Wanna feel smarter? Part I

“He has all of the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire." Winston Churchill

This is one of my favorite quotes. You have to like a person who’d use this line in a sentence?  So when Dana gave me an audio copy of Churchill's, History of the English Speaking People. I didn't hesitate. (Typically, I take Dana's tips with a grain of salt--b/c we have such VASTLY different taste.) It's not unusual to hear me stomping down the stairs grumbling something like "THAT WAS A COMPLETE WASTE OF TIME!!"  To which my husband responds--"Didn't like the book (or movie?)”

 "NO!"  I reply and then proceed into a tirade, wondering why I spent several hours of my life on a despondent Cold War spy who finally does something good with his life only to be shot dead on the last page?

Personally, I have enough unnecessary drama in my real life.  In my fiction, I like a happy ending, or at least something uplifting, even unique.  Dana, on the other hand, appreciates the harshness of real life, or straight fantasy (with our without a satirical twist.)

It fascinates me when life OR art intersect. Recently, I was browsing the impressive reading list of a college friend, and saw several titles by Anne Perry.  Later, when I found Anne Perry's Ashworth Hall,   I had to have it!  (Admittedly, I found it at a garage sale--it was well worth my $2.00 for the hardback) This interesting historical fiction about English & Irish relations really compliments Churchill's take on actual events (Which you shouldn't read by the way--listen to it.  Then you really get his humor.  It's SO dry-- you could go right past it before you realized he was ripping on someone. What’s history without witty commentary??