Books I read in 2013

Its time for my traditional books-I-read-this-year post! Everyone else is reflecting on things they did and things they will do and making new goals, and all I seem to care about is how many books I read--what they were, how many there are, and how many I'd like to read the next year. Which doesn't seem quite as, you know, deep.

But on the other hand, it kind of is. I think books can show a lot about how your year went--or at least, how my year went. There is a Lord Peter quote about books being like shells you shed to show previous periods of development, but I'm to lazy to find the exact words right now.

Anyway. What I read this year.

These are in reverse order, meaning the book I read most recently is listed first. This isn't a complete list because I'm not nearly as organized or on the ball as I'd like to be, and sometimes I'd go a few weeks or a month or more without remembering to write down titles of what I'd read, so I'm sure there are a few books missing here. Most are novels, mostly YA but some Middle Grade and Adult, and some are graphic novels. My goal was to read 52 books (one per week), a goal which I met by the skin of my teeth--there are 52 titles here. This is less than half of what I've read other years, but this year was very busy in other ways. I think I want to make a goal for 78 books next year--1.5 books a week (since, yanno, I don't have homework anymore). We'll see how that goes.


Ok, ok, ok, finally--here they are. The books I read in 2013:

• East, Edith Pattou (again)
• Friends With Boys (graphic novel), Faith Erin Hicks
• Gilead, Marilynne Robinson
• The Maytrees, Anne Dillard
• Traveling Mercies, Anne Lamott
• Very Far Away from Anywhere Else, Usrula K Le Guin
• Clouds of Witness, Dorothy Sayers (again)
• A Letter of Mary, Laurie R. King
• My Antonia, Willa Cather
• Gaudy Night, Dorothy Sayers (again)
• A Monsterous Regiment of Women, Laurie R King
• Divergent, Veronica Roth
• The Beekeeper's Apprentice, Laurie R King
• North and South, Elizabeth Gaskell (Librivox)
• The Search Part 2
• The Search Part 1
• The Return of Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Librivox)
• The Princess and the Bear, Mette Ivie Harrison
• Passage, Lois McMaster Bujold
• Legacy, Lois McMaster Bujold
• Beguilement, Lois McMaster Bujold
• The Curse of Chalion, Lois McMaster Bujold (again)
• The Raven Boys, Maggie Stiefvater
• The Doomsday Book, Connie Willis
• The Seven Towers, Patricia C. Wrede (again)
• The Perilous Gard, Elizabeth Marie Pope (again)
• The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, Avi
• Team of Rivals, Doris Kearns Goodwin
• Crown Duel, Sherwood Smith (again)
• A Stranger to Command, Sherwood Smith
• The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, Jacqueline Kelly
• Memory, Lois McMaster Bujold (again)
• Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont, Elizabeth Taylor
• Well of Ascension, Brandon Sanderson
• Shards of Honor, Lois McMaster Bujold (again)
• Cryoburn, Lois McMaster Bujold (again)
• Brothers in Arms, Lois McMaster Bujold (again)
• Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte (Librivox)
• Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen (Librivox)
• Maus II: And Here My Troubles Began, Art Spiegelman (graphic novel)
• Maus I: My Father Bleeds History, Art Spiegelman (graphic novel)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Audiobook), J.K. Rowling
• Mistborn, Brandon Sanderson
• Kidnapped, Robert Louis Stevenson (Librivox)
• Spellhunter, R.J. Anderson
• Tuesdays in the Castle, Jessica Day George
• Old Mans War, John Scalzi
• The Girl of Fire and Thorns, Rae Carson
• A Countess Below Stairs, Eva Ibbotson
• The Warrior's Apprentice, Lois McMaster Bujold (again)
• Memory, Lois McMaster Bujold (again)
• Murder Must Advertise, Dorothy Sayers (again)

Books read in 2012 (incomplete)

 In the past I've kept lists of the books (novels) I've read and then posted them online at the end of the year. I wasn't very consistent with keeping track this year so this list isn't complete, but here are most of the books I read this year. If I counted correctly, there are 52 books on this list, averaging only one per week. In past years I've read nearly 3 times this many, but things have gotten in the way this year it seems. Well, one per week ain't too shabby, is it?

• The Spirit Eater, Rachel Aaron
• The Spirit Rebellion, Rachel Aaron
• The Spirit Thief, Rachel Aaron
• Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us
• Leadership and Self Deception
• The World is Flat
• Les Miserables, Victor Hugo (didn't finish, but I got pretty close.)
• The Enchanted Glass (didn't finish but I will come back to it) Diana Wynne Jones
• Finnikin of the Rock (didn't finish), Melina Marchetta
• The Homeward Bounders, Diana Wynne Jones
• The Scorpio Races, Maggie Stiefvater
• Dragonhaven (again), Robin McKinley
• the Emerald Thread (again), Mordena Babich
• Paladin of Souls, Lois McMaster Bujold
• Fall of a Kingdom, Hillari Bell
• Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms; Fumiyo Kouno
• Anya's Ghost, Vera Brosgol
• Howl's Moving Castle (again), Diana Wynne Jones
• The Vor Game (again), Lois McMaster Bujold
• The Mountains of Mourning (again), Lois McMaster Bujold
• The Warriors Apprentice (again), Lois McMaster Bujold
• The Curse of Chalion (again), Lois McMaster Bujold
• A Long Way From Chicago, Richard Peck
• The Chocolate War, Robert Cormier
• The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon
• White Cat, Holly Black
• American Born Chinese, Gene Luen Yang
• The Book Thief, Marcus Zusak
• How I Live Now, Meg Rossoff
• The Outsiders, S.E. Hinton
• Matched, Ally Condie
• The Sky is Everywhere, Jandy Nelson
• The Braid, Helen Frost
• Skin Hunger, Kathleen Duey
• The Chosen One, Carol Lynch Williams
• Getting Away with Murder, Chris Crowe
• Leviathan, Scott Westerfield
• Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson
• Code Name Verity, Elizabeth Wein
• Out of Sight, Out of Time, Ally Carter
• Only the Good Spy Young, Ally Carter
• Don't Judge a Girl by her Cover, Ally Carter
• Cross My Heart And Hope To Spy
• I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have To Kill You
• A Matter of Magic, by Patricia Wrede
• The Seven Towers, by Patricia Wrede
• Hexwood, by Diana Wynne Jones
• The Sherwood Ring, Elizabeth Marie Pope
• The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Brian Selznik
• Ella Enchanted, Gail Carson Levine
• A Conspiracy of Kings, by Megan Whalen Turner
• The King of Attolia, by Megan Whalen Turner

Awesome movie

For my very first post here after being home, I just have to share this completely awesome short film with everyone.

I'm still geeking out about it.

You guys.

I got to meet Megan Whalen Turner.

She Glowed, and floated three inches off the ground.

Really.

I have
absolutely no words
that can fully express
how totally
and completely
AWESOME
my mother is.

No really.

You all wish you had a mom as cool as mine.


When I called yesterday morning, all excited over the possibility of flying to California and meeting my favorite author, Megan Whalen Turner, in the company of (and with some help from) my other Book Friends (who are awesome, just by the way), I was informed that the exact dates of our family trip to Florida had JUST BARELY been definitely set... for the EXACT SAME DAYS as this trip to CA would be.

Now, I've really been looking forward to the family trip. I have. But MWT's series has been my favorite since 2007, and my roommies can attest to the extent of my obsession with these books. (As I read KoA just before officially moving down to BYU, my family has only had a watered-down version of this obsession, but knowing me, I think they get an idea of what my roommates go through in dealing with it.)

So hearing that I couldn't go meet my FAVORITE AUTHOR before she moves out of the country (and thence to the other end of the country) and I go on my mission and who-knows-what-else happens was kind of... disappointing. Except without the 'kind of'. Actually, maybe we should replace that 'kind of' with 'EXTREMELY'.

I'll just swallow my pride, own up to my absolute spoild-ness and admit that a few tears were shed over this. I blame Annie for being so understanding and sympathetic. Aren't you supposed to cry when someone is being understanding and sympathetic? I think that is some kind of rule.

Anyway, when I asked mom desperately if there was any way to change it, or maybe I could go to FL from CA, I would even make the phone calls (AND I ABHOR PHONE CALLS WITH A DEEP, DARK LOATHING... well, maybe not that extreme) or, or SOMETHING... she kind of got the idea that this author event, which would seem silly and unimportant to most people, was actually important to me. More important than a family trip to Disney World which I had seemed reasonably excited for. (Yeah, my priorities are completely wacko. Most people would take Disney World over Favorite Author and book Friends any day.)

So yesterday I was making stupid suggestions and making phone calls and... well, basically I felt like I was being an absolute pest and being the worst, whiniest, botheringest daughter ever. ("Oh boo-hoo, I have to go to Disney World. Everyone should waste time and energy and money over me. Boo-hoo." Gosh, I sound disgustingly spoiled. Yuk.) I HATE asking people to make changes for me, I'm an "ok, whatever works for you works for me, it doesn't really matter" kind of person. (At least, I think so. Maybe this is only an illusion I have of myself, and I'm actually an absolute pest. Urgh. I hope not.)

So by yesterday evening (it somehow seemed a longer time than just from morning-to-evening, but thats as long as it was) I had resigned myself to the fact that require too much bothering-of-other-people and being a self-centered pest, and that I would just content myself with sending my books to be signed and seeing the pictures of everyone else being there. And really, I would have alot of fun with my family, and it was probably for the best. I was still really disappointed though, and went to bed with a headache because I'd worked myself up over the whole thing. I mean, really, what did I have to be disappointed about? I would get over it. Really. It would just... be awhile.

But I ascended from the depths of the HFAC after class today and my phone buzzed to deliver me this glorious text message:

After all day on the phone and computer, I CHANGED ORLANDO TO MAY 2-6 SO YOU CAN GO TO CALIFORNIA!!!!!!

I called my mom. The conversation was short, but, well... you know.



Oh
my
goodness.

You guys.

I've been walking on air ever since. Not even finals stress can bring me down.


NOTHING, EVER, CAN TOP THE AWESOMENESS OF MY MOM.



Nothing at all.

Most of the books I've read this year

If you know me well at all, you know I'm not particularly organized. So I'm pretty pleased with myself for this mostly-complete list. I'd keep good track of my reading for a few weeks, then completely forget and have to go back and try to remember. Sometimes I'd remember all I'd read, and sometimes I just wouldn't. Despite my lapses in book-tracking, I believe this list to be mostly-complete.

I'm counting 115 titles here, though I might be slightly off. Most of them are novels, and I read most of them cover to cover, though there are some exceptions--a few short stories, novellas, or re-reads where I skipped the less interesting parts (though most of my re-reads were cover-to-cover), and several audio books while working.

115 titles--thats approximately 9.5 a month, 2.3 a week, or .3 a day. Looking back, that seems about right.

These are in reverse order--so I have recently started and not yet finished the first two titles here, the first book I read this year is at the very bottom of the list.



Unfinished: The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner; Shards of Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold

Falling Free, by Lois McMaster Bujold
A Civil Campaign, by Lois McMaster Bujold (best-parts-version re-read)
Crown/Court Duel, by Sherwood Smith (best-parts-version re-read)
Komarr by Lois McMaster Bujold
The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold
The Sherwood Ring, by Elizabeth Marie Pope
The Perilous Gard, by Elizabeth Marie Pope
Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Taming the Bicycle by Mark Twain (Librivox)
They and I, by Jerome K. Jerome (Librivox)
The Winter Queen, by Boris Akunin
Told After Supper by Jerome K. Jerome (short story/novella?) (Librivox)
The Sign of the Four by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Librivox)
A Scandal in Bohemia (short story) by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Gaudy Night, by Dorothy Sayers (again)
A Study in Scarlet, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Librivox)
The Winter Prince, by Elizabeth Wein
Crocodile on the Sandbank, by Elizabeth Peters
Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Librivox)
Fire (short story collection,) only Robin McKinley's stories though
Dragonhaven by Robin McKinley
the Hound of the Baskervilles, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
My Father's Dragon, by Ruth Stiles Gannett (librivox)
Lord Peter (short story collection) by Dorothy Sayers
Ben Hur, by Lew Wallace (Librivox)
Have His Carcase by Dorothy Sayers
Komarr by Lois McMaster Bujold
Prauge Counterpoint by Bodie Theone
Vienna Prelude by Bodie Theone
Whose Body? by Dorothy Sayers (again) (Librivox)
The Game by Diana Wynne Jones
Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll (librivox)
Busman's Honeymoon by Dorothy Sayers
Gaudy Night by Dorothy Sayers
The Nine Tailors by Dorothy Sayers
Murder Must Advertise by Dorothy Sayers
Five Red Herrings by Dorothy Sayers (didn't finish)
Strong Poison by Dorothy Sayers
The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club by Dorothy Sayers
Unnatural Death by Dorothy Sayers
Clouds of Witness by Dorothy Sayers
To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis
The Curse of Chalion by L M Bujold
Memory by L M Bujold
Mirror Dance by L M Bujold
Brothers in Arms by LM Bujold
Borders of Infinity (novella) by L M Bujold
Assasins Apprentice, by Robin Hobb
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (librivox)
The Prisoner of Zenda, by Anthony Hope (Librivox)
Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog) by Jerome K Jerome (librivox)
the Pinhoe Egg, by Diana Wynne Jones
Conrad's Fate, by Diana Wynne Jones
The Lives of Christopher Chant, by Diana Wynne Jones
Whose Body? by Dorothy Sayers (librivox)
Charmed Life by Diana Wynne Jones
Once On A Time by A. A. Milne
The Man Who Would Be King (short story) by Rudyard Kipling (librivox)
A Little Princess by Francis Hodgson Burnett (librivox)
Amaranth Enchantment, by Julie Berry
The Railway Children, by E. Nesbit (librivox)
Persuasion, by Jane Austen (librivox)
The Story of the Treasure Seekers, by E. Nesbit (librivox)
Anne of Avonlea, by L. M. Montgomery (librivox)
Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki
Anne of Green Gables, Lucy Maud Montgomery (librivox)
The Scarlet Pimpernel, Baroness Emmuska Orczy (to family)
Peter Pan, J.M.Barrie (librivox)
Little Dorrit, Charles Dickens (Librivox)
Austenland by Shannon Hale
Crown (and Court) Duel by Sherwood Smith
Eldorado, by Baroness Emmuska Orczy (librivox)
The Elusive Pimpernel, by Baroness Emmuska Orczy (Librivox)
I Will Repay! by Baroness Emmuska Orczy
The League of the Scarlet Pimpernel (short story collection) by Baroness Emmuska Orczy
(To Deidre and Jocelyn) The Thief, by Megan Whalen Turner
Sir Percy Leads the Band, by Baroness Emmuska Orczy
Nausicaa part 1 (graphic novel) by Hayao Miyazaki
The Scarlet Pimpernel, by Baroness Emmuska Orczy (librivox)
The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas (librivox)
The Queen of Attolia, by Megan Whalen Turner
Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury
The Stone Fey, by Robin McKinely
Airborn, Kenneth Oppel (audiobook)
The Sherwood Ring by Elizabeth Marie Pope
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. IT WAS AWESOME. THE MOVIE IS TOO.
Bone Volume Two: The Great Cow Race by Jeff Smith (graphic novel) (oh, and I read the first one awhile back and forgot to add it.... :-})
Tales from Outer Suburbia, by Shaun Tan (short story collection with AWESOME paintings, ARC)
The Stonekeeper (Amulet, Book 1) by Kazu Kibuishi (graphic novel)
The Perilous Guard, Elizabeth Marie Pope
Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone, JK Rowling
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J. K. Rowling
Inkdeath, Cornelia Funke
American Born Chinese, Gene Luen Yang (graphic novel)
Inkspell, Cornelia Funke
Night, by Elie Wiesel
Inkheart, by Cornelia Funke
Howl's Moving Castle, to Deidre and Annie (unfinished)
The High King, Lloyd Alexander
Taran Wanderer, Lloyd Alexander
The Castle of Llyr, Lloyd Alexander
The Black Cauldron, Lloyd Alexander
The Book of Three, Lloyd Alexander
Peony in Love, Lisa See
Neverwhere, Niel Gaiman
The Demon's Lexicon, Sarah Rees Brennan
The Graveyard Book, Niel Gaiman (read to me by Annie)
The King of Attolia, Megan Whalen Turner (to Deidre)
The Mysterious Benedict Society, Trenton Lee Stewart (unfinished)
The Empty Kingdom, Elizabeth Wein

"I am eleventy-one today!"

Not that it really matters, as there are a few more days of this year left during which I will read at least one more book, but there are currently ELEVENTY-ONE titles on the 'Books I've Read This Year" list on the side of my blog. Thats right--111. I was entertained by this circumstance, and decided that I might as well share this odd fact with anyone who might be reading this.

I will, of course, post the full list, with thoughts and comments on it, once it is Officially 2010.

Footloose and Fancy Free

Finals are over and I'm home for the holidays! Well, temporarily at least. I'll be heading back down to Provo to work (gotta pay tuition!) but I'm home this weekend, with no homework to do, no finals to study for, and new books to read--what more could I want? When finals ended I splurged somewhat and bought myself a hardback copy of The Christmas Carol illustrated by P.J. Lynch, because I could...and it was on sale, so really, it wasn't that big a splurge :-}. I'm really looking forward to reading it--Charles Dickens was a funny guy, and of course the illustrations will be awesome.

Now that I finally have TIME to tell all you blog readers (like, all three of you ^.^) what's been going on I can't really think what to say. Hmmm... well, some big news of the last couple weeks (heh) was that I got and ARC (Thats an Advance Readers Copy, to you non-book-nerds) of A Conspiracy of Kings by Megan Whalen Turner (the sequel to my absolute favoritest book EVER, The King of Attolia) which will be coming out in March or April and is MADE OF AWESOME (in case anyone was wondering). After I finished reading it I promptly passed it onto another obsessed fan, then to the next, then the next, who passed it on to several more, and I just got it back this morning and will be handing it off to the wonderful Shanelle tonight. (I really should try and count up everyone who has read this ARC, just to know, you know?) EVERYONE SHARE THE BOOK-LOVE. Book friends: I'm glad that you all understand me, and the awesomeness that is these books. And I'm glad that there is such a lovely concentration of us in Provo/Orem/SLC area.

We also had our roommate gift exchange and I got--wait for it--a Borders Gift card. Surprise! I also got a rather entertaining bookmark, with a pony on it--and it neighs when you press it. :-) I got Annie Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome... maybe as much for myself as for her, I'll admit, because I'll expect her to allow me to read it to her now. And she will enjoy it. Becasue Jerome K. Jerome was a funny guy.

I really don't have much else to say, so I shall now close :-D

Once on a Time

Hooray!
The first book I helped to record on Librivox is now out in the catalog! The book is Once on a Time by A. A. Milne and I think its alot of fun.

check it out here: http://librivox.org/once-on-a-time-by-a-a-milne/

I did chapters 17, 18, 20, and 21.


And just as a side note, I'm still working between homework and life and such to put up more snowflakes at SarahLuAnn.etsy.com, so keep looking there as well :-).

Costumes!

First I will say that, I have just now added a random quote generator to the side of my blog. Over on the left there, see it? The javascript and I had a bit of an argument over apostrophies, but it is there. I've been entertaining myself the last couple minutes by reloading the page over and over to see what quotes come up. There are more Lord Peter and Attolia quotes than anything else right now--whos surprised?--but I think I will add more quotes and it'll even out with time.

Now, on to the actual subject of this entry...

This Halloween season has started a week early, it seems. Since Halloween is a Saturday, people are scheduling parties a week ahead!

This year I decided to dress up as Attolia/Irene from The Thief, The Queen of Attolia and The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner. (Yes, the title character of the second book.) Yes, I know that nobody else really knows who that is. But if I did something everyone else likes I wouldn't have had near as much fun putting my costume together, and really, my own entertainment was all I really cared about anyway.


I was asked to make a Rustic Apple Tart for the Illustration Association party. (They gave me the recipe.) Here is the finished product:



And now some costume pics.


Annilyn, Me, and Brooke:



Brooke, Me, Annilyn, and Caitlin:







Shadow Queen...



I was trying to figure out the 'stone face' look. And failing, but I was trying.



Gotta get a hair shot (even though Irene's hair is supposed to be black...)






Who am I that you should love me?



Happy primary-color-and-metallic embrioidered sheet-wearing cultural royalty:


Stern primary-color-and-metallic embrioidered sheet-wearing cultural royalty (I'd got in some practice by this time, so I really could do the Attolia Stone Face):

Books Read this summer

I was just glancing over old blog posts when I saw a post I'd completely forgotten about from last April, saying what books I thought I might want to pick up over the summer. I thought it might be interesting to say which of those I actually did read.

Of the rather long list of books I thought I might like to try reading over the summer, these are the ones I did actually read:

Jane Eyre
The Book Thief, by Marcus Zuzak I started but didn't finish. I did enjoy what I read of it and plan to finish when the Book Chooser Says To.
Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver is another I started but didn't finish--I really liked it, but then the library recalled it. *grumble* Annie brought back her copy for me to read the next time she went home, but by then I'd kind of lost my momentum with it, yanno? But this is another that I fully intend to finish reading in the future.
The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas
Ben Hur by Lew Wallace I didn't actually read during the summer, but I did shortly after school started. Well, I listened to it anyway, which counts in my book.
Kenneth Oppel's Airborn books.
The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold
More Diana Wynne Jones--specifically The Game and re-reading the first and third volumes of the Chronicles of Chrestomanci... and maybe some other stuff that isn't coming to mind at the moment...
I didn't read The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor, but I did listen to Through the Looking Glass, and the original should be even better, no?
I gave Game of Kings by Dorothy Dunnett another try--one of these days I'll be able to understand her prose. Maybe.
the Lord Peter Wimsey Books--oy my Lord Peter. I am so glad that I did pick these up... :D:D:D
The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emma Orczy--Karen Savage is my Hero





Not a bad list. Of course I read many other books this summer, but these are the books that I did end up reading that I had on my summer reading list. And probably nobody is interested in this but me, but ah well.


And NOW I shall go do homework. Actually, I'm going to have dinner first. And THEN homework.

moody

Lately I've just been... less happy. I've been frustrated with classes and work and just kind of for no reason at all. I was feeling this rather acutely during my evening class tonight (Digital Painting). Not for any particular reason--I just was generally frustrated, for absolutely no good reason.



Leave class. Turn right instead of left when leaving HFAC. Enter Library.

And hour and a half passes.

Exit library, with a new spring in step and absurd grin on face.



Oh library, how I love thee.

I have previously demonstrated the greatness of my ode-writing skills (which is to say, non-skills) so I shall fall back on what others have said on this subject.

I have never known a trouble that an hour's reading would not dissipate.
-Charles Louis Montesquieu

Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accesible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers.
-Charles W. Eliot

When I am attacked by gloomy thoughts, nothing helps me so much as running to my books. They quickly absorb me and banish the clouds from my mind.
-Michel de Montaigne



I collected these quotes (and several others) from a quote book mom had on the table in the living room last time I was home. They are of course always true, but I didn't anticipate how very applicable they would soon be.

pet peeve

I can't really call it a Pet Peeve, because that is just something that kind of rubs you the wrong way, but doesn't really make you extremely angry.

Last week one of my roommates had one of her guy friends over. I talked with them a bit, and he seemed nice enough, though not exactly the type that I could really hit it off with, if you know what I mean. (Which is to say, he was very not nerdy.) So they continue chatting while I go over to my usual end of the couch with the lamp and start reading. He's kind of on his way out--they're gradually getting closer to the door while conversation continues--when they get on the subject of their aspirations, etc. and my roommate admitted that what she really wants to do is write for children.

"Oh," says her friend, "thats easy." He made a motion like he was just scribbling something really fast. "I mean, you just... you know?"

This is far from the first time someone has made a similar suggestion to/in front of me when someone admits to aspirations in childrens literature--either writing or illustration. Its hard for me to believe that they don't realize how utterly tactless, and of course wrong, they are. (How would you like me to say in a sort of brush-of way that your major sounds easy?) But what is also hard for me to believe is that, knowing how unthinking and common, etc., this thinking is, I still become, like, swellingly angry whenever someone makes this kind of comment. But, probably fortunately, I am not a person who yells, or even one who shows much emotion or says much of anything. So when my roommates friend says that writing childrens books is "easy", its only inside that I'm screaming,"EASY? Yeah, well you know what ELSE is EASY? JUMPING OFF A CLIFF IS EASY. So why don't you do the world a favor and go DO that. And be sure to aim for those SHARP ROCKS AT THE BOTTOM. And by the way I've decided to HATE YOU FOR ETERNITY." But while I'm thinking this, I'm still apparently calmly reading, though they probably never noticed that I've stopped moving my eyes over the page, or turning pages.

I waited for my mostly-suppressed explosion until after he was out the door, which was fortunately not long after.
"How can he not know how utterly tactless that was? Not to mention entirely wrong," I said.
"What was?" asked Annie, who had entered just as I said this. I told her what he said, and how this has happened to me several times before, and how it always makes me see red, but I never, ever say anything. So in a very small way it is my fault, for not correcting this thinking when I encounter it, right?
"Well, kind of," Annie said, "I'm not saying that that kind of thinking shouldn't be corrected, but really, I think it's better that you don't say anything when you're as angry as all that. And I know it's hard, but you should probably try to get used to the fact that you're going to keep encountering this kind of thinking and you should try and just let it roll over you, or you're going to keep getting angry about something you have no control over."
And of course she's right, but that doesn't make it any easier.

A Librivoxateer!

I have officially spent all the money on myself that I'm going to for the whole summer. That is, on stuff other than food and housing. I really have. This is the last For My Own Amusement And Enjoyment purchase I will make for the next six weeks.

Really.

Right now, I'm going to push the buttons that will buy me a basic, not-fancy microphone for this computer. So I can be a real librivoxateer.

Here goes.


....


Ok, I did it.

I'm pretty excited about it, I'm not gonna lie. Reading audiobooks has been a sort of vagueish dream of mine for quite awhile. Mom says she thinks she can find the recording I started of The Phantom Tollbooth from about fifth grade. I'm really interested to hear it... I don't really remember if I did well. In my head, my memory of it sounds good (The lines I remember being "You're... in... the Dooooooldrums" and "My, my, my, my, my, my, welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome To the Land of Expectations, To the Land of Expectations, to the Land of Expectations. I'm the Whether Man, do you think it will rain?), but if she finds the casettes I'll be curious to hear how well I read then. My roommies assure me that I read very well now.

Fanarts!

Ok, so this is kind of like a follow-up post to the last one. Because what do I do when I obsess about things? (That is, Aside from being all giggly, and talking about them to people who don't care about whatever it is I'm obsessed with AT ALL or, even if they do care about it, I talk about it so much that they get SICK of them or...
Well, yeah. Anyway.)

The answer is, I DRAW PICTURES.

Aside from my current "obsession", my excuse for drawing these was to learn how to paint in photoshop. Which I'm still kinda figuring out. If you click on them, and then on the little magnifying glass with a plus sign above them, you can see them big. :)

So here they are.

First, we have
Moira From The Thief, by Megan Whalen Turner



I painted this in less than an hour and a half. For that kind of time, I think it looks alright. I kind of like this idea, I might either keep painting on this one or do another one of basically the same thing, but... better. I was drawing it from my memory of the scene, so when looking back at the actual text it is interesting to see which details I got right and which I didn't.


I was walking up steps into a small room with marble walls. There were no windows, but moonlight came from somewhere to fall on the white hair and dress of a woman waiting there for me. She was wearing the ancient peplos that fell in pleated folds to her feet, like one of the women carved in stone beside old altars. As I entered the room, she nodded as if she'd been expecting me for some time, as if I were late. I had a feeling I should recognise her, but I didn't.
"Who brings you here?" she asked.
"I bring myself."
"Do you come to offer or to take?"
"To take," I whispered, my mouth dry.
"Take what you seek if you find it then, but be cautious. Do not offend the gods." She turned to the tall three-legged table beside her. It held an open scroll and she lifted a stylus and wrote, adding my name at the bottom of a long list and placing a small mark beside it.
When I woke a moment later, Pol had dinner ready.

.....

I had been dreaming again of the lady in the chamber; her hair was held away from her face by a string of dark red stones set in gold. She used a swan feather pen to put a second mark by my name, and she seemed concerned for my sake...



Irene Dancing under the Orange Trees



I really should have planned this out better before starting. As it was, I was moving things around and such halfway through painting and trying to make it work--almost just because I could more than anything. (Hey, if you have layers in your painting, why not use them??)

This is a fanart piece for Megan Whalen Turner's The Queen of Attolia. AWESOME book, just by the way.


"Before he died, my grandfather used to bring me to your palace so that I could see it for myself. There was a party and dancing one night, and the palace was full of people. I went to the kitchen garden to hide because it should have been empty, but once I was inside, the door opened from the flower gardens, and you came in my yourself. I watched you walking between the rows of cabbages and then dancing under the orange trees. I was above you, in one of the trees."
Attolia stared. She remembered the night she danced under the orange trees.



And then for the other Obsession,
The Elusive Pimpernel


This is a fanart piece from a scene of The Elusive Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy. Since I'm still trying to learn to use photoshop, that was one of the main goals of this piece. Notice that the pattern on his coat revolves around a five-petaled flower . I had to look up what a chapeau-bras was in order to draw this--thats the style of hat he's wearing. I'm still learning how to draw expressions and ages, so he looks a bit younger/more feminine than I'd want, but then again... this IS Sir Percy we're talking about.


This is the passage illustrated:

"Dishonour and ridicule! Derision and scorn!" [Chauvlin] murmured, gloating over the very sound of these words, which expressed all that he hoped to accomplish, "utter abjection, then perhaps a suicide's grave. . ."

He loved the silence around him, for he could murmur these words and hear them echoing against the bare stone walls like the whisperings of all the spirits of hate which were waiting to lend him their aid.

How long he had remained thus absorbed in his meditations he could not afterwards have said; a minute or two perhaps at most, whilst he leaned back in his chair with eyes closed, savouring the sweets of his own thoughts, when suddenly the silence was interrupted by a loud and pleasant laugh and a drawly voice speaking in merry accents:

"The Lud love you, Monsieur Chaubertin! and pray how do you propose to accomplish all these pleasant things?"

In a moment Chauvelin was on his feet, and with eyes dilated, lips parted in awed bewilderment, he was gazing towards the open window, where, astride upon the sill, one leg inside the room, the other out, and with the moon shining full on his suit of delicate-coloured cloth, his wide-caped coat and elegant chapeau-bras, sat the imperturbable Sir Percy.

"I heard you muttering such pleasant words, Monsieur," continued Blakeney calmly, "that the temptation seized me to join in the conversation. A man talking to himself is ever in a sorry plight. . . he is either a madman or a fool. . ."

He laughed his own quaint and inane laugh, and added, apologetically:

"Far be it from me, sir, to apply either epithet to you. . . demmed bad form calling another fellow names. . . just when he does not quite feel himself, eh?. . . You don't feel quite yourself, I fancy, just now. . . eh, Monsieur Chaubertin. . . er . . . beg pardon, Chauvelin? . . ."

He sat there quite comfortably, one slender hand resting on the gracefully fashioned hilt of his sword - the sword of Lorenzo Cenci- the other holding up the gold-rimmed eyeglass, through which he was regarding his avowed enemy; he was dressed as for a ball, and his perpetually amiable smile lurked round the corners of his firm lips.

Chauvelin had undoubtedly for the moment lost his presence of mind. He did not think of calling to his picked guard, so completely taken aback was he by this unforeseen move on the part of Sir Percy. Yet, obviously, he should have been ready for this eventuality.....was it not a fact that whenever or wherever the Scarlet Pimpernel was least expected, there and then would he surely appear? ...

Aye! it was all so natural, so simple! Strange that it should have been so unexpected!

I'm not sure I want to put these on the "art" blog, because they're not really very professional. I look at them and all that I see is FLAW. FLAW. FLAW.

Whats going on? OBSESSIONS! What fun. I love obsessions.

So maybe you're wondering whats going on with my life. I certainly haven't said a whole lot about it. So, I'll tell you.

I work.
I read.
I eat.
I read.
I sleep.
I read.

I love life.

I am currently caught up in two obsessions, which is quite fun really. Its always nice to have something to get excited over, what? (Sir Percy is rubbing off on me.)
One obsession is an old one, the Queens Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner. The King of Attolia has been my favorite book since I first read it a couple years ago. Well, guess what. You never will, so I'll tell you--just over the last few days, the title, release date, cover, and blurb were discovered by the Sounis livejournal community. So now I'm extremely happy, in a rather hyperactive way, for A Conspiracy of Kings, coming Winter 2010. Less than a year. I can wait that long, can't I? Marvellous title. And we get more Sophos--I miss Sophos! But its looking like he'll be a major player in this next book, along with other such awesomeness. :-)



The other Obsession, as you may have guessed if you've looked at the book blog, is The Scarlet Pimpernel. I'd read and enjoyed the book before, but this time I got caught up and curious, and guess what--there are over 13 books about that Demmed Elusive Pimpernel! YES. Sir Percy is AWESOME. And guess what. The Musical will be at Hale Center Theater in a couple months! I am DETERMINED that I will see it when its there. I WILL. (*HINT HINT*) I've been listening to the Original Broadway Recording on Rhapsody.com, most specifically The Riddle which is and AWESOME, dramatic song, which I think fits the story extremely well.

Wear the old coat and buy the new book. -Austin Phelps

Yesterday was payday. Today was a bookstore day. I spent less than twenty dollars. Only got three books. I feel pretty good about myself.

Todays haul:

The Scarlet Pimpernel, by Barnoness Emmuska Orczy. Because I loved this book and read it a few times growing up and I need my own copy that ISN'T the Readers Digest Version. No, I'm not joking--the copy we had at home was part of the "Readers Digest Abridged Classics" series. And all fiction was 25% off, so it was only $3.71 even before you also subtract my employee discount.
Crown (and Court) Duel, by Sherwood Smith, because I've been wanting to re-read it for awhile and I wanted my own copy and it was paperback and therefore cheap.
Amulet: the Stonekeeper by Kazu Kibushi, a graphic novel, because I read it awhile back and I really liked it. And it has nice colors. :D


While we're on the subject of books, I'm in the middle of Too Many, but I'm mostly enjoying myself anyway. Nausicaa and Harry Potter are paused while I finish Poisonwood Bible, which is quite good, and King of Attolia, which I'm marking. Since Deidre seems to be in a similar situation as far as reading too many books at once, Thief is also paused. Count of Monte Cristo is going well, but I'm not sure how much I actually like it. There is cool intrigue and such, but I just really don't like the Count at all. I'll expound upon this subject more when I finish the book, so keep checking the book blog.


And, if you haven't already, check out my art blog to see what I've been doing at work these last couple weeks.

So

I haven't posted anything in awhile. This is mostly because I haven't really got much to say.

The job is awesome (as I've said) and I'm still getting used to, but rather enjoying, my free time (see book blog/list). Except for the fact that the hours of the MAC lab in the summer are cut short. Which means its only open for an hour after I leave work. Which is barely enough time to do anything. And I was going to develop my Drawing On The Computer Skillz this summer (*sigh*). I've been doing ALOT in Illustrator for Work (speaking of, I want to check with my supervisor to make sure its fine to post it in my art blog--it probably is, but just precaution, you know) but nothing in Photoshop. So me and the Pen Tool are good friends, but me and the Brush Tool & tablet.... eh, not so much. I guess I could draw here, but that would require borrowing Annie's computer and Jocelyn's tablet at the same time. Which is just... kind of alot of Simultaneous Borrowing From Roomies for Quite Awhile? Which I might do if I start to get desprate.

One day (*waving prophetic finger*) one day I will own my own MAC (complete with adobe suite) and tablet! And nice camera (that shoots raw but isn't too coplicated)! ONE DAY THEY WILL ALL BE MINE.

Anyway.

Shanelle is coming over tomorrow and I'm excited!

Shannon Hale is going to be at the Provo Library this Saturday and I'm excited!

Life is good and mostly stress free and I love it!

Realization

So I realized something today while I was working in the bookstore. (Which was very nice, just by the way. When I'm not there for hours every day I don't get sick of those shelves that I have practi-mostly memorized...)

So all the time I'm doing in the bookstore is alternate Saturdays, and then I'm on call if someone goes on vacation or something.

Paydays are alternate Fridays.

Yesterday was payday.

Today was my day in the bookstore.

This pattern will continue. Payday Friday, followed by Hours in the bookstore I haven't been visiting as much lately the day after.



Do you know what this means?

This means that the day I feel rich is the day I'll be spending my day surrounded by books. Books for sale. Beautiful, beautiful books for sale.

Today I only got five. And they were all from the bargain table. And they were all worth it. I am a better, happier, more fulfilled person for owning these books! Ok, well, you know what I mean.

Todays haul:

Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale, because the hardback was on the bargain table for less than I would spend on a paperback
The Book Thief by Marcus Zusac for the same reason, even though I haven't read it yet (and I DON'T BUY books I haven't read as a general rule) because I fear Dire Punishment from Shanelle if I don't read it soonish
That Book Woman, a picture book with a great story and pictures--wonderful gesture in the drawings, *love*
We the People, a kids history book that I needed because the watercolor illustrations are phenomenal and the illustrator is Officially one of my All Time Favorites.
Cheyenne Medicine Hat, a book about Native American horses with Really Boring Text but gorgeous illustrations.


All of these, hardback, for less than twenty dollars. Oh, and I grabbed three ARCs for myself. I mean, seriously, how could I resist?

Oh Yeah. I have a Blog.

This week has been a good one. I started my new job, and it is wonderful. I'm being paid to look at and make pictures. Sweet. There are some catches/difficulties--I can't just draw whatever I want, of course--but thinking of ideas to fit the assignment is kind of fun in its own way. Challenging, yes. But enjoyable.

Though I did make a rather stupid mistake yesterday. Or this week, I guess.

You see, I've stayed On Call at the bookstore--not because I wouldn't want to work my other job full time, but because they asked me to. And I rather like the bookstore's employee discount. And having access to ARCs. And books in general.

So anyway, my bookstore supervisor asked me to help in the bookstore Friday evening because of Womens Conference. So I tried to calculate the hours I worked that week so that I could work that evening without going over 40 hours. Unfortunately, I didn't count the hours correctly. I was thinking of the week as starting on Monday... forgetting the fact that I worked Saturday, and Fridays are pay days. So Saturday was part of this work week.

Fortunately before clocking in at the bookstore I went and asked how many hours I had, just to make sure--and I found that I'd already worked all my hours, because the hours I thought I'd kept free to work that evening I'd worked on Saturday. Ugh.

So I went and told the General Book people what had happened, feeling immensely stupid and apologetic. Then I walked home to eat.

As I walked I was thinking, now what am I going to do? I feel stupid and guilty and just plain bad for letting my supervisor down, I didn't plan anything for this evening because I was going to be working.... I guess I could just read... thats it!

I hurried and ate at home and headed back to the bookstore. I told the people at the general book desk that I wouldnt be shelving or anything and wouldn't be technically working, but I would be reading against the back wall in case anyone needed help finding stuff in the Childrens Section.

I had brought Dandelion Wine and The Poisonwood Bible with me, but I decided to read something else. Shelves of books were at my disposal. Having talked to my mom about the book The Perilous Gard the night before, I had that book on my mind, so I went and grabbed Elizabeth Marie Pope's other novel, the Sherwood Ring, which I read 2/3s of while I was not-really-working-but-avaliable-to-help at the bookstore (I only ended up helping one person, but I felt less stupid by being able to slightly make up for my stupid mistake) and I finished it when I got home afterward.

But sitting in a bookstore not as an employee for a few hours is not really such a good idea for me, or at least my bank account if you know what I mean. I went home not only with a shiny new copy of the Sherwood Ring, but also a pretty copy of Jane Eyre (There are four or five editions in the bookstore, I chose the one that didn't have an ugly painting on the front. I'm one of those shallow people that judges books by their covers) and a hardback copy of The Princess Academy from the bargain table (one that they forgot to put the Newbery sticker on. I was looking for one that had a less-rumpled sticker, and I was very happy to find one with no sticker at all.)

I've got to take advantage of my employee discount while I still have it, eh?

Speaking of books, Emily and I are starting a Book Review Blog. We're still in the process of getting it up and running, but we've both got a book review up. Predictably, mine is much more rambly and much less to the point than Em's, but what can I say? When it comes to books, I get pretty rambly.