(no subject)

[chelseagirl]

So odd. Came home after book club last night to an empty apartment. My restaurant widowhood has officially recommenced. He got in at 2:30 and of course had to tell me all about his day. So I ended up sleeping in shifts, as this took awhile. I'll be happy when this all becomes routine. But the important bit was they're training him properly and didn't have him running about like chicken sans head on his first night. So far, so good. (His first celebrity spotting: Jon Bon Jovi.)

Too sleepy for coherent thoughts beyond subject of current freelance project (The Rise of American Democracy once again), though. Finished E.M. Delafield's Diary of a Provincial Lady, which had been the subject of a New Yorker article a couple of months back. Amusing; pleasant; unmemorable. Don't know whether I'll bother with the four sequels. David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas next, as I think it's too soon to start rereading Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell for [other] book club, which doesn't meet 'til the end of July.

Comments

[seanmoon.livejournal.com]

I've heard really good things about Cloud Altas. Keep forgetting to pick it up. Let us know what you think.

[chelseagirl.livejournal.com]

Will do!

[msb66.livejournal.com]

I am so glad M has got sorted - I really hope things work out well for him this time. I hope also that the sleep-system sorts itself!!

Jon Bon Jovi - not a bad start!

(And I haven't forgotten the scans to email either - you are on my list)

[(Anonymous)]

Thanks!

From what I've heard, JBJ is supposedly a nice suburban guy from New Jersey, who happens to have made a lot of money and who is involved in his kids' schools and stuff like that.

[kittyjosephine.livejournal.com]

If any of the Law and Order actors stop in, especially Vincent D'Onofrio, please let me know. I promise I won't stalk them. I will just sit in Martin's restaurant for hours on end buying lots of food and drink and leaving generous tips in the hope that I would see one of them.

[kittyjosephine.livejournal.com]

The giggle symbol that was at the end of my text didn't show up. I was half joking in my post above.

[chelseagirl.livejournal.com]

This is less personalized alerts and more likely a week later, he'll say, "Oh, you know who was in last night? That guy from that show that . . . " At least that's the way it was at the OG. Which, by the way, always boggled my mind that Ethan Hawke and Spike Lee ever went there in the first place.

You could always go hang around my old church and see if Sam Waterston ever comes to service again. ;-)

[chelseagirl.livejournal.com]

The anonymous reply was me. Weird -- I was replying through gmail but that's never happened before.

[steeraway.livejournal.com]

Amusing; pleasant; unmemorable. Don't know whether I'll bother with the four sequels.

Oh dear - I have the omnibus edition which includes the sequels, and had been looking forward to them :-/

[(Anonymous)]

Well, I did say amusing and pleasant -- enjoyable fluff. According to the New Yorker article, they get more interesting as she travels to Russia and goes through the war. I had trouble sympathizing with her servant problem, however. ;-) The more I read, the more convinced I was that Helen Fielding was thinking of these when she wrote Bridget Jones -- the character lives in a very different time and situation, but the style and a certain haplessness in the diarist are very reminiscent.

[steeraway.livejournal.com]

Mm, well, I did have problems with Jan Struther - it's hard to empathise with the lives of people who have servants, send their children to public schools, and generally behave - probably without meaning to - in a patronising fashion towards us plebs :-)

[chelseagirl.livejournal.com]

You know, when I was a kid, with my brash American "I'm as good as anyone" attitude, I would read those sorts of books and just assume all those upper-crust types would completely accept me. Now I'm really conscious of class issues when I read.

[chelseagirl.livejournal.com]

The anonymous reply was me. Weird -- I was replying through gmail but that's never happened before.