No, there is too much, let me sum up.
1. The Casual Vacancy. So I finally finished reading JKR's new book. It was....well, I finally finished reading it! That's something, isn't it? I've been trying to find someone to palm it off on lend it to, with no success, but that's probably because every time someone asks me to describe it, the first thing I say is, "Well, it's very easy to put down." Which only sounds like a compliment if you're not paying attention.
2. The Sherlock Casebook is so far actually awesome, not so much for the cases, but the fluffy articles about the actors and the writing process and all the behind-the-scenes stuff. I'm actually really loving that part. I'm going to hope there's a section about the costumes coming up - I'm only as far as the second case, so I've got lots more to go. But the bits with the cases? Yeah, sorry, John, Sherlock's right. It looks just about exactly like the scrapbooks I inexpertly made as a teenage girl.
[Spoilers about the Casebook itself. Mostly stuff about dates.]
That said...I'm feeling more secure in my determination to ignore Sherlock's birthday being 1981. That's because I'm only two stories into the casebook, but already it's obvious that the person who compiled it didn't give much of a *&^% about dates anyway, because the year that everything in S1 occurs keeps switching back and forth between 2010 and 2011. John meets Sherlock in 2010, but one of the suicide victims has his death report written in 2011. (Maybe Anderson is just super late with the paperwork?)
I haven't run across the bit where Sherlock's birthday is revealed, but I did learn that Anderson's first initial is "S".
3. Kindle v. Nook. The good news: we've finalized plans to be back in the States for Christmas, which means I'll finally get my birthday present three months late. Of course, I haven't made much progress in deciding between the Nook and the Kindle. To a certain extent, it seems like they're both just fine, and it's really going to come down to whichever is easier to obtain. And I've decided to get the basic version (or the basic version with a backlight feature), because we're also going to combine forces with various grandparents and get Andrew an iPad. Which seems ridiculous, in a way, to get such an expensive piece of computer equipment for a three-year-old, but an iPad is a heck of a lot smaller and lighter and longer-lasting than his DVD player and selection of movies, and considering the weight of his backpack when we travel - and the fact that we're getting on seven separate flights this Christmas...yeah. And I've seen Andrew with other iPads - he's pretty good with them, in that he doesn't throw them and he's mostly pretty careful with them, apart from trying to stab his finger through the screen.
But that does mean my reasons for getting the more expensive color version of the Nook/Kindle are mostly moot, so I feel okay about going cheap and determining whether or not I like the format before splurging on a more expensive version.
Anyway, we'll buy Andrew his iPad at the Apple store in DC, and I'll get my Nook or Kindle when we get to Indiana, and we shall be sufficiently teched out for the rest of the holidays.
(And a nice side bonus: we're flying through Heathrow on the way to DC. I'm going to keep my fingers crossed for my cross-stitch magazines in the WH Smith, but I'm not holding out hope; they're not really the sort of thing you'd think to sell people getting on a plane.)
4. Christmas. So I've been horrible and haven't been really planning for Christmas - note the lack of a post regarding holiday cards, because I just haven't gotten around to it, and I doubt I will in the next week. I've got a list of presents to purchase so I'm going to attempt to go to the Khan tomorrow night and get them all in one fell swoop. It'll be the second time I've been to the Khan at night - I'll take the camera but I make no promises on how the photos will turn out. Night photography is tricky and my flash sucks.
But it doesn't really feel like the holidays yet. Maybe because of the weather - it's been cooler than usual, but not quite cold enough for coats, just long sleeves and jeans. And I haven't decorated because we won't be here, and obviously no one in town is really decorating either, since the majority of the population is Muslim. I haven't even really been baking or fudging. It's a bit odd; I have the feeling that flying directly into the States, all decked out in Christmas, is going to be jarring to my senses.
(To say nothing of driving. I'm getting used to driving without rules. It's fun. And now I'll have to actually pay attention to stop signs and lines on the road and actual parking places. Heck, stop signs and lines on the road and parking places will actually exist.)
Aaaand...that's about it for now. At least, I can't think of anything else.