 09 Apr 2013 05:41:00 +00002013-04-08T23:41:08.552-06:00AuthorsBooksNon-FictionRegency England Since reading The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, I've been dying to get my hands on this collection of essays by Charles Lamb. This text sets the novel in motion and forges bonds between the characters.  I fell in love with this nineteenth-century edition as soon as I laid eyes on it at a charming antique shop in Park City. Sadly I was jobless (ahem, broke) at the timehttp://theorderoftheday.blogspot.com/2013/04/essays-of-elia-my-new-antiquarian.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Diana)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-717233037560933311.post-5009581751405203800Mon, 01 Apr 2013 10:18:00 +00002013-04-01T04:18:58.173-06:00ArtAustenBooksDogs Poppy Field Near Vetheuil (1879) by Claude Monet {Reading} Finished The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer yesterday. Just ordered Jerome K. Jerome's Three Men in a Boat. Bibliotherapy continues. :) {Writing} Academic work on Elizabeth Gaskell and Elizabeth Barrett Browning.  (Three cheers for all the great Elizabeths!) {Looking}  At flowers, buds and plants. Currently http://theorderoftheday.blogspot.com/2013/04/i-have-been.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Diana)8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-717233037560933311.post-6251629375530439855Mon, 25 Mar 2013 08:59:00 +00002013-03-25T02:59:51.575-06:00AustenAuthorsBooksLiterary KitschWodehouse My haul I've been feeling rather rotten lately and -- what's worse! -- feeling sorry for myself because I feel rotten. Lots of feelings, few of them benign. At times like these I do what any self-respecting bibliophile does: I buy books! I don't need them. I won't even read them immediately. But damnit, I need some bibliotherapy*!!  I took myself to my local Barnes and Noble on http://theorderoftheday.blogspot.com/2013/03/bibliotherapy.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Diana)10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-717233037560933311.post-8356926308134581812Thu, 14 Mar 2013 11:05:00 +00002013-03-14T05:05:58.130-06:00AuthorsBooksGeorgette HeyerRegency England Tuscan Spring 2011 Praise to the gods who urged man, with all his faults, to instate the practice of spring break! I am halfway through my own now, and I'm revelling in the glorious relaxation and enjoyment of spring it has allowed. Hallelujah! With an entire week at my disposal I've been luxuriating in balmy spring weather during meandering walks with the dogs, sleeping in every morninghttp://theorderoftheday.blogspot.com/2013/03/a-spring-reading-update.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Diana)6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-717233037560933311.post-8012120718249338043Tue, 12 Mar 2013 11:39:00 +00002013-03-12T05:39:06.839-06:00Children's LiteratureHolidaysMusingsPercy Post Percy is clearly apprehensive about the New Year ...or the fact that I'm smothering him. Hard to say. Yes, I am aware that we are now racing through March and spring is well on its way, but nevertheless I wanted to write down my New Year's resolutions. I mentally formed these a while ago, around New Year's, in fact! (Fancy that.) Last year I found it infinitely helpful to refer back to my http://theorderoftheday.blogspot.com/2013/03/resolute-2013-edition.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Diana)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-717233037560933311.post-1909368196272632400Fri, 08 Mar 2013 10:31:00 +00002013-03-08T03:31:22.668-07:00Simple Pleasures   Spring weather is on its way to my area, but it's taking its sweet time making a full entrance. Tights are still a necessity for my skinny little chicken legs, but basic black bores me if I overuse it. Though I don't consider myself to be a fashionista by any stretch of the imagination, I maintain patterned and colorful tights spruce up an otherwise ordinary outfit. They help me feel ahttp://theorderoftheday.blogspot.com/2013/03/simple-pleasures-funky-tights.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Diana)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-717233037560933311.post-7550909579753783798Thu, 07 Mar 2013 12:48:00 +00002013-03-08T03:51:30.238-07:00AuthorsBarrett BrowningPoetry I'm a few hours late to the game on this, since Elizabeth Barret Browning's birthday occurred yesterday. Yet after a reminder from Oxford World's Classics, I would feel quite remiss not giving her a little shout out: Happy 207th Birthday, Elizabeth! The Birthplace: Coxhoe Hall, Durham One of my dissertation chapters focused on EBB, as I fondly refer to her in my notes. In http://theorderoftheday.blogspot.com/2013/03/happy-birthday-elizabeth-barrett.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Diana)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-717233037560933311.post-8638176805038655942Tue, 05 Mar 2013 08:42:00 +00002013-03-05T01:42:30.949-07:00Culture VultureFamily Time Ballet West First Soloist Haley Henderson Smith as Cinderella's Fairy Godmother Something you may not know about me: I'm a bunhead at heart. I adore the romance and spectable of the ballet. The grace of the dancers, the glamour of the costumes, the emotion in the music: each aspect of it enchants me. Several months ago I realized that despite this ardour, I hadn't attended a ballet in...http://theorderoftheday.blogspot.com/2013/03/cinderella-evening-at-ballet.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Diana)8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-717233037560933311.post-9158229896391451073Thu, 28 Feb 2013 09:00:00 +00002013-02-28T02:00:00.019-07:00Family TimePhotographySimple Pleasures This week's simple pleasure isn't about those quiet everyday moments that often go unobserved. Instead, this joy comes from the kind of momentous family occasion that only presents itself occasionally. This Saturday, a mere two days from now, my sister is getting married! She's the first in our family to tie the knot, and coming together to celebrate the love she and her fiance have for one http://theorderoftheday.blogspot.com/2013/02/simple-pleasures-here-comes-bride.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Diana)11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-717233037560933311.post-8685923950394220082Wed, 27 Feb 2013 08:48:00 +00002013-02-27T01:48:45.411-07:00Poetry   Venetian Sunset Dylan Thomas's poem 'Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night' stays with its reader. At the moment, it refuses to leave my mind (maybe because I recently shared it with my students). The poem concerns the author's experience watching the decline of his father's life. Dylan Thomas urges him to cling to life and its remaining experiences with every effort.  http://theorderoftheday.blogspot.com/2013/02/do-not-go-gentle-into-that-good-night.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Diana)10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-717233037560933311.post-2063513720875106599Mon, 25 Feb 2013 09:26:00 +00002013-02-25T02:31:03.709-07:00ArtBooksClassics ClubRomanticism Fallen Asleep While Reading (1872) William Powell Frith Though I'm currently inundated with a variety of projects, both professional and personal, I'm longing for an entire week of nothing but leisure reading. Hopefully, my March schedule will ease up (keep your fingers crossed for me!) so I can indulge in some good -- nay, fantastic -- books. Ah, what luxury. Even if it's a bit late, http://theorderoftheday.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-classics-spin.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Diana)6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-717233037560933311.post-8299121793818542271Fri, 22 Feb 2013 08:28:00 +00002013-02-22T01:28:13.297-07:00BooksSimple Pleasures Brains are the only things worth having in this world, no matter whether one is a crow or a man.  -- L. Frank Baum Receiving an unexpected package in the mail is one of life's best surprises. So I was thrilled to discover my dear friend had sent me a little something from across the pond. Finding this necklace with a quote from The Wizard of Oz only increased my elation; it was the icinghttp://theorderoftheday.blogspot.com/2013/02/simple-pleasures-literary-jewelry.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Diana)6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-717233037560933311.post-7158523178249340488Thu, 21 Feb 2013 12:34:00 +00002013-02-21T05:34:21.347-07:0018th CenturyAuthorsBooks Comte de Mirabeau -- sexy man! Wow, I'm busy! With a flu worse than anything I've experienced in years, teaching, marking, researching and preparing for my little sister's upcoming wedding, recreational reading finds itself at the bottom of my to-do list. Still, I have been doing some reading, and I wanted to share some thoughts.... As I briefly mentioned in a previous post, my recent http://theorderoftheday.blogspot.com/2013/02/mirabeaus-lifted-curtain.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Diana)10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-717233037560933311.post-3361767927123189954Fri, 15 Feb 2013 01:12:00 +00002013-02-14T18:12:55.001-07:00HolidaysPhotography Happy Valentine's Day! I know many object to the commercializaton of February 14th (and I agree the cliches can easily induce nausea), but I maintain it's nice to have a holiday dedicated to love. Because love, actually, is all around. ;) Last year on February 14th I wrote about the importance of expressing that love to all the important people in our lives. While I've attempted to abide by http://theorderoftheday.blogspot.com/2013/02/happy-valentines-day.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Diana)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-717233037560933311.post-2289236543938591985Fri, 08 Feb 2013 08:04:00 +00002013-02-08T01:04:11.908-07:00BooksChildren's LiteratureSimple Pleasures There's nothing cuter than chubby baby hands digging into a baby book. While watching my friend's children recently, I couldn't resist snapping a few photos of her sweet baby boy engrossed in a book. Isn't it wonderful to see little ones enjoying books, knowing that the interest will (with any luck) develop into a lifelong journey with literature as the years progress? This is where the love http://theorderoftheday.blogspot.com/2013/02/simple-pleasures-baby-hands-with-baby.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Diana)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-717233037560933311.post-3965157535715255739Mon, 04 Feb 2013 09:15:00 +00002013-02-04T02:16:49.318-07:00Film and TVPhotographySimple Pleasures Sometimes art truly changes us, to the fibers of our being as the saying goes. Watching Amelie was undoubtedly one of those experiences for me. I remember being awed with the way she viewed the world, her capacity for imagination, her ability to appreciate the little pleasures each day affords as seen in the following clip: (Author's Note: if you haven't seen Amelie, I suggest you do so http://theorderoftheday.blogspot.com/2013/02/new-feature-simple-pleasures.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Diana)17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-717233037560933311.post-867409738881741046Thu, 31 Jan 2013 14:08:00 +00002013-01-31T07:08:13.330-07:00AustenBooksLiterary Kitsch With a flu virus so miserable I haven't even been able to indulge in some escapist reading in bed, this week past week has been a doozy. And while this is a few days late, I would be very remiss if I didn't give a little shout out to one of my most treasured books: Happy 200th Birthday Pride and Prejudice! Here's to 200 more! As I've said on this blog before, this novel marked my first http://theorderoftheday.blogspot.com/2013/01/celebrating-200-years-of-pride-and.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Diana)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-717233037560933311.post-8032451004553596509Wed, 23 Jan 2013 09:00:00 +00002013-01-23T02:00:03.711-07:00Bill BrysonBooksEnglish LifeTravel With so many work projects occupying my time, I haven't been able to indulge in pleasure reading as much as I would wish. Luckily, Bill Bryson has proved to be the perfect read for one who doesn't have, say, an entire afternoon to devote to the perusal of a book. Notes from a Small Island features little vignettes of the author's experiences in Britain, and I still feel like I'm able to fully http://theorderoftheday.blogspot.com/2013/01/where-i-want-to-be-via-bill-bryson.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Diana)6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-717233037560933311.post-660607104310208514Tue, 22 Jan 2013 12:49:00 +00002013-01-22T05:49:24.925-07:00BronteMusings To say that I am currently feeling overwhelmed is an understatement. Professionally speaking, I have quite a bit on my plate at the moment: conferences to apply for, conferences papers that have been accepted need to be revised, student essays must be marked, funding applications filled out, proposals finetuned. Unforunately, all these tasks seem to be engendering perncious thoughts of http://theorderoftheday.blogspot.com/2013/01/overwhelmed.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Diana)6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-717233037560933311.post-7451695945348672024Fri, 18 Jan 2013 13:11:00 +00002013-01-18T06:11:41.438-07:00Film and TV I'm wild with excitement! The Sundance Film Festival begins today, and we have tickets! Despite having lived in Utah for the majority of my life, I was always under the mistaken impression that one had to be somebody special to get tickets to one of world's most famous film festivals. Luckily for us, some tickets are reserved for locals, we signed up early, and my family and I will be http://theorderoftheday.blogspot.com/2013/01/sundance-here-i-come.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Diana)6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-717233037560933311.post-6622014422983939483Wed, 16 Jan 2013 12:56:00 +00002013-01-16T06:18:55.472-07:00AustenMusings 'I wonder who first discovered the efficacy of poetry in driving away love!' 'I have been used to consider poetry as the food of love,' said Darcy. 'Of a fine, stout, healthy love it may. Everything nourishes what is strong already. But if it be only a slight, thin sort of inclination, I am convinced that one good sonnet will starve it entirely away.' -- Jane Austen Pride and Prejudice http://theorderoftheday.blogspot.com/2013/01/poetry-food-of-love-or-faux-pas.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Diana)7