Dillards 49: Dull Dillards Dulling

[VineHeart137]

6 hours ago, Chewing Gum said:

Also I think Sam’s carseat is just fine. He’s in the one he’s supposed to be. If he were in a followup carseat I would have a lot more problems with it. All babies are usually crammed up in their first carseat once they reach their 1 year mark. 

That's what I'm saying, Sam is only 6 months lol, he's got several months to go before he is close to 1 and he already looks crammed up. I would not be shocked if his head reaches the top of the shell and they have to switch him to a convertible (which is perfectly acceptable for babies) before his birthday. Kid is tall!

[SapphireSlytherin]

Sam's car seat looks fine to me.

I hope Deena has a girl - just as a little "hnnngggghhh" at DerJill.

Dobby's death hurt almost (ALMOST) as much as Hedwig's.

[HarleyQuinn]

Jinger looks annoyed at the Dullard's presence, imo. 

[allthegoodnamesrgone]

6 hours ago, JillyO said:

Agreed, Derick looks absolutely fine in this picture. Shame about the cult.

On the other hand, I think JD's outfit makes him look about 70.

This cracked me up, I read this as ' Derick you look great, shame you're such an asshole.'

[acheronbeach]

11 hours ago, LovelyLuna said:

 Tonks, Lupin, Fred, Sirius, Snap...

...and Loopin?  And were they masticating?

 

(Sorry, can't resist a My Immortal reference)

[manda b]

Speaking on the Ebook issue, if your library doesn't have Hoopla a lot of them are using overdrive now.

[habert]

I think Derrick is looking better than he has in a long time in that pic. Also Jill looks genuinely happy. For the past two years she seemed miserable. Maybe something is on the up and up for those two. 

[Bad Wolf]

I love Overdrive. You can be anywhere in the world and download from your local library free.

[SapphireSlytherin]

10 minutes ago, Bad Wolf said:

I love Overdrive. You can be anywhere in the world and download from your local library free.

Unless your library is antiquated and non-user-friendly. They require an IN-PERSON VISIT every six months to prove you're still a resident of the city in order to keep your library card current. Sorry. Ain't nobody got time for that.

 

[Drala]

What I notice is that Derrick seems to be sporting a decently styled haircut. He's parting it and combing the front fringes back off his face.   He's still scruffy about the face--heavy beards are a bitch to shave all the time--and the haircut goes a long way towards a neater, groomed appearance.

[libgirl2]

On 1/28/2018 at 7:45 PM, Texas Heifer said:

I tend to like Alison Weir's books, but I think I'ma read this. I have been nuts about Elizabeth I and the Tudors since adolescence, and just in the past few years have gotten into the Cousins' War era. 

I also love Philippa Gregory's novels, but mostly for the entertainment value. I get irritated sometimes when she just makes stuff up, but as an artist married to a writer, I understand artistic license and can appreciate why she does it most of the time.

There was no reason to make Isabel Neville's first baby into a boy, for instance...or at least no good reason. In my opinion.

Sorry to return to this thread drift if everyone has moved on. I am behind; got hijacked by JillRod and various weens.

Some of my favorite Elizabeth I fictional books are I, Elizabeth by Rosalind Miles and Legacy by Susan Kay. I also read a lot of non-fiction biographies growing up. I once had the librarian ask me if I was writing a paper on her. I said no, just reading. 

There is a book that I highly recommend "The Autobiography of Henry VIII" by Margaret George. Sure its fiction, but it is a really, really good read. 

I gave up on Philippa Gregory awhile ago. I don't mind historical fiction, but sometimes it goes too far, though I did enjoy White Queen and White Princess mini-series. 

[Sky with diamonds]

1 hour ago, libgirl2 said:

Some of my favorite Elizabeth I fictional books are I, Elizabeth by Rosalind Miles and Legacy by Susan Kay. I also read a lot of non-fiction biographies growing up. I once had the librarian ask me if I was writing a paper on her. I said no, just reading. 

There is a book that I highly recommend "The Autobiography of Henry VIII" by Margaret George. Sure its fiction, but it is a really, really good read. 

I gave up on Philippa Gregory awhile ago. I don't mind historical fiction, but sometimes it goes too far, though I did enjoy White Queen and White Princess mini-series. 

Why did you give up on that particular author? I have recently purchased The Constant Princess, but have yet to read it. 

I would dearly love to read more of the Tudor period. Books are my escape, and I have literally 100s of books, but only TCP from that era. 

[Jenn The Heathen]

1 hour ago, libgirl2 said:

I gave up on Philippa Gregory awhile ago. I don't mind historical fiction, but sometimes it goes too far, though I did enjoy White Queen and White Princess mini-series. 

Those mini series are my guilty pleasure TV.  I really loved Henry and Elizabeth’s relationship progression in The White Princess.

[Bad Wolf]

6 hours ago, SapphireSlytherin said:

Unless your library is antiquated and non-user-friendly. They require an IN-PERSON VISIT every six months to prove you're still a resident of the city in order to keep your library card current. Sorry. Ain't nobody got time for that.

 

I guess I have an antiquated library, because I've never had to go in to prove I'm still a resident. And I find Overdrive quite user friendly.

[SapphireSlytherin]

25 minutes ago, Bad Wolf said:

I guess I have an antiquated library, because I've never had to go in to prove I'm still a resident. And I find Overdrive quite user friendly.

Oh, sorry - I wasn't clear. I meant OUR library is antiquated/non-user-friendly because they're so stuffy about library cards. I do like the Overdrive app, and agree it's amazing.  

[acheronbeach]

2 hours ago, libgirl2 said:

I gave up on Philippa Gregory awhile ago. I don't mind historical fiction, but sometimes it goes too far, though I did enjoy White Queen and White Princess mini-series. 

What, you don't like reading how everyone is having incestuous affairs throughout England?  Wildacre, at least, was fiction, but my eyes nearly rolled out of my head when I read The Other Boleyn Girl.  

 

[hilee]

1 minute ago, acheronbeach said:

What, you don't like reading how everyone is having incestuous affairs throughout England?  Wildacre, at least, was fiction, but my eyes nearly rolled out of my head when I read The Other Boleyn Girl.  

 

Back in the day she had a message board on her website and people would always pick on other authors namely Jean Plaidy and Alison Weir and throw out things like well they aren't known for being very true to history. LIke because JP's book on Anne Boleyn had Anne with a step mother.

Ahh ok but The Other Boleyn Girl is? Got it. 

[merg429]

On 1/18/2018 at 7:01 PM, Georgiana said:

If you've never read his work, I HIGHLY recommend Robert K. Massie's books on the downfall of Imperial Russia. Massie is also the father of a hemophiliac child, and the compassion and insight he provides to Nicholas, Alexandra, and Alexei is incredibly unique and really humanizes them.  

He's also a great writer.  His Catherine the Great biography is amazing as well.  

Massie's biography of Catherine the great is one of the best books I have ever read. I did not know he had one on the downfall of Imperial Russia. I am going to have to find that. 

Imperial Russia and The Tudors are two of my favorite periods of history, this may be one of my favorite thread drifts ever! 

[Georgiana]

10 minutes ago, merg429 said:

Massie's biography of Catherine the great is one of the best books I have ever read. I did not know he had one on the downfall of Imperial Russia. I am going to have to find that. 

Imperial Russia and The Tudors are two of my favorite periods of history, this may be one of my favorite thread drifts ever! 

I too found Massie via his Catherine book, so if you liked that, you're in for a real treat with Nicholas and Alexandra!!  He actually has multiple books on the last days of Imperial Russia, and some are just updated versions of his previous works.  I've read them all, but if I had to go back and do it again, I'd research which are the updated ones to get the full whammy the first time.   

According to wikipedia, The Romanovs: The Final Chapter is the updated version of his breakthrough book Nicholas and Alexandra.  I read N+A first, but there was a lot of new information in The Romanovs that kept it interesting.  

Just FYI though, while originally people thought the Romanovs died a mysterious death, with the fall of the Soviet Union and the release of records, it turned out they died a very brutal and gruesome death and the treatment of their bodies after their deaths was horrific.  Massie goes into necessary detail since no discussion of the Romanov deaths is complete without dispelling the rumors of survival that came up later, but just be warned...when it gets dark, it gets REALLY dark.  

[tabitha2]

If you enjoy the Romanovs I recommend W Bruce Lincoln’s The Romanovs: Autocrats of All the Russias. Chronicles the dynasty from 1613 to the end. It’s an older book but well written and fascinating 

[PennySycamore]

@Georgiana, my history prof at Furman went to grad school at UVA.  He said that the woman who claimed to be Anastasia was nuttier than a fruitcake.  So was her hubby, apparently.

[Glasgowghirl]

What happened to the Romanov's is so tragic, the fact the children were shot as well is just horrible. King George V had considered letting them come to the UK but changed his mind due to public opinion. He felt guilty after the rumours of their deaths first surfaced. He also knew though that revolution could have spread to Britain, protests were breaking out and his two cousin's, Nicholas and Wilhelm had been overthrown. George also was dealing with his youngest son, John's deterating health, he died just after the war ended. He had epilepsy and what they now suspect was autism, his condition was not revealed until after his death due to attitudes at the time and he lived mostly with his nanny away from London. Epilepsy was seen as mental illness then and the royals since the madness of George lll had been paranoid that it ran in the family. 

[tabitha2]

Queen Alexandra did manage to get a battle ship sent to rescue her sister Empress Maria Feodorovna who was Nicholas mother. The latter had seen  the way the wind was turning and escaped to Crimea with other refugee family members but still had to be urged to leave Russia. She eventually settled in Britain but being second fiddle to her sister the beloved Queen was not happening  so she hightailed it back to Denmark. 

[samurai_sarah]

13 hours ago, Sky with diamonds said:

Why did you give up on that particular author? I have recently purchased The Constant Princess, but have yet to read it. 

While not addressed at me, I personally gave up on Gregory's fact-based historicals, because she manages to make some very smart women sound whiny and dumb. "Wideacre" on the other hand, had one of the least likeable protagonists I have ever come across, but she's neither whiny, nor dumb. She makes some truly horrendous choices to get what she wants, against the constraints of the times, for a woman. But she doesn't whine.

Granted, in her historicals, unlike straight-up historical fiction, Gregory is somewhat constrained. But her narrative voice ends up reading, for me, like it's the same person, same old, different historical period and now with more self-pity. I respect the literary empire she has built for herself, but can't with her historicals.

[Shadoewolf]

I may look like a total dork here, but are the Romanov's the royal family that Danielle Steele used as background characters in Granny Dan? It's set in Russia, is about a ballerina who falls ill and falls in love with the royal doctor. The youngest royal Alexei has hemophilia, he has 2 (?) older sisters and they end up on house arrest at first and executed at the end?