I loved
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek,
and it has lines that still come to me, such as when she finds herself sniffling and thinks, "I had forgotten the law of the Wild, which is 'Carry Kleenex.'"
She's also the author of my favorite quote:
I don’t do housework. Life’s too short and I’m too much of a Puritan. If you want to take a year to write a book, you have to take that year, or the year will take you by the hair and pull you toward the grave. Let the grass die. I let almost all my indoor plants die from neglect while I was writing the book. There are all kinds of ways to live. You can take your choice. You can keep a tidy house, and when St. Peter asks you what you did with your life, you can say, I kept a tidy house, I made my own cheese balls.
I once babysat for Annie Dillard's daughter (when I was about 16 and the daughter (Rosie) was 5, and she was married to someone at Wesleyan, I think), and I can attest that she lived that housekeeping philosophy. Also, her daughter would not to go bed and tried to escape out the window.
I finished 1Q84, which was...puzzling. Most of it was unsettling, and there's some bits where it's hard to separate out the Japanese author's intent vs. the translation.
But anyway, the important bit is that yay, now I can start my Night Circus reread.
These are fun - silly photos of "serious" writers (quotes mine) - [link]
Edward Gorey! Now I love him all the more.
Edward Gorey! Now I love him all the more.
Heh. He used to go to the New York City Ballet (he saw every performance for over 20 years) wearing a raccoon coat, sneakers without socks, earrings and rings on all his fingers. In the early sixties.
He was (of course) also a huge Buffy fan.
Early 60s were, as far as I know, the only time raccoon coats were a major men's fashion item.
Early 60s were, as far as I know, the only time raccoon coats were a major men's fashion item.
Shows how much you know! They're stereotypically associated with the 20s and the flapper era.
Learn something new every day.
It's only a wiki away.
But it's standard for not only 20s pop culture to show college men in raccoon coats, but it was such a strong association that it perpetuated as the male flapper equivalent for decades to come in cartoons and whatnot. (Along with straw boaters and ukeleles.)
So, for Gorey to be wearing it in the 40s and 50s and 60s was an extreme affectation.
