#TLLlearns

[theliterarialetter-dispatch]

3/100 days of productivity - 03.07.24

― French: 40 min, basic adjectives (small, big etc, and their declination, how to concord them with the subj.)

Ex. petit (small)

le petit verre (m.s.) - les petits verres (m.p.)

la petite tasse (f.s.) - les petites tasses (f.p.)

― Reading: re-reading some passages from 101 essay to change the way you think by Brianna Wiest.

Whenever i lack inspiration or i'm feeling stuck, i read some passages from this book. Particularly searching for the one essay that best suits my situation.

― Word/idiom of the day: bound up

closely connected or involved.

“The survival of whales is intimately bound up with the health of the ocean.”

― Quote of the day: “Happiness is not how many things you do, but how well you do them. More is not better. Happiness is not experiencing something else; it’s continually experiencing what you already have in new and different ways.” ― Brianna Wiest

🎧 "Storie Brevi" by Italian singers Annalisa and Tananai

[theliterarialetter-dispatch]

9/100 days of productivity - 09.07.24

― French: 15 min, just some vocabulary review

― Reading: I'm really enjoying The Dangerous Age by Karin Michaëlis so far, but I'm at the beginning...so we shall see.

Also, I'm half way through That Affair Next Door by Anna Katherine Green...I'm going slow but I'm enjoying it.

― Word/idiom of the day: bewitching (adj.)

enchanting or delightful.

"I gazed deeply into the most bewitching blue eyes"

― Quote of the day: "What an idiotic notion of mine to have a glass roof to my bedroom! I feel as though I were living under an umbrella through which the water might come dripping at any moment. During the night this will probably happen. The panes of glass, unless they are very closely joined together, will let the water through, and I shall awake in a pool of water." - The Dangerous Age by Karin Michaëlis

🎧 "Fortnight" acoustic version (released today!) *internallyscreaming*

[theliterarialetter-dispatch]

8/100 days of productivity - 08.07.24

― French: 30 min, all about the fun world of colors!

jaune (yellow), orange (orange), rouge (red), rose (pink), violet (purple), bleu (blue), vert (green), noir (black), brun (brown), marron (chestnut), gris (gray), blanc (white).

violet clair, vert clair (light purple, light green)

rouge foncé, bleu foncé (dark red, dark blue) etc.

Colors are adjectives, and like other adjectives, they usually must agree with the nouns they modify in gender and number; for example, violet / violette / violets / violettes. (but there are also exceptions!)

― Reading: started The Dangerous Age by Karin Michaëlis...i'm so intrigued by it.

As Wikipedia says: "Michaëlis' most famous novel, The Dangerous Age (Danish: Den farlige Alder), has been championed as a groundbreaking work on women's rights. It has since been adapted for film several times."

we shall see!

― Word/idiom of the day: red herring

a clue or piece of information that is, or is intended to be, misleading or distracting.

"the book is fast-paced, exciting, and full of red herrings"

― Quote of the day: “The key to finding happiness in this life is realizing that the only way to overcome is to transcend; to find happiness in the simple pleasures, to master the art of just being.”

by Brianna Wiest

🎧 "Storie Brevi" by Italian singers Annalisa and Tananai (again, again and again!)

[theliterarialetter-dispatch]

4/100 days of productivity - 04.07.24

― French: 45 min, Regular -er Verbs lesson (verbs that end in -er, the largest category of regular French verbs)

ex. parler (to talk, speak)

je parle nous parlons

tu parles vous parlez

il/elle/on parle ils/elles parlent

― Reading: Still reading That Affair Next Door by Anne Katharine Green (omg she goes deep with the trial, so many details, it's like being literally there to witness it)

― Word/idiom of the day: to elapse

(of time) pass or go by.

"weeks elapsed before anyone was charged with the attack"

― Quote of the day: “His face when the light fell on it was startling to most of us. It was as much changed as if years, instead of hours, had elapsed since last we saw it. No longer reckless in its expression, nor easy, nor politely patient, it showed in its every lineament that he had not only passed through a hurricane of passion, but that the bitterness, which had been its worst feature, had not passed with the storm, but had settled into the core of its nature, disturbing its equilibrium forever." ― That affair next door by Anna Katharine Green

🎧 "Guilty as Sin" by Taylor Swift

[theliterarialetter-dispatch]

Things Women In Literature Have Died From

Cold hands

Beautiful face

Missing slippers

Wrist fevers

Night brain

Going outside at night in Italy

Shawl insufficiency

Too many pillows

Garden troubles

Someone said “No” very loudly while they were in the room

Letter-reading fits

Drawing-room anguish

Not enough pillows

Haven’t seen the sea in a long time

Too many novels

Pony exhaustion

Strolling congestion

Sherry served too cold

Ship infidelity

Spent more than a month in London after growing up in Yorkshire

Clergyman’s dropsy

Flirting headaches

River unhappiness

General bummers

Knitting needles too heavy

Mmmf

Beautiful chestnut hair

Spinal degeneration as a result of pride

Parents too happy

The Unpleasantness

Painting: Death of Barbara Raziwill by Wilhelm Simmler (1840-1914)

[theliterarialetter-dispatch]

the manipulative power of books, according to the eighteenth century's belief

"Women, of every age, of every condition, contract and retain a taste for novels […T]he depravity is universal. My sight is every-where offended by these foolish, yet dangerous, books. I find them on the toilette of fashion, and in the work-bag of the sempstress; in the hands of the lady, who lounges on the sofa, and of the lady, who sits at the counter. From the mistresses of nobles they descend to the mistresses of snuff-shops – from the belles who read them in town, to the chits who spell them in the country. I have actually seen mothers, in miserable garrets, crying for the imaginary distress of an heroine, while their children were crying for bread: and the mistress of a family losing hours over a novel in the parlour, while her maids, in emulation of the example, were similarly employed in the kitchen.

I have seen a scullion-wench with a dishclout in one hand, and a novel in the other, sobbing o’er the sorrows of Julia, or a Jemima"

(Sylph no. 5, October 6, 1796: 36-37)

*omg*

Clearly, the obsession and drama revolved around women reading books…how revolutionary! LOL

[theliterarialetter-dispatch]

15 and 16/100 days of productivity - 15 and 16.07.24

― French: 30 min, just Duolingo (really busy days, so little time to dedicate to french learning, sadly)

― Reading: none (can't put my mind to it)

― Word/idiom of the day: wobbly

(adj.) tending to move unsteadily from side to side.

"the car had a wobbly wheel"

(noun) a fit of temper or panic.

"my daughter threw a wobbly when I wouldn't let her play"

― Quote of the day: "Reading is escape, and the opposite of escape; it's a way to make contact with reality after a day of making things up, and it's a way of making contact with someone else's imagination after a day that's all too real." - I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron

🎧 "TTPD" by Taylor Swift

[theliterarialetter-dispatch]

10/100 days of productivity - 10.07.24

― French: a lesson on the verb "Être" (to be)

Je suis fatigué. (I’m tired)

Il est en retard. (He’s late)

La bibliothèque est une ancienne maison. (The library is an old/former house)

― Reading: enjoying my time with The Dangerous Age by Karin Michaëlis, I'm sensing that this will become a favourite!

― Word/idiom of the day: notwithstanding

in spite of. (prep.)

"notwithstanding the evidence, the consensus is that the jury will not reach a verdict"

nevertheless; in spite of this. (adv.)

"I didn't like it. Notwithstanding, I remained calm"

although; in spite of the fact that. (conj.)

"notwithstanding that the hall was packed with bullies, our champion played on steadily and patiently"

― Quote of the day: "To want and not to have, sent all up her body a hardness, a hollowness, a strain. And then to want and not to have- to want and want- how that wrung the heart, and wrung it again and again!" - To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf

🎧 "Tant de Belles Choses" by Françoise Hardy

[theliterarialetter-dispatch]

6 and 7/100 days of productivity - 06 and 07 July 2024

(weekend edition)

I finally hung some artwork on my walls (not complete yet) and did a "little artistic corner" on the counter of my livingroom furniture 😍

― French: 15 min, some Duolingo (it's the weekend and I was busy doing home stuff and other activities)

― Reading: just 4 chapters of That Affair Next Door by Anna Katherine Green

― Word/idiom of the day: reckless (adj.)

doing something dangerous and not worrying about the risks and the possible results:

“He was found guilty of reckless driving.”

― Quote of the day: “First forget inspiration. Habit is more dependable. Habit will sustain you whether you’re inspired or not. Habit will help you finish and polish your stories. Inspiration won’t. Habit is persistence in practice."

by Octavia E. Butler

🎧 the entire TTPD album by Taylor Swift on repeat 😎

[theliterarialetter-dispatch]

Pride and Prejudice was called First Impressions?!

"October, 1796. First Impressions is an early version of Jane Austen’s well-known novel Pride and Prejudice and the first of her novels to be completed. She began writing the novel in October 1796 after visiting her brother Edward and his wife Elizabeth in Kent. Marilyn Butler in her biography of Austen suggests that the novel may have been written as “an instinctive reaction against Kent hauteur.” In August 1797 Jane finished the novel. 

In November 1979 Jane’s father, George Austen, then offered the manuscript to publisher Thomas Cadell. The publisher rejected the novel without seeing the manuscript. Despite this rejection, First Impressions remained, according to Butler who cites Jane’s letters to Cassandra, a family favorite. David Nokes, however, says that after leaving the rectory at Steventon, “First Impressions” was rarely brought to read aloud, indicating a change that occurred after the move. At the time, Austen did not consider another publisher, and she had to change the name after 1801 with the publication of Margaret Holford’s novel First Impressions, or The Portrait.

The new title Pride and Prejudice comes from a phrase in Frances Burney’s novel Cecilia."

Super interesting! I didn't know about this.

The title Pride and Prejudice is definitely my preferred choice and is beloved by so many that I think everything worked out for the best.

[theliterarialetter-dispatch]

2/100 days of productivity - 02.07.24

― French: 30 min, learning about gender and number agreement

ex. Le restaurant est ouvert (m.s.), La maison est petite (f.p.), Les magasins sont grands (m.p.)

= match the noun gender and if sing/plur with the adjective.

― Reading: 3 chapters from That Affair Next Door by Anna Katharine Green

I really love the technical details and descriptions used during the trial scenes, they seem totally realistic.

― Word/idiom of the day: wade through something

(= to spend a lot of time and effort doing something boring or difficult, especially reading a lot of information)

“We had to wade through pages of legal jargon before we could sign the contract.”

― Quote of the day: "This was the simple happiness of complete harmony with her surroundings, the happiness that asks for nothing, that just accepts, just breathes, just is."

from The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim.

🎧 "Tous Les Garçons Et Les Filles" by Françoise Hardy

[theliterarialetter-dispatch]

the mother of the detective novel.

so, apparently, i discovered a little gem.

i'm reading That Affair Next Door by Anna Katherine Green and after some research I found out that she was one of the first writers of detective fiction in America, long before Agatha Christie!

the prototype for Miss Marple probably comes from this book or in general from the character of Mrs. Amelia Butterworth, a spinster who can't mind her own business and likes to investigate...sounds familiar?!

her novels are well-plotted and legally accurate. for this reason, Green has been called "the mother of the detective novel."

[theliterarialetter-dispatch]

1/100 days of productivity - 01.07.24

― French: 20 min, words about food and drinks

Je mange un glace à la fraise et au citron avec mon copain.

(I'm eating a strawberry and lemon ice cream with my partner)

― Reading: 4 chapters from That Affair Next Door by Anna Katharine Green

a little unknown classic...so far so good!

― Word of the day: brisk (= active and energetic)

"a good brisk walk"

― Quote of the day: "Reading is escape, and the opposite of escape; it's a way to make contact with reality after a day of making things up, and it's a way of making contact with someone else's imagination after a day that's all too real."

by Nora Ephron

[theliterarialetter-dispatch]

12/100 days of productivity - 12.07.24

*loves magazines*

― French: 30 min, just some vocabulary review

― Reading: still reading That Affair Next Door by Anna Katherine Green...I'm going slow but I'm enjoying it. It's dense, not gonna lie.

― Word/idiom of the day: preponderant

predominant in influence, number, or importance.

"the preponderant influence of the US within the alliance"

― Quote of the day: "I like being on my own better than I like anything else, but I can't give up love. Maybe it's the tension between longing and aloneness that I need. My own funicular railway, holding in balance the two things most likely to destroy me." - The PowerBook by Jeanette Winterson

🎧 TTPD by Taylor Swift

[theliterarialetter-dispatch]

11/100 days of productivity - 11.07.24

― French: 30 min, vocabulary about transportation

airplane - l’avion (m)

airport - l’aéroport (m)

boat - le bateau

bus - l’autobus (m), le car

bus station - la gare routière

bus stop - l’arrêt (m) de bus

car - la voiture

― Reading: Omg The Dangerous Age by Karin Michaëlis is a wonderful little and unknown gem! I'm loving it so much.

― Word/idiom of the day: tip over (phrasal verb)

to fall over or to cause (something) to fall over

"The glass nearly tipped over."

"He accidentally tipped the lamp over and broke it."

― Quote of the day: "It seems to me we can never give up longing and wishing while we are still alive. There are certain things we feel to be beautiful and good, and we must hunger for them." - The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot

🎧 "Blinding" by Florence and the Machine

[theliterarialetter-dispatch]

Hi!

Nicole • 30 • she/her • Italy

This sideblog is for tracking my reading habits, bookish thoughts, and reviews + my French learning progress.

I want to focus on:

🧐 Bookish research (fun facts, history background etc)

✍🏻 Mini reviews of every book I read

📚 Reading at least 30 pages a day

🥐 Language learning: French

💡New words that I learn (both in English and in French)

————————————————————————

🔹my tags — #TLLbooks #TLLlearns #TLLwords

❤️ where else you can find me:

— main Tumblr blog: theliterarialetter (for quotes, art, and photography by women)

— Instagram | Substack