#imprudence

Ad for Worth Imprudence (lol) perfume in the April 1939 issue of French Vogue.

“I sit sipping coffee on the couch of a friend. We get caught up on each other’s kids, our husbands’ jobs, and what new shows we’ve been watching. There’s a story I want to tell about a mutual acquaintance, but I’ve made up my mind not to tell it. There are plenty of other things to talk about without resorting to gossip.

After a while the conversation lags, I listen to the clock ticking on the wall, and drain the last of the coffee from my mug. Well, maybe there’s a way to tell the story without saying anything mean. After all, what’s the harm in sharing an amusing anecdote?

I start to speak, choosing my words carefully at first. But Pandora’s Box has been opened. What starts as humor turns into harshness, and before I know it, I’ve committed the sin I just promised myself I wouldn’t.

The enemy looks for easy entry points into our lives. Most of the time it’s not the “big” sins that tempt us, it’s the “little” ones. A quick temper toward my children, a curt response to my husband, or a white lie to a friend may seem like not that big of a deal. But all of these little things we do and say actually matter a lot. Jesus says in today’s Gospel, “The things that come out from within are what defile” (Mark 7:15).

So what exactly is coming out of me? Kind words or cruel gossip? Acts of self-giving or selfishness? Peace or anger? A quick recap of the last 24 hours convicts me that I am in need of repentance, and makes me extra grateful for the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

The things that we do and say matter. Our words and actions, even the small ones, can lead us to either holiness or to sin. Let’s ask the Holy Spirit to give us the grace and courage to choose holiness today and every day.

I don’t know when I last posted an update for my reading, but I’ve had a hectic couple of months with Oxford, graduating, and my personal life... With that said I did read some books!

Soul Music by Terry Pratchett - this was a new Pratchett for me, but I had a great time reading it! Death and Susan are great characters and I had a blast seeing the chaos ‘music with rocks in’ brought to the Discworld. Soul Music is not the best example of Pratchett’s work (I’m still standing by The Truth or Going Postal as his best) but it was funny and I had a great time! - I’d highly recommend checking it out but if you want to start reading the Death sub-series start with Mort.

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens - I surprisingly re-read this this year... I’d finished it earlier in the summer and hated it, but it must have been a very bad time for me to give it a whirl. However, after watching the Dirk Bogarde film I picked it up again (this time as an audiobook) and enjoyed it! I’m still not a huge Dickens fan and I still dislike the way he writes women, however, the exploration/redemption of Sydney Carton was a triumph. I would recommend the Simon Callow version on Audible if you’re interested.

Lord of Chaos by Robert Jordan (WoT #6) - I am starting to feel WoT burn out a little bit and I need to take a break from this series for a month or two... However, I did enjoy Lord of Chaos, I think this book needs its own review because I have some thoughts that need to be discussed in detail (e.g. male-female relationships, Dumai’s Wells, etc.) Nevertheless, it was engaging and holds its own against some of the other books in the series (nothing has yet beaten The Shadow Rising to be my favourite WoT book) but I am not a fan of some aspects of this series or the development at the end of this instalment. 

Imprudence by Gail Carriger - I love Gail Carriger, you might have noticed if you read a lot of my mini-reviews, and this was no exception. I adored how she built up the romance between Rue and Quesnel in this book, and its predecessor Prudence, to create one of my favourite pairing in the Parasolverse. (To be honest I’m a sucker for the tropes here...) The world building was fun and the plot was an improvement on Prudence, which had been a bit lackluster (saying this I think I read Prudence too soon after finishing Manners and Mutany!) I had a wonderful time reading this and I fell in love with the Custard Protocol and the four main protagonists whilst reading this one.

Competence by Gail Carriger - Normally, I would combine these reviews, however, Competence has different POVs to Imprudence and the books are very different. Competence is Primrose’s (with a large dash of Percy) book and it’s focused on developing her, Percy, and Tash’s characters, which needed the Carriger treatment. I love Miss Gail’s characters and the thing that’s been niggling in the back of my head throughout Prudence and Imprudence is the lack of development for everyone but Rue and Quesnel. Competence was the answer to my concerns! The plot took a back burner in this book (with most of the action in the last 25-30% of the book) but the characters really shone as a result. I adored seeing the other memebers of the Spotted Custard and reading events from Percy’s POV was the best thing that’s happened to me all month (probably... I mean graduating was perhaps slightly more important now I think about it...) 

For some people the lack of (or slower paced) plot was a disappointment, at least looking through Goodreads this seems to be the case... However, this was the great strength of the novel. We got to really explore the mind of Primrose - and Percy to some extent - and come to know her as well as we know Rue. The slower pace suited Prim and echoed her character. Rue’s books were fast paced and action heavy - which suits Rue’s recklessness and love of adventure - however, the slower pace really captures Prim’s methodological, ‘proper’, and careful characterisation. As this was her book it made sense to me that this wouldn’t be an all guns blazing (quite literally) book. The plot was there (Prim is on the Spotted Custard for a reason, she likes adventure too), but it focused more on her romance and self-discovery, rather than the discovery of other types of supernatural beings!