Ballerina

I'm grateful for the gift, don't get me wrong! But I do wish Deirdre Kelly's Ballerina wasn't filled with so many unprovable assertions and straw men. She claims, for example, Balanchine's oft-repeated "Don't think, dear, do" as an example of how the women in the company were expected to leave their brains at the door, with no mention that the men in the company also got that advice. She claims that women in the company who had sex with anyone but him were punished, and quotes Gelsey Kirkland and Toni Bentley at some length, but doesn't even mention Allegra Kent or Merrill Ashley, who had more positive and creative experiences with Balanchine (and who also have readily available memoirs).
Kelly goes on at length to lay much of the blame for ballerinas' eating disorders at Balanchine's feet. It's true that he liked thinner dancers; I'm not saying he is blameless here. But it's also true that female athletes in every sport have gotten thinner (on average) over the last 125 years: they jump higher, run faster, and throw harder.
And I'm quoting a bit out of context here (though I didn't agree with most of the paragraph this comes from), but this sentence (p. 6) still just kills me:
"But ballet at the French court was also the means by which Louis maintained control over his courtiers."

I look like a Chalet reader!

I've been lending some of my Chalet School books to a family of readers who grew up reading some delightfully British authors: Heyer, Blyton, Brent-Dyer. Anyway, I hadn't met the whole family of readers until today, when two of them came to the library to check out some items - I just happened to be at the desk. To my delight, we talked for a bit about books we like, and one of them said I looked like someone who would read the Chalet School! I assure you, this wasn't meant as an insult.

Christmas-themed fanfic

I've had a busy few weeks and I needed a break. The SO mentioned fanfic in passing and I realized that was just what I needed; it's the perfect reading material for a mental break. I said something about knowing of some Christmas-themed fanfic - and then realized how it sounded and was horrified. I meant fanfic set at Christmastime - not stories about the Clauses!
The SO suggested that this would be an excellent Betts fanfic. If I had time I would write one. I think this one would be the plot where the future Mrs. Claus is a plain (but with lovely eyes and figure) housekeeper for the irascible Santa. It's perfect because Betts heroines are usually Dutch.
I was so amused by the discussion (which was funnier than this post is turning out to be) that I came here to blog it.