Jane

Jane Eyre is one of my favorite books. I fell in love with it in high school. I’ve always found her very easy to relate to: her view of herself and the world, the way she takes in those around her, and her no-nonsense attitude towards the insanity that creeps up behind her.

These character traits are something that Ms. Lindner has done very well to carry over. At first when I picked up the book, intrigued by the tagline “What if Jane Eyre fell in love with a rockstar?” I had to laugh. In the original, Mr. Rochester is about as far from “rockstar” as it is possible to get. He’s surly, hardly speaks, and is practically reclusive when not traveling for business. Nonetheless, I bought the book out of sheer curiosity.

I have to admit, I’m not terribly fond of most of the film adaptions I’ve seen of Jane Eyre, primarily because I don’t like their handling of Mr. Rochester. When the period adaptions make him out to be little more than a volatile, pushy pervert out to sleep with the babysitter, whether she likes it or not, how then would this modern version be portrayed?

In this rare modern day retelling, Jane Moore is a recently orphaned college student, forced to drop out when her funds dry up after the death of her parents. With only the briefest of resumes to support her, she banks on her babysitting experience and manages to land a highly coveted position as nanny to the five-year-old daughter of rock legend Nico Rathburn. Jane, for her part, does not follow celebrity gossip and favors classical music when she chooses to listen to it at all. She has only a passing familiarity with the 30-something singer’s music, who was once a favorite of her older brother, but even Jane has heard the stories about the drugs, the drinking binges, the wild parties and the train wreck marriage. Despite her reservations, however, the pay is good and she accepts the job and sets off for the secluded mansion in Connecticut.

Unlike in the original, Lindner skips over most of Jane’s childhood, showing us only a few poignant flashbacks and a single, present day interaction with her remaining family to communicate her dark past. Overall, this improves the pacing compared to Jane Eyre, skipping to the action much quicker while still giving us a sense of Jane’s past.

The overall plot points remain the same: the nighttime visit of her employer’s first wife, the fire in his bedroom, and the impromptu party that ends in the stabbing of his brother-in-law, culminating in the rather sudden engagement and subsequent failed wedding. For reasons unknown, however, the author has chosen to change either the first or last name (or both) of every character. It’s a minor point, but it does make me wonder when in so many other respects she has remained faithful to the original.

While I did find some aspects of Jane and Nico’s relationship to feel fabricated in some scenes, I did respect the fact that this modern interpretation of Jane never once let Nico nor anyone else talk her into anything she didn’t want to do. The story maintained the integrity of the original, but also breathed new life into characters that might not be appreciated in this day and age.

While I might not be willing to recommend this book as a purchase, I would suggest that Bronte fans search their local libraries: Jane, by April Lindner.

Competition

For about the last month, I've been contemplating taking part in the 52 books in 52 weeks reading challenge. I've done if for the past three years, but I haven't successfully completed it since 2009 (though I did come close last year. I was only 2 books shy of the goal). I keep going back and forth, thinking about taking time off to just read with "no pressure" and then changing my mind. I actually kind of like having that list of everything I've read, and it's kind of cool to go back and see what I was reading this time last year. You can kind of track my obsessions that way--such as when I discovered C.E. Murphy and read just about everything she'd written over the course of three weeks (still need to track down the Inheritor's Cycle). I did read several short stories this year, but since I'm only counting actual standalone books for the list, I didn't add them.

Now I find myself three weeks into the new year, and still debating the matter. I'll probably still keep the list, but I probably won't number it and I probably won't track it on the Ravelry group as I have in the past, just keeping the one here on the blog (the link is in the sidebar, if you're curious). The tipping point? I overdid it on the knitting, causing a tendonitis flare up. No knitting. No writing (this is the most significant amount of typing or writing of any sort I've done in about three days, if not longer). What's a girl to do?

Knock a few books off her reading list, of course.

My progress isn't as impressive as I would like, or even what I would have been in college, but I finished two novels in the last two days and I'm most of the way done with a third. I'm trying to get through everything on the bookshelf that I haven't read yet. Next up: Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan.

I probably won't "compete" as such. But I do want to read more this year, and if I can, take more time to write book reviews. I think I might also put together a "to be read" list of books that I want to get through this year. Right now I'm itching for a really good piece of nonfiction. Something that will spark my imagination. I love history, culture, and textiles, especially books that combine all three, and lately I've been wanting to read up on the 1920s and the Victorian era. Maybe I'll look for historical novel the next time I'm at the library.

But first I have to get through my list.

A List, Some Reviews, and BOOYA!

1. I recently finished Gate of Darkness, Circle of Light by Tanya Huff. This was her second or third novel, I believe, and one of her lesser known ones. I strongly recommend that any fans of urban fantasy check it out as it is just as good as her Blood Ties books. It follows nicely in the vein of The Enchantment Emporium (or would it be leads, since it came out first?). I found it as part of a twofer, Of Darkness, Light, and Fire, which includes another of her early works. I've only just started that one but it promises to be just as good, if not better.

2. I also finished reading The Enchanted Typewriter. I am planning a more complete review for the podcast, which I hope to record tomorrow. If it doesn't happen then...well, I mentioned at the outset that the production schedule would likely be sporadic. It will probably be November before I manage to get another episode out.

3. Part of that delay is that I am moving over Halloween weekend. No idea when I will regain internet access or how long it will be down.

4. The typosphere has been abuzz with the upcoming start of NaNoWriMo. Just to set the record straight: I have no plans to participate. My only acquaintance with short deadlines is the whizzing sound they make as they zip by and they've nearly decapitated me on an occasion or two so I generally avoid them on principal. I will, however, endeavor to finish Threadbare (formerly known as Fortune's Fight) BEFORE the start of November, if my paying job doesn't suck the life out of me like so many vampires. (Really, it's like Dracula meets Clueless. Never give a vampire a credit card.) I am doing this so that I can work on my Untitled Jazzpunk Novel as soon as possible, because...

5. THE THREE MUSKETEERS IS AWESOME. Seriously. Alexandre Dumas + Orlando Bloom + Matthew Mcfadyen + steampunk = THE BEST THING EVER. EVER! Also, it was total costume p0rn and I want every single outfit and prop associated with Countess de Winter. I have a strong desire to cosplay her at the earliest opportunity.


6. While it isn't truly a costume, I did finish knitting my Quebecois pride hat this week. This has been in my queue for years (ever since I made a scarf based on the Canadian flag). This couldn't have come at a better time, since...

7. Thursday night we drove out to Beavercreek for the Kathy Reichs signing. For those of you unfamiliar, she wrote the books that the Bones TV series are based on, though other than the name and occupation of the main character they really bear no resemblance to the source material. (For those not catching the connection here, in the books Temperance divides her time between a North Carolina university, and working for the government of Quebec. In Montreal. In a building that I am enough of a fangirl to have photographed just for it's relationship to the books.) Sadly, both Mom and I forgot our cameras, so I only have one cellphone picture:


So that is my list of awesome. We'll see what next week holds.

P.S. I just went through to add links to everything in this post, and it appears Kathy's site is down due to bandwidth limits. Looks like that last signing broke teh internets.

Back Again

Currently Reading: Ghost Moon
On the Netflix: Love and Other Disasters

Between a week of vacation and a week and a half of being sick, I've let a lot of good habits slide in the last month, among them blogging. However, since I've spent the majority of the last two weeks in bed or camped out in front of the TV so there hasn't been lot to blog about to begin with. Trust me, you haven't missed much.

Once I was feeling better and my eyes stopped watering long enough to read more than two or three sentences, I finished Karen Chance's Midnight's Daughter, which is the first book in her Dorina Basarab series. It runs alongside her Cassie Palmer books (reviews found here). At this point I'm not planning on reviewing the series, but I will say Dorina certainly lives up to her forerunner and I can't wait to start reading book 2. (Are you keeping up with the summer releases? I've got a list of my top picks at the end of this post)

In addition to the reading, I managed to finally finish the second sock of the pair I've had on the needles since March. That was an Event, since it started with a massive kitchner fail on the toe and ended with me realizing there was a rather massive error in the pattern that resulted in a-symmetrical socks. They fit fine, they just don't match. So once my fragile knitting ego has recovered, I'll have to rework them. At the moment, however, I can't fathom the idea of knitting those socks again. It's not that I dislike the pattern, it just took so long to work out the cables around the cuff and there was a lot of ripping back. Either way, it will have to wait about two weeks since I've got some deadline knitting on the needles right now. I need to finish a baby sweater for a coworker before A) she goes on leave; B) she goes into labor; or C) I leave for my new job.

That's right, I'll be starting a new job later this month. Same company, different location, different position. And since I like to keep my work life as separate from my online presence as possible, that's all I'm going to say on the matter.

If I fall off the blogosphere again, someone poke me. Why is it that good habits are so hard to start and bad habits are so hard to break?
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(Recent and) Summer Book Releases (For the United States)
Spirit Dances by C.E. Murphy (Okay, so this one is already out, but it was just released so it counts)
Hunt the Moon by Karen Chance (Also newly released)
Spider Bones by Kathy Reichs (So May/June was an exciting time for some of my favorite authors. So sue me)
Fallen by Karin Slaughter (June 21)
Heartless by Gail Carriger (June 28, but already released in some areas)
Ghost Story by Jim Butcher (July 26)
The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan (October 4)

If you're part of C.E. Murphy's latest crowdfunding project, she's also released three of the promised short stories thus far as well as a novella called Right Angles to Fairyland. Thus far, these are only available to her crowdfunding sponsors, but cross your fingers that they're released mass market soon!

52 Books Challenge Update & Msc.

Currently Reading: Midnight's Daughter
In the DVD Player: Grease

Today marks the end of the 5th month of the 52 Books in 52 Weeks Challenge. This week I entered #25 and #26 into my log--The Throne of Fire by Rick Riordan and Spirit Dances by C.E. Murphy, both perennial favorites on my reading lists. I don't want to review these particular volumes, however, because they fall in the middle of a series (#2 and #6, respectively). Suffice to say that both the Kane Chronicles and The Walker Papers are highly recommended.

On top of all that reading, I also added about 40 pages to Fortune's Fight while on vacation, and broke the magic 60,000 word mark. FYI, I'm on the hunt for a new title for that story, so if you head on over to Fiction Press and give it a read, see what you think. Suggestions are welcome.

Lastly, I wanted to mention that I finally found the serial number on the Remington. It is indeed a #3, from 1930. I gave it a really light first cleaning and found it under the carriage and about three inches of grime. I still need to take the air compressor to the interior, and I'm thinking of trying Evapo-rust on it, but I'm looking for some more info first. I know a lot of type-fans use it with good results, but some parts of this machine are so heavily rusted I'm not sure if it's an option. I'd hate to drop a spool into the bath and pull out half a spool a few days later. Is it better for light surface rust, or is it appropriate for tougher cases of corrosion? I wish it came in pints or quarts, so that I could try it first, rather than shelling out the cash for a whole gallon, especially if it lasts as long as they claim.

So that's what's up in my literary world.

Reading List

The last week or so I've been pushing to finish some books before I go on vacation. I had a stack of library books to get through (managed just in time! Returned them the day they were due), and some unfinished books I didn't want to take with me. I reached my goal and knocked three books off of my list: The Golden Fleece and the Heroes that Lived Before Achilles by Padraic Colum, The Water Mirror by Kai Meyer, and Dracula by, of course, Bram Stoker.

I've read a lot of mythology books, and The Golden Fleece is by far my favorite. The problem with a lot of mythology books, I've found, is that most of the time no matter how exciting the stories are, the writing simply isn't. This book however was engaging, and I can certainly see how it was the book that got Rick Riordan (of The Lightening Thief fame) into mythology. This book isn't just the Golden Fleece, but includes other stories as well--stories that the heroes told on their long journey, and the last third of the book are short tales about the individual characters that take place after they return home, so you really get a feel for them even if their names aren't familiar when you begin reading.

The Water Mirror is a YA novel I picked up on a whim. I actually saw the third book in this trilogy first, which had the mask from an Egyptian sarcophagus on the cover, but I was sold on this book when I read that the main characters are training to make magic mirrors and magic cloth, respectively. I was a little disappointed by the lack of textile content, but the action and creative story line more than made up for it.

This book takes place in an alternate history, in which an Egyptian pharaoh has risen and is attempting to take over the world. One of the last hold outs is the city of Venice, which is protected by the Flowing Queen. No one knows who or what the queen is, only that she possesses powerful magic and seems to exist in the waters themselves. This alternate Venice is full of magic--stone lions that fly, frighteningly beautiful mermaids, charmed dresses that actually make you slimmer, and of course, magic mirrors, including a blind girl with mirrors for eyes. The pacing was wonderful, the writing imaginative, and I can't wait to get the next book.

The last book I finished was Dracula. If you have any interest in literature, go read it now. Seriously. The beginning is rather slow; I was almost to the halfway point before it really grabbed my interest, but it is well worth the wait. Aside from the fabulous story that earned this novel a place in history, the thing that really intrigued me was the character of Mina Harker. I kept having to remind myself that Dracula was written by a man--the idea of having such a strong woman in a Victorian-era novel is practically unheard of, but she is clearly the heroine of the entire book. Bonus: it involves a typewriter. A couple of them, in fact.

If you want to see the complete list of what I've been reading and links to the reviews, you can find the list here.

Out of the Aether

You might think that I've been out driving cross country since I fell off Planet Internet after that last post, but really I've been at home--haven't been doing much, hence no post.

What I have been doing this week is a lot of reading and writing. I'm planning a mini review of Heather Graham's Bone Island series, but I've still got 2 more books to read, so that will have to wait. Right now I'm working my way through Dracula and a book of mythology. The myth book actually has a forward by Rick Riordan, which I didn't even realize until yesterday because I never read forwards. I read this one, though, because I adore his Percy Jackson books beyond words and I'm dying for the next book in the Kane saga.

I've been doing so much reading and writing lately that I've hardly knit a single stitch (gasp!) but I sketched out three more designs and typed up two vanilla sock recipes so that I can teach Missouri and another friend how to knit socks.

Part of the massive revision I'm doing on my current story involves adding about a dozen knitting patterns, so as soon as I finish revising the pattern I'm writing for Missouri I'll be diving into the list I'm making for my own book. Stay tuned--I've got socks, hats, sweaters, and more laid out. Very exciting stuff!

Review: The Cassie Palmer series by Karen Chance

So far, this has been my favorite new series this year. It ranks u there with the Kitty Norville books and the Sookie Stackhouse series, favorites from past years.

Alice gave the book one last year for my birthday. I read the back and wasn't impressed. In fact, I questioned her sanity for buying it for me, since it sounded an awful lot like another novel with a weak plot, questionable heroine, and a twisted romantic relationship between a vampire and his human. I put it on the "to read" stack on my headboard where it was promptly buried by research, library books, and titles that sounded a hell of a lot more interesting and less smutty (because let's face it, "Touch the Dark" only leaves so many options).

Fast forward 8 months, to where I finally began reading it. The first chapter was enjoyable. Alice talked me into buying book 2 since I had a gift card and was caught up the other series I follow.

Two days later, I was on the last chapter and purchasing the final 2 books with my own money.

Book one, Touch the Dark, opens with Cassie running for her life after being sent a threatening obituary (yes, I said threatening obituary), and the action doesn't slow down for an instant. Running to her roommate, a waiter at a bar to say a quick goodbye and try to explain why supernatural killers are after her, she is horrified when he makes quick work of the attackers who followed her to the bar. Suddenly, very human Cassie finds herself sucked even deeper into a world she has spent nearly a decade trying to escape: the world of vampires.

Orphaned at the age of 4, Cassie was raised by vampire mafioso Tony, where she had the prized place in his court for her ability to see the future. After setting him up to get arrested, he is just one of the many people after her as an adult. Now Cassie learns that part of her protection as a child came from the geis his master, Mircea, placed on her as a child. When Cassie accidentally becomes the world's chief clairvoyant and gains the ability to leapfrog through history, she inadvertently turns an already unpredictable spell into a potentially lethal curse--with her childhood crush Mircea as the target.

In order to save him, however, she has to keep herself alive. not an easy task when suddenly everyone wants her dead. First there's the Silver Circle, a group of mages who traditionally protect the Pythia and aren't thrilled that independent Cassie has inherited all of the power. Then there's Myra, the intended heir, who is none to please that Cassie beat her out as successor and is homicidal and slightly crazy to boot. Throw in the Fey and a demon or two, plus War Mage John Pritkin, who might be out to kill her, if he ever quits saving her life, or might be using her, or might be something (or someone) else entirely, and Cassie more than has her hands full, even before people start coming to her for help.

Filled with a delightful cast of characters, the Cassie Palmer books are funny, romantic, and exciting from page one all the way to the end of book four. There wasn't a single part I would consider slow or boring, and the action continues in the companion Dorina Basarab series (I have not read those yet, but they are on my list). If you are a fan of Charlaine Harries or Carrie Vaughn, then you will love this series. Book five, Hunt the Moon, comes out in June.

And just for convenience, here's a list of the books and the order they go in:
1. Touch the Dark
2. Claimed by Shadow
3. Embrace the Night
4. Curse the Dawn

Random on a Wednesday

So, I've had a typecast sitting around for about a week now, but I keep forgetting to scan it. I have, however, been doing a lot of knitting. I'm making a shawl for my Ohayocon costume, and I've got about a foot of it knit up so far. Before you go acting all impressed, I'm making it with DK weight yarn (or possibly something a bit thicker) on size 11 needles in a basic feather and fan stitch. The more I knit on it though, the more I wonder if I might not possibly need a second ball of yarn. I hope not, since I got the first one on clearance and I'm not sure I can get more.

I've been spending the last three days working on the magazine and knitting my little fingers to the bone while watching various movies/tv series. I picked up the second season of Star Trek: TNG the other day, and am ready to start disc 3. Sadly, I forgot my headphones, so no tv for me this morning. Very irritating, since I have an hour to kill and more knitting to do.

And really, that's about all there is to say at this point. So far I'm reasonably on track with my 52 books challenge (of course, we're really only 2 weeks into the year. But I'm hoping to get far enough ahead that I'll have some leeway later in the year). My current book is Rick Riordan's The Lost Hero. Have I mentioned how much I love him? Because I do. I want to eat his brain and absorb his creativity. of course, then I'd be out the rest of the series...so I guess I'll put that off. ;)

Coming up Short

Hopefully, I'll do a little bit better with the 2011 reading challenge than I did with the 2010 one. I read 49 books this year, which means I was 3 short of the regular goal and 18 short of my personal goal (mostly because the only reading I had time to do during fall quarter was school related. Hoping to change that, since I'm only taking one class in the spring.

I don't think I have a favorite book of 2010, but I will say that I really, really enjoyed the Carrie Vaugn Kitty books, and I want to get caught up on those this year. Another series I want to catch up on is The Dresden Files (currently reading book four). I also want to read the next books in the Sookie Stackhous series, and I have about a dozen books waiting on my shelf at home, about a third of which are research for a new story.

The biggest surprise was The Girl of the Limberlost, which sat on my shelf for about three months. I was not expecting to enjoy it as much as I did. The biggest disappointment was probably the Hearse You Came In On, though I thought that Invictus started very strongly and then fell apart about halfway through.

Speaking of reading, last night after a late movie showing, I checked my email and found Year of Miracles waiting in my inbox. YoM is an old races novella that C.E. Murphy wrote for--well, I guess it amounts to subscribers. It's something new she's started doing. She'll make a post on her blog about a story she wants to write, with an estimated word count. Then her fans can donate whatever amount they see fit (I donated $5, I think; I wanted to do more but the post came at a rough time financially). She write the story in a specified amount of time, and then emails it to the subscribers. They are the only ones who get to read it, unless she finds a traditional publisher willing to print it (which could take years). I think this is the second or third novella she's written this way, so it seems to be working for her. I can't wait to read it--You can bet it'll rank early in the 2011 list (right after I find Summer Knight and get some of this research done).

So here is the complete list for 2010:

52 Books in 52 Weeks 2010 Challenge

01. Urban Shaman--C.E. Murphy
02. Soulless--Gail Carriger
03. Fire Study--Maria V. Snyder
04. Grave Watchers--A.K. Alexander
05. Thunderbird Falls--C.E. Murphy
06. Coraline--Neil Gaiman
07. Skinwalker--Faith Hunter
08. Kitty and the Midnight Hour--Carrie Vaughn
09. The Lark and the Wren--Mercedes Lackey
10. The Conservation and Restoration of Textiles
11. The Robin and the Kestral--Mercedes Lackey
12. The Eagle and the Nightingales--Mercedes Lackey
13. Lazy ways to make a living--Abigail Bosanko
14. Luck in the Shadows--Lynn Flewelling
15. Why Do Cats Do That?--Kim Campbell Thornton
16. The Hearse You Came in On--Tim Cocky
17. Frankenstein--Mary Shelly
18. Deja Dead--Kathy Reichs
19. Crewel World--Monica Ferris
20. Kitty Goes to Washington--Carrie Vaughn
21. Death du Jour--Kathy Reichs
22. A Witch in Time--Madelyn Alt
23. Gwenhwyfar--Mercedes Lackey
24. Haunted--Heather Graham
25. Dark Mysteries of the Vatican--H. Paul Jeffers
26. Magic's Pawn--Mercedes Lackey
27. Demon Hunts--C.E. Murphy
28. Kitty Takes a Holiday--Carrie Vaughn
29. A touch of Dead--Charlaine Harris
30. The Undertaker's Gift--Torchwood
31. Grave Secrets--Kathy Reichs
32. Changeless--Gail Carriger
33. A Witch's Guide to Ghosts and the Supernatural--Gerina Dunwich
34. Bare Bones--Kathy Reichs
35. Enchantment Emporium--Tanya Huff
36. A girl of the Limberlost--Gene Straton Porter
37. Kitty and the Silver Bullet--Carrie Vaughn
38. No Greater Love--Danielle Steel
39. Shades of Grey--Jasper Fforde
40. Wizard^2--K.E. Mills
41. The Human Species--John Relethford
42. The Red Pyramid--Rick Riodan
43. Blameless--Gail Carriger
44. The Roaring Twenties--David Pietrusza
45. Desire Sensibility--Souto Narazaki
46. Hetalia--Hidekaz Himaruya
47. Ghost Hunt vol. 10--Shiho Inada
48. Ghost Hunt vol. 11--Shiho Inada
49. Matilda Raleigh: Invictus--Chris Kelly

Halfway Gone

Wow. I knew I was doing poorly on my book goal for this year (both of them, actually, both writing and reading) but I didn't realize HOW poor. November is almost gone and I haven't even broken 40/75 books read yet. And my NaNo editing goal...is stalled after only two chapters. This is mostly because chapter three needs to be almost entirely re-written and I haven't had the time/energy to sit down and rewrite an entire chapter on top of all of the reading I have to do for school (on the bright side, by next week I'll have a text book read which I can ad to my list). At least it will be Christmas break soon, and I'll be able to get some serious reading/writing done then. I'm going to have a brief respite between finals and when I pick up full time hours at work, and I want to spend all of it reading. ALL. Of. It.

For today, though, I'm going to try to finish up the novella I'm supposed to be reviewing for the CFM. I've got about thirty pages left so if I really hunker down I should be able to knock that out before I leave for work. I am enjoying it, I'm just not every good at reading things on the computer (or anywhere else, apparently).

One page at a time

I managed to get through a chapter and a half, and then I dumped Heat Wave. It really just wasn't doing anything for me, so now I'm trying to finish up A Touch of Dead before we start the drive up to Montreal on Friday. I only have one or two more stories left in it, so if I can manage to sit down long enough to read it, it should go quickly.

I keep meaning to have these great, well thought out blog posts with lots to say, but lately, there just hasn't been much to say. I go to work, I write, and in between I watch movies, knit and spin. Right now nothing I'm knitting or spinning is terribly interesting, and I don't have any photos (Note to Self: take pictures of knitting. And while you're at it, update Ravelry).

I did start a new story the other day. It's based off of a dream. I cranked out about seventeen pages in a day (which for me is a lot), then all of my ideas for it skittered out of my head while I was asleep. Go figure. Just means I'll have to do a little more work for this one than I first thought.

Mom and I are off to go garage saling (is that a word?). And here is another little comic for your reading enjoyment--this one is my favorite.


On my ipod: Minority--Greenday
In the DVD player: Charmed, season 5
On the night stand: A Touch of Dead

Stuff and Things

Public service announcement:

Last night while I was at work (in a fairly decent part of town), a woman was waiting to pull into a parking space. This, apparently, pissed off a man who also wanted the space. When she started to get out of her car to come into the store, he tried to climb in and attack her. She called the police, and came inside after he was gone to wait for them, but as far as I know, they never showed up even though she waited at least an hour.

This happened in broad daylight, in a crowded lot, in what is generally considered a "good" part of town.

I would like to take this moment to remind everyone--especially ladies who work evenings, like me--to be safe and watch your backs out there.

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In other news:

The trip to Montreal has me wanting to bring something I wrote the last time I was there out of The Cooler in a style that would make Col. Hogan proud--simple editing isn't enough, oh no. My writing style has matured a shocking amount in three years, so a full re-write is in order. I'm keeping the basic structure, but almost everything needs to be reworded.

As much as I wanted to finish Ghost Hunters, I just couldn't. It follows roughly thirty different scientists and doesn't have a coherent timeline, hopping back and forth between different decades. It just got to be too much, so I returned it to the library.

I finished Kitty Takes a Holiday yesterday. As wonderful as expected, but I feel back for Cormac. And Ben.

Demon Hunts, of course, was fantastic. Very squee worthy. And if I say any more on the subject, I'm going to be spouting spoilers.

I started reading Heat Wave; it's future is iffy. I'm halfway through chapter one. I may not start chapter two. Melodrama, anyone? It doesn't feel like a mystery thriller. It feels like a trashy romance. I'm sort of surprised Nikki Heat is still clothed, not that it matters considering how transparent she is. The comedy and tension that works so well for the tv show does not translate well into literature, at least not the way it's written.

For relief from not-so-great reading material, I also started the book of Sookie Stackhouse short stories, but I'm about as far into that as I am into Heat Wave. Still, it promises much more enjoyment.

On my ipod: Teenagers--My Chemical Romance
In the DVD player: Titanic
On the night stand: A Touch of Dead and Heat Wave

Happiness is a Full Bookshelf

This is my current reading list. I am in the middle of Ghost Hunters, which is a non-fiction account of early paranormal investigators in the Victorian era; I got the itch last night to re-read my favorite Mercedes Lackey book (which also happens to be the first fantasy book I ever read that wasn't Harry Potter), Magic's Pawn. While I was reading it, I totally forgot I'd hoarded some cash in it and $50 fell into my lap. I went to the bookstore today to pick up a joke book (more on that in a minute) and Changeless, which I've only been looking forward to from the instant I finished Soulless. While I was in Borders, I happened by accident on Demon Hunts. I'd forgotten it came out on the 6th. So I snapped that up, too.

On the way in to Borders, we made a stop at the library, because I had a reserve in--Heat Wave. I want to be Richard Castle when I grow up, so I figured I'd give the book a shot. I figure that since it's based off of my favorite tv shows, it'll either be really good or really bad. We'll see.

Waiting in the wings I also have the next Kitty Norville book (Kitty Takes a Holiday), which I'm also eager to start. You just have to love a werewolf named kitty.

And then, my mom handed me a book of Sookie Stackhouse short stories. I love the books so much, I've decided to give the series another try, so the first season is on reserve for me at the library. Should be in just before or just after we get back from Montreal.

Which brings me back to the joke book: We're going up to see my uncle in Montreal the first week of July. I can't wait. If you've been here long, then you might remember my love affair with the city. This will be my first return visit since 2007. My uncle and I are, I guess, the funny ones in the family (that used to include his dad, my grandpa, but he passed away several years ago). He's always nagging me that I don't have jokes for him anymore, when I had tons as a kid. The problem is that grown up jokes are either really...tasteless, in my opinion, or they are more like funny stories, the "you had to be there" type. So, I picked up some new material.

Speaking of funny, here's another comic strip for your entertainment:



Yes, my cat really did pat me on the head while I was cleaning his litter box. I didn't think it was that bad at the time, but I guess I'm not the one who has to use it. :)

On my ipod: 4 Minutes (Glee Cast version)
In the DVD player: Batman: The Dark Knight
On the night stand: Ghost Hunters and Magic's Pawn

Buh.

Yeah, that's kind of how I'm feeling right now, as I sit in the school library intent on working and not really accomplishing much except checking my email and Facebook seventy billion times for no reason and looking up sock patterns in my Ravelry queue.

Dublin was fantastic and relaxing. Can I go back now? *wimper*

I have one month to complete my thesis, and a week and a half to put together a twenty minute presentation on a chemistry subject. I'm just not feeling terribly motivated, and every time I look at the mountain of work I have to to I just kind of cry a little inside and go hide under the covers.

I've been wanting to do knitting, but my wrist has been bothering me for about two weeks. In my infinite wisdom, I have decided that obviously, it is not the fact that I'm knitting that's the problem, but the fact that my project has been misbehaving (because of course a hat that I've torn out six times and went from an elaborate cable pattern into a plain on stockinette one would obviously be the cause of the pain in my arm, and not all the repetition of typing, knitting, and also playing way too many games of solitaire both online and on my ipod).

Anyway, while I was in Dublin, I picked up a skein of sock yarn, because I've been wanting to knit socks and I've been having trouble fining good yarn for it here--just can't find any thin enough. I'm convinced that all of the knitters here must order the bulk of their yarn online, which I can't do thanks to my wool allergy. I have to touch it first. The yarn is a bamboo blend, very soft, and in shades of pink and white. Not my normal color pallet, but it was the only ball I could find that was the right weight, the right fiber content, and the right price. So I'm debating between Mary's Garden, Cut and Paste, and Snakes on a Sock (those are all Ravelry pages, by the way, so if you're not a member you probably won't be able to view them). My bandwidth is so low though, that it's coming down to whatever has the least complicated looking chart (looks like L&V is the winner), but I've only got one 100g ball so I'm hesitant to do anything from the top down. I'm also really wishing I had a good set of loooong circs so I could at least attempt to do two at a time and thus avoid the ripping that running out of yarn would entail.

I've finished two books in the last couple of weeks, both by Mercedes Lacky--The Lark and the Wren, and The Robin and Kestral. I'm starting the third book in the trilogy tonight.

Speaking of books, I would like to say yet another thank you to C.E. Murphy, who took time out of her busy schedule to meet with Alice and I at Chapters on Friday. We had a lovely time, and she signed my copy of Urban Shaman and Heart of Stone (I still don't think Alice has forgiven me for beating her to that copy. Ha. My revenge, since she failed to point out Bill Nighy to me when we were in London).

I'm working on a file for our experiences on the haunted tours we took in London. I'll post a summary here as soon as it's done, but it might take a while, what with the thesis and the presentation and all.

This weekend I'm going up to Aviano to meet a guy that I met online. If you don't hear from my by Monday, then he's an ax murderer and the American Consulate should be alerted to begin looking for my body. (Joking. Don't call them please. But I also promise I'll post something early next week to let you all know I'm still alive. No promises on the exact time because I need to not be rambling on my blog but instead doing research for my freaking thesis which needs to written, like, NOW).

I think that's the bulk of what I had to talk about. I'm fried, but I have to go jump out of the pan and into the fire now.

Calm Before the Storm

I finished editing Life is a Zoo last week, but I still feel that the book is unfinished. I like the flow, but I have two problem points: the exposition at the end of the book is too tell-all confession; there isn't enough peeling back plot layers to discover what has happened. Second, I don't thing my antagonist is scary enough. I mean, he's a skinwalker. These are some of the baddest-of-the-bad guys in Native American mythology, and he's coming across as too normal. I'm still trying to figure out how I can make him seem like more of threat. Not just because he kills people, but because of what he is.

I also finished up two books this week, my re-read of Thunderbird Falls (which took forever; I'm always so much slower when I'm re-reading something), and Coraline by Neil Gaiman. Overall, I didn't think that the book was as creepy as the movie, but there was one line that got me. I'm paraphrasing a little since I don't have the book in front of me, but it's something like:

Coraline: "Swear it."
Other Mother: "I swear on my mother's grave."
Coraline: "Does she even have one?"
Other Mother: "Of course. I put her there myself. And when I caught her trying to crawl out, I put her right back."

Seriously. Shivers. And this is a kids book?

To do:
-print 2 chemical fact sheets for chemistry
-re-read information on conservation of bronze and iron
-write at least 7 pages of my thesis
-find photos to insert into thesis
-update conservation cards for all archaeology objects worked on (five total)
-create a presentation on a chemistry article (find updated information for presentation, since the article I'm writing about is from 1986)
-Pack for Dublin.

We leave on Monday morning, a week from tomorrow. That's what I'm holding on to at the moment: If I can get through this week, then by next week I'll be in Ireland.

It kind of makes Exams feel worth it.

Books and Writing....The Usual.

I'm still behind on the 52/52 book challenge, but I did finish Fire Study by Maria V. Snyder last night. It's the last book of a trilogy, and I highly encourage any fantasy/action fans to pick it up. Ms. Snyder writes fascinating political systems, and I love all of her characters.

I do have three more books "on the needles" so to speak: Thunderbird Falls by C.E. Murphy, Gravewatchers by A.K. Alexander, and The Strange Case of Jekyll and Hyde and other Stories by Robert Louis Stevenson. In addition, I've got Frankenstein on my Kindle for iPhone/iPod app, and have been reading about a chapter a week when I'm on the bus on my way to the archaeology lab, but I don't expect to finish it anytime soon.

(Does it count if you read your own work as part of the editing process? Hm. Somehow, I think not.)

I'm starting to get back into the swing of things with Cassie; she hasn't been playing nice lately and I've been kind of stalled on her. I think what I may do the next time I hit that plateau is just take a few days to do some editing, and then try to outline her next few books. I'm really shocked that I'm halfway done with her third book, and still have more to say, even if I'm not yet sure how it should be articulated.

Off Topic

Well, I'm just blazing through my 52 books list, aren't I? I'm two weeks behind on the regular challenge, and six books behind on my personal goal. This is partially because the last few days I've been sick, and reading was making my eyes water. I did a lot of knitting, working on two new hats (no pictures yet).

I'm feeling much better now. What I should be reading are books and articles in preparation for my thesis, but it's kind of sad how quickly I've gotten bored with the subject. I got a bit more energized yesterday. We went to the Anthropology lab, and I got to clean part of an iron age skeleton! It was so cool. I also learned some of the male/female markers that can be found on a skull. It was by far the most interesting morning I've had all semester. I really enjoy the hands on classes, especially for archaeology, but the lectures have been putting me right to sleep, especially diagnostics and chemistry. It's either very, very basic chemistry that even I know and have heard five million times, or it's completely over my head and may as well be in Mandarin.

I thought that since I'm doing so poorly on my reading list, that maybe I'd highlight a few of the author blogs that I follow. I'll start on that...tomorrow. Next week. When I make it back here.

The Walker Papers

The long awaited review! If you've been reading the blog for a while, then you probably know that I've been obsessed with this series by C.E. Murphy since I found it last July.

The book opens with sleep deprived Jo, flying home to Seattle from her mother's funeral in Ireland. Looking out the window, she spots a woman about to be stabbed by a man with a butterfly knife, and has no idea that her quest to save this woman's life will change hers forever.

So far the series consists of four books: Urban Shaman, Thunderbird Falls, Coyote Dreams, and Walking Dead, and features our heroine facing everything from Celtic gods to zombies as she struggles to understand the new world of magic that suddenly surrounds her.

These dark forces don't just tear up her every day life, but dredge up her past as well, forcing her grapple with her history and her problems, too.

Book two, which I've just started to re-read, takes place three months after the end of Urban Shaman, and Jo is doing her best to ignore her abilities and the responsibility that comes with them. When she's invited to join a coven, however, she discovers that ignorance isn't always bliss, and the consequences of her actions could be lethal.

I don't want to go into the later books too much, since I'm afraid to give spoilers, but this is one of my all-time favorite series. Every time I read it, I'm inspired to pick up my laptop and write more on whatever story I'm working on. Jo is down to earth, believable, and completely bad-ass. If you like urban fantasy, then you'll love The Walker Papers.

Cowled

Lo and behold, I've been knitting. I whipped up two neck warmers in the past week or so because the archaeological superintendent's building is frickin' freezing. I like v-necks, but my neck and throat are always cold, and my scarf is too bulky for leaning over 2000+ year old ceramics. I have no idea what yarn I used, but the base yarn for each one is a wool blend (the black is wool bamboo, and it's so soft!). By "Wool blend", I mean that it has less than 60% wool, because otherwise I'd be breaking out like crazy. The blue one is still a little scratchy; I don't know if I'll be able to keep wearing it.

I held the wool yarn together with a strand of turquoise and purple linen/cotton ribbon yarn (no idea what it is, either; it didn't have a label when I bought it. It's Italian, though). The neck portion is just k1 p1, and then I shortrowed the portion to cover my chest until it hit my collar. So far, they're working wonders, and cleaning ceramics is much more enjoyable when I'm not shivering.

***

The first thing I did this morning was finish reading Jekyll and Hyde, which I don' recommend. It was a very depressing way to start the day. I really like Stevenson's style, but I think I'm going to have to mix something slightly more cheery in with this collection of short stories.

***

The writing is still stalled. None of my current projects hold much appeal. I need a break from Cassie for a while. In Alice's words, I don't just need to let her get cold, I need to put her on ice. All of my other writing UFO's require severe editing with a plot ax before I can continue with them, and it's a job I don't want to get into at the moment.

***

And thus concludes what is quite possibly my first ever entry to include all three of the subjects this blog is supposed to be about: writing, knitting, and reading.