MemberTess_W

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Joined
Dec 17, 2010
Real Name
Tess
About My Library

My library is very eclectic leaning heavily towards history and historical fiction. I read a lot of classics and especially like Hardy, the Brontes, and my favorite author, George Eliot. I also enjoy reading Bible commentaries.

I am a hopeless bibliophile for which there is no cure. I have accepted my disease and so have those close to me.

I have finally come to terms with my ereader and my real books. The ereader was necessary in my down-sizing scheme. I am at peace.

Every year I read Evangeline, the greatest love story ever written.

My pet peeve: Evaluating "older" literature by today's standards. That book is "racist" --written in 1820's, that book is misogynistic, written BCE, etc. etc. The messages of older works are better applied to the time period in which they were written, rather than the present day standards. To retroactively apply modern standards to these works is to misunderstand the historical context in which they were written. Societies evolve, and so do their values and ethics. Just as we wouldn't apply medieval ideas of medicine or hygiene to modern standards, we shouldn't apply contemporary ideas of race or gender relations to older works of literature. Literature, like all art, is a product of its time, and understanding that time helps us interpret the work with greater nuance.

About Me

I am a Christian, book reader, cook, gardener, traveler, history professor, mother of two grown sons and 7 grandchildren, whom I adore. I want to down-size most things in my life because to maintain them anymore is exhausting. I taught American History 1877-modern day, World History 1700-modern day to high schoolers for 30+ years. I am also an adjunct professor at a local university where I teach Western Civilization I & II, Am Hist I & II, and the Holocaust, a course for which I wrote the curriculum. I have earned a B.S. in Social Studies Education from The Ohio State University, a M.S.S. (Social Sciences with an emphasis on modern history) from Ohio University, and a Ph.D. (ABD) in modern history from American University. (The Holocaust: When does a bystander become a perpetrator?)

I have yearly tickets to the ballet and enjoy many other cultural events.


I LOATHE negative people and negativity. I have come to believe that a negative person wishes to be that way and they want everyone else to be as miserable as they are. I avoid them like the plague.

I enjoy homesteading---producing and preserving my own sustainable food supply as well a providing for household needs such as soap, detergent, candles, flowers, etc.

I love to decorate, especially during the holidays. I have collected nativity scenes for about 40 years and display them all.

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Ohio- on 2 acres of heaven
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