I'm home for Thanksgiving but that doesn't necessarily mean I'm on break. I've got a project and a debate to present the Tuesday after I get back, a sprawling list of supplies to buy for studying abroad next semester, scholarship and internship essays to complete, a metric ton of Italian to catch up on, and relatives to entertain all week. Oh, yes ( Read more... )

I am, in fact, still alive! I've just been working quite a bit and there's very little new to report other than that I spend most of my life folding pants and hauling 40-pound boxes around a warehouse these days.

We're finally getting some much-needed rain this morning and there are few things I'd like more than to just stay in bed and read for ( Read more... )

Finished the Dark Tower series.

Welp.

A few vague, non-spoilery thoughts: I actually cried during certain sections of the last book, particularly the incident that occurred on the road in Maine. Stephen King is the best at meta. I agree with King about endings in general, but couldn't stand to leave the coda unread. I actually thought it was perfect ( Read more... )

If you guys have never read Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson, go check it out. It's one of those books that I keep finding myself staring at incredulously, wondering how the author somehow got into my brain and managed to compile all of my interests into one crazy, brilliantly-written story. I have no idea how someone managed to successfully combine ( Read more... )

I'm currently struggling through Atlas Shrugged and reminding myself why Ayn Rand and I usually don't get along. I have discovered, however, that listening to Nine Inch Nails' Year Zero album while reading this ridiculous novel makes things infinitely more interesting. The book is about the dangers of a dystopian socialist/collectivist future, ( Read more... )

 If one were attending a party dressed as a literary character, what are some options one might consider? I'm having trouble thinking of iconic, recognizable characters specifically from books. TV characters I've got covered (psh, I could dress easily as Samantha Carter or Patrick Jane or BBC!Watson or possibly even the Eleventh Doctor using items ( Read more... )

Why so quiet lately, flist? LJ's seeming like a ghost town these days and it's making me sad. Please don't tell me you've all vanished into the depths of Tumblr. It's kinda fun but it's impossible to talk to anybody there. You like, reblog and then just move on. (Maybe I'm doing it wrong, but there's something a little soulless about all this.)

( Read more... )

Stephen King's Dark Tower series is...interesting ( Read more... )

Stephen King fans: should I watch the mini-series version of "The Stand" when it comes on this afternoon, or should I wait until I've read the book so that it's un-tainted by potential Syfy channel fail?

Also, damn. Between working as a secretary at the bleakest real estate office on the planet and dealing with spastic Labradoodles all morning, I ( Read more... )

Stumbled across some gorgeous picspams by navras_rheya . I'd like to learn to do coloring like this.

LOST is aesthetically pleasing.

...In other news, I started the Dark Tower series today. Further thoughts on that are pending, but I just have to say --

"The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed."

-- is possibly the best opening ( Read more... )