paragraphs | What I Am Reading...

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lol. That looks quite fun. :) I just finished The Night Watch by Sarah Waters and am reading Nameless by Sam Starbuck (

copperbadge) although the latter is lagging a little as I'm working on my lines for The Glass Menagerie.

I have Sam's book in line for me. Nick is friends with him, so Of Course I had to buy it. :)

Let me know what you think of The Night Watch. It isn't my favorite of hers. For sheer fun, Tipping the Velvet, and in a quiet, clever way I loved Fingersmith. I didn't actually finish Night Watch.

I quite liked it. I liked the characters (except Julia, who I really didn't like) and atmosphere. I had some trouble with the style though- I don't tend to like a lot of pov jumps and I don't really like stories that don't begin at the beginning and end at the end in a linear sort of fashion which made me rather put-out by it. On the other hand I did like the angsty post-war bit the best- I did my A Level exam on War Literature and I thought the way the characters were from the start were good. Just...I would have rather found out what happened After the first part, than have gone back to the Befores. Ah Well. I'd not read her stuff before, but I've read a lot of articles about her (and seen tipping the velvet) I might read more of her stuff, don't know if I'll like it as War Literature era is something that captures me well, and I know her others are set in different times. Although my friend informs me that Tipping the Velvet has lots and lots of sex, which means I might avoid that one ^^ lol. It sounds bad put like that, but I don't tend to like lots of graphic het either tbh. I find it easier to avoid than be reading and then go O.o as it comes upon me by suprise (This happened with Birdsong. *shivers*)

I had some trouble with the style though- I don't tend to like a lot of pov jumps and I don't really like stories that don't begin at the beginning and end at the end in a linear sort of fashion which made me rather put-out by it.

Exactly my problem with it, am afraid. I am a pov purist, though having pulled off two timelines, not so much a linear purist...though my two timelines did stay linear, and eventually converged. Somehow. Still not sure how I managed that. LOL.

Anyway...the prisoner one, I have that one too, haven't read it yet. Keep forgetting I have it!

Tipping...well, it is not raunchy sex. LOL. It is rather sweety, hotly done. It sure raised my eyebrows simply because I had no idea about all this stuff going on back then--LOL!!! I still say it is her best book, certainly the most enjoyable. Fingersmith though is clever and twisty plot-wise, in a good way. I definitely would try that one.

lol. Thanks for the advice! I might read Tipping... one day. I'll have to be feeling brave though but forewarned is forearmed. Fingersmith sounds quite good. I shall keep my eyes open in the library and see if it comes my way. :)

I've picked that book up many times. I'd love to read it sometime!

I'd offer it to you when I am done, but my evil sister wants it back. The brat! LOL.

What AM I reading? That's a really good question. I think I forgot. >.>

Oh noes! That means that once again, you have too much going on in life to relax and read. I am workign HARD at this myself. Just stopping to read is sadly difficult, but I am enjoying it very much. Am reading fiction-wise the first in the Kathy Reich's BONES series. NOTHING like the show, at all. I so wish her sister Harry was on the show. Pout.

My life is eternally too full, and unless the steampunk manages to sell like a million copies, I can't project a time in the next five years where it won't be just as ridiculous as it is now.

Though I do remember right now that I'm almost finished with The Invention of Hugo Cabret. I'm enjoying it. I was also working my way through Kafka at the Shore, two Fables trades, and Em's thesis. Maybe I'm getting too old to read like that. :(

Nods.

It is hard to simplify life when it is so much in the air, isn't it. You know how much I believe in the Steampunk. Wish you could just write write write! I'm enjoying taking a break from rewriting hell, but will get back to it once my

lgbtfest fic is done. LOL I am one who'd rather write! Reworking something old is HARD!

Em's Thesis! What was her subject? Nick's working on his now...psychology though. Not sure yet if he will be writing in English or Geramn. I hope for English so I can read it as he works on it. Grin.

LOVE the icon--OMG I loved that movie, want to see it again. Srsly. Am hoping my friend Leigh Ann wants to see it. LOL.

I feel incredibly lucky that you do believe in the steampunk. That'll be nice later when we don't. ;) And I so wish I could write write write. I feel like if I could just take 3-6 months and get it DONE then other things might fall into place. But that's an incredibly insurmountable task right now, monetarily. And all of my friends are getting fired left and right around me and I'm panicked for them and kind of jealous and ugh. I don't even KNOW anymore.

Well, it's short writings. Some fiction, some non. They're all different. She was a Creative Writing major. :) I'm interested in seeing Nick's too though!

I LOVE THIS MOVIE C. LOOOOOOVE IT. AND ZACHARY QUINTO. WATCH AS I FLAIL AND LOSE MY LIFE TO YOUTUBE.

*Squints* Does that say the "ironic gnome" rule? I don't think we have those in my part of England.

I am reading the Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula LeGuin. I will tell you what I think of it when I've read more than one page ;)

I know! ironic gnome rule? Next break I have I will look it up and tell you all about it. LOL.

Oh famous book that you are reading--which I think I might've read YEARS ago? Maybe? Possibly? Need to look it up on internet. lol.

8,020 words of lgbtfest fic done! But still not done! AHHHH!!!! Thank goodness I have off Wednsday. Meep!

Yay @ your fic. Mine is fucking awful; I missed my posting date and am waiting for the amnesty in the hope of making it actually good, but I'm all grrrr about it. :(

Awww, grrr!!! Yeah lol I am posting the 15th now, which I actually realize is the first amnesty day, too. I promised to read the person's who switched with me for today so must do that.

I am looking forward to writing m/m sex tonight for the first time in ages!!! Oh my!!!! I woke up inspired--too bad had to go to work. Grr.

*Sends you happy thoughts on your fic, too!*
*Milo (my boy doggie) eagerly anticipates the m/m sex scene*

*Sends you happy thoughts on your fic*
*Piper and Milo send you tail wags and licks (but they have bad breath; sorry about that!)*

Ewww! LOL that is okay. Puppy mints!!!! Maddox slurps me all the time, the brat. A very kissy dog.

Ah, I have that book - it's pretty good!

I'm not sure if the same things apply in Wales (not speaking to strangers on public transport, etc.)

I wonder if there's an American equivalent. There are so many things which mark you as an American overseas. Wearing white sneakers - there's one. I love trying to blend in wherever I am so I can observe people unnoticed.

And then take notes about them and make them into characters. :D

Oh on the sneakers. I plan to buy new ones-mine are, I realized recently, about 5 years old. And my feet are skinnier. LOL. So, what color should I buy?????

Americans are too crazy different from place to place, honestly. I go to another state and it might as well be a foreign country. LOL. Comparing Seattle, WA to Norman, OK for instance? Whoa.

LOL, I've been to Norman, but not Seattle!

The answer to the shoe question is to wear shoes, not sneakers. Or if you have to, dark sneakers. :)

No jeans + t-shirt/sweatshirt unless it's a cute t-shirt (IE: girly or fashionable). NO FANNY PACKS. :D

I mostly pack all black stuff when I travel (+ some colorful scarves) and I do wear jeans. Then everything matches anyway. :)

Edited Date: 2009-05-11 06:42 pm (UTC)

no jeans and t-shirts? That is insane. lol. It is what I wear to work every day--jeans and either a polo t-shirt or a short-sleeve sweater or shirt of some kind. Loafers alot, tennis shoes sometimes. I have navy ones and white ones. LOL. Sweatshirts, only in cold winter, and only for slumming in the house. I am super-anti-goofy-ass, stupid designs on shirts and sweats, but I do have TCU sweats and shirts, and one colorado skiing one my daughter got me. LOL.

Not a fanny pack girl. Nick might carry his man-purse shoulder-bag, but I have a small leather backpack.

We are hiking and walking ALOT. This is what we do when we go places. No way I'd wear my beloved Clark loafers with what miles we intend to cover with our feet. There will be tennis shoes!

In other words, don't walk around like Simon Cowell

Well, you would look hot in all black... :)

My friend

cheshcat, who emigrated to the UK a couple of years ago, read that book when she first travelled there, and she loves it. She occasionally cites bits from it in conversations with non-Brit people she meets. I will probably end up reading it some day.

I'm reading a few things (in addition to the usual selection of knitblogs, LJ, DW, and TW3):

Palimpsest by yuki_onna
Yes Means Yes! Visions of Female Sexual Power & a World Without Rape, edited by Jaclyn Friedman and Jessica Valenti (it's totally rocking my world)
Trans/forming Feminisms: Transfeminist Voices Speak Out, edited by Krista Scott-Dixon (who is way cool and runs the bestest weight training site evar)
GenderQueer: Voices from Beyond the Gender Binary, edited by Joan Nestle, Riki Anne Wilchins (whose book Queer Theory, Gender Theory: An Instant Primer is most excellent, and makes reading Judith Butler largely unnecessary), and Clare Howell

I sense a pattern here. :)

And I picked up a copy of Lessons From the Fat-o-Sphere by Kate Harding and Marianne Kirby this weekend at the reading and Q&A session between our shows on Saturday, but I haven't started reading it yet.

I normally read just one book at a time, so this bout of literary polyamory (or maybe just literary sleeping around) is a bit unusual. But it's pretty awesome, especially in terms of the quality of material and its wonderful thinky-ness.

Edited Date: 2009-05-11 09:48 pm (UTC)

I am looking forward to reading it! Probably will take me until I go...lol it'll be fun airplane reading perhaps.

That IS an interesting list. A little mind-boggling lol but do you ever do reviews of books you read, on your lj?

The one that really catches my eye is the last one, Lessons From the Fat-o-Sphere. I am really curious about it, esp. after reading some reviews. Having just gone through a total life-change regarding my eating habits and as a result discovered a whole hell of a lot about myself--and gone from an Obese BMI of 30 to a BMI of 23.9, Well...I have a hell of a lot of opinions regarding this topic. A hell of a lot. LOL. I'm almost 47 and healthier (because I am not obese) and happier (because I love who I am) than I have been since I was in college. Oh yeah, I have thoughts! May have to get it, or check out these blogs and see what I think. *smooths feathers*

LOL.

I have reviewed a book or two on my LJ before, and I do intend to review Yes Means Yes! at least. I might comment on the others as well. But since YMY! actually touches on some thoughts I've had about the 51st century a la DW/TW, it's definitely going to get a post once I finish the book and have some time to ponder it all adequately.

I enjoy reading Kate's blog, although I don't read it every day. There's a lot of links to other fat acceptance/size-positive blogs and online material on her site (the BMI Project is a fave). I'm also a fan of the Junkfood Science site. So yeah, check it out and see what you think.

I believe in size-positive but I admit, when I was fat the last thing I ever wanted to do was accept being fat--along with all the illnesses and threats to longevity it brought and for me, a huge case of fear. So I will have to check out that blog. The BMI project has me curious right now--will find!

Okay cool on the YMY. I will be watching for that post!

I'm already super-cynical about the FDA, advertising, anything out there championing This is the Truth!...junkfoodscience, in a quick read, has already added two new 'supers' to that. Super super SUPER cynical! The way I look at things now? All we get is lies...'they' don't want us to know the truth. (Less money to be made, eh?).

So many thoughts, not just about my own experiences re: my own loss of weight, but friends' I've made too.

Interesting on the BMI experiment too--I think I look damn good at where I am, and yes, I am in the 'normal' range. But, I felt quite good in the lower range of 'obese' too. I realized just last night that my struggle to get 'as low as possible of a BMI' was defeating the purpose of why I chose to lose my weight in the first place...so I killed my goal of doing just that. I'm pretty darn good where I am. Maybe even perfect! Grin.

Currently, I am reading (yes, I'm serious):
Shogun by James Clavell--actually, re-reading;
The Great Crash - 1929 by John Kenneth Galbraith;
Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine from September (yes, I'm that far behind);
Sun Certified Java Programmer Study Guide, either because I'm studying for certification or I'm a masochist (perhaps both), and;
Beginning Microsoft Visual C# 2008 for the same reasons as above.

Shogun! I have thought about reading that--is it a massive book? LOL.

The Great Crash - non-fiction?

You can take the other two--LOL!!!

Shogun is 1152 pages long. It's a massive book but, once it gets going, it doesn't feel it.

Yes, The Great Crash is considered by many to be the best post-mortem on the stock market crash in 1929, written by a Nobel Prize-winning economist.

Okay, I won't send you the other two when I finish them.

I am reading a purely for enjoyment's sake fantasy paperback by Jim Butcher. Has no deep thoughts, but I am enjoying it. Shall read something that qualifies as literature when I'm done.

I love Jim Butcher! The person--he is awesome. LOL. I have started my son on the series. He likes it very much. I have a guy on my flist

talekyn who is making his way through them and doing reviews. Did you get to see the show? I missed it.

What other Fantasy authors do you like?

(mmm and oh hai, I got a new due date for my lgbtfest fic, woo!)

Oh, boy, Fantasy authors. Here's the thing w/ Fantasy: my dad handed me "The Pawn of Prophecy" when I was nine, and I discovered that I loved to read. My mom's an English teacher, but she does not have the same love affair w/ stories that my dad and I have. I read a lot of literature that she and I exchange back and forth, too, but there is nothing like a Fantasy world. Nothing. And, sure, David Eddings is not a brilliant writer. I can admit this. I have read some utter crap in the Fantasy genre and I can understand why some people may look down their noses at it, but I love it. I do get a wee tired at series that get dragged on and on and on for no good reason, but usually I just like following along for the ride and imagining the possibilities.

The Jim Butcher book I'm reading now is not a Dresden novel (though I've read four, I think, of those, and I watched the TV show -- the Harry & Bob interactions were really good, the chemistry didn't quite gel w/ me for Harry & Murphy), it's from his more straightforward Fantasy series, the Aleran Codex. I really like it, moreso the adventure aspects over the romance aspects. Some favorite Fantasy authors of mine would be George R.R. Martin (OMG, the characters, you could reach out and touch them and love them and hate them and I could go on for quite awhile) and Steven Erikson (world-building and the best battle scenes; if military leaders read these we would not have wars). When I was a teenager, I read a series by Katherine Kerr w/ absolutely fascinating history. My dad loaned me a couple of Lois McMaster Bujold books that had very cool religious aspects. And for romantic pulp, nothing beats Melanie Rawn. I loved Robert Jordan's "Wheel of Time" series until it hit the 1,000th main character and the women became caricatures of women. There are others, but those are the ones I go back to the most.

And yay for new date! I am so glad mine's already done. Now I get to be a cheerleader for everyone else! Rah rah, sis boom bah!

Read some of these, stayed away from Jordan (will you read the last one that was not written by him?), have wondered about the Aleran Codex series...

GRRM!!! Nick and I LOVE HIM!!!!! Okay, not him, but the books. Yup yup yup! Some I read, some I listened to--I have 3 on my ipod--and have the next one pre-ordered. Oh vay! canna wait!

LMB -- lordy, how many times have I heard how awesome she is and I've never picked up anything? Romantic pulp is not my cuppa lol...Katherine Kerr, since I love historical fantasy, I so need that. I love Jacqueline Carey too. Nick sorta does--he kinda has lost interest, darn him. grin.

Sighs--I have a historical fantasy I have on the back burner. Why? because I over-outlined the thing and once I did that, I just said "meh." I think about it though...set in a pseudo-Elizabethan period (which is way too popular) based around the boy players. My main character is one of the boy players...dang it, just sitting here thinking about it makes me miss it again. Maybe I should break out the first chapter and reread it... LOL.

GRRM love!!!! Woo hoo! His last one was coming out while I was in Arizona for a wedding. I went w/ three of my best friends from college, and I plotted out the closest Barnes & Noble from the highway to the Phoenix airport (we were driving in from Sedona). I needed to have that book in my hot little hands for the plane ride back, there were no ifs ands or buts about it! (I even went to three bookstores in Sedona that morning to see if they had it, but no dice.) My favorite characters are Bran & Summer, Brienne and The Hound. I love so many of them. I hate so many of them. I react very strongly to so many of them. I need more of the story, dammit!

The Aleran Codex is fun and a quick read; I would recommend. Jordan's final book, hmm, I didn't even know they were doing that. I don't want to read it, but I'm a bit of a completist and I really, really loved that series when I was in high school, so I will probably read it.

Totally forgot to mention Robin Hobb! The relationship between Fitz and the Fool...yeah. I like that series a lot more than the series about the ships and the dragons. Have not read her newest series, but the two based around Fitz and the Fool are really good.

I love historical fantasy! Give it another read-through; see if it stirs anything. :)

Do you like Patricia Briggs? Not her Mercy series--which I do like--but her earlier fantasies. Love them. :)

Brienne, I love her too! And The Hound! I like that you like those two. LOL. I actually read complaints along the lines of 'too much Brienne.' Crazily enough, Sansa is growing on me--her arc has really grown, but dang it, I tease Nick with the 'you are my moon and stars! and 'the Stallion Who Mounts the World!' LOL.

Yeah...believe either Jordan hand-picked this person or his wife did. Not sure which. Not sure when it will be out.

People were complaining about Brienne?! Point me in their direction; I will feed them to the crows!

Sansa is a character that has totally grown on me, too; I can't wait to see her as an adult. She'll be a force to be reckoned w/. Another character that really grew on me was Jaime. At first I just dismissed him, but now he's actually changing, believably, and it's fascinating.

I think I will like Dany's story more when she gets to interact w/ the other main characters. He's done a good job holding my attention w/ her even on the other side of the world, but I want to see her talking w/ Tyrion, meeting up w/ some of the others...

I do not know Patricia Briggs. I seem to think I have vaguely heard of a Mercy series. Will have to look around...

My roommate is ill and can't read much, so I'm reading out loud to her: Steven Millhauser's stories in Dangerous Laughter, Tom Spanbauer's In the City of Shy Hunters, and daily excerpts from the sockpuppet show!

The weather-chat tips should come in handy in Cardiff, eh?

I demand beautiful, sunny breezy weather the entire time we are there, please... (think that will work? demanding perfection? I do NOT want to drive in the rain over there!).

You are a good roommate/friend. I personally love to be read to. Oh oh oh In the City of Shy Hunter's....that completely rings a bell in my head. Hmm hmmm hmmm...

LOL, yeah, Nick also keeps me somewhat up to date (much as he can be) re: the sockpuppetry. :) I shake my head alot!

I'm being bad and not reading anything. But I am writing.

Don't tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass. ~

What I Am Reading...

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