Too much grading left for a proper post, but

( spoilers and retrospective thoughtsCollapse )

Four of my library requests *would* all decide to come in (after weeks and weeks of nothing) at the same time, when I have all this finals grading to do. Thanks a lot, library request elves.

Occasionally my best friend asks me for book suggestions for her...step-nephew? He likes the Percy Jackson books (which I've not read), so I'm trying to keep my recommendations to fantasy with a mythological bent, although occasionally I slip up and just recommend a favorite that doesn't quite fit the criteria. Here's what I've recommended so far (with asterisks next to books I haven't actually read):

- the D'Aulaires' book of Greek myths
- Pamela F. Service, The Reluctant God
(this was the book about which my friend said, "oh, I don't think he's at the stage yet where he'll read books about girls," and I got all ragey, like, NO THAT IS NOT HOW THAT WORKS)
- R. L. LaFevers, the Theodosia Throckmorton books; the Nathaniel Fludd series*
- Diana Wynne Jones, Howl's Moving Castle; The Chronicles of Chrestomanci
- Madeleine L'Engle, A Wrinkle in Time and the rest of the Murry family books
- Susan Cooper, The Dark is Rising series*
(I know, I know, I'm a horrible human for not having read these - although I did read Over Sea... at long last, so maybe there's hope for me)
- Neil Gaiman, Coraline; The Graveyard Book; The Books of Magic
(being slightly self-indulgent with this recommendation)
- Virginia Hamilton, The Magical Adventures of Pretty Pearl
- Lloyd Alexander, The Arkadians; the Prydain Chronicles*
(as you can see, I'm no good at reading series)
- Robin McKinley, The Hero and the Crown; Dragonhaven*
- Peter S. Beagle, The Last Unicorn
(this might be a bit "old" for him)
- Franny Billingsley, The Folk Keeper
- Jane Yolen, Foiled
- Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi, The Spiderwick Chronicles*
(though these might be a bit young)

Anything you can think of that I ought to suggest? I think he reads a lot, so it might be worth having a lot of recommendations at the ready.

http://doctorno1.wordpress.com/2013/05/15/neil-gaiman-on-re-writing-doctor-who-clara-was-originally-going-to-stay-as-a-victorian-governess/

Why would you break my heart by telling me that???

"The missing children of early modern religion"

http://blog.oup.com/2013/05/missing-children-early-modern-religion/

I'm so glad I follow the Oxford University Press blog via email, because great tidbits like this make their way into my inbox. I'm especially interested - in my dilettante way, of course - in finding out more about early modern children, since I wrote that presentation on childhood and A Midsummer Night's Dream, and of course it's also why I love children's/YA historical fiction, where authors use their imaginations to make children the focus of their stories.

(Last week I started reading a scholarly book on early modern girlhood - I don't know why I thought I'd get anywhere with it, what with finals just around the corner, but I discovered it in the library catalog, after having read the author's dissertation abstract sometime last year, and pounced. I also recently discovered that the authors of The Tudor Tailor, a guide for costumers that I desperately want even though I can hardly tell one end of a needle from the other, have just published a similar book called The Tudor Child. Sometimes these things come in waves.)

Sorry, guys; all I have in the way of reaction posts today is, "Matt Smith, you unbelievably ridiculous thing. What even are you, because seriously."

Yup. That's it.

http://david-crystal.blogspot.com/2013/05/on-donne-in-op.html

A post about the "Virtual Paul’s Cross Project, which uses visual and acoustic modeling technology to recreate the experience of listening to John Donne’s sermon at St Paul's Cross outside St Paul’s Cathedral on 5 November 1622."

I haven't had a chance to explore the project yet (link in post), but it certainly sounds exciting!

Thought the episode was silly and fun; am probably more excited about the last scene than about anything else in the episode, though. Because ( tiny spoilerCollapse )

Some of you might find this as cool as I do (and yes, I *have* just been poking around on the internet for stuff about early modern domestic spaces since my last post, thanks for asking):

http://www.geffrye-museum.org.uk/period-rooms-and-gardens/virtualtour/period-rooms/room-1---a-hall-in-1630/

You can see all the tours here; they have rooms at various points from 1630 to 1998:
http://www.geffrye-museum.org.uk/period-rooms-and-gardens/virtualtour/

There are also links to 360 views of the rooms, so you can see them in more detail.

A Day at Home in Early Modern England
http://materialhistories.wordpress.com/a-day-at-home-in-early-modern-england/

It sounds exactly like the kind of thing I keep wishing I could find, but haven't yet! So it's great that it will exist...someday...