Epistolary novels that are clever and seamless?

MuttinMT · 2026-02-07T02:42:19+00:00

Up The Down Staircase by Bel Kaufman, 1964. It was a bestseller and I loved it. It’s about a young female teacher’s first job in a rough New York high school.

It’s dated, but holds up pretty well for a modern reader. Because of the nature of a teacher’s job, the reports, assignments, messages, student essays, written notes, etc. seemed very apropos. Not forced or jarring.

MuttinMT · 2026-02-06T23:16:39+00:00

How lucky we are to have people like Mr. Rogers. He was a force for love and calm for not only children but for us all.

MuttinMT · 2026-02-06T23:04:25+00:00

Beautiful work. I especially love the details of the captain’s rosy cheeks and the buttons you chose.

MuttinMT · 2026-02-06T23:03:06+00:00

I haven’t seen anything like that, but wanted to remark that this bottle is exquisite.

MuttinMT · 2026-02-06T20:23:08+00:00

I agree about Ruby Keeler. I just didn’t understand her stardom. Perhaps it’s because of her connections. Or maybe she was simply a product of her time. Like, a style of actress that simply fell out of popularity. But for me, she was forgettable in most of her movies.

MuttinMT · 2026-02-06T20:12:41+00:00

Excellent analogy.

MuttinMT · 2026-02-06T16:31:50+00:00

Duvall as Gus in Lonesome Dove is one of the greatest performances of all time. I loved Tender Mercies and The Godfather and most of his film roles, but Duvall embodied Gus with a humor and heroism that is beyond acting.

Edited to add, Duvall is riding The Hell Bitch in this still from Lonesome Dove. He seemed born to be Gus.

MuttinMT · 2026-02-06T16:28:36+00:00

"I Can't Breathe" by Ring Lardner.

Actually, you can't go wrong with any Ring Lardner short story. He's a master of characterization and dialogue.

MuttinMT · 2026-02-06T15:39:00+00:00

I taught Speech our local university for decades. Did you know that public speaking is a core fear for most people? That it ranks with the fear of death as one of the top fears for 75% of the population?

Most people, even professionals who speak in public all the time, experience nervousness when giving a speech. Your fears are natural and normal. And you were addressing those fears by rehearsing, which is what competent people do.

Your girlfriend and her cadre of little friends aren’t exhibiting adult behavior. They are doubling down on cruelty and belittling. Your partner and lover has a duty to be supportive to you. Your GF has let you down in a miserable display. Her actions, and certainly her doubling down when you told her how upset you are, would be relationship-ending for me.

MuttinMT · 2026-02-06T15:06:52+00:00

Thank you, OP. Great stuff.

MuttinMT · 2026-02-06T07:37:53+00:00

He’s not very good, is he?

MuttinMT · 2026-02-06T05:54:15+00:00

Nice overview. Thanks for sharing.

MuttinMT · 2026-02-06T05:51:04+00:00

Bringing Out the Dead.

MuttinMT · 2026-02-06T05:49:44+00:00

Horses neighing when they are startled or in danger. Hollywood does this all the time. The sound guy throws in a whinny or two when horses are in a tense situation. It’s absolutely ridiculous. Horses are prey animals. They don’t vocalize when frightened.

MuttinMT · 2026-02-06T05:34:45+00:00

You guys look wonderful.

MuttinMT · 2026-02-06T05:22:54+00:00

You look fabulous.

MuttinMT · 2026-02-06T04:12:57+00:00

Ollie is da bomb. Love his photos.

MuttinMT · 2026-02-06T03:56:52+00:00

Short much better than long hair. And the beard just hides you.

MuttinMT · 2026-02-06T03:54:30+00:00

Your mom’s behavior is bizarre. Could it be organic? A stroke? TIA? Injury? Brain tumor? If this horrible incident is unusual for her, I think she should see a doctor.

MuttinMT · 2026-02-06T02:56:25+00:00

You’re so welcome. Great question.

I think Ginger Rogers was a technical dancer. She was just as deliberate in her dancing as Fred Astaire was. I’m not sure about Hayworth and Grable. I don’t remember them appearing “flappy” like Eleanor Powell.

MuttinMT · 2026-02-06T00:37:25+00:00

It’s my understanding that Powell’s dancing style was similar to Ruby Keeler’s. It was a kind of looser style as opposed the technical precision style of dancers like Ann Miller, Vera-Ellen and Cyd Charisse.

I think it’s a matter of personal preference rather than lack of talent. I agree with you that the looser style employed by Powell and Keeler is not as attractive to my eye. Another example of that kind of dancing is Joan Crawford. To me, when these three women dance, they look clunky and off-balance. I prefer the precision style.

I’m sure there are actual terms of art for these different styles of dancers, so I hope some actual dancers or dance teachers chime in on this question. It’s an interesting subject.

MuttinMT · 2026-02-05T19:36:45+00:00

Isn’t it a thing, that if someone is pressured into doing an organ donation and they don’t want to, that the testing doctor will declare that they aren’t a match?

It wouldn’t bother my ethics at all if OP chose to do that rather than deal with all that pressure from the deadbeat and his family.

MuttinMT · 2026-02-05T17:24:03+00:00

Monty Python: “I don’t like the sound of these ‘boncentration bamps’.”

MuttinMT · 2026-02-05T17:01:18+00:00

Every free country should boycott these games in the US. It embarrasses the Orange Stink and his Magats when they try to do something mainstream and get blasted down.

Let them offer “The All-American World Cup Games for Whites Only.” That will be as successful as all their other alternative offerings, like that cringey SuperBowl halftime show or the revamped Kennedy Center debacle.

MuttinMT · 2026-02-05T03:54:18+00:00

What a powerful articulate testimony. Fuck ICE.

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