I've wanted to do a list of recommendations for a while now, because some books just need to be read and because reading through the list should be an easy way to get to know me. I also want my list of recs in one spot, so I don't have to search through everything all the time. Right now the list is mostly books, but as I remember other things, I'll add them. My fanfic recs can be found in my memories or on FF.net, if you know how to find my page there.


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 … just revising like crazy. I've finally got a fire of excitement and enthusiasm under me, and I'm starting to burn through the to-do list on the book. i'm beginning to think I'll finish by my birthday, which would be awesome.

No, I'm not telling you when my birthday is.

A couple days ago I bought a bookshelf off a friend, who was moving and couldn't take it with. It is now beautifully installed in my "office" (read, area opposite the kitchen), and in use. I thought I'd share my To Read Shelves, just 'cause.

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 I'm considering outing myself here, as in associating my real name with this account. Thoughts, anyone? Pros and cons accepted. 

Also, if I do out myself, should I change my username?

 - worked not quite enough, but what can you do?
- enjoyed and not-enjoyed living in an Olympic city
- read 14 books (as of 5 pm yesterday)
- bought too many books
- discovered another author to love
- helped edit (kinda) a photo book
- joined Twitter
- gotten some bad family news, but nothing horrible
- finally got to the gorram end of my book so I can start another pass! (as of 4 am this morning. I'm kind of tired.)

More on the book, in case anyone's interested:

After cutting a narrator last fall, I've had to rewrite a number of his scenes and otherwise lengthen the book. It's not padding, though, as I'm adding valid subplots and descriptions and so on. I still have a bunch of that to do, since my antagonist's narration is decidedly lacking in scenes where he doesn't beat up people, another fairly main character needs more fleshing out, and I have to add more hints about 1) villains and 2) the thing that happened unexpectedly while I was writing two days ago. I'm currently at ~68,000 words and 280 pages, and want to get to at least 80,000 words and … 350 pages? Me not good at math. Me is guesstimating.

I'm going to try to post here occasionally. We'll see how that goes. I also want to revamp my icons.

I want to do a sticky-post of book recommendations. Anyone care?

 It's been a while since I've done one of these, hasn't it? Sorry. I've been writing, and I've started another blog, and … yeah, no good excuse, really, except I've gotten sidetracked.

So yes, I'm still alive. There'll be a post coming, hopefully tomorrow, with more details, so I'm not putting anything more here. 

I had a good Christmas. Not fantastic, since my sister wasn't there and the tone was more muted as a result, but good. I got to visit with both my parents, got encouraging words from Dad about writing and editing (he wants to work with me on a project), and got to meet the New Cat. He's a sweetheart with Opinions, and he's the most solid cat I've ever met. XD I'm glad my parents adopted him.

I did not finish my third draft for Christmas. I will not be finishing it for New Years, either. :( But I'm done with the initial tweaking of the narration, so now I'm adding in info about the world, and trying to get more info about the Bad Guys, and just generally polishing the thing. I figure I'm about halfway, timewise?  

My Christmas loot: 8 urban fantasy novels, one young adult fantasy, one Terry Pratchett novel (Nation, not Unseen Academicals), one bookstore giftcard, one page-a-day calendar of websites, one pair of wireless headphones with mic, one Danish Christmas ornament, money, microwave chocolate fondue, box of chocolates.

My non-gift loot: homemade chocolate, homemade cookies, book on Nicolai Tesla.

I have three days off coming up. They're going to be busy days. A friend's in town, so I need to meet up with her. I want to go to a local park that does a holiday light show. (If you have tips for night photography, please send them!) I have to go see Avatar and Sherlock Holmes. I'm entertaining hopes that I can con the friend to go to one of them with me. I also need to do a bunch of deviantART stuff, as well as write two blog posts, and work on my novel some more. Wish me luck?

So, last year I got a Disney Princess Christmas CD as a gift. I haven't listened to it until now, and I've got to say, it's getting to me. First of all, the women singing hardly sound like the original princesses in the movies. Second, Disney's changed the odd lyric to fit whichever princess they've got singing (Jasmine gets "five emerald rings" on the fifth day of Christmas) and they've done their best to pair song and princess in the cutest way possible.

Third, though, and the biggest thing, is the fact that none of Disney's princesses would have celebrated a modern Christmas (let alone Christmas, period, in some cases) and yet they're singing about it. Snow White wouldn't have been cleaning the cottage for holiday entertainment and worrying about a tree. Cinderella wouldn't be expressing 21st Century holiday spirit. Pocohantas, gad, Pocohantas would have had to convert to Christianity before singing about Christmas—and she wouldn't have expressed modern sentiments either. Same with Ariel, no?

It's an okay CD, I guess, but it's bugging me. *sigh*

On a slightly related note, I want to celebrate a proper medieval English Christmas right now. With mummers and twelve days of partying and the wren and everything.

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! I love how cutting words out makes things go quickly!

I have caught back up on my November editing scheme. Yay! And it's going to maybe even be done tonight. I'm chopping a whole swack of stuff out of my antagonist's thread because I found a better way to do it. :D