Friday Fancies

After such a long radio silence, is it bad form to pop up here just to comment on the Downton Abbey finale? I hope not. I think it's safe to assume that all of us fans of the show aren't ready to stop talking about it quite yet. There were a lot of good things about this final season (along with a few questionable things--was anyone really interested in the endless hospital storyline?) and I was glad to see things turn out well for pretty much every character, but I thought the final episode itself could have used a few more dramatic moments. I've grown so used to drastic twists and turns throughout the series as a whole that it felt strange to have the finale play out so smoothly. And while I did like Violet's closing dialogue, my ideal alternate ending would have been something that connected the past to the present day--perhaps having the last shot fade out to show modern visitors lining up to tour the house as a historic site, underscoring the ongoing theme of the disappearing aristocracy. What do you think? How did you like the finale?


(image via here)

I have quite a few links to share today, some of which I've accumulated over the past couple of months. They're not all the most current, but they are worth a look:

Keeping with the Downton Abbey theme, here's what to read and what to watch to avoid withdrawal.

Or you can wait for Julian Fellowes's next work, which is planned as an app.

An interesting look the effect high profile celebrity memoirs have on the rest of the publishing industry.

Misty Copeland as a Degas ballerina.

This cool instagram account offers its own take on famous works of art.

A way to visualize famous novels based on their punctuation.

And as you may have heard, Amazon's first brick-and-mortar store is open. I think I would prefer to visit the oldest (and also haunted) bookstore in America.