Nicholas Nickleby's Long Paragraphs

I wish there was a word for that, or that I knew what it was! 
"Long paragraph," how dull. 
Sesquipedalian's been my favorite word since I discovered it at a young age (displacing antidisestablishmentarianism), and learned that it defined me; and there's also that delightful to the tongue and ears word for long words, polysyllabic. 
But how about a word for a long paragraph? 

Anyway Nicholas Nickleby's full of them and they are wonderful. 

(Read free  http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/967)

Examples: 

Upon a hasty consideration of the circumstances, it may be matter of surprise to some persons, that Mr and Mrs Squeers should have taken so much trouble to repossess themselves of an incumbrance of which it was their wont to complain so loudly; but their surprise will cease when they are informed that the manifold services of the drudge, if performed by anybody else, would have cost the establishment some ten or twelve shillings per week in the shape of wages; and furthermore, that all runaways were, as a matter of policy, made severe examples of, at Dotheboys Hall, inasmuch as, in consequence of the limited extent of its attractions, there was but little inducement, beyond the powerful impulse of fear, for any pupil, provided with the usual number of legs and the power of using them, to remain.

Nicholas looked at the ugly clerk, as if he had a mind to reward his admiration of the young lady by beating the ledger about his ears, but he refrained, and strode haughtily out of the office; setting at defiance, in his indignation, those ancient laws of chivalry, which not only made it proper and lawful for all good knights to hear the praise of the ladies to whom they were devoted, but rendered it incumbent upon them to roam about the world, and knock at head all such matter-of-fact and un-poetical characters, as declined to exalt, above all the earth, damsels whom they had never chanced to look upon or hear of--as if that were any excuse!

Here was one of the advantages of having lived alone so long! The little bustling, active, cheerful creature existed entirely within herself, talked to herself, made a confidante of herself, was as sarcastic as she could be, on people who offended her, by herself; pleased herself, and did no harm. If she indulged in scandal, nobody's reputation suffered; and if she enjoyed a little bit of revenge, no living soul was one atom the worse. One of the many to whom, from straitened circumstances, a consequent inability to form the associations they would wish, and a disinclination to mix with the society they could obtain, London is as complete a solitude as the plains of Syria, the humble artist had pursued her lonely, but contented way for many years; and, until the peculiar misfortunes of the Nickleby family attracted her attention, had made no friends, though brimful of the friendliest feelings to all mankind. There are many warm hearts in the same solitary guise as poor little Miss La Creevy's.

 

Field Guide to Happiness - Barbara Ann Kipfer

I just opened a library book that one of the kids left on the bed, and read a couple things I think will help me! 

I'm not sure if I'd want to read the whole book, but these couple things were gems and worth taking on their own.

Here they are:  

Barbara Stanny - Overcoming Underearning

This was a good book.  The main topic doesn't really apply to me.  I already don't spend more than I have to, I'm pretty thrifty.  It's true I often end up working for free!  That's kind of to be expected in my unique situation-- almost forty and never had a job-- but I don't consider it a problem, since I'm not headed for any serious "work" right now anyway. 

What I got out of this book that was VERY useful, was from one of its brilliant sub-themes-- on the topic of self-esteem and trying too hard to please people.

Here's my notes:

Breaking through your barriers requires the recognition that you really are a capable person with something valuable to offer, and you understand beyond doubt that you deserve to be happy, successful and well paid because you're worth it.

Women who take on more than their share of responsibility often carry too much weight. And many take on this responsibility because they don't feel good about themselves. So the habit of service to others and neglect of self becomes a default setting. But once self-esteem is enhanced through asking for more money, and more of the good that life has to offer, women find themselves so fulfilled that they don't need to fill the emptiness with food or other addictions.

You need to value who you are enough to put your own needs at the top of the list.

"The man who tries to please everyone, ends up whittling himself away."

Every time you go to do something different, every time you deviate from the norm, every time you break a habit or end a pattern, your brain cries, "Stop, this doesn't feel right! Don't do it." Do not listen!
The number one requirement for success in anything is, You've got to be willing to be uncomfortable.
Discomfort is an automatic response to anything out of the ordinary. The ability to tolerate discomfort is absolutely essential to go to the next level in any area of your life. Anxiety, fear, worry, nervousness, resistance... all these are normal reactions to new situations. It need not mean something's wrong, just that something is different.

"Embrace what doesn't come naturally. Only then will you stop limiting yourself."

The Defining Truth:
No one is doing this to me. I am doing it to myself. Therefore, I have the ability to change it.

One of the major reasons people get stuck is because they're clinging to the very thing that's holding them in place. Nothing propels us into our Discomfort Zone quicker than letting go. And it's usually that which we're most afraid to let go of that is the very thing we need to release.

"We must be willing to relinquish the life we've planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us." - Joseph Campbell

Success is a social activity. You can't do it alone, you just can't. There ARE people who will joyfully greet the person you are becoming.

"They started to fall off like flies," she told me. "People took it personally. Others understood, but it was obvious our relationship had changed. There were great people... I love them, but I knew I needed to find others operating at the level I wanted to be at. That was absolutely necessary if I was going to move forward."

You can no longer abandon your self to make everyone else happy. If you're even slightly codependent--neglecting your own needs to concentrate on, control, or care take others-- you're probably reading this in total horror. But... I can't tell you the formula for success, but I can give you the formula for failure: try to please everybody.

She stopped listening. "I started using that phrase, 'Thank you for sharing,' and I'd think to myself, 'I don't agree. But I love you anyway.' I've had to let go of needing everyone to be in Jolee's pep club... I might lose some friends along the way. But the workshop gave me permission to not be angry and do what I want whether they like it or not."

No matter how bold you may be, it's easy to lose your footing when you're caught off guard by a naysayer during a weak moment.

Watch what you talk about. Language is powerful. There is a direct correlation between the words that you use and the life that you have. I saw this principle in action right after I wrote my last book, when the economy went sour. I noticed I was having very different conversations with the six-figure women I had kept in touch with than I was having with most others. Underearners were constantly complaining about the lousy economy, quickly dismissing the mere idea of making more money. But the high earners, even those who had been hit by hard times, were surprisingly upbeat about the opportunities that were out there. Their words became self-fulfilling prophecies. Their outcomes directly reflected their different perspectives.

Watch what you say. Talk about what you're committed to, not what you're worried about. Stop apologizing or belittling yourself in any way.
This is not about positive thinking. It's about the power that words have over your attitude and behavior. Life follows what you say. What you share, you strengthen. What you focus on expands. It's never the other way around. Never!

Journal exercise...
The next day, and for the following week, consciously choose to only talk about possibilities, not problems; about what you aspire to achieve, rather than everything that is going wrong. Talk as if you're a powerful person, not a victim. How does this make you feel?

When you do this exercise, you'll likely feel strange, awkward, arrogant and phony, especially if you've been hanging out with negative folks. That's exactly how change feels. Remember, the number one requirement for success is the willingness to be uncomfortable. Pretty soon, what now feels weird will begin to seem normal.

We'll never attract people who respect us until we learn to respect ourselves-- by taking time to take care of ourselves.

"What have I done lately for me? I took three weeks off work. I read novels, took naps, meditated. I had never taken time for me. I had to learn to sit and be quiet, listen to what was inside me. I found I could near a choir of voices saying, 'You can do this if you have a vision.' I found a whole reservoir within me that said, 'Get up and go.' Then it was 'All right, now one foot in front of the other.' I took jobs I wanted, turned down the ones that drained me. I weaned off old friends, I'm finding new ones. And I am having so much fun."

The word 'community' derives from Latin words cum munere, which literally mean to give among each other. Giving to yourself and receiving from others are equally critical components for overcoming underearning.

Hang out with the kind of people you want to be like, not who you've been.

analysis of Civil War fashion in pictures

VERY enlightening as well as entertaining.  It's packed with pictures.  This lady took a huge sample of Civil War era photos, and categorized "who wore what" by age and economic status.  Some results are not at all what you'd think. She points out that most pictures are selected to illustrate a certain point, and few "ordinary" pictures are published.  She focuses on ordinary and average instead, because that's what we usually want to go for in our impressions. 

My biggest surprise was the white collars, which I never really noticed, but sure enough the vast majority of ladies wore them with their dresses back at that time. 

Heller With a Gun, Louis L'Amour. SPOILER WARNING

Heller With a Gun, Louis L'Amour. I LOVED IT! I acquired it in a pile of books, read it and then gave it away, because I was in decluttering mood and figured reading it once was enough. Phooey that, had to have a saved search on Ebay for a year to find the same exact cover image at a total of $4, and finally did. My kids can declutter my books for me when I croak.

Anyway, this guy's your basic gunfighter character with no background, who watches a traveling theater company head away into trouble with some bad guys disguised as guides, and follows them to save them at the appropriate moment. The theater company includes a gracious antebellum Southern lady whom the gunfighter admires, and she's attracted to him yet with a kind of horror. Her long-time admirer, the theater company manager, can't compete with the animal magnetism going on around here, but he carries his part off as well as he can. They have a couple of showdowns with evildoers and the gentle lady's horrified each time at all the shooting and violence and general lack of manners. The gunfighter's afraid to be around her because he sees himself through her eyes, and at the end of the story, after saving everybody's bacon, he takes himself away quietly in a kind of shame. But there's a young showgirl in the company too, who was the daughter of a westerner, who had tried to help the gunfighter and the gentle lady's romance to work out, telling each good things about the other, sheltering and comforting the gentle lady and handing the gunfighter ammunition when he needed it. At the end, she notices the gunfighter's ridden away, and that the gentle lady and the theater manager are relieved to be at a restaurant in a civilized town again and are sitting down to dinner, and she's like SOMEBODY gimme a horse! Cause she knows which way the gunfighter went :-)

To Have and To Hold

I was so impressed with this story!  Easily THE most romantic novel I've ever read, that appealed to me the most. It was the bestseller of 1900. You already knew I was out of date, right?

Just happened across this cover. I don't necessarily like it, it's not what I had imagined at all. The first time the two characters meet each other, she's an aristocrat disguised as a puritan maiden, and the hero, though also a nobleman, is wearing buckskins: after he meets her, he is impressed enough to stop and scrape the mud off his boots with his knife.

It's all dramatic gestures and reading between the lines, and pirates and Indians and thrilling escapes.  Did you know about the Indian uprising against Jamestown, in which a quarter of all the whites in America were slaughtered? 

Read about it here, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_massacre_of_1622

And read the book for free here:
http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/2807