Recent reading

[luzula]

I would like to rec A Lineage of Amazons by nnozomi, which is a beautiful Swallows and Amazons fic, with the author's usual lovely style and attention to the material details of daily life, and it also has a theme that comes together so well from sections that at first seem disparate.

The Secret of the Ron Mor Skerry by Rosalie Fry (1959)
Recced by sovay. Oh, this was lovely, and I enjoyed the illustrations as much as I did the text. The seals/selkies here are such a contrast with Mollie Hunter's A Stranger Came Ashore--this book feels warm and welcoming, while still mysterious, while in Hunter's book, the selkie is a threat. But actually I would have enjoyed this even without the selkies: the family stuff and the descriptions of the sea and the islands are great.

The Oak and the Ash by Annick Trent (2023)
I have beta-read this before, but it's the first time I read it for pleasure, which is such a different experience. Aww, George is definitely my favorite character here; I like him a lot. <3 I also very much enjoy all the details of material culture--I know the author does a lot of research on things like that, and it adds so much to the reading experience. I think this book's plot hangs together better than in the author's previous book: the element that will lead to conflict is set up right from the start, and the resolution works really well for me, too.

Sex and the Church in the Long Eighteenth Century: Religion, Enlightenment and the Sexual Revolution by William Gibson and Joanne Begiato (2017)
Recced by garonne; the Church here is the Anglican Church. Fic research, I guess? It's always interesting to learn more about attitudes towards sexuality, and in this case how they hang together with religious attitudes. The authors' main thesis seems to be that contrary to what some other people have claimed, changes in views on sexuality in the 18th century did not arise as much from the Enlightenment and people growing less religious, as from movements within the Church.

Comments

[rachelmanija]

There's a lovely, warm movie based on The Secret of Ron Mor Skerry, which is The Secret of Roan Inish.

[chestnut_pod]

Oh, jinx! That's what I get for not reading other comments first. But absolutely seconding this recommendation -- a childhood favorite which holds up.

[luzula]

sovay has also mentioned it! I'm very bad at watching movies/TV these days, but it does seem like something I ought to watch.

[riverlight]

Belated response but I wanted to add that this is one of my all-time favorite movies, in case you need any inspiration to watch! I believe it's rentable on Amazon, if you don't mind giving them money. (I do, but there's not much alternative for movie rental that I'm aware of!)

[luzula]

Thanks for the added recommendation! : )

[chestnut_pod]

Have you seen the film adaptation of The Secret of the Ron Mor Skerry? It's called The Secret of Roan Inish and is a truly wonderful movie in its own right (great score!) while also hitting the highlights of the book which you draw out here.

[luzula]

I have not, though sovay has mentioned it! It does sound good, though I probably need to find someone to watch it with if it's going to happen, since I'm so bad at watching movies/TV these days--other things just always seem to take precedence.

[garonne]

Hey, you finished Sex and the Church in the Long Eighteenth Century before me! :D

contrary to what some other people have claimed

That's actually one of the things I struggle with the most when reading historical non-fiction by academics. They so often seem to start by saying "until now pretty much everybody has been claiming X, but we're here to prove Y (the opposite of X)", and I never know what to make of it. Like, are they just saying that to justify their funding, so to speak? Or if everybody else except them does believe X, then maybe X is actually closer to the truth? I don't know... I just feel that this "here's my revolutionary new theory Y, the opposite of widely accepted theory X" is very common in historical academia, as opposed to academia in the hard sciences, where people are more likely to say something like "here's some brand new information Y, and you should definitely believe us because we also checked that Y is coherent with the widely accepted pre-existing theories X and Z".

[luzula]

I did! : D There were some parts I skimmed, though.

Yeah, I guess it's a difference in how different scientific fields work. Perhaps when people say "until now pretty much everybody has been claiming X, but we're here to prove Y (the opposite of X)", perhaps they're not always actually saying the opposite of X, but showing some new perspective which is different but complementary? And exaggerating how different it is from previous books for effect?

[osprey_archer]

Oh, I love a selkie story, so The Secret of the Ron Mor Skerry sounds right up my alley. I'll have to see if it's at all hard to track down.

[luzula]

It's newly reprinted, so it shouldn't be hard!

[osprey_archer]

Yes, I've got a hold on a copy at the library! Soon there will be selkies.

[nnozomi]

<3 <3 <3

[luzula]

: )

[sovay]

Oh, this was lovely, and I enjoyed the illustrations as much as I did the text.

Hooray! (Catching up on my friendlist.) I am so very glad. You see why A Stranger Came Ashore never took with me the same way as all the other seal-stories.

[luzula]

Yes, I do see! I mean, I understand having there be danger as well as kinship, but there's no kinship at all in A Stranger Came Ashore.