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Happy 2017 LJ-ers! How was your holiday? I hope you had a good one. Mine was a quiet one with family and friends. I had a whole week off work and I'm starting 2017 feeling very well rested and ready for what the year might bring.

I really enjoyed reading this year's Yuletide stories. ( Here are some of my favourites. )

I wasn't going to read The Fault In Our Stars by John Green.  The premise of the book sounded like a story I did not want to read ( Read more... )

"The tale is not beautiful if nothing is added.  Folktales remain merely dumb until you realize that you are required to complete them yourself, to fill in your own particulars."  -- Italo Calvino, Italian storyteller

I was reading Canadian Fairy Tales by Eva Martin and Laszlo Gal today, and read this quote at the end of the collection ( Read more... )

Questions I've asked the internet today ( Read more... )

I've been listening to lots of string music lately:  chamber music.  This clip is one of the ones that makes YouTube such a treasure trove.  Not only do you hear the music but you actually get to see the musicians expressing it ( Read more... )

I'm really loving Sarah Rees Brennan's The Turn of The Story, a not-at-all-short story in 2 parts, with more to come.  It's a portal fantasy and a magic boarding school story.  Elliot Schafer, Luke Sunborn and Serene-Heart-in-the-Chaos-of-Battle are an adorable and awesome trio of friends who have each others' backs from the age of thirteen.  (One ( Read more... )

I saw the movie Cloud Atlas this week. It's gorgeous. My favourite movie I've seen in ages.

I read David Mitchell's book about 5 or so years ago, lightly skimming the many pages in short bursts and zeroing in on the parts that caught my attention. So I didn't remember it very well when I sat down in the movie theatre this week. That turned out to be ( Read more... )

Dear Yuletide Author,

Hi! I'm so glad we've been matched. Thank you so much for writing for me! I can't wait to read your story!

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Summer is for reading, and this year I got back to my YA roots. Now that my computer's repaired I can finally type these up!

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth WeinThis is a very good book. I wasn't sure I liked what the author was doing until about page 50, when the book started to get really good, and kept on getting better. On the strength of ( Read more... )