Update meme
So what have you been up to?
Not posting much, clearly! I spent most of July on sabbatical and have been back a little over than a month. (No, I'm not an academic--I work for a tech company that has occasional ridiculous benefits.) I spent four weeks traveling in Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Norway, and Sweden before dropping my friend B. back off in Edinburgh and then making a flying visit with
tiddlypom and her fiancée before heading home. It was amazing, but looking back seems a bit unreal--it's been years since I was on the road for that long.
Major life changes? Same old same old?
Nothing, really, since getting back home. I'm trying the online dating thing. So far it has...been good practice? I suppose? The main trouble (aside from the fact that I just don't date, it's not a thing I've done, and it's not the easiest thing to start when you're teetering on the edge of 30) is that I'm much too introverted not to resent expending my limited social energy on someone I'm not yet invested in. Which is in general a barrier to meeting people, but I'm working on it. I'm actually perfectly capable of having an engaging conversation with a total stranger, but it can be exhausting.
What fandom are you in/do you spend most of your time in?
I'm between fandoms at the moment. The things I've been reading lately don't have a very active online fandom, though you can always count on Tumblr for Abreyad photosets, and the Rivers of London and Miss Fisher tags are fun to watch.
Where do you hang out online?
I do have a Tumblr! I'm
unlettyrde over there. I've had that account for quite a while, but I'm not sure I've ever linked to it from LJ/DW. I don't post that often, but I do reblog occasionally. Right now it's mostly sabbatical photos.
I'm still reading on LJ/DW, as well, but not posting or commenting much. I keep hoping I'll have an upswing in social energy and get active again, but I don't think that's likely to happen until I fall hard for a new fandom. Looking back, my most interactive periods by far were when I was writing in Sherlock and Person of Interest .
What are you reading?
I reread the Vane/Wimsey novels (up through Busman's Honeymoon) while I was traveling, which is always worth doing. I used to read Gaudy Night almost once a year, but it's been a long time, and even longer for the other. I don't remember having such a strong negative reaction to Peter's behavior in Strong Poison. I mean, he himself later acknowledges that it was inappropriate and insensitive, and I always agreed with him, but this time around I spent most of that book wanting to smack him. Gaudy Night is still ridiculously good, but I expect that isn't new information to most of the people who might read this post.
More recently, I got through all but the last chapter or two of Cixin Liu's Three Body Problem before my library loan expired, and now I'm stuck on the wait list and can't finish it. The audiobook version, that is--but I wasn't particularly enjoying the reader, who A) doesn't have a particularly interesting voice, B) doesn't always time his pauses in ways that help , so I might see if there are print copies available. Though now that it's won the Hugo, there might be a hold list for those, too. I didn't even realize until the other day that it was nominated, but I gather it was a late addition due to the Puppy business (which I won't even try to summarize, but if you haven't been following, all the major news outlets seem to covering it now). It's interesting, and I want to finish it, but I don't think I want to buy a copy just to avoid the wait.
Speaking of Hugo nominees and audiobooks, I reread Ann Leckie's Ancillary Justice and followed it up with Ancillary Sword, which was unsurprisingly extremely good, but in a way that makes me think the next book (out in October!) is likely to be better. Leckie's Tumblr is fun and interesting, and she's doing the interacting-with-fandom thing really well--but then she's fannish herself, so no surprise.
ETA that I've just started Ken Liu's The Grace of Kings and am trying out Amazon's read-to-listen feature, or whatever they're calling it, that lets you transition between the ebook and the audiobook in the same spot. I don't have much to say about the book yet, as it's still setting the scene, but I've heard good things.
What are you watching?
Nothing at the moment. On the plane home, I watched the first few episodes of Jane the Virgin, which I didn't particularly expect to like--but it is great. There are a lot of obvious comparisons to Ugly Betty, but I think Jane is better. It has tighter storytelling and even more important female relationships, and I love how willing the protagonist is to clearly state what she needs and follow through on it.
What are you making?
I have a couple of unfinished longfic I'd like to post, though I'm not making much headway on either. One is for Person of Interest, which I haven't actually gone back to (other than binge-rereading some of my favorite fic a couple of weeks ago, talk about an exercise in masochism), but I like this story and have feelings about it, and posting it might be the best way to exorcise those. The other is Natasha-centric post Winter Soldier, which I keep thinking would be nice to finish before Civil War. (Age of Ultron was a hot mess with some pretty good moments. That is the general consensus, yes?)
But what I'm really working on--what I wanted to finish over my sabbatical but didn't--is an original novella, which is so. Much. Fun. For me, anyway. I hope it turns out to be something other people want to read. I adore the beginning--the pacing and everything, it just works so well--and it's chock full of tropes I love because why not, and it has astronomy and airships and female engineers. I'm going to finish this thing, I am going to find publishing venues that actually take novellas, and I am going to submit it. It is called Transit, and it's making me really happy.
What are you squeeing about today?
Other than said novella, mostly Ann Leckie's books! Which is also the answer to...
If you could rope old fandom friends into a new fandom, it would be...
See above! Which is less an assertion that I want to read and write fic and more that I want people to read these books and enjoy the lightbulb jokes on Tumblr. They're far-future Science Fiction with compelling characters, really interesting worldbuilding, and complex ongoing plots, and just the sort of narrator I like--observant, thoughtful, and deliberate, except when she's not.
I should really watch/read/dive into _______ and then come talk to you about it!
Ann Leckie's Imperial Radch series. Rosemary Kirstein's Steerswoman books. Tiny, beloved little book fandoms--I'm already building my Yuletide list.
What else is on your mind?
Work, which is maddening right now. But that's nothing new. Hopefully things should even out in a couple of months, though I have no real faith that'll happen.
comments at http://pendrecarc.dreamwidth.org/180036.html. Feel free to comment wherever you prefer.
Not posting much, clearly! I spent most of July on sabbatical and have been back a little over than a month. (No, I'm not an academic--I work for a tech company that has occasional ridiculous benefits.) I spent four weeks traveling in Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Norway, and Sweden before dropping my friend B. back off in Edinburgh and then making a flying visit with
tiddlypom and her fiancée before heading home. It was amazing, but looking back seems a bit unreal--it's been years since I was on the road for that long.
Major life changes? Same old same old?
Nothing, really, since getting back home. I'm trying the online dating thing. So far it has...been good practice? I suppose? The main trouble (aside from the fact that I just don't date, it's not a thing I've done, and it's not the easiest thing to start when you're teetering on the edge of 30) is that I'm much too introverted not to resent expending my limited social energy on someone I'm not yet invested in. Which is in general a barrier to meeting people, but I'm working on it. I'm actually perfectly capable of having an engaging conversation with a total stranger, but it can be exhausting.
What fandom are you in/do you spend most of your time in?
I'm between fandoms at the moment. The things I've been reading lately don't have a very active online fandom, though you can always count on Tumblr for Abreyad photosets, and the Rivers of London and Miss Fisher tags are fun to watch.
Where do you hang out online?
I do have a Tumblr! I'm
unlettyrde over there. I've had that account for quite a while, but I'm not sure I've ever linked to it from LJ/DW. I don't post that often, but I do reblog occasionally. Right now it's mostly sabbatical photos.
I'm still reading on LJ/DW, as well, but not posting or commenting much. I keep hoping I'll have an upswing in social energy and get active again, but I don't think that's likely to happen until I fall hard for a new fandom. Looking back, my most interactive periods by far were when I was writing in Sherlock and Person of Interest .
What are you reading?
I reread the Vane/Wimsey novels (up through Busman's Honeymoon) while I was traveling, which is always worth doing. I used to read Gaudy Night almost once a year, but it's been a long time, and even longer for the other. I don't remember having such a strong negative reaction to Peter's behavior in Strong Poison. I mean, he himself later acknowledges that it was inappropriate and insensitive, and I always agreed with him, but this time around I spent most of that book wanting to smack him. Gaudy Night is still ridiculously good, but I expect that isn't new information to most of the people who might read this post.
More recently, I got through all but the last chapter or two of Cixin Liu's Three Body Problem before my library loan expired, and now I'm stuck on the wait list and can't finish it. The audiobook version, that is--but I wasn't particularly enjoying the reader, who A) doesn't have a particularly interesting voice, B) doesn't always time his pauses in ways that help , so I might see if there are print copies available. Though now that it's won the Hugo, there might be a hold list for those, too. I didn't even realize until the other day that it was nominated, but I gather it was a late addition due to the Puppy business (which I won't even try to summarize, but if you haven't been following, all the major news outlets seem to covering it now). It's interesting, and I want to finish it, but I don't think I want to buy a copy just to avoid the wait.
Speaking of Hugo nominees and audiobooks, I reread Ann Leckie's Ancillary Justice and followed it up with Ancillary Sword, which was unsurprisingly extremely good, but in a way that makes me think the next book (out in October!) is likely to be better. Leckie's Tumblr is fun and interesting, and she's doing the interacting-with-fandom thing really well--but then she's fannish herself, so no surprise.
ETA that I've just started Ken Liu's The Grace of Kings and am trying out Amazon's read-to-listen feature, or whatever they're calling it, that lets you transition between the ebook and the audiobook in the same spot. I don't have much to say about the book yet, as it's still setting the scene, but I've heard good things.
What are you watching?
Nothing at the moment. On the plane home, I watched the first few episodes of Jane the Virgin, which I didn't particularly expect to like--but it is great. There are a lot of obvious comparisons to Ugly Betty, but I think Jane is better. It has tighter storytelling and even more important female relationships, and I love how willing the protagonist is to clearly state what she needs and follow through on it.
What are you making?
I have a couple of unfinished longfic I'd like to post, though I'm not making much headway on either. One is for Person of Interest, which I haven't actually gone back to (other than binge-rereading some of my favorite fic a couple of weeks ago, talk about an exercise in masochism), but I like this story and have feelings about it, and posting it might be the best way to exorcise those. The other is Natasha-centric post Winter Soldier, which I keep thinking would be nice to finish before Civil War. (Age of Ultron was a hot mess with some pretty good moments. That is the general consensus, yes?)
But what I'm really working on--what I wanted to finish over my sabbatical but didn't--is an original novella, which is so. Much. Fun. For me, anyway. I hope it turns out to be something other people want to read. I adore the beginning--the pacing and everything, it just works so well--and it's chock full of tropes I love because why not, and it has astronomy and airships and female engineers. I'm going to finish this thing, I am going to find publishing venues that actually take novellas, and I am going to submit it. It is called Transit, and it's making me really happy.
What are you squeeing about today?
Other than said novella, mostly Ann Leckie's books! Which is also the answer to...
If you could rope old fandom friends into a new fandom, it would be...
See above! Which is less an assertion that I want to read and write fic and more that I want people to read these books and enjoy the lightbulb jokes on Tumblr. They're far-future Science Fiction with compelling characters, really interesting worldbuilding, and complex ongoing plots, and just the sort of narrator I like--observant, thoughtful, and deliberate, except when she's not.
I should really watch/read/dive into _______ and then come talk to you about it!
Ann Leckie's Imperial Radch series. Rosemary Kirstein's Steerswoman books. Tiny, beloved little book fandoms--I'm already building my Yuletide list.
What else is on your mind?
Work, which is maddening right now. But that's nothing new. Hopefully things should even out in a couple of months, though I have no real faith that'll happen.
comments at http://pendrecarc.dreamwidth.org/180036.html. Feel free to comment wherever you prefer.