Comments on: The Age Of Footnotes

By: Lisa Dale

Lisa Dale — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 16:26:50 +0000

Hi guys! I’d answered these days ago but apparently my blog wasn’t allowing for any updates! Sorry!

@Mary Anne, “The period of “The Age of Innocence” is one of my favorites. Maybe someday there will be more Victorian romances when the major publishers of historical romances decide to get off the current Regency bandwagon.” AMEN! FYI, I just bought Wharton’s biography–hundreds of pages! But can’t wait to start reading! She is fascinating!

@Sara, I guess it’s all about placement. A good editor will know when a footnote is helpful and when one is just a distraction. The editor of the editing of AOI that I read did a great job.

@Emmanuelle, So glad you like them!! Thank you!

@RobynL, Hope you got the journal okay!

@QuiltLady, True. They are pretty easy to overlook depending on mood-though sometimes I get this little pang of guilt if I don’t read them!

@Carol, Beowulf, Chaucer, and romances. You are a woman after my own heart!

By: Carol Donnermeyer

Carol Donnermeyer — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 03:54:06 +0000

Footnotes and end notes are the only way I got thru Beowulf and Chaucer
I seriously love all your books so dont ask me to pick just one. Keep up the good work cause I am counting on you to get me thru this cold snowy winter.

By: Quilt Lady

Quilt Lady — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 02:37:43 +0000

I do read footnotes sometimes, I guess it depends on my mood or how much time I have to read. Most of the time I do read them.

By: RobynL

RobynL — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 21:50:43 +0000

I have yet to read a Wharton novel, so I can’t comment on that. Footnote reading depends on my mood I’d say. I have been known to read them.

By: Emmanuelle

Emmanuelle — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 08:49:41 +0000

Lisa, I’ve just received my super cute bookmarks. Thank you !! I’m tempted to keep both though, but no worries, I’ll share

By: Sara

Sara — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 02:40:54 +0000

I have yet to read a Wharton novel, so I can’t comment on that. But, I do read footnotes if they don’t distract from the story. If they add something or explain something that could be confusing, I find them useful. I really don’t like it when a text cites a “footnote” but you have to turn to the end of the book to read them. In my creative writing classes we sometimes wonder about footnotes, especially now if someone is writing something in a different language, to explain themselves. Seems like everyone has their own preference.

By: Mary Anne Landers

Mary Anne Landers — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 08:12:47 +0000

Thank you for your article, Lisa.

Like you, I go for footnotes. I appreciate anything that helps me gain a richer, deeper understanding of a complex, challenging work. That includes critical writings on the piece and the author’s biography.

If reading footnotes slows down my reading, I’d hardly notice it. I’m pretty slow anyhow, especially when I’m reading something worth savoring.

The period of “The Age of Innocence” is one of my favorites. Maybe someday there will be more Victorian romances when the major publishers of historical romances decide to get off the current Regency bandwagon.

I’m looking forward to more of your blog and website, and especially to your publications. Keep up the good work!

By: Lisa Dale

Lisa Dale — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 01:08:52 +0000

@Rebecca, I like that argument.

By: Rebecca Knight

Rebecca Knight — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 01:01:33 +0000

Jonathan Strange truly is a doorstop of a novel . I consider that a “value sized” book. Lol.

By: Lisa Dale

Lisa Dale — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:48:24 +0000

@radmama, “Academic citation footnotes are okay to read, a bitch to write.” Well said.

@Melanie, YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!!! So glad you liked It Happened One Night!!!!!! (Am I using enough exclamation points to get my point across??!?) Or perhaps an interrobang is in order.

@Rfp: House of Mirth is easily in my top five. I wish to everything I could have known Wharton.

@Mary, so glad you liked the bookmarks! They came out cute, I thought!

@Emmanuelle, You are a truly impressive reader, hon! Wharton is challenging in native English!!

@Rebecca, I thought about picking up Jonathan Strange, but honestly, I couldn’t get past the size of it. I mean, that book is huuuuuuuge!

@enyl, ah–a teacher. You’re right–footnotes are especially good for historical. I’m reading this book veeeery slowly and digging all this obscure Victorian decorative arts stuff!