Volume 1 of my 4-volume sabbatical project is now safely done and in a zip file. I need a drink.

And now they’ve all graduated and now I’m taking my exhaustified , weepy self to bed for a nap.

All the humanities capstones have been successfully defended. This was the strongest and most diverse set of undergrad research papers we’ve had in the major. I’m now catatonic, but happy. Also, I may need an adult beverage.

Mother’s Day is always complicated, but hugs to all my beloveds—daughters, students, bonus kiddos. And the dog.

Finishing up a conference paper for next week’s MVSA on the journal “Science-Gossip” and wishing I had thought to entitle my abstract “Mutual Recriminations Delivered With Extreme Politeness.”

If you are as irritated as I am by Google AI-generated search results clogging up your computer, insert a curse word in your search bar and Google AI will be strangely silent. Just searched 'When was George Washington the *** president?" and lo and behold, I got actual results. H/T Joel Baehler

Anthony Trollope is saving my mental health, again. Just raced through “Ayala’s Angel” and “Mr Scarborough’s Family” and am now settling happily into “The Eustace Diamonds,” the first Trollope I ever read some 45 years ago. It remains brilliant.

My kid on Vance yesterday: “He was just excited to be IncLudEd,”waving sparkle fingers.

Life is terrifying right now but in the midst of chaos, I have students making an excellent case as to why Mr Darcy has great girl dad energy.

Spent my day as a judge for the SC regional high school ethics bowl competition. The kids are alright.

Two of my Jane Austen students are sisters who as kids spent summers with their grandma; the only video available was the BBC Pride and Prejudice so they watched it a million times and built their games around it: “I am Lady Catherine de Bourgh, bring me a cupcake!”

Interim 2025, Reading Jane Austen, just started and we are already at the "Wait, she's marrying her COUSIN?" stage.

My younger but still adult daughter just referred to my ex as “poopyface” and it was both fully justified and made me laugh so hard I felt much better.

I’ve finally had enough post-semester sleep that I’m tackling things like scheduling hurricane-related repairs and car maintenance and general PITA crap, all weeks overdue.

Wow, not only have I been invited to join the Illuminati, I’m also the object of interest of a real 4-star general—real!!!!—who can’t spell and has misread the Wikipedia entry on the person he is impersonating. #blessed

Was just invited to join the Illuminati. Pinch me.

My sabbatical project has been approved so I’ll be spending June-January working on the 4-volume set of 19th-century popular lectures for Routledge. 😊

Every academic right now

I just finished an interview with Dr Miranda Melcher for the New Books Network podcast—so much fun to talk about Lecturing the Victorians! Should be uploaded in about 10 days.