Thursday, May 26, 2011

landed…

Current work: revisions to Riva
Listening to: Bach
Reading: Pamela Dean, Tam Lin (really, really enjoyed it – brought back memories of my own student days, though it seems that the US and UK degree systems are very different (I would’ve had a hissy fit if I’d had to do PE classes as part of my English degree) and there are huge differences between student life in the early 1970s and in the mid-1980s. I especially enjoyed the many lit and Classics quotes and allusions and it's tempted me to go back and reread some Renaissance drama - note to self, take son to see Jacobean revenge tragedies as he'll enjoy them)

The revisions have landed, and they’re not as bad as I was expecting. One of them was my ed’s way of saying “get rid of all the Austen references”. (And that alone would make the godmothers laugh, because – well, I’m no Janeite. My mum, bless her, thought she was giving me a huge treat when she spied Mansfield Park on my shelves and bought me the rest of JA for Christmas that year. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that MP was only there as it was a first-year set text, it was utter torture and I loathed it. I did promise myself that I would try rereading it every ten years, to see if I’d matured enough to appreciate it. Um, not yet, but I’m overdue to try again in three years...)

So I’m printing the book out, single spaced and on “fast draft” so I don’t waste too much ink and paper, and I’ll be working in the dining room today, spreading out the papers and scribbling all over them with a red pen. Might allow myself a teensy break with the piano. But I'd better shut the door to the conservatory as it has a siren song – it’s my favourite reading spot in the house. The sofa’s the perfect length to sprawl on with my feet on one arm, and the dog fits nicely under my knees. With the doors open to hear birdsong and let in a cool breeze and the scent of the philadelphus, it’s just perfect.

However. I loafed like that all afternoon yesterday (deserved, after a ton of admin), so today is definitely a work day!

3 comments:

Morton S Gray said...

Hope you get through the revisions quickly to enjoy the bank holiday. I'm wrestling with a plot that won't come together at the moment - hence blog reading! Mx

Caroline said...

So glad the dreaded "R's" weren't that bad! I sent you +ve vibes yesterday so maybe they worked! Caroline x

Lacey Devlin said...

Aw I love that your dog has a place under your knees!