The unsatisfying thing about practicing restraint was that nobody knew you were practicing it.

Anne Tyler, Vinegar Girl

I was confused upon finishing the novel, to say the least. Where was the angry, independent, driven, feminist main character I had so loved in “10 Things I Hate About You?” Why would Tyler, a modern writer, go through the effort of reimagining Shakespeare’s version of the story and not even bother to alter the more traditional messaging with a take that directly addresses the societal expectations of women? The original work objectifies and subjugates its female lead, so the logical next step would be for a modern retelling to directly combat this instead of addressing the standards of toxic masculinity, as “Vinegar Girl” does. I had heard of the speech Kate’s character delivers at the end of the play, detailing how wives should strive to obey their husbands and a woman’s proper place in a marriage — why would Tyler blatantly avoid any discussion of this theme? I was annoyed, but I was also curious. Shouldn’t we be updating the classic stories that don’t align with our modern cultural values by directly challenging the original offensive material?

From Anne Tyler’s Vinegar Girl

At the beginning of the year, in an effort to make a dent in my TBR, I asked folks to pick a number between 1 and 260, which was (at the time) the number of books on my TBR. I am reading the selected books this year and I figure I'd give y'all an update.

I started with reading two books that have the same source material, both Dating Dr. Dil and Vinegar Girl are based on Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew. Beyond that....they really couldn't be more different.

Dating Dr. Dil is set in the East Coast Desi world, where Kareena, a single thirty-something deeply opposed to traditional arranged marriages, makes a deal with her dad that if she can get engaged in four months, he'll give her her mother's house instead of selling it. Enter Prem, a doctor with a local TV show who doesn't believe in love. His mother promises to give him the money he needs to start a community clinic if he gets married. When Kareena and Prem meet, they figure a fake engagement is the solution to their dilemmas. Sparks fly, witty banter is exchanged, a few drinks are thrown, and everybody lives happily ever after.

It's a caramel popcorn book. It's sweet, it's enjoyable, and I finished it in one sitting. It's also got just the right amount of smut, but spice didn't fit the above metaphor. Sharma gives the book a wonderful sense of the people and community around the main characters, most of the supporting characters are as multi-dimensional as the leads. Is it the best book I'll read this year? No. But it was fun and I liked it. 3.5/5

Vinegar Girl on the other hand, lacked even the zing of its name. Kate Battista is stuck in a dead end life while she plays mother/nursemaid/housekeeper to her oblivious scientist father and vapid sister Bunny. One day, her father, who has barely noticed her up until now, starts paying attention to her because he sees her as the answer to his problem. His Russian lab assistant's visa is expiring, so he wants Kate to marry Pyoter for the the green card. The premise is distasteful enough, but the characters may be worse.

Kate has no spirit, Pyoter has no charm, Dad has no personality, and Bunny has no redeeming qualities whatsoever. When Kate finally falls for Pyoter, I was baffled as to why. This book was uninspired, boring, and very disappointing. The only nice thing I can say about it is I like Tyler's writing. 2/5

So we started off solid and then took a dip, here's hoping the next book is an improvement. To be continued...

Fatal Games (1984)

full page of otter stuff from the other day btw

french fry!!!!!! (featuring vinegar)

JJBA x Puzzle & Dragons: Vento Aureo units (transparent)

priest’s sons

Some doppio because i wanted to draw him

Venti Oreo girlies

psalm 51

Do...do people outside of aus/the UK not use vinegar for forms of potatoes.... what....huh

I hope that now that mo guan shan said hi to his classmates they start to crush on him and it makes he tian jealous.

he is the brightest star. +