Tuesday

Goodreads review: Mycroft Holmes

Noe's review


Mycroft HolmesMycroft Holmes by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
My rating: 1 of 5 stars 

If this book was a movie, it would be a bad B movie. The plot, dialogue, and scenes lack imagination and bear all the marks of what is trite. Other than the name Holmes, it has no resemblance to a Holmesian tale.

The story is about Sherlock’s older brother Mycroft, and therein lies another problem. The authors make Mycroft out to be like Sherlock: a man of action, a man that rides into the fray, a man who boxes - he even gives Sherlock a boxing lesson. I don’t like it when someone writes a fanfiction story and changes the character that the original author created; although, if the book is good, this is not so annoying to me. According to Arthur Conan Doyle, Mycroft is nothing like his younger brother from the point of view of physical activity, though he is Sherlock’s equal in intelligence and powers of observation and deduction. But Mycroft is indolent. For goodness sake, he is so averse to activity he founded the Diogenes Club, a club where the exertion of simply talking was not allowed. The sole purpose of the club was to have a place to go and read and be left alone.

What a cool story it could have been to have the real Mycroft, who is so averse to exertion, to be made to pursue a case because his great mind has deduced the necessity and all along the way he is trying to determine how to handle matters with the least amount of effort. That is more what I expected to find, but instead, we have a corny story with lame dialogue ineffectively trying to be a Sherlock Holmes story.
~~~~~

Note: Goodreads rating is as follows:
 did not like it
 it was okay
 liked it
 really liked it
 it was amazing
~~~~~
Amazon Customer Reviews Guidelines 
Frequently Asked Questions from Authors
2. Are authors allowed to review other authors’ books?
Yes. Authors are welcome to submit Customer Reviews, unless the reviewing author has a personal relationship with the author of the book being reviewed, or was involved in the book’s creation process (i.e. as a co-author, editor, illustrator, etc.). If so, that author isn't eligible to write a Customer Review for that book. Please review our Customer Review Guidelines for more information. 

And this About Customer Reviews policy:
Authors and artists can add a unique perspective and we very much welcome their customer reviews[Underlining ours] While we encourage reviewers to share their enthusiasm and experience, there can be a fine line between that and the use of customer reviews as product promotion. We don't allow anyone to write customer reviews as a form of promotion and if we find evidence that a customer was paid for a review, we'll remove it. If you have a direct or indirect financial interest in a product, or perceived to have a close personal relationship with its author or artist, we'll likely remove your review. We don't allow authors to submit customer reviews on their own books even when they disclose their identity[Underlining and italics ours]

Friday

Picture quotes

Playing with photos ...


Reading is fun, if you enjoy it.
Taking pictures is fun, if they come out any good.
Finding cool quotes to go with your pictures is super fun!


Groucho Marx quote. Hammer the dog.
Noe and Cindy write

Jane Austen quotes
Noe and Cindy write

Louisa May Alcott quote, Eight Cousins
Noe and Cindy write

Jane Austen quote, Sense & Sensibility
Noe and Cindy write

Do you have a favorite? Quote ... or picture??

           Thank you for reading what noeandcindy.write !

              Join us: facebook.com/AuthorsNoeandCindy

Perfectly Preposterous Pride and Prejudice

The continuing saga ...

Pride and Prejudice has had its share of ... shall I say, interesting ... though I would prefer to say, strange ... variations. Yes, it can be pointed out that Cindy and I put Mr. Darcy in outer space 500 years into the future in our eshort story, Mr Darcy and the Space-time Continuum. And for that reason, it shouldn't be too out of character for us to introduce a recurring blog post that will be titled, The Perfectly Preposterous Pride and Prejudice Variationor as some might prefer to refer to it, since so many people love to turn phrases into abbreviations, The PPPP.

Whatever you decide to call it, this will appear on our blog whenever I am feeling preposterous and choose to take certain scenes from Pride and Prejudice and make them perfectly preposterous. We hope you will enjoy our first post under that banner, as follows:


Kitty Coughs

    As Lizzy sat trimming a hat, her father addressed her, "I hope Mr. Bingley will like your hat, Lizzy."
    Her mother, not allowing Elizabeth to answer, pouted, "We are not in a way to know what Mr. Bingley likes, since we are not to visit him."
    Elizabeth made a reply having nothing to do with the hat: "But you forget, Mamma, that we shall meet him at the assemblies and that Mrs. Long has promised to introduce him."
    Her mother, with irritation building in her voice, complained, "I do not believe Mrs. Long will do any such thingshe has two nieces of her own. She is a selfish, hypocritical woman, and I have no opinion of her."
    "No more have I," said Mr. Bennet, "and I am glad to find that you do not depend on her serving you."
    Mrs. Bennet deigned not to make any reply, but unable to contain herself, began scolding one of her daughters, "Don't keep coughing so, Kitty, for Heaven's sake! Have a little compassion on my nerves. You tear them to pieces."


P&P Animated (Graphic Canon Vol 2)
    "Mamma ...," cough, cough, and more coughs.


See link below
Correct actresses who played Kitty!
See note about this below.
    Mary left her chair to take Kitty some water. "Here, Kitty, drink some water. I have read that drinking water will help a persistent cough."
    After taking a few sips, her coughing fit seemed to end and she took a deep breath. "Ahhh, thank you, Mary!"
    "You're wel... " cough, cough, and more coughs.
    Elizabeth took the water from Kitty and gave it to Mary. "Let's try that again, Mary, for I'm sure your source of information is infallible."
    Mary dutifully accepted the water, and after a few sips, her coughs subsided. Thank you, Elizabeth, I am in your debt."
    "You're wel... " cough, cough, and more coughs.
    Jane took the water from Mary and gave it to Lizzy. "Oh dear, poor Lizzy, you must need some water as well." After a few sips, her coughing fit ended. "Thank you so much, Jane."
    "You're wel... " cough, cough, and more coughs.
    Lydia now took the glass of water from Lizzy and gave it to Jane, and after a few sips, the coughing stopped. "Oh, my ... thank you, Lydia," Jane said, patting her throat delicately.
    "You're wel... " cough, cough, and more coughs.
    Kitty took the water from Jane and gave it to Lydia. After a few sips, the cough stopped. "Lord, thank you, Kitty!"
    Smiling, her sister replied, "You're wel..." head shaking, "wel..." eyes blinking, "achoo!"

~~~~~~~~~~
copyright © 2016 by NoeandCindy
Perfect Photo credits:
Pride and Prejudice Animated (Graphic Canon Vol. 2) by Huxley King and Terrence Boyce, YouTube presentation.
Flu Season, by "Jane Austen Runs My Life" blog
~~~~~~~~~~
I must give a big thank you to +Julie Rak for catching that the meme about Kitty coughing is using the wrong actress! Hence, the correct photo post from Period Movies Box showing the two girls from 1995 and 2005 P&P. That was a perfectly preposterous unintentional mistake! (See Julie's note in the comments section below)



Want to read more "Perfectly Preposterous P&P" posts?
Here they are:
Number 2, Bingley visits Mr. Bennet
Number 3, Sisters will talk


Thank you for reading what noeandcindy.write !

Sunday

Austen's Great Debates

Debates, not arguments

"It is a truth universally acknowledged ..." Jane Austen's stories make her readers marvel at her power of spinning a tale. We admire her ability to create an intriguing twist of circumstances out of which we wonder, will love triumph? Her storytelling is so good, I still feel this way each time I reread her books. And, of course, there is her eye for human comedy, or absurdities, without being over the top. One thing that can be said about her charactersthey are all believable, and that only makes the humor all the more priceless. I should also mention how she always manages to give the heroine a most interesting flaw that makes the character more acceptable as well as someone we can relate to.

However, Miss Austen had a knack for something else that I have always found impressive, and that is great debates. I call them debates rather than arguments because these well-crafted conversations are between persons expressing their points of view in a calm and rational manner. She had some good arguments, to be sure, such as when Darcy first proposes and we see Lizzy and Darcy really arguing, not debating. Another famous argument is between Emma and Knightley when she talked Harriet into not accepting the farmer Robert Martin's offer of marriage. In each of these two arguments, we are drawn in, feeling the tension from both sides and we can understand why the two involved would be so irritated.

But Austen's debates take us to another place altogether ... that place where emotions don't cloud our judgement and we can stand on the side, considering the impact of what is being discussed. There is no question that the potential is there for feelings to get riled up, but they are presented in that gentle English way that has all the hallmarks of civility.

Here are some of my favorites:



Bingley.jpg

In Pride & Prejudice there is a debate between Lizzy and Darcy about Bingley saying he would leave Netherfield in an instant. Darcy says Charles would just as quickly decide to stay if asked not to leave, and thus begins a wonderful debate between Lizzy and Darcy. And what a debate it is, especially considering the subject! But the two put their hearts into it as each presents sound, compelling points and counterpoints.

In Emma, John Knightley and Jane Fairfax have a debate on, of all things, going to the post office! Again we see JA’s genius in creating a very compelling and heartfelt moment on a subject that on the surface would have little emotional value, but not in the hands of Jane Austen. Talking about Emma, I should also mention the debate between George Knightley and Mrs. Weston about Emma taking Harriet under her wing. Then there are the talks about Frank Churchill between Emma and Knightley that are more good debates.

Now, my all-time favorite debate is found in the book Persuasion, though. It is between Anne Elliot and Captain Harville on the subject of whether men or women are the more steadfast in love. The subject is most compelling and profound, and yet these two gentle people discuss this with the utmost respect, and that very English thing I call reserved passion.

5973365_f520.jpg

7413434._SX540_.jpg

I have often wondered if men and women of today would make such claims for their sex? Or are people today both so prepared to dispense with the person they are with when someone they consider more interesting comes along? With so much of that sort of thing going on, I really do wonder.

This subject that makes for one of the most sensitive and profoundly moving debates ever, I know, is not lost on everyone ... consider the TV show Monk about a brilliant detective who would not, could not, forget his wife after her deathher cherished memory is ever present with him.

Monk&Trudy.jpg

The beauty of Austen is how she captures both sides of any given debate with such clarity so that both sides are expressed equally well. This brings up the question, did someone with such a gift for seeing the different sides of an issue have trouble making up her own mind because she could see both sides of things so well it made it impossible to decide? Could this be why she never married?

“He is handsome, but will he remain so after he gains twenty pounds and becomes less active? Of course, he may become more active and always be away from home if he finds me disagreeable. Or perhaps I will find him disagreeable and yet he wants to always be with me ... handsome or not, disagreeable would quickly become tiresome. He has a strong youthful face now, but these British men have a tendency to wrinkle early ... could I manage to look at a badly wrinkled face each night before I am off to bedwhat horrors might await me in my dreams? And another thing, he might be a great reader but despise my writingthat of all things would be too much to bear, to see him comfortably seated enjoying some other person’s book while my stories remain only in my head ... yes, come to think of it, there are far worse things than not being married.”



Yes, we are so glad she wrote her stories, they were published, and today we can enjoy her great debates.

Wednesday

We're on Facebook!

Finally ...

I never liked Facebook way back when, so I stayed away from it. But things change and I recently thought it would be a good idea for us to get an FB page for our writing.

It's taking me just a little while to get to know it, but I find it's pretty much like Instagram and even Google+ in the way it's all set up. Not sure which I like best, but I do like that on IG you can find more people or interests easier through hastags. Maybe I just haven't experimented enough on FB yet.

So, we're looking for more followers or likes to get that page going! We have a standing offer of our eshort story "The Conversation ..." free for those that like our page. I'll probably take that down after a certain period of time, so catch it while you can!

Here we are: www.facebook.com/AuthorsNoeandCindy



Thank you for reading what noeandcindy.write !
This post is by CINDY

Friday

Goodreads review: Ann Veronica

Noe's review


Ann Veronica, a modern love storyAnn Veronica, a modern love story by H.G. Wells
My rating: 2 of 5 stars 

H. G. Wells - that name makes most of us think of science fiction, so when I came across a love story by him, I had to read it. Not because I’m a big Wells fan, though. I have read the Time Machine and War of the Worlds and didn’t like either one. The movies based on those two stories are much better, but still the idea of a science fiction guy writing romance was intriguing.

To be sure, he has a real knack for writing sweet words. I would say some of his expressions are downright beautiful. However, he had a tendency of having his words of romantic sentiment go toward the idea of religious devotion (meaning the men would say things like Ann was deserving of worship, etc) and for me that was distasteful.

As far as the story goes, it started out good. Twenty-one year old Ann Veronica began as an interesting character, a woman struggling with submission to her father or making her own decisions about her life. Wells makes a couple of references to Jane Austen in the context of whether Ann should be like a JA heroine or should she be a modern woman, which is the idea behind the title. I think if he wanted his book to be a counter to JA’s books, though, he should have written a better story. I mean, seriously, don’t mention one of the greatest romance writers of all time in that light without delivering something brilliant!

Unlike Austen he gives no real good reason why Ann Veronica falls in love with the person she ends up with, which is a big deal because the guy is married but separated from his wife. The truth is, all the men in the book are pretty lousy. Granted, one is more lousy than the others, so at best, her options are poor. Elizabeth Bennet would have stayed single with the options he gives in this book. Jane Austen understood, one key ingredient of a great love story is a great guy worth falling in love with.

The character Ann never grows more interesting, she just becomes a girl that makes choices that were hard for this reader to get behind. He created some interesting situations for her, but fails to make them interesting. It was a real challenge to finish the book; usually I don’t bother to finish one that loses my interest like this one did, but I was hoping he would get back to the feel and rhythm of how the book started, yet it never did.
~~~~~

Note: Goodreads rating is as follows:
 did not like it
 it was okay
 liked it
 really liked it
 it was amazing
~~~~~
Amazon Customer Reviews Guidelines 
Frequently Asked Questions from Authors
2. Are authors allowed to review other authors’ books?
Yes. Authors are welcome to submit Customer Reviews, unless the reviewing author has a personal relationship with the author of the book being reviewed, or was involved in the book’s creation process (i.e. as a co-author, editor, illustrator, etc.). If so, that author isn't eligible to write a Customer Review for that book. Please review our Customer Review Guidelines for more information. 

And this About Customer Reviews policy:
Authors and artists can add a unique perspective and we very much welcome their customer reviews[Underlining ours] While we encourage reviewers to share their enthusiasm and experience, there can be a fine line between that and the use of customer reviews as product promotion. We don't allow anyone to write customer reviews as a form of promotion and if we find evidence that a customer was paid for a review, we'll remove it. If you have a direct or indirect financial interest in a product, or perceived to have a close personal relationship with its author or artist, we'll likely remove your review. We don't allow authors to submit customer reviews on their own books even when they disclose their identity[Underlining and italics ours]

Monday

Comparing Jane Eyre and Elizabeth Bennet

Who makes the most compelling heroine***?

This is not about which is the better story, but rather which of these girls is most to be admired for their character and outstanding achievements.


 


Let’s begin with Elizabeth Bennet, who is admired for standing up for her ideal of love even when doing so puts her at a decided disadvantage by turning down the marriage proposals of Mr. Collins and Mr. Darcy. She is applauded for not compromising on this most personal of matters having to do with love and marriage. In view of the time and culture that she lived in, as well as having the constant urging of her mother, her example makes us hope we would do the same for love today. Like the song What I did for Love says: ‘I won’t regret what I did for love.’

As brave as Elizabeth’s actions were, there was also a certain safety in the course she chose. Consider: she had a family that loved her, her best friend was her older sister, and her father cherished her company. Mr. Bennet was not nearing death, so the consequence of not marrying right away was still some time off in the future. Yes, young ladies did routinely marry younger than she was at that time, but her friend Charlotte, who was seven years older than Lizzy, was still unmarried, and seven years for a twenty-year-old is still a long time—the possibilities and prospects associated with the youthful mind can be endless. So, that begs the question, was she being more safe than brave in the course she took? Was she really a hero ... a person of distinguished courage, admired for brave deeds and noble qualities?


 

  
Turning to Jane Eyre, she is but ten years old when we are introduced to her, being raised, as we all know, in a home where she is despised and treated cruelly. And yet, at this tender age she stands up for herself to her aunt and embraces the challenge of a new life in a school far away from the place she has called home. Meet the unexpected with head held high—a real hero. When things improve for her at the school, she grows up to be a teacher. At eighteen years old now, instead of opting for the security of what she has, she bravely and courageously sets out to see what lies beyond the walls of her present comfortable situation. Once again, we see the character of a hero. As the story goes, we keep seeing Jane Eyre’s resolve to do the brave thing, the right thing—even dividing her inheritance at the end with her new found family. All this is the mark of a truly compelling heroine.

Therefore, in answer to the question Who makes the most compelling heroine, Elizabeth Bennet or Jane Eyre?, I would have to say: in the case of Elizabeth Bennet, we have a girl that is brave by her inaction, which can also be seen as playing it safe. Assuredly, she is a compelling female character in a love story, but not really a heroine in the true sense of the word. On the other hand, Jane Eyre’s courage and bravery are marked around every turn by her displaying herself as a woman of action even as she marches into the unknown. She is a true hero.***

~~~~~~~~~~

Notes:
Here's the song What I Did For Love:
Josh Groban official video on YouTube
Josh Groban lyrics from AZ Lyrics
Here's a similarly titled song, but not the one I was referring to:
Stephen Cornwell singing another version on YouTube
lyrics on that David Guetta version from AZ Lyrics

***The article, The End of Heroines, from The Book Rat blog has a very interesting take on the use of the words hero and heroine. I wrote this before coming across that article and was already using the words interchangeably, but it's definitely food for thought!