I always thought it was a Beauty and the Beast remake... hence the title...

I was trying to figure out something to give up for Lent, and decided to start drinking Diet Coke again (which I had successfully given up a few years before) so that I could abstain over Lent. Now over a decade later, i am fully re-addicted to Diet Coke, which is my reward for being such an idiot. And I am giving it up this year for Lent.

I do not get the popularity of Lucy Worsley. Her watered-down history and style of presenting is so grating to me that whenever I see a new history series is presented by her, I always sigh and skip over it. But I really like Amanda Vickery, whose history has a bit more heft to it, and when she walks on camera it actually looks natural. Look her up on YouTube for her "At Home with the Georgians" for an exceptional series!

I've watched enough of the "Women Historians Presenting Social History" shows to have become hypersensitive to the way they package them. I can just heard the conversations of the production team: "She's too dowdy. We have to make her and the history look sexy." "What if we were to put her in high heels and a dangerously tight skirt? Some leather, perhaps?" The poor scholar protests that she's never worn stiletto boots, but they are adamant. And so you get these painful video shots of them walking awkwardly across a cobblestone street trying desperately to look like they are striding confidently.

Greatly disappointed that the tag "this little kitten is so eensy" does not lead to similar postings. *sigh*

Oh dear me, yes! It is a loathesome book, full of selfish, self-indulgent narcissists and dysfunctional people.

The only thing to redeem it for me was a scene in Jasper Fforde's "The Well of Lost Plots" where he makes all the characters attend a weekly 12-Step meeting to deal with their rage at Heathcliff.