*blows dust off*
So, as I think everyone knows, February 1 is a traditional date for starting new things or resuming old ones, possibly with a mildly panicked air of Whoa-what-happened-to-January? and Well-at-least-it's-the-first-of-something.
So hello again! The second half of last year went sort of radio-silent under a tide of school and the (re)discovery of popular music; I've attended more concerts in the last seven months than possibly the rest of my life combined. I also read a lot of children's and YA books, thanks to my classes, and saw the Atlantic Ocean for the first time. And I finally read most of Dorothy Sayers' Lord Peter books, though Five Red Herrings defeated me and I haven't yet tracked down The Nine Tailors.
Also, I wrote a short story which has, so far as I know, been read by one person, who gave it a generally positive but not-unmixed review, so I have been Thinking Very Hard about how to repair its definciencies before inflicting it upon anyone else. For the record, writing said short story was the only one of my New Year's Resolutions for 2007 which I actually fulfilled, and I completed it on December 24. Hooray procrastination!
A couple of weeks ago now I was headed for High-Voltage ConFusion, where I spent more money on books than I did on alcohol, learned some interesting facts about the chemistry of soap, and discovered that it is okay to be a geek and still like sports (a load off my mind, let me tell you). Also, according to a ribbon on my badge, I met John Scalvi, but I honestly can't remember a thing about the guy. I guess either he was completely forgettable, or he was a total ninja, affixing ribbons to people's badges without them ever even knowing he was there.
And now, since it seemed like such a good idea last year before I got distracted, books I've read in 2008:
1. Widdershins, by Charles de Lint--one of the aforementioned books I bought more of than alcohol, I started reading it over the con weekend and just finished a few days ago. It was a, you know, a Newford book, the one where Geordie and Jilly finally (!!!) get together in the midst of the world attempting to come apart at the seams. I think I've either hit some kind of Newford-book critical mass, or I've come along a bit as a reader since the last time I read one, because I found myself a lot more conscious of de Lint's authorial tics than I have been in the past. Yes, dude, the touristification of small towns does suck, but they have to do what they can to survive so you really can't blame them, we know. Ahem. But apart from that it was awesome!
C1. & C2.* The Umbrella Academy by Gerard Way & Gabriel Ba, issues #4 and #5--yeah, so I'm reading Gerard Way's comic book because it's Gerard Way's comic book. It's fun! Shit keeps blowing up! And Gerard has clearly bought into Write Club Rule #11: You can never go wrong with a hint of incest. Or even a full-page spread of arguably impossible-to-consummate incest. Way to go there, Gerard!
*I don't know, I feel weird counting individual issues of a comic book as books, but I'm pretty sure I would have to throw down with anyone who said they weren't books, so they can just have their own numbering system and my organizational neuroses can live to fight another day.
Anyway, back to school as of last night, now with the added fun of the last-semester scramble to find a job and relocate, not necessarily in that order. So I'm sure I'll be posting steadily from here on out! Ahaha. Ha.
So hello again! The second half of last year went sort of radio-silent under a tide of school and the (re)discovery of popular music; I've attended more concerts in the last seven months than possibly the rest of my life combined. I also read a lot of children's and YA books, thanks to my classes, and saw the Atlantic Ocean for the first time. And I finally read most of Dorothy Sayers' Lord Peter books, though Five Red Herrings defeated me and I haven't yet tracked down The Nine Tailors.
Also, I wrote a short story which has, so far as I know, been read by one person, who gave it a generally positive but not-unmixed review, so I have been Thinking Very Hard about how to repair its definciencies before inflicting it upon anyone else. For the record, writing said short story was the only one of my New Year's Resolutions for 2007 which I actually fulfilled, and I completed it on December 24. Hooray procrastination!
A couple of weeks ago now I was headed for High-Voltage ConFusion, where I spent more money on books than I did on alcohol, learned some interesting facts about the chemistry of soap, and discovered that it is okay to be a geek and still like sports (a load off my mind, let me tell you). Also, according to a ribbon on my badge, I met John Scalvi, but I honestly can't remember a thing about the guy. I guess either he was completely forgettable, or he was a total ninja, affixing ribbons to people's badges without them ever even knowing he was there.
And now, since it seemed like such a good idea last year before I got distracted, books I've read in 2008:
1. Widdershins, by Charles de Lint--one of the aforementioned books I bought more of than alcohol, I started reading it over the con weekend and just finished a few days ago. It was a, you know, a Newford book, the one where Geordie and Jilly finally (!!!) get together in the midst of the world attempting to come apart at the seams. I think I've either hit some kind of Newford-book critical mass, or I've come along a bit as a reader since the last time I read one, because I found myself a lot more conscious of de Lint's authorial tics than I have been in the past. Yes, dude, the touristification of small towns does suck, but they have to do what they can to survive so you really can't blame them, we know. Ahem. But apart from that it was awesome!
C1. & C2.* The Umbrella Academy by Gerard Way & Gabriel Ba, issues #4 and #5--yeah, so I'm reading Gerard Way's comic book because it's Gerard Way's comic book. It's fun! Shit keeps blowing up! And Gerard has clearly bought into Write Club Rule #11: You can never go wrong with a hint of incest. Or even a full-page spread of arguably impossible-to-consummate incest. Way to go there, Gerard!
*I don't know, I feel weird counting individual issues of a comic book as books, but I'm pretty sure I would have to throw down with anyone who said they weren't books, so they can just have their own numbering system and my organizational neuroses can live to fight another day.
Anyway, back to school as of last night, now with the added fun of the last-semester scramble to find a job and relocate, not necessarily in that order. So I'm sure I'll be posting steadily from here on out! Ahaha. Ha.