#stella gibbons

[uwmspeccoll]

Milestone Monday

On this day, October 30, 1811, Jane Austen’s (1775-1817) Sense and Sensibility was published anonymously as written “by a Lady.” Austen's brother negotiated the printing with publisher Thomas Egerton who agreed to publish the book on commission at Austen’s financial risk. With presumed great relief, Sense and Sensibility received favorable reviews and the first printing of 750 copies sold out in 1813. A second printing was run later that year, and the novel has been in continuous publication ever since.  

In honor of Sense and Sensibility’s publication anniversary, we’re looking at both of the Special Collections copies! The first was published in 1856 by Richard Bentley (1794-1871). Bently purchased the copyrights to Austen’s work after her death and began publishing her novels as part of his Standard Novel Series in 1833. He hired illustrator Ferdinand Pickering (c. 1811-1882) to create an engraved frontispiece as illustration for each novel. This was the first time Austen’s work was released in collected editions and the first time her novels were illustrated.  

Sense and Sensibility has since been illustrated many times over, shedding a contemporary light on Austen’s characters, including our second holding published by the Limited Editions Club. Limited Editions Club printed 1,500 copies of Sense and Sensibility in 1957 for its members. It includes a contemporary introduction by novelist Stella Gibbons and distinct pen and ink illustrations by Caldecott Medal honoree Helen Sewell. The edition was designed by Joseph Blumenthal and printed by him at the Spiral Press in New York. Our copy is from the collection of long-standing LEC member Austin Fredric Lutter of Waukesha, Wisconsin.   

View other Milestone Monday posts here.

– Jenna, Special Collections Graduate Intern 

[ma-pi-ma]

I fiori e la solitudine e la natura

non ci deludono mai, pensò; non

chiedono nulla e ci confortano sempre.

.

Stella Gibbons

[haveyoureadthisscifibook]

vote yes if you have finished the entire book.

vote no if you have not finished the entire book.

(faq · submit a book)

[mysunfreckle]

Ms. Gibbons I want to talk

230 pages of witty caricatures and then this?? In throwaway lines??

[cantsayidont]

Some movies, considered chronologically:

THE FLAMINGO KID (1984): Nostalgia-burdened period piece, set in 1963, about working-class kid Jeffrey (Matt Dillon), who gets a summer job parking cars at an exclusive beach club called El Flamingo, starts dating a rich girl (Carole R. Davis), and becomes fascinated by her father (Richard Crenna), a self-made sports car dealer and local card sharp who thinks college is sucker's game. This alienates Jeffrey's own father (Hector Elizondo), a stalwart plumber who doesn't want to see Jeffrey squander his chances of bettering himself. The story is thus a sort of YA prototype of Oliver Stone's later WALL STREET — a Reagan-era morality play about a young man caught between two father figures, one representing the Lure of Easy Money and the other a paragon of Honest Hard Work — badly undermined by its absurdly idealized longing for the alleged innocence of the Kennedy era (underlined by an obnoxious oldies soundtrack). It offers a meaty role for Crenna, but as a drama, it has less substance than FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF. Davis's character is such a nonentity that you keep forgetting she's there, and the way she ends up functioning as a proxy for Jeffrey's obsession with her dad is awkward. CONTAINS LESBIANS? Nope. VERDICT: A simple-minded story blinded by its rose-colored glasses.

THE JOY LUCK CLUB (1993): Sudsy but affecting episodic adaptation of Amy Tan's novel about four middle-aged Chinese women and their strained relationships with their Chinese-American daughters, starring Ming-Na Wen and nearly every other Chinese actress working in the U.S. at the time. The way the script segues between the characters' respective stories is clunky, and it often teeters on the brink of schmaltz, but there are moments of real dramatic power amongst the more superficial tearjerker moments, and you'd have to have a stonier heart than I to not sob at the bittersweet ending. Strong acting helps, with Tsai Chin particularly good as Auntie Lindo. CONTAINS LESBIANS? It seems like it should, but alas. VERDICT: Heavy-handed at times, but undeniably moving.

COLD COMFORT FARM (1996): Before she became an action star, Kate Beckinsale starred in this hilarious adaptation of Stella Gibbons' 1932 satiric novel about glib orphan Flora Poste, who makes it her project to fix all the problems of the titular farm and its eccentric denizens — distant cousins who feel obligated to Flora (whom they will only address as "Robert Poste's child") because of some unspecified wrong they once did her late father. Among the inmates of Cold Comfort are Cousin Judith (Eileen Atkins), a hysterically morose creature straight out of a gothic novel; Cousin Amos (Ian McKellen), a fire-and-brimstone preacher who warns his brethren, "There'll be no butter in Hell!"; Amos and Judith's oversexed son Seth (Rufus Sewell), a local stud who dreams of being in the talkies; and of course Aunt Ada Doom (Sheila Burrell), who rules the family with an iron fist and won't let anyone forget that she once saw something nasty in the woodshed. A delightfully silly spoof of a particular category of once-popular English literature, as the farm's assorted grim melodramas prove no match for the implacable (if somewhat snobbish) modern sensibilities of its plucky heroine. CONTAINS LESBIANS? Nope. VERDICT: Great fun throughout, although Stephen Fry irritates as a boorish "Laurentian person" who keeps hitting on Flora despite her obvious disinterest.

BREAKDOWN (1997): Competent but underwhelming Jonathan Mostow thriller starring Kurt Russell and Kathleen Quinlan as Jeff and Amy Taylor, a couple of Yuppies whose fancy Jeep breaks down on the highway on a trip from Massachusetts to California. A passing trucker (J.T. Walsh) gives Amy a ride into the nearest town to find them a tow truck, but when Jeff gets their Jeep running again and follows her into town, he finds that Amy has disappeared, and no one, including the trucker, will admit to having seen her. It has a great premise, and Russell is credible enough in the lead, but it's pretty ordinary, and, once you know what's going on (which is revealed a little over a half-hour in), pretty superficial — there's no psychological depth, and I kept waiting for some other story twist that never came. CONTAINS LESBIANS? It barely contains women (Amy is absent for 80 percent of the running time). VERDICT: Not bad, but nothing special, and you'll forget it 10 minutes after it ends.

MY TWO HUSBANDS (2024): Okay Lifetime thriller about a young woman named Eliza (Isabelle Almoyan), still reeling from the recent murder of her mother (Joanie Geiger), who becomes deeply suspicious of her father's young new wife, a flight attendant named Brooke (Kabby Borders) who's no older than Eliza — and, as the title alludes, is secretly married to another man (Britton Webb, who looks like a lesser Baldwin brother) and up to no good. Despite the cheesy title (which is really also a spoiler) and awkward marketing (which misleadingly suggests a comedy-drama with Brooke rather than Eliza as the main character), it has a surprisingly decent, reasonably credible script, hamstrung by very weak performances. The story is still interesting enough to make it a not-bad little thriller, although it would have been better with a stronger cast and less somnabulistic direction. CONTAINS LESBIANS: It sometimes seems like Eliza's friend Star (Kristen Grace Gonzalez) might be her girlfriend, but the script is noncommittal on this point. VERDICT: A B+ script burdened with D+ acting and C- direction.

[las-microfisuras]

Mientras tanto, la tía Ada Doom permanecía en sus dependencias en la planta superior...sola.   

  Había algo casi simbólico en su soledad. Ella era el corazón, el núcleo, la matriz de Cold Comfort; el centro de gravedad de la casa...Y estaba, como todos los corazones, definitivamente sola. ¿A que nunca se ha sabido de nadie que tenga dos corazones? Pues eso. Sin embargo, todas las vibrantes oleadas de pasión, celos y lujuria que palpitaban a través de toda la casa, como si fuera una tela de araña, convergían finalmente  en aquella soledad primordial. Y ella se sabía realmente el corazón de la casa...Y definitiva, irrevocablemente sola.     

Los suaves vientos de la primavera acariciaban la vieja casona. Los pensamientos de la anciana se encogían amedrentados en la cálida habitación donde permanecía en completa soledad...No deseaba ver a su sobrina...No, mantenedla alejada de mí...    

  Inventad alguna excusa. Cerrad las puertas. Lleva aquí un mes y todavía no la has visto. ¿No crees que le parecerá raro? Deja caer indirectas; dice que le gustaría verte. No quieres verla. ¿Qué te ocurre...? ¿Por qué te emocionas de ese modo cuando te hablamos de ella? No querrías verla. Tus pensamientos vagan dando vueltas por toda la habitación, como animales adormilados que se restriega contra los muros. ¡Qué irritante resulta este viento cálido de la inminente primavera...!  

     Cuando eras muy pequeña...tan pequeña que el soplo más ligero de la brisa te levantaba la pequeña faldita con miriñaque y te tapaba la cara...viste algo sucio en la leñera... 

      Nunca lo olvidarías.      Nunca le dirías nada a mamá. Podías oler, incluso ahora, el betún dulzón con el que mamá siempre se limpiaba las botas...Pero lo recordarías toda tu vida.

      Eso fue lo que te hizo...diferente. Eso...lo que viste en el cobertizo de los aperos...convirtió tu matrimonio en una interminable pesadilla para ti.

     Sin embargo, nunca te importó lo que aquello pudiera parecer a tu marido...    

     Y por eso te había dado tanto asco traer a tus hijos al mundo. Incluso ahora, cuando tenías setenta y nueve años, no podías soportar ver pasar una bicicleta frente a la ventana de tu dormitorio sin sentir arcadas en la boca del estómago...En el cobertizo de las bicicletas lo habías visto, una cosa sucia, cuando eras pequeña. 

     Por eso te quedabas encerrada en esa habitación. Ahí habías estado metida durante veinte años; luego Judith se había casado y su marido había venido a vivir a la granja. Habías huido de ese mundo, tremendo y terrorífico, que se hallaba fuera de esas cuatro paredes contra las que tus pensamientos se restregaban como bueyes soñolientos. Sí, a eso se parecían tus pensamientos. ¡A bueyes! ¡Exactamente como bueyes eran!

     En el mundo exterior había graneros donde podían ocurrir cosas sucias. Pero allí, en tu habitación, nada podría ocurrir. Y eso era lo que querías. Ninguno de tus nietos podía abandonar la granja. Judith tampoco se iría. Ni Amos, tampoco se iría. Caraway no se iría. Urk no se podía ir. Seth no se podía ir. Micah no se podía ir. Ezra no se podía ir. Mark y Luke no se podían ir. Harkaway se podía ir alguna vez, porque él se encargaba de ingresar las ganancias de la granja en el banco de Beershorn todos los sábados por la mañana. Pero los otros no se podían ir nunca.

     Ninguno de ellos debía salir y enfangarse en ese mundo, grande y sucio, lleno de cobertizos en los cuales podrían suceder cosas desagradables que podrían ver niñas pequeñas.

- Stella Gibbons, La hija de Robert Poste. Impedimenta. Traducción de José C. Vales.

- Wynn Bullock, Woman and Thistle, 1953

[minipliny]

Enbury Heath, by Stella Gibbons, aka Big Mood

[addictivecontradiction]

Cold Comfort Farm, 1995

[bookjotter6865]

Winding Up the Week #394

An end of week recap “Learn what is to be taken seriously and laugh at the rest.” – Herman Hesse I thank you for your cheerful forbearance while I gallivanted off to York to meet my half-sister and her wife for the first time ever. Our get-together went wonderfully (thank you so much to those who wished me well), and I return to you with these varied collectanea of literary goings-on. As ever,…

[dowsingfordivinity]

Mary and Stella

I’ve always loved Cold Comfort Farm. It’s one of those books I keep more than one copy of in case I lend it to someone and it doesn’t come back. But I’ve also always been aware that it was a parody. The spoof introduction and dedication to someone who is obviously a caricature of Thomas Hardy makes that clear. Continue reading Mary and Stella

[tarzamsteroftheayeaye]

More reasons that Cold Comfort Farm is absolutely brilliant.

I love how much of a blindspot for the computer scifi authors had.

So in Heinlein's Tunnel in the Sky, humanity has developed instant interstellar travel, through what's effectively star gates. China has taken over Australia and "terraformed" it by building an inland sea, we've got weather control technology and stasis fields so that people with terminal diseases can be frozen in time until we figure out how to cure them. Most of the military is women, as changing population dynamics mean men are only like 1/5th of the population.

And at one point in this far off future, the protagonist decides to idly calculate how long it'd take to evacuate all of earth through the warp-gates, so he pulls out his slide-rule.

Instant travel to other planets? Of course. Restructuring an entire continent? Easy. Controlling the entire atmosphere? No problem. Slowing time itself to save people? Absolutely! The army is mostly women, because for some reason not as many men are being born? Yeah, why not!

But digital computers (WHICH ALREADY EXISTED AT THE TIME THIS NOVEL WAS WRITTEN) getting small and cheap enough that a high-schooler could own one and keep it in his backpack?

Well now you've wandered into the realms of fantasy. This is science fiction, we only talk about the possible futures, not silly fantasy stories with magic and dragons and such! No computer will ever be smaller than an a room, and even if you did manage to shrink one enough to be maybe the size of a washing machine, no high-schooler could afford one!

[alldancersaretalented]

Duos/Trios 23/24

Here's a small collection of Duos/Trios sorted by dance studio!

4PM Dance:

Mila Madriles, Kennadie Wright - Hey Mickey

Avi's Dance Project:

Aubree Ginter, Coraline McClintock - Only Hope

Terryn Jackson, Sydney Williams - Let Me Think

Christine He, Nicole He - Home

Mariah Merrigan, Kaydence Thomas - Secret Symphony

Aubrey Avila, Alyssa Garay - Islands

Molly Croll, Ella Siders - Stand By Me

Evianna Granado, Ana Roman - We'll Be Fine

Alexa Estep, Caylin Garcia - Song For You

Bobbie's School of Performing Arts:

?? - Not A Mountain

?? - Don't Give Me Up

?? - Life's What You Make It

?? - LiourI

?? - Only Ever Loved Your Ghost

?? - I'm Through

Canadian Dance Company:

Ellianna Buck, Olivia Colozza, Delia Wu - Freeway

Emma Lee, Emma Phillippe, Stella Savage - On Broadway

Olivia Colozza, Filip Lipiec - Hard To Handle

Alexandra de Groot, Kadence Wright, Clara Zhao - Snowing

Callista Crowe, Damian Shillis - Every Little Thing

Jessica Battley, Kadence Wright - Swing Phenomenon

Jessie Alfaro Kazula, Sabrina Digings - Feet Don't Fail Me Now

Ryan Blackburn, Callista Crowe - Anything You Can Do

Damian Shillis, Sophia Van Haastrecht - Last Night

Cydnee Abbott, Chloe Greenfield, Sadie Wen - Mind-Link

David Blackburn, Arianna Frano - Moves Like Jagger

Therese Marie Adap, Sadie Wen, Avery Yoo - Aaab

Therese Marie Adap, Oliwia Lipiec, Avery Yoo- Contra

Aliyah Demone, Irene Rose Santos, Analia Theofilopoulos - Glitch

Ella Boughner, Lauren Gibbon, Anna Volkova - Drive

Lauren Gibbon, Olivia Granic, Gabriella Seixeiro- TBA

Lauren Gibbon, Brandon Yoo- Die Trying

Olivia Granic, Gabriella Seixeiro - On The Jazz Four

Center Stage Performing Arts Studio:

Addalyn Daley, Coco Gonzales, Ivy McEwan - Run The World

Kate Baker, Violet Schwarz, Anistyn Larsen - The Grudge (Shannon Mather)

Kylie Lawrence, Elliana Wilson - Say A Little Prayer

Tessa Ohran, Rory Frye, Hadlee Heriford - We Could Stay (Noelle Marsh)

?? - Evening Ceremony

?? - Inside

Club Dance Studio:

Ellary Day Szyndlar, Sylvie Win Szyndlar - Dreamscapes (Jenn Peterson)

Ellary Day Szyndlar, Sylvie Win Szyndlar - La Rapture (Brady Farrar)

Danceology:

Amelia Principe, Annalisa Francis, Mackenzie Hammer - Diamonds

?? - Big Love

?? - Party Girls

Penny Harris, Brody Schaffer - My Girl

?? - Nana's Flowers

Aspen Bloem, Annelise Hseih, Ryee Kameya - Funk Soul Brother

?? - Tres Chicas

?? - Tick Tick Boom

?? - Rhythm X 2

Dance Deluxe:

Haven Bryan, Adriana Houlihan, Adaline Louderback - You're Invited

Allie Aston, Livian Bailey, Lily Conaway - Hollywood

Jake Roberts, Stella Roberts - We Go Together

Emerson Mullan, Avery Stephens, Adelina Quintanilla - Hocus Pocus

Brighton Taylor, Briele Bailey, Remi Skidmore - Big Finish

Kamdyn Arnold, Haylie Birchman, Aracely Lee - Snap

Eva Gonzalez, Remi Skidmore - Snowing

Gage Davis, Vanessa Soto - Somebody

Gage Davis, Vanessa Soto - Falling Slowly

Dance Enthusiasm:

Liesl Dowdy, Margot Phelps - Shake Your Groove Thing

Kayleigh Stoler, Violet Werner - Sign Of The Times

Julia Visan, Olivia Visan - Optical Prism

Shelby Ellis, Kayleigh Stoler - Made For You

Olivia Visan, Violet Werner - Explosion

Jazmine Raine Werner, Violet Werner - Time

Amelia Gonzales, Kayleigh Stoler - Dream On

Malia Gazda, Paige Kim - Falling Leaves

Shelby Ellis, Janea Latimer - Let Me Follow

Taelyn Albrecht, Paige Kim - Refugees

Taelyn Albrecht, Jazmine Raine Werner - One Sec

Taelyn Albrecht, Alexa Lynn - Carry You

Christina Kalafatis, Emily Zolla - Hocus Pocus

Dance Precisions:

Aliyana Denham, Aniyia Ortega, Kennedy Wong - Think

Everly Park, Skylie Schreppel, Grecia Underwood - Like This Like That

Emma Orr, Xara Sakhrani, Charlotte Stirling - Shake Your Tailfeather

Elleyna Kadera, Raegan Wendell - I Feel Good

Sydney Ko, Londyn Nevois - Nowadays

Dance Town:

Belle Marie Arauz, Amanda Carpenter - My Dolphin And Me

Krystal Alvarez, Luna Santana, Arantza Sardinha - Con Altura

?? - Without You

Elektro Dance Academy:

Niah Corpeno, June Townley - Butterfly

Elite Dance Pro:

Peyton De La Cerda, Valynnita Mei, Alice Yan - Forget About That Boy

Alexa Schwarze, Summer Skousen, Chloe Tarwater - Fleur

Olivia Quintana, Ella Rempfer, Charlotte Woodside - Bang Bang

Carlin Ciocchetti, Lily Douglas, Sophia Schiano - To Falter

Elite Danceworx:

?? - Life Is Circles

?? - Make It Matter

?? - Cranes In The Sky

?? - Third Dream

?? - Free To Form

?? - All In The Same Breath

?? - The Beauty of Dissolving Portraits

Epic Dance Complex:

?? - Let You Know

Evolve Dance Company:

Olivia Bennett, Adeline Vogt - Wash That Man

George Grech, Jaydnn Mendez - Creeks

Alexa Kunishige, Ava Sparks - Thousand Eyes

George Grech, Vivian Grech - Groove Is In The Heart

Ava Banuelos, Sienna Thor - Don't

Trinity Hastings, Tanziana Contino, Viviana Contino - Iris

Evolve Dance Complex:

Dylann Sebes, Brynley Brett - It's Raining Men

Jossi Josephic, Hallie Oberhofer, Deanna Tierno - Bites The Dust

Ella Martindale, Natalie Vinton - Sweet Dreams

Kyleigh Harbarger, Lola Rodi - Adios To You

Andrew Spalvieri, Abby Spalvieri - Devil Went Down To Georgia

Cami Vorhees, Elyse Wingertsahn - Stay Away

Samuel Evans, Onna Williams - Implacable Hearts

Evoke Dance Movement:

?? - Boogie Shoes

?? - About Today

?? - Come Let Us

Imperial Dance:

Malia Gandy, Dayana Hernandez, Sophia Solano - Took The Night

Isabella Cruz, Eliyan Rall, Zarielle Trimmings - Call Me Mother

Myla Durand, Anaya MIchell, Sofia Velazquez - Run To You

Aria Edmond, Sarai Trimmings, Savannah Yard - Secure The Bag

Sophia Basso, Sophia Solano - Mini Me

Leyla Bedoya, Marley Cheron, Gabriella Cuadrado - This Woman's Work

Aryanna Anujar, Sophia Basso, Hannah Galantai - Amor

Marlon Cheron, Layla Hernandez, Arianna Velazquez - Love Me Or Leave Me

K2 Studios:

Emery Cordero, Rylai Orozco - Safe And Sound

Belle Anguiano, Sadie Anguiano - Beautiful Thing

Juniper Balatero, Rosalind Balatero - Stand By Me

Lilly Douglas, Penelope Lee - Breakin Dishes

Ella Cordero, Alani Hernandez, Jiselle Saavedra - Dem Girlz

Riley Fernandez, Nicholas Turner - I Follow

Jessica Sutton, Rebecca Sutton - Fix You

Adiyah Ayres, Kynzli Reece - Madness

Ariana Gomez, Neriah Karmann, Nicholas Turner - Unbreak

Neriah Karmann, Abby Viramontes - Save Me

Alex Almeida, Zoey Garcia - River

Love Acierto, Alex Almeida, Jordan Wallace - Be Alright

Tessa Andelkovic, Jade Castaneda - Monsters

Larkin Dance Studio:

Stella Ames, Jade Glyzinski, Harper Kill - How Long Will I Love You

Hallee Anderson, Gigi Shea, Sailor Stormoen - Bird On A Wire

Elia Cocchiarella, Eleanor Lamers - Checkerboard

Savannah Jackson, Maylin Munos, Neala Murphy - Dream

Matinly Conrad, Chase Lang - When I Was Your Man

Evie McCune-Barrett, Truett Ziemke - As Long As You Love Me

Lexie Charnstrom, Scarlett Manzel, Evie Mccune-Barrett - Change

Maddie Kulenkamp, Brody Lanoux - Mr. Postman

Mila Ayshford, Tillie Kuhl, Palmer Peltier - The Trumpet In My Head

Lilly Anderson, Bella Charnstrom, Malia Scott - Too Tightly

Jemma Eisenbrei, Mia Kostinovski, Hailey Turnbull - Gold

Finley Ashfield, Kelsie Jacobson, Savannah Manzel - Picture Perfect

Sienna Powers, Hazel Semans, Savannah Werner - A Noise I Once Heard

Belle Hughes, Maizie Hughes - Near Me

Erik Barker, Laci Bloss - To The Moon

Lola Boisen, Sarah St Cyr - Twilight

Matissa Conrad, Tahari Conrad, Ava Rothmund - Eternal Voice

Kate Monge, Giselle Mourad, Harlow Pike - To One's Perception

Laci Bloss, Daphnie Braun, Kira Riessner - Allure

Caleb Abea, Keira Redpath - Empty Apology

Isabella Jarvis, Claire Monge, Keira Redpath - Stuck In Pause

Miami Dance Company:

Varia Mari, Brooke Martin, Kylie Sanchez - Rise Together

Michelle Latimer Dance Academy:

Lindsey Gruidel, Tatum Jackson, Savanna Pitcher - Deeper Love

Lindsey Gruidel, Tatum Jackson, Savanna Pitcher - What It Means To Be Human

Murrieta Dance Project:

Rylan Ashley, Sierra Koops - That Beautiful Sound

Lily Dejoya, Carter Ruiz - Total Eclipse

Brooklyn Coronado, Jaclyn Coronado - Can't Let Go

N10:

Kailyn Nong, Emma Vianzon - When Doves Cry

Juliana Kang, Emmersyn Van - Little Fluffy Clouds

New Level Dance Company:

Gisele Alpendre, Haley Raines - Wherever You Will Go

Francesca Caputo, Harper Stein - Until We Bleed

Natalie Frantzen, Noelle Klug - Fix You

Charlotte Danford, Beata Polunin - Paint It Black

Brooklyn Bailey, Sabryn Stein - Tragedy

Marisa Bruno, Ainsley Rice - Black Car

Charlotte Dister, Taylor Lapointe - Selah

Elle Bonner, Myiah Brown - Awards Night

Noretta Dunworth School of Dance:

Ella Saad, Sophie Saad - Venus

Lily Marshall, Daisy Nuznov - Carry Me

Maria Carpenter, Camille Moore - ??

Stella Bennett, Sophia Cialkowski - ??

Isabella Jaczynski, Danica Lentz - Tumbling Lights

Lily Saad, Mila Saad - Ain't Nothing Wrong With That

?? - Last Goodbye

?? - Lucky Ladies

?? - Big Finish

thanks!

Orange County Performing Arts Academy:

Bailey Chalmers, Kiera Simon - What's On The Menu

Everleigh Alonzo, Annabelle Bright, Camila Valdez - Emergency

Harper Bridge, Elle Dahl, Raegan Gold - Conga

Olivia Montano, Hayden Peterson, Parker Seymour - Space Jam

Elizabeth Leiter, Hannah Wright - Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better

PAVE School of the Arts:

Aniston Maurer, Lola Mesa, Sophia Smith - Mr. Postman

Claire Devine, Emma Wishart - Showtime

Ashlynn Fairfield, Rebecca Kessler - Dancing Machine

Annelise Chan, Kirsten Kim - Zero To Hero

Stella Fisk, Emi Hoang - Creep (Sasha Dee)

Stella Fisk, Emi Hoang - Tightrope

Kensington Arrendondo, Talia Donaldson, Kassidy Luong - Diamonds

Paisley Branch, Kira Guchko - Angels

Kaylee Baldwin, Kaylee Townsend - Women Be Wise

Hayden Calder, Wavy Hazen - Nowadays

Joah Moore, Bryn Zimmerman - Look

Charlotte Minhas, Phoebe Black - Gimme Gimme

Oliver Hincy, Olivia Battle - Moving Pictures

Adriana Krall, Alexa Krall - It's All Coming Back To Me

Emersyn Fee, Sienna Hardin - Everytime It Rains

Kailey Longshore, Peach MIller, Ella Smallwood - Bassline

Spree Hazen, Ava Kendall - Tell Him

Ava Zimmerman, Kate Allen - Silhouete

Project 21:

Kami Couch, Katie Couch - To Cross Paths

Renner Dance Company:

?? - End Of The Line

?? - Climb Every Mountain

?? - Pixies

Charlotte Bailey, Madeline Collier - I Enjoy Being A Girl

Charlotte Lewis, Olivia Siri - Sugar And Spice

?? - Dog Days

Leighton Crump, Seneca Hrdina - Found

Emily Fedirow, Presely Krohn - Surround You

Ella Garrett, Grace Snider - Girls Night Out

?? - Never Grow Up

Rose Mangan, Brantley Meador - Dancing On The Moon

?? - You Are My Sister

?? - In The Distance

Sophia January, Stella January - Inside

Sarah Martin Duncan, Ensley King - A Winter Story

Claire Naismith, Lauren Stubbs - Ends Of The Earth

?? - Pressure

?? - What Might Have Been Lost

?? - Still Life

Stars Dance Studio:

?? - Proserpina

?? - Rollin'

?? - Mirrors

?? - Here On This Hill

Studio 19 Dance Complex:

Frances Farone, Mackenzie Smith, Leira Wilbon - California Cuties

Brynleigh Kerestes, Kallie McKenna - Small Word

Nitalia Manilla, Alessia Price - Think

Landry Blosser, Brynleigh Kerestes - Sugar And Spice

Ashlynn Bickford, Iris Edwards, Charlotte Haas Itsy Bitsy Spider

Harper Miller, Sloane Sherrets - Opposites Attract

Scarlett Fornear, Olivia Fornear - Good Company

Maddie Maker, Sadie Vaccaro - If We Hold On Together

Maddie Chiplock, Maddie Maker, Addison Smith - Venus

Claire Osche, Grace Sypien - Holly Rock

Mila Jaymes, Brooklyn Schirripa, Evelyn Woodburn - Gonna Get Ya

Carina Lavella, ?? - Mr. Sandman

Sienna Arias, Atalia Spagnolo - State Of Shock

Tia Adams, Sienna Arias, Ella Laughlin - Meeting In The Ladies Room

Sofia Farone, Brooklyn Schirripa - Good Versus Evil

Avery Organ, Evelyn Woodburn - Sassy X's Two

Camia Adams, Kendall Nace - We're Gonna Party

Gianna Cugliari, Melanie Steed - Silent Night

Gianna Cugliari, Madison Makowski, Karsyn Schifino - Choose Your Path

Alexandra Bayles, Antonia Spagnolo, Haley Steed - Scarborough Fair

Kileigh Davison, Sophia Haas, Sophia Lapina - Bad Apples

Calista Herbst, Emma Schrock - Ashes

Haley Steed, Hannah Steed - Tappin With My Twin

Lexi Pompa, Taylor Williams - Troubled Waters

Gia Booker, Aliana Spagnolo - Running With The Wolves

Ella Barch, Keira McKenna - Carry You

Mia Jackson, Ava Means - Don't Stop The Groove

Ellie Rosenwasser, Mia Mirabile - In The Hold Of A Dream (Chelsea Jennings)

Soleil Herbst, Mia Jackson - Hold Me Down

Emily Holcomb, Becca Kohler, Allie Philips - Why

Millie Julius, Rowan Mansfield, Ciera Ragula - Islands

Haley Engelmore, Raelyn Rectemwald, Kyleigh Turner - She's Not Me (Talia Flavia)

Tessa Pagone, Madeline Schrock, Addison Vargo- Hold On Tight

Studio 702:

Grace Peralta, Kamea Solidum, Reese Tolentino - Balacobaco

Aalayah Perkins, Breanna Tenney - Belly of the Beast

Charley Lehman, Faith Letourneau - Cyber Surveillance

Redle Edler, Alysa Owen - Vulgar

Studio X Dance Complex:

Emery Bourne, Braxy Montana, Karter Strong - Proud Mary

Emma Acosta, Hannah Martinez - Free Me (Victoria Wootem)

Kambria Keegan, Berkeley McGrath - Dangerous

Berkeley McGrath, Abigail Weber - Rain

Summit Dance Shoppe:

Jemma Scates, Shayla Scates - Girls Night Out

Meadow Majkrzak, Brooklyn Peterson, Malia Reuter - Luminous

Monroe Johnson, Zoey Schelitzche,  Camryn Westrum - Best Of My Love

Katy Lawrence, Tova Thompson, Greta Wagner - Stop

Audrey Boro, Nora Turunen, Finley Weigelt - I Believe

Kinsley Fairchild, Annie Zechmeister - Carmen

Lily Buchholz, Calia McArdle, Emma Misuraco-Janish - Carry You

Temecula Dance Compancy:

Amara Fisher, Alana Kalahiki, Luke Noss - A Little Less Conversation

Bailey Dalton, Teaghan O'Reilly, Cece Radach - Calling All B.B.S.

Ava Aflague, Anaya Johnson, Ava Thammavong - Soy Yo

James Hetsko, Jocelyn Hetsko - Mr. Zoot Suit

Hudson Locke, Jake Pribyl, Vera Spencer - 3D

Audrey Fite, Piper Conway, Alyssa Vinskey - It's A Mood

Andrea Tylman, Ella Zhang - Forever Friends

Paige Caveney, Giada Gariffo, Brinleigh O'Reilly - F.U.N.

Scarlett Berroteran, Ta'ina Gonzalez, Princess Sanchez - Shake That

Kyrstin Duquid, Brooklyn Powell, Ava Radach - Scheibe

Carter Roa, Lacey Walker - I Love You But Don't Trust You

TheCREW:

?? - Diamonds

?? - Chase

?? - Skinny

The NINE Dance Academy:

Abigail Mathias, Evelyn Rego, Ella Waltman - Material Girls

Charolette Baldassarra, Laurina Lin, Gia Traficante-Petrozzi - New York New York

Sienna Di Pietro, Mia Jorge, Alina Sedova - Statues

Molly Kravetz, London Mandell, Ashley Shultz - Piano Man

Nathaniel Chua, Tristan Redly, Ashley Shultz - Is There Somebody

Emily Bertola, Jessica Brettone, Lily Kravetz - What Lies In The Balance

Nathaniel Chua, Shaunaughsey Meagher - Bound To You

The Vision Dance Alliance:

Julia Amato, Violet McGuire - Void (Jess Malafronte)

Julia Amato, Emily Polis - Willow Bends (Jess Malafronte)

Caitlyn Polis, Emily Polis - Two Organs (Jess Malafronte)

Caitlyn Polis, Maddie Polis, Emily Polis - You Are Every Memory (Jess Malafronte)

Caitlyn Polis, Hannah Beatty - Claim It (Jess Malafronte)

Caitlyn Polis, Maddie Polis - Human Touch (Jess Malafronte)

Vlad's Dance Company:

?? - Without Hesitation

?? - Not To Be Forgotten

Westside Dance Project:

Isabella Kouznetsova, Diana Kouznetsova - Cells Divide (Timmy Blankenship)

Isabella Kouznetsova, Diana Kouznetsova - Sharp Dialogue (Alina Krasovskaya)

Esme Chou, Tegan Chou - Amaru

West Florida Dance Company:

Marlow Hess, Lola Bryant - All That Jazz (Jess Disalvo)

Macey Strickland, Stella Brogan - Shot Me Down (Struther White)

Scarlett Griffin, Sophia Griffin - If I Could

Lily Hackney, Reagan Hess, Desa Jankes - Movies (Jess Disalvo)

Ava Kim, Natalie Kim - Sunshine

Bella DiBenedetto, Aubrey Haugh - Swim Good

Stella Fowler, Caleb Monnell - Your Angel

Hudson Heath, Caleb Monnell, Indy Ray - Bad Romance

Woodbury Dance Center:

Ian Stegeman, Skylar Wong - Depth Over Distance

Wyatt Brisson, Klaire Simek - What Weighs Me Down

Caleigh Proulx, Samuel Sharp Jr. - Glacier

West Coast School of the Arts:

Isla Benedetti, Olivia Conner, Aubrey Minadeo - Werk

Kinsley Cooper, Larkin Low, Paige Perez - Jail House Rock

Genevieve Lee, Marlee Ninofranco - Eyes In The Back Of My Head

Lily Meghdadi, Mila Osgood - Young And Beautiful

Skylar Nixon, Dakotah Robinett - Play That Sax

Alexa Perez, Mackenzie Perez - Opening Up

McKinley Barragan, Kensie Lee, Ayla Mohtashami - In The Zone

Madison Fontanilla, Marlee Ninofranco - Journey Of You And I

Lyric Low, Camdyn Mitchell, Makayla Tran - Everybody Needs A Best Friend

Ally Cheung, Casey Cheung - How It Ends

Leyna Huynh, Sophia Thayer-Pham - Move

Ally Cheung, Gabi D'Ambra, Sophia Oppegard - Poison And Wine

Yoko's Dance and Performing Arts Academy:

Priscilla Huang, Isabelle Shi, Grace Yan - Firework

Arielle Konaris, Anaya Seals, Avery Yamaguchi - I'll Get You Home

Michelle C. Wang, Alexander Wang - Why Don't You

Kaelani Carlson, Isabel Dela Cruz - When The Party's Over

Fiona Wu, Raina Wu - Bitter And Sweet (Megan Ellis)

Avery Du, Grace Koo - Black Horse And A Cherry Tree

Samantha Tan, Isabelle Tang - How To Save A Life

[silas-lehnsherr]

There’ll be no better in hell.

“They’ll be no butter in hell.”

— -Stella Gibbons

[magicaltear]

How many have you read?

The BBC estimates that most people will only read 6 books out of the 100 listed below. Bold the titles you’ve read.

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen 2 Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkein 3 Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte 4 Harry Potter series 5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee 6 The Bible 7 Wuthering Heights – Emily Bronte 8 Nineteen Eighty Four – George Orwell 9 His Dark Materials – Philip Pullman 10 Great Expectations – Charles Dickens 11 Little Women – Louisa M Alcott 12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles – Thomas Hardy 13 Catch 22 – Joseph Heller 14 Complete Works of Shakespeare 15 Rebecca – Daphne Du Maurier 16 The Hobbit – JRR Tolkien 17 Birdsong – Sebastian Faulks 18 Catcher in the Rye - J. D. Salinger 19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffeneger 20 Middlemarch – George Eliot 21 Gone With The Wind – Margaret Mitchell 22 The Great Gatsby – F Scott Fitzgerald 23 Bleak House – Charles Dickens 24 War and Peace – Leo Tolstoy 25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams 26 Brideshead Revisited – Evelyn Waugh 27 Crime and Punishment – Fyodor Dostoyevsky 28 Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck 29 Alice in Wonderland – Lewis Carroll 30 The Wind in the Willows – Kenneth Grahame 31 Anna Karenina – Leo Tolstoy 32 David Copperfield – Charles Dickens 33 Chronicles of Narnia – CS Lewis 34 Emma – Jane Austen 35 Persuasion – Jane Austen 36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe – CS Lewis 37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini 38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres 39 Memoirs of a Geisha – Arthur Golden 40 Winnie the Pooh – AA Milne 41 Animal Farm – George Orwell 42 The Da Vinci Code – Dan Brown 43 One Hundred Years of Solitude – Gabriel Garcia Marquez 44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney – John Irving 45 The Woman in White – Wilkie Collins 46 Anne of Green Gables – LM Montgomery 47 Far From The Madding Crowd – Thomas Hardy 48 The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood 49 Lord of the Flies – William Golding 50 Atonement – Ian McEwan

51 Life of Pi – Yann Martel 52 Dune – Frank Herbert 53 Cold Comfort Farm – Stella Gibbons 54 Sense and Sensibility – Jane Austen 55 A Suitable Boy – Vikram Seth 56 The Shadow of the Wind – Carlos Ruiz Zafon 57 A Tale Of Two Cities – Charles Dickens 58 Brave New World – Aldous Huxley 59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time – Mark Haddon 60 Love In The Time Of Cholera – Gabriel Garcia Marquez 61 Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck 62 Lolita – Vladimir Nabokov 63 The Secret History – Donna Tartt 64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold 65 Count of Monte Cristo – Alexandre Dumas 66 On The Road – Jack Kerouac 67 Jude the Obscure – Thomas Hardy 68 Bridget Jones’s Diary – Helen Fielding 69 Midnight’s Children – Salman Rushdie 70 Moby Dick – Herman Melville 71 Oliver Twist – Charles Dickens 72 Dracula – Bram Stoker 73 The Secret Garden – Frances Hodgson Burnett 74 Notes From A Small Island – Bill Bryson 75 Ulysses – James Joyce 76 The Bell Jar – Sylvia Plath 77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome 78 Germinal – Emile Zola 79 Vanity Fair – William Makepeace Thackeray 80 Possession – AS Byatt 81 A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens 82 Cloud Atlas – David Mitchel 83 The Color Purple – Alice Walker 84 The Remains of the Day – Kazuo Ishiguro 85 Madame Bovary – Gustave Flaubert 86 A Fine Balance – Rohinton Mistry 87 Charlotte’s Web – EB White 88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven – Mitch Albom 89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 90 The Faraway Tree Collection – Enid Blyton 91 Heart of Darkness – Joseph Conrad 92 The Little Prince – Antoine De Saint-Exupery 93 The Wasp Factory – Iain Banks 94 Watership Down – Richard Adams 95 A Confederacy of Dunces – John Kennedy Toole 96 A Town Like Alice – Nevil Shute 97 The Three Musketeers – Alexandre Dumas 98 Hamlet – William Shakespeare 99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Roald Dahl 100 Les Miserables – Victor Hugo

As found in the original post I saw by @macrolit

My total: 43/100

[the-dust-jacket]

Hello. I've already read the Kingston Cycle, Half a Soul and I'm about to finish the Stariel books. Do you have more recommendations? Thank you in advance.

Oh absolutely!

A Matter of Magic, by Patricia C. Wrede (for cross-country Regency romps, rogues, magicians, spies, and Ladies of Quality)

A Marvellous Light, by Freya Marske (for murder and mystery and secret Edwardian wizardry, romance, grand old houses and creepy curses)

Spellbound, by Allie Therin (for forbidden love, found family, and frightening magic in 1920s New York)

Shades of Milk and Honey, by Mary Robinette Kowal (for frothy and impeccably evocative Regency magic)

Sorcerer to the Crown, by Zen Cho (for schemes both magical and mundane and the world of fairy crossing into the world of the tonne)

To Say Nothing of the Dog, by Connie Willis (for laugh-out-loud time travel shenanigans and questionable Victorian aesthetic choices)

Soulless, by Gail Carriger (for vampire assassins, werewolf aristocrats, interrupted tea time, and other terrible inconveniences which may beset a young lady)

A little darker:

The Magpie Lord, by KJ Charles (for semi-secret magical society, creepy family estate, steamy romance all in an Extremely Victorian Gothic setting)

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke (clever and deeply atmospheric tour of a magical 19th century England, but definitely not romance)

Salt Magic, Skin Magic, by Lee Welch (for curses and magical bonds and frightening fairies)

Widdershins, by Jordan L Hawk (for Gilded Age mystery and romance featuring Lovecraftian horror and humor)

More fantasy:

Uprooted, by Naomi Novik (for fairytale magic and whimsy, adventure and romance and creepy trees)

Seducing the Sorcerer, by Lee Welch (for wizard fashion, romance and humor and whimsical magic)

Stardust, by Neil Gaiman (for wild romps in the fairyland next door, alternately humorous and haunting)

More historical:

The Gentle Art of Fortune Hunting by KJ Charles (for saucy Regency romance and determined social scheming)

Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons (for dry humor, wacky hijinx, and extended family shenanigans)

Hither Page or The Missing Page by Cat Sebastian (village and manor house mysteries respectively, featuring lots of queer romance and found family with a dash of jaded post-war espionage)

I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith (for yearning and laughs and first love and an eccentric family living in an increasingly run down castle)

A little farther from the brief, but might be worth checking out On Vibes:

The Left Handed Booksellers of London, by Garth Nix

The Chronicles of Chrestomanci, by Diana Wynne Jones

His Majesty's Dragon, by Naomi Novik (more Regency fantasy, but full on Age of Sail adventure rather than comedy of manners, romance, or secret magic)

Among Others, by Jo Walton

Arabella of Mars, by David D. Levine

A Natural History of Dragons, by Marie Brennan

It also sounds like a Georgette Heyer or Jeeves and Wooster binge would be really fun right now!

[thefudge]

Hi! What most gets me about you’re writing is the world of depth revealed in your dialogue and how much you reveal with so little. Do you have any advice or anything reading recs about dialogue or examples of good dialogue?

thank you! i appreciate you saying that. idk if my advice regarding dialogue is that valuable, but one thing i stick by when i write dialogue is that i'm not really going for realism. like yes, i try to make the dialogue match the character, but i don't think about how "real" people talk because this is a heightened medium. whatever the goal is, i try to remind myself i have the freedom to play with the language and the characters' responses.

as for examples of good dialogue, i love really outrageous, quirky dialogue like you'd find in p.g. wodehouse and stella gibbons. even if you're not going for dry British humor, i think their novels can inspire you to be inventive.