The Final Three!

Reasons we love the nineteenth century, that is. Comment by 11:59pm Sunday, October 5, with either your own reasons or suggestions for blog topics and you might win a genuine fashion plate or a $25 gift certificate to Barnes and Noble. We’ll draw names Monday, and Marissa will announce the winners in her post Tuesday, October 7. Thanks so much to all those who have already commented. We’ve really enjoyed hearing your thoughts.

So, here are my final three reasons:

17. Fanciful food with friends. Lots of fine restaurants these days aim for food that looks as good on the plate as it tastes in your mouth. But dining by candlelight, the table adorned with fine china and draped in damask, silver utensils at your side, was definitely more romantic. And chefs vied to please: Oysters in aspic, apricot trifles, and peacock stuffed back in its own feathers. (Okay, the last one would probably gross me out.)

18. Inventiveness. The nineteenth century saw the birth of the industrial revolution, with new technologies, new ways of doing things. And while the design of some of it was pretty ugly, some of it was amazingly cool. Here’s what someone thinks a laptop would look like today if we still followed those design principles. Could someone please put that on my birthday list?

19. Colorful characters. From the scandalous antics of the royals to audaciously poetic highwaymen, the nineteenth century had more than its share of interesting people. Perhaps that’s why Marissa and I love to put our characters into the same elegant, romantic, inventive time period.

So, there you have it! Nineteen of our reasons why we love the nineteenth century and why we keep writing about it. Be sure to comment and come back next week to find out who won!

P.S. If you’re a school librarian, check out the contest on the Class of 2k8 web page!