"I Don't Like New Things"

The title is a self-quote from my Happy Hearts post. I'm allowed to quote myself, am I not? That line sounded a bit petulant on a reread, not to mention less than true. I like new clothes. I like new books. I like new... um, hmm, there must be a third thing. Rule of threes! Do shoes count as clothes? Yesterday I ordered new ankle boots for spring, in blush. (That's light pink for any guys reading.) I also bought a blush purse and matching wallet because I'm tired of black. Actually, I've only just returned to my black purse after using a mini turquoise backpack ~ I was going to the fair or the beach or something, switched to the backpack, and was too lazy to switch back. Every day as I grabbed the backpack on my way out the door to work, I thought, ugh, I should go back to a purse, but then at night I was too tired to deal with it. This situation went on for months. Welp, now it's over, and the black purse has returned... until it's time to change over to blush. When will that be? Idk. May or June, I suppose.

When I said I didn't like new things, I was referring mainly to new movies and television shows, most of which I do not enjoy. There are exceptions, of course. I loved the Bob Dylan movie A Complete Unknown, and, as I mentioned last post, the Anatomy of a Scandal six-episode show on Netflix was great. Mostly though, I start new (to me) movies and quickly lose interest. This weekend I was sick ~ at first I thought it was the stomach "flu" (one of the viruses that's going around), but my symptoms didn't really fit those profiles, so now I think my tummy is simply going through one of its periodic rebellions against high fat food and NSAIDs. I stayed home from work Friday, and since then have been bingeing on old favorites, such as the Mamma Mia movies, You've Got Mail, Miss Congeniality, etc. Soon I'll probably rewatch 27 Dresses and When Harry Met Sally too. And the musicals!

I also read two Victoria Holt romance novels over the weekend: The Return of the Gypsy and Midsummer's Eve. These are part of the "Daughters of England" series, and if I had been smarter, I would have begun with the first one, not in the middle, but it's too late now, so I will keep reading them at random. I remembered Gypsy as being one of my VH favorites, and it definitely was enjoyable but not as great as I thought it was 30+ years ago. I am pickier now, I guess. I gave it four stars for excellent character development and pacing, and I gave three to Midsummer, which had a great plot twist but otherwise was a bit tedious. One of the things that irks me just a tiny bit about the VH books now is that the protagonist will spend page after page obsessing over every nuance of a relationship, conversation, or situation, but the endings are very abrupt. It's like, OK, I've decided on this guy, boom. Hey, wait a sec! There were other things going on!

The VH stories excel at showing the many facets of human nature however ~ usually no one is all good or all bad but a mix of traits, which makes them seem more real than the characters in contemporary romance novels. This complexity also drives the plot in ways that are both surprising and earned. The protagonists’ moments of epiphany are universally relatable even 200 years later. Technology may have advanced, but human nature remains the same.

I'm feeling better tonight, so hopefully my week will go well. Work is very busy. More soon!