It’s Anne Brontë’s birthday! And The Tenant of Wildfell Hall will rock your world (and all your expectations on social critique by a sheltered woman in Victorian times.)
(If you’re an Austenite, you’ll enjoy the minute embroidered pace of Agnes Grey, its character insight, and its lovely feeling too.)
you’re laughing. i told you i loved you against my better judgment, my family’s expectations, the inferiority of your birth by rank and circumstance, and you’re laughing.
Tove Jansson painting the fresco Party in the Countryside, Helsinki, 1947
So, lockdown life has prompted me to teach myself a little about base-line embroidery, and I think it’s important to know that I’m using this fine skill for one purpose and one purpose only: embroidering Fallen Hero* logos everywhere.
“You do what you can to make sure you’re still around after you’re gone.”
A Ghost Story (David Lowery, 2017)
Bonjour Pauline! I’m currently finishing my uni apps for France, and I wanted to ask, can I apply to two different licence programs at the same university? Not to take them both, I know France doesn’t really do double majors, but just because I am not sure which I would prefer yet, and am not sure I would get in easily in my first choice of them. Also, is Metz a safe city or is Nancy safer? Thank you, and I hope you’re doing well!
You can! I don’t know which platform you’re using (Parcoursup?), but it’s totally possible to apply to several programmes within the same university, then accept the one you like more if you have several positive answers.
Double-majors do exist under the name of “double licence”, but they’re more selective, usually feature a higher workload and heavier schedule. They’re also not flexible choices: specific universities offer specific double-majors programmes, which you won’t find in others.
As for the safer city, neither are particularly unsafe I think, but I’d vote for Nancy? There’s a bit of a regional friendly feud between Nancy and Metz, and my best friend is on the Nancy side, so I’m de facto biased. (I do think Nancy is prettier).
Pauline! Angel! I have a question, a weird one perhaps,, don’t think this is gonna make any sense,, anyway,,, I’m no eng lit student but I wanna study a specific book as if I’m one(?) you know what I’m saying, but I don’t know where to start, what should I annotate etc. I don’t even have specific themes I wanna study, just wanna explore the book itself like for example I wanna study the entirety of The Brothers Karamazov, so what do I do first? I don’t even know what to search on google or reddit or wherever 😭 I know I don’t have to do this but I wanna do this so bad idek why lol I even made a list of books I wanna study but at the same time idk what to do 10000% clueless + currently feeling super silly 😭
No, no, not silly at all, but I just don’t think there’s such a thing as studying the entirety of a book by yourself? As a reader, any kind of reader, you’re bound to notice what you’re familiar with, partial to, knowledgeable about. There’s no universal and unique answer to be found. That’s not to say you can’t learn anything new through the process of interpretation—reading can and will bring things to the surface of your consciousness or into sharper focus. It’s just, you don’t start a book as a blank state, but as yourself: your own network of references will orientate your analytical eye, making it both constrained and subjective.
If you want to read a book “with awareness”, you’ll need a few basic tools (in order to understand how the text is manipulating language to create specific effects). Interpretation is looking at the text below its first level. You’re not just reading a story for entertainment; you’re asking yourself how this story is entertaining you, and what emotions, langage-use, and messages it is trying to convey. Try to prod different angles. How is style used? How is the story constructed? How does context play into the story, and how has it evolved? What are the narrative arcs? Do you feel compelled to agree with the narrator, a character, several characters? Is meaning open or closed? Is there one dominant arc, one dominant philosophy, or a multiplicity of them? Do you feel guided, manipulated, understood, lost, and why?
These posts might also help you: 1. Reading Awareness ; 2. Analysis advice ; 3. Contextualisation ; 4. Tone of the text; 4. Annotations ; 5. Over-Interpretation.
If you’re both very new and very motivated, I recommend you buy an annotated edition of the novel you want to look at. Norton Critical Editions are my favourites. Accessible but elaborate. Read the introduction, read the prologue, read the novel, then dip your toes in the afterwords and critical articles that you’ll find at the end. The introduction will give you pointers: the context, the author, the main beams on which the text is constructed, the general framework on which all scholars have agreed. These can be steppingstones to your own interpretations and points of interests. When you’re finished with the story and have made up your mind about what you, subjectively, have denoted from the text, articles and further reading will put your opinions in perspective and help you go further. It’s fine if you don’t agree with everything—nobody is right or wrong, but everyone is bringing something to the table, and you can learn even from ideas you dislike, if only because it will compel you to understand why and how you would want to refute them.
And don’t feel discouraged if these articles go much further than you did spontaneously! Critical reading is a process. Jumping in and trying your hand at it is very important, but engaging with others’ works and ideas will help you hone your skills. And if you ever want to dive deep into Dostoyevsky, Bakhtin’s work is a little complex but wonderful (see Problems of Dostoyevsky’s Poetics).
Pauline! Do you have any modern gothic recs? I’ve checked through your tags and master post but a lot seem to be classics and I’m thinking of basing a paper I want to write about my favourite genre on how people interpret gothic today but the only ‘modern’ one I seem to be able to find is Helen Oyeyemi and Shadow of the Wind and so I’m curious if you’ve read any good ones
Sorry for the killjoy-teacher-mindset kicking in but I’ll start by saying this: don’t forget that looking for the material you’re basing your papers on is an integral part of your work, and part of the research, and part of the process, and that there’s a lot to infer from what you find or don’t find and why.
Anyway, a few things come to mind, though definitely don’t stop at this list (I’m a tourist)—historical fiction gothic, such as Sarah Waters’ Fingersmith and The Little Stranger (both amazing), Diane Setterfield’s The Thirteenth Tale (good), V. C. Andrews’ Flowers in the Attic and the Dollanganger sequels, Sarah Perry’s Melmoth and Laura Purcell’s The Silent Companions and Bone China, I think Eleanor Catton’s The Luminaries and A. S. Byatt’s Possession could also fit the bill? or Jesse Burton’s The Miniaturist. In terms of modern-setting gothic, I’m thinking Tiffany Reisz’s The Bourbon Thief and The Lucky Ones, Donna Tartt’s The Little Friend, Jesmyn Ward’s Sing, Unburied, Sing (all of them Southern Gothic), Evie Wyld’s The Bass Rock, Ruth Ware’s The Turn of the Key, Elizabeth Kostova’s The Historian, and I’m aware that Kate Morton has written a lot of best-selling gothic inspired novels too. As for classics but not-so-far-away books, my favourites include Daphné du Maurier’s Rebecca and My Cousin Rachel, Iris Murdoch’s The Unicorn and of course Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House and We Have Always Lived in the Castle.
My pleasure, and me too! These games/novels are all lovely (sometimes lovely is not the right word, but kicking fictional characters in the face is its own brand of lovely, you know?) and clear labours of love, and there’s something super interesting and personal in how their writers all handle interactivity in their own ways.
Also, I’ve realised I’m throwing all of these at you without context and that’s a bit shoddy of me. Actually, you can find all the writers on Tumblr, and some of them have other written works published or in progress and Patreons or Ko-fi accounts. If any demo punches you in the gut and makes you want to dig deeper, here are a few ways you can support them:
*diaspora (high fantasy & politics) · Kiku and August’s blog · the game’s forum · their patreon [where you catch a glimpse of their other written projects]
*the passenger (modern lovecraftian horror) · Pimenita’s blog for the game · the game’s forum · and some Ko-fi
*the golden rose (adventure) · Ana’s blog · the game’s forum · and some Ko-fi
*bad ritual (urban fantasy) · Marti’s blog · their other games · and some Ko-fi
*shepherds of haven (high fantasy & adventure) · Lena’s blog · the game’s forum · (there’s also a forthcoming novel that sounds dope) · her patreon
*retribution (speculative/superhero fiction) · the first volume of the story · Malin’s blog and blog for the game · his graphic novel with Emma Vieceli, vol. 1 - vol. 2
*mindblind (speculative/superhero fiction, but with a twist) · Jo’s blog · the game’s forum · her patreon
Well, there, you’re all set. Also, should I just pack my things and leave my life behind to become a social media manager like the youths do these days, she whispered, looking at the scary list.
As promised, here are the compiled Dutch recommendations you’ve been very sweetly sending my way this week. I have read almost none of these so I can’t be chatty about them, but they should help narrow down options!
(This was also a study in “where is the translator’s name in this damn review??!”, which makes me lose my mind.)
Anne Frank’s Diary
Charlemagne and Elbegast, which is a medieval epic poem
The Two Hearts of Kwasi Boachi, by Arthur Jopin, trans. by Ina Rilke
The Letter for the King, by Tonke Dragt, trans. by Laura Watkinson
The Goldsmith and the Master Thief, by Tonke Dragt, trans. by Laura Watkinson (both recommended by @letsreadwomen)
The Twins, by Tessa de Loo, trans. by Ruth Levitt
Max Havelaar, or The Coffee Auctions of the Dutch Trading Company, by Multatuli, trans. by Ina Rilke
The Discomfort of Evening, by Marieke Lucas Rijneveld, trans. by Michele Hutchison (trigger warnings everywhere for this one, so check it out at your own risk)
The Evenings, by Gerard Reve, trans. by Sam Garrett
Tirza, by Arnon Grunberg, trans. by Sam Garrett
The Dinner, by Herman Koch, trans. by Sam Garrett
Sunken Red, by Jeroen Brouwers, trans. by Adrienne Dixon
The Angel Maker, by Stefan Brijs, trans. by Hester Velmans
Out of Mind, by J. Bernlef, trans. by Adrienne Dixon
The House of the Mosque, by Kader Abdolah, trans. by Susan Masotty
The Misfortunates, by Dmitri Verhulst (in Flemish), trans. by David Colmar
The Discovery of Heaven, by Harry Mulisch, trans. by Paul Vincent
The Assault, by Harry Mulisch, trans. by Claire Nicholas White
A Dangerous Affair, by Hella Haasse, trans. into French by Anne-Marie de Both-Diez, but I can’t find the English
Speechless and Cardboard Boxes by Tom Lanoye, trans. by Paul Vincent and Jonathan Reeder respectively, and his works in general, though I can’t find a lot of translations (these last three are recommended by @talaricula)
How to Become King, by Jan Terlow, trans. by n.n.?
Criminal Case 40/61, Harry Mulisch, trans. by Robert A. Naborn
While the Gods Were Sleeping, by Erwin Mortier, trans. byPaul Vincent
Crusade in Jeans (and other works), by Thea Beckman, trans. by n. n.?
Grand Hotel Europa, by Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer, trans. by Michele Hutchinson
Eline Vere, by Louis Couperus, trans. by J.T. Grein and Ina Rilke
Beyond Sleep, by Willem Frederik Hermans, trans. by Ina Rilke
Shame is Over, by Anja Meulenbelt, trans. by Anne Oosthuizen
In my Father’s Garden, by Jan Siebelink, trans. by Liz Waters
On the Water, by H. M. van den Brink, trans. by Paul Vincent
The Golden Egg, by Tim Krabbé, trans. by Sam Garrett
and a few poets: Judith Herzberg, Herman Finkers, Ida Gerhardt, Rutger Kopland, M. Vasalis.
Thank you to everyone who participated to this list! You’re amazing!
Okay but I love that thing that Tumblr’s done with your tags popping up in the activity feed because now I see people reblogging quotes about love and tenderness and warmth (or angst) and tagging their OCs’ names and writing ideas as further commentary right after, and it’s so neat.
From “Honey, we built Chernobyl or: a cigar-shaped shelter” group show at Krakow, 2019
Oh no! Idk but maybe you put too much it water in the dough? Bc it kills the yeast. And yeah, you should knead until the dough is no longer sticky and it is all well amalgamated. Baking bread is not easy at all and I am so sorry that it was a fail but next time it will be better! Idk if it was your first time but maybe try something easier, so you can build up from it. Good luck and have a nice day:)
Aww, you’re so sweet. It was my first time and I’m a very delusional baker—I like to stray from the recipe for the sake of, you know, Flavours and Textures (or laziness), and I do read the warnings and advice, but then my first impulse is to believe that the Laws of Nature won’t get in the way of my Raw Talent.
(ie: I suck.)
I’m trying again today! I kneaded that thing thoroughly and the dough wasn’t sticky anymore and kept her shape and was pretty elastic, so I’m hoping to go from nightmarish to edible 🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼
Hi! I just wanted to thank you for your book recommendations! Because of illness I dropped out of school at 9th grade, and missed a big part of my education. I find this really difficult (I always enjoyed learning and was a "gifted" child) and based my identity around that so this was sorta hard to accept.
I recently started trying to pick up stuff I missed out such as English, German, Latin, and Greek literature, and your book recommendations help me make sense of the vast amount there is. I don't have any money to follow any sort of classes so resources like yours mean the world to me.
I still find it difficult to accept I don't have a basic education and hate the gaps in my knowledge (my greek and Latin is all but gone, and I'll probably never be able to pick it up again) but it still gives me hope to read these books, and gives me back a part of autonomy I thought I'd lost
Oh, hey, it’s so sweet of you to write, and I’m happy my rambling helps with your reading! But don’t be too hard on yourself, okay? Formal education is not the only valid way of educating oneself, and it can constrain and blind as much as it can uplift. I know it’s sounds pretty hypocritical of me to say considering my pursuing formal education since, like, 1654, but even that comes with an effort to go beyond and to wriggle out of its special brand of bullshit. It’s often a steppingstone because you gotta start somewhere, yeah. But growing doesn’t happen only (or always) in school, especially now that a lot of resources are widely accessible. You’re not defined nor limited by your dropping out, you know?
Coucou Pauline, quelle traduction recommenderais-tu pour L'Eneide de Virgile ?
Celle d’Olivier Sers (aux Belles Lettres) !
Eunhee No
Walk the night of light . gold 2, 2019
Korean paper, ink sticks, nacre, 24k Gold leaf
my favorite hobbies are: drinking coffee, going to get coffee, making coffee, thinking about drinking coffee, going to coffee shops, asking people to get coffee with me, drinking coffee with other people drinking coffee, talking about coffee, trying different kinds of coffee, drinking coffee out of mugs, drinking coffee out of paper cups, drinking coffee out of travel mugs, black coffee, coffee with milk and sugar, iced coffee, coffee,
in average
are photos
are videos
are texts
are gifs
are audio