Tag Archives: Charles Dickens

“Make them laugh, make them cry, make them wait.” — Charles Dickens

Posted on February 7, 2025 by sheila

DICKENS MISCELLANIA: QUOTES AND APPRECIATIONS My favorite Dickens? Oliver Twist was my gateway drug. I read it when I was 11. Because I was obsessed with the movie. Tale of Two Cities came next. Read when I was 15 in … Continue reading →

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“Best be yourself, imperial, plain, and true.” – Robert Browning

Posted on May 7, 2023 by sheila

“Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, Or what’s a heaven for?” — Robert Browning “Andrea del Sarto” It’s Robert Browning’s birthday today. “Imperial”. Spoken like a true Victorian. We had to read Robert Browning’s poem “Meeting at … Continue reading →

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December 2022 Viewing Diary

Posted on January 7, 2023 by sheila

The Whale (2022; d. Darren Aronofsky) I thought it was appalling, and not for the obvious reasons. His body is viewed as literally a movie monster, with all these horror-movie shots of his gigantic ankles, etc.) It felt tired and … Continue reading →

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Music Monday: “As Datchery I Did My Bit!”, by Brendan O’Malley

Posted on June 8, 2020 by sheila

My talented brother Brendan O’Malley is an amazing writer and actor. He’s wonderful in the recent You & Me, directed by Alexander Baack. (I interviewed Baack about the film here.) His most recent gig was story editor/writer on the hit … Continue reading →

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Recommended Books: Fiction

Posted on July 26, 2015 by sheila

I’ve added to this list. I still want to do a Non-Fiction one, eventually, but … you know … time permitting. Some authors are represented multiple times here. Other authors aren’t represented at all. For no real reason. Don’t read … Continue reading →

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Happy Birthday, Charles Dickens

Posted on February 7, 2015 by sheila

I have known a vast quantity of nonsense talked about bad men not looking you in the face. Don’t trust that conventional idea. Dishonesty will stare honesty out of countenance, any day in the week, if there is anything to … Continue reading →

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The Books: Arguably, ‘The Dark Side of Dickens’, by Christopher Hitchens

Posted on June 3, 2014 by sheila

On the essays shelf: Arguably: Essays by Christopher Hitchens In his review of Michael Slater’s Charles Dickens, Hitchens compares it to Peter Ackroyd’s 1990 biography of Dickens. He seems to admire both. But he does clock a couple of interesting … Continue reading →

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The Books: A Collection of Essays, ‘Charles Dickens’, by George Orwell

Posted on February 5, 2013 by sheila

On the essays shelf: A Collection of Essays, by George Orwell Orwell’s essay on Dickens is a monster. It could be a small book. Dickens is one of my favorite authors, and Orwell’s essay is essential reading, one of the … Continue reading →

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Book Questionnaire Full of Shame, Loathing and Lying

Posted on June 30, 2010 by sheila

I can’t remember where I initially found this questionnaire, but in re-doing my Categories I found the questions saved in Drafts. I had obviously seen them somewhere, and wanted to answer them eventually. Thought I’d bring it out now. Haven’t … Continue reading →

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Memos from David O. Selznick

Posted on April 30, 2010 by sheila

Excerpts from the addictive Memo from David O. Selznick : The Creation of “Gone with the Wind” and Other Motion Picture Classics, as Revealed in the Producer’s Private Letters, Telegrams, Memorandums, and Autobiographical Remarks, part of the Modern Library “The … Continue reading →

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