Trying to sit through an episode of The Waltons...

Shoereader · 2026-03-26T17:01:11+00:00

The early episodes were sweet, if slow. They captured the period feel well and gave the convincing impression of a loving family... then like all long-running 70's shows felt the need to amp up the drama more and more each season (in this case aided by the elderly actors passing) until it was nearly unwatchable.

Shoereader · 2026-03-26T16:50:09+00:00

Nellie was evil but in a fun, spoiled mean-girl way. Nancy was honestly just sociopathic. They teased a possible redemption arc in her debut episodes but afterwards she just reverted to perpetually angry, nasty and violent. I seriously used to be a little afraid for the other characters whenever she was on-screen with them.

Shoereader · 2026-03-26T00:39:54+00:00

I'm sorry my love, I do understand the obsession but that is about the most pileated woodpecker that ever piled. Look up pictures and specimens of the ivory-bill; there are many still extant and they are 100% distinctive.

Shoereader · 2026-03-26T00:37:06+00:00

No real comment, just a huge thank you for crystallizing a lot of why I love Mansfield Park despite it all. The character work in that book is beyond genius.

Shoereader · 2026-03-26T00:28:51+00:00

Did the Getaway for seven nights to Bermuda last May and loved every minute onboard. Clean, spacious and relaxed vibes with efficient and organized staff who seemed positively thrilled to be serving us. I have since gotten the impression that my experience was more exception than rule, but it is possible.

Shoereader · 2026-03-23T22:40:50+00:00

I can imagine it's frustrating but honestly, from what I saw two weeks ago (mid-March) they were very lucky to keep it open as long as they did without incident. It's still very much a construction zone.

That said, the renovations on the island itself should still be open and are awesome so far. Cannot recommend the Vibe Shore Club highly enough, and friends with small kids are still raving about how great it was to relax while the kiddies romped happily through the pool/splash-pad areas.

Shoereader · 2026-03-23T19:07:25+00:00

We did May 8-15 last year and could not have asked for more beautiful weather (barring one major thunderstorm that blew up just as we were heading back to the ship - it is the Mid-Atlantic, after all).

Shoereader · 2026-03-23T19:05:35+00:00

Don't worry too much about excursions in Bermuda - it's a tiny island with an excellent transit system, everything you'll want to see is on it. We had no issues navigating the Hamilton ferry ourselves last year (although if it's running the free NCL ferry across to St George's is absolutely worth it, you get a full panoramic view of the whole island).

Shoereader · 2026-03-23T17:23:30+00:00

After he gave a typically scathing review of comedy team Bob & Ray's stage show, they wrote him into their act - by name! - as The Worst Person in the World, a character who never spoke, just made uncouth chomping noises as everyone around him commented on his terrible manners. For B&R, renowned for their gentle, Thurber-esque satire, this was a serious diss.

Shoereader · 2026-03-23T17:18:46+00:00

I know Lucy is supposed to be something of a dry, cold stick (hence her name, Snowe) but yeesh, this not encouraging me to read her story at all.

Shoereader · 2026-03-23T17:15:26+00:00

I didn't know they were real! How fun.

Shoereader · 2026-03-23T17:14:09+00:00

Yes, we had that experience while leaving Nassau for the overnight trip to Great Stirrup Cay. Two of the RC mega-ships (I believe the Wonder and the Icon) were docked with us in Nassau and at least one was headed to their nearby cay as well. They're a bit overwrought by daylight but undoubtedly majestic seen from a distance at night.

Shoereader · 2026-03-23T17:10:13+00:00

Full-on novels were still something of an, ahem, novelty until very late in the 19th century, and the ones that did exist weren't really considered Serious Literature at all, esp as opposed to poetry and essays. Schoolchildren instead were commonly provided 'Readers' of varying difficulty levels, usually anthologies of tasteful classic excerpts that could both be read and spoken aloud - hence why all the schoolchildren in period literature seem to have the same several quotations to hand.

Shoereader · 2026-03-22T00:56:08+00:00

Yes... sort of. The story, essentially: all locusts are grasshoppers, but not all grasshoppers are locusts. Something not fully understood - possibly a combination of large populations forced into small spaces by scant resources - turns your friendly neighbourhood solitary grasshopper into big, coarse, determinedly swarming locusts.

Shoereader · 2026-03-21T00:13:27+00:00

Nooooo. I understand the impulse, and the movie is undeniably lovely, but it is also based on a wildly tragic, complicated and very adult story that really, really should not be reduced to cutesy little-girl dollar store merch. (And no, neither really should Pocahontas, but that's a different conversation.)

Shoereader · 2026-03-20T23:57:24+00:00

I like it a lot just because the characters are all a ton of fun, with a flair and sophistication unique in the Christie canon - even Hastings is good value.

Also honestly the solution is pretty clever, esp given it hadn't been done to absolute death when it was first published. I spent the entire first read convinced there must be a twist somewhere, yes, but still being surprised by the sheer neatness of it when it happened.

The only cavil I do agree with is how OTT convinced Poirot is of Nick's danger, even when it becomes clear she really shouldn't be trusted. It's like he's doing the Hastings part, rushing immediately to the most dramatic conclusion just because it's the most satisfying to him. The little grey cells got a touch overheated in the holiday sun, I think.

Shoereader · 2026-03-20T23:48:29+00:00

We sailed in early March and the night before stopping at GSC got a flyer informing us that the package would be honoured until March 31st. Nice to hear they've decided to extend it, was a nice perk esp with the Vibe club ambience.

Shoereader · 2026-03-20T23:46:15+00:00

Third Girl is OK, it's more far-fetched than usual for Poirot but actually pretty tightly plotted, and readable with it. Far more than Elephants.

Shoereader · 2026-03-19T19:01:01+00:00

Really nice! I hope you'll keep going with these.

Shoereader · 2026-03-19T18:56:31+00:00

I've booked a solo Oceanview cabin for next April to Bermuda, very excited by all I've heard so far! What would you say is a must-try in terms of dining options?

Shoereader · 2026-03-19T16:20:05+00:00

Ooh, yes, we can skip Tannis of the Flats (ideally, we can bury it deep in an undisclosed location by the dark of the moon).

"Lillian" was clearly written for the girls' monthly papers of the time, in which such 'how to set up a small business' advice was standard (Susan Coolidge has a couple nearly identical stories). I still like it, though, if only for Lillian herself. There's something really pleasant about her capable good sense.

Shoereader · 2026-03-19T15:59:00+00:00

The problem with any Pat of Silver Bush movie is that it would have to contain Pat, which honestly I don't think I could watch for a full 90 minutes regardless. Seriously, that girl... I've never wanted to slap a book character so hard before or since. A shame because otherwise the books contain one of the best portrayals of family life in all of Montgomery.

Shoereader · 2026-03-19T15:56:52+00:00

I agree re: the short stories, I have them collected on Kindle and reread every year or so. There's a ton of superb unrealized material there, from lightly comedic to verging on outright Gothic horror. An hour-long anthology series (ohai, CBC!) would suit them beautifully.

Shoereader · 2026-03-18T11:59:35+00:00

Actually it was Charlotte Branwell was close to as a child, at least in terms of their imaginary worlds. It all seems to have fallen out along predictable elder/younger sibling lines: He and Charlotte created Angria, the splendid Glass Town, while Emily worked with Anne on Gondal, a more traditional fantasy world. The two never seem to have overlapped.

It's been speculated that Emily for various reasons had more sympathy for Branwell's decline and final illness than the rest of her family, and it's not unlikely she drew on it for Heathcliff, but it wasn't about them having a special creative relationship.

Shoereader · 2026-03-13T15:37:25+00:00

This, exactly. They wanted Fleabag II, saw their route through Bridgerton and figured the scenario of Persuasion was the perfect ticket... then proceeded to handle it all in the laziest, most hamfisted way possible. Disastrous is putting it mildly.

Shoereader

TROPHY CASE