Since we cannot know all that there is to be known about anything, we ought to know a little about everything.
–Blaise Pascal
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/445406/Blaise-Pascal
New Posts
Friday Favorite: Frankenstein
First published in 1818, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein has been adapted and re-adapted dozens of times. And this week’s favorite is the newest–an audiobook dramatization featuring Arthur Darvill as Victor Frankenstein and Nicholas Briggs as Frankenstein’s Creature. It’s available as a download or a collection of CDs at the Big Finish website for both US and UK listeners (I’m not sure about other countries–if you try it, let me know).
Check out the trailer:
Regency Word Wednesday
Nizy
“A dunce; a simpleton. A low word.”
This Week In History: January 12-18
January 12, 1808: The organizational meeting that led to the creation of the Wernerian Natural History Society (a former Scottish learned society) is held in Edinburgh.
January 13, 1785: John Walter publishes the first issue of the Daily Universal Register, later renamed The Times.
January 14, 1814: Frederick VI of Denmark cedes Norway to Sweden in return for Pomerania in the Treaty of Kiel.
January 15, 1759: The British Museum opens.
January 16, 1809: The British defeat the French at the Battle of La Coruña.
January 17, 1773: Captain James Cook and his crew become the first Europeans to sale below the Antarctic Circle.
January 18, 1788: The first elements of the First Fleet carrying 736 convicts from England to Australia arrives at Botany Bay.
Quote of the Week
Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.
–Berthold Auerbach
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/42649/Berthold-Auerbach
Friday Favorite: Historic Food
Ever wonder how to make Georgian ices? Or what an English plateau dessert looks like? Our Favorite this week can tell you that and more.
Historic Food is the website of Ivan Day, a noted food historian and professional cook. The site has tons of pictures from both period books and recreations of historic dishes. There are even recipes from original cookbooks, complete with modern explanations and background information.
Regency Word Wednesday
Batchelor’s Fare
“Bread and cheese and kisses.”
Cora’s TBR Challenge 2015
In the immortal words of John Lennon, “another year over and a new one just begun”. It’s time (if you haven’t already) to make those resolutions for 2015–including one for your TBR pile.
My TBR Challenge was such a personal success last year that I’m doing it again! 2015 is very uncertain for me–my teaching career is up in the air right now (Will I ever teach again? When? Where? How? If not, what else will I do?), and thus so is my writing time (How much energy will I have to devote to a day job? How will my health hold up? The bills have to be paid, but will I be too tired to do anything else?). So this year’s TBR Challenge is a way for me to take a measure of control in addition to finally reading some of the books languishing on my shelves and Kindle.
I’ve tweaked the rules slightly for this year:
1. How many books from your TBR pile will you read? I’m upping my goal to 18 books this year over the 12 I chose for last year. I have so many books floating around the house that 12 felt like just a drop in the bucket, and I’m hoping to make more headway this time around.
2. How long have your books been waiting? For the purposes of this challenge, the books I read must have been acquired by me or placed on my library TBR list (which is also getting out of hand) before August 1, 2014. This means I can’t buy new books in January and count them toward my TBR Challenge come September–which I found myself doing at least once last year, and kind of defeats the purpose of the challenge.
3. How will you hold yourself accountable? Like last year, I’ll post here once a month to share my progress and see how you all are doing. I found the Goodreads shelf and the dedicated page on this blog were enormously helpful, too. I’m a very visual person and being able to see the collection of books that I’d read gave me a nice sense of accomplishment, which made me want to read more TBR books 🙂
Who will take up this challenge with me? Who will commit to wading through the mountains of books you’ve spent your hard-earned money on, but never read? Leave a comment here or on the 2015 TBR Challenge page with your goal: how many books will you tackle this year?
This Week In History: January 5-11
This new year brings a new feature to And Then He Kissed Her! Welcome to This Week In History, a look each Monday at what was happening in the world before we inhabited it. We’ll focus mostly on the Georgian, Regency, Victorian eras in the UK and geographic areas related to it. Don’t be surprised to see the occasional event from the Middle Ages or World War I, though–events separated by large expanses of time can still affect each other. Plus, I adore history from many time periods 😀
January 6, 1781: The British defeat the last attempt by France to invade Jersey.
January 7, 1785: Frenchman Jean-Pierre Blanchard and American John Jeffries travel from Dover, England to Calais, France in a gas balloon.
January 8, 1815: Andrew Jackson leads American forces in victory over the British at the Battle of New Orleans.
January 9, 1806: Admiral Horatio Nelson receives a state funeral and is interred at St. Paul’s Cathedral.
January 10, 1810: Napoleon divorces his first wife, Josephine.
January 11, 1805: The Michigan Territory is created (yay!).
Quote of the Week
A room hung with pictures is a room hung with thoughts.
–Sir Joshua Reynolds
http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/artists/sir-joshua-reynolds
Cora Lee, Regency Romance Author 