The Fabric of the Cosmos

I finally finished reading another book by Amanda Grange; Edmund Bertram's Diary, to be exact. I have to say that I enjoyed this one much more than Mr. Darcy's Diary, which comes as something as a surprise since, out of the two, I'd pick Pride and Prejudice every time. That, of course, might have something to do with it.

While I'm predisposed to like Mr. Darcy, even if I do think he is kind of a pompous ass, because I've had the benefit of watching a few films beforehand - and, I'm sorry, but if I hadn't seen them first then I think I wouldn't have liked Pride and Prejudice as much - I'm not a big fan of Edmund. His character always fell a little flat to me and was annoying in his compliance to his father. 

This book, however, did a lot for me. While the beginning of the book was a little slow, it did manage to explore Edmund and Tom's relationship in a way that I hadn't thought of it before and made me understand Tom's descent into debauchery a little better. Maria and Julia (I think that's her name) were interesting and Aunt Norris was bitchy as ever.

The one thing that really captured me was Edmund's tangible affection for Fanny. I knew he cared for her from the actual novel but I never quite pictured the affection that the author painted. It made me enjoy the character and the entire story so much more even if it'll (Mansfield Park) be a favorite of mine. 

It also takes me one step closer to my goal of reading 135 books this year. I haven't decided which book I'll read next but I'm thinking of taking a break from professional authors and just sinking into some fan fiction for a while. Star Trek XI has done a lot for my fandom spirit.

I realized that this morning. I was for many years heavily involved in several different fandoms at once. I don't have the time and energy to do that anymore. I mean, really, who does? By the end of the day all I want is a shower, some food, maybe to read a story or watch a show, and then to go to bed.

I realized today that, much to my own chagrin, I hadn't bothered to update my 'Books of 2009 List' and am now way behind on it. I never realized just how many (or how few) books I read until I started trying to keep track of them. Anyway, here's the updated list so far with a few short reviews attached. Nothing fancy since I completely dropped the ball on updating. These aren't necessarily the order I've read them in but, at this point, I'm lucky if I remember them all - I really need to work on updating this thing more regularly. -.-

Books of 2009

1. Black Powder Wars by Naomi Novik
2. Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster
3. Worst Witch by Jill Murphy (audiobook)
4. Slave Boy by Evangeline Anderson
5. Rosie Little's Cautionary Tales For Girls by Danielle Wood
6. Wes and Toren by J.M. Colail
7. Austenland by Shannon ale
8. Hero by Perry Moore
9. The Pirate's Lair (plus a few other Torquere Shorts) by Shayne Carmichael and Mychael Black
10. Beyond the Highland Mist by Karen Marie Moning
11. Beneath a Yankee Sky & Under a Confederate Moon by J.M. Snyder
12. To Have and To Hostage by G.A. Hauser
13. Star Trek Academy: Collison Course by William Shatner
14. Star Trek: Troublesome Minds by Dave Galanter
15. Drawn Together by Z. A. Maxfield
16. Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris
17. Definitely Dead by Charlaine Harris
18. All Together Dead by Charlaine Harris
19. The Last Bite by Evangeline Anderson
20. Point Blanc by Anthony Horowitz
21. Skeleton Key by Anthony Horowitz
22. Small Favors by Jim Butcher (audiobook)
23. Mr. Darcy's Dairy by Amanda Grange

23 / 135 words. 17% done!


As I've said, these aren't necessarily in the order that I read them and I'm fairly sure I'm missing one or two - especially for Evangaline Anderson - but considering I didn't keep track and update properly I can only blame myself. The only one accurate in terms of when I've read them is the last one, as I'm currently finishing it up now. Which, unsurprisingly enough, leads me to my short reviews of a few of these...

( <b>Beneath a Yankee Sky/Under a Confederate Moon by J.M. Snyder:</b> )



( <b>Star Trek Academy: Collison Course by William Shatner</b> )


( <b>Mr. Darcy's Diary by Amanda Grange</b> )


Anywho, that's enough out of me for now. More updates later! :)

Well I've been struggling lately with my to-read list. Not because I don't have plenty of books to read - I do, I really do - but because I've been sidetracked with the amount of fan fiction I've been rec'd lately. Seriously, I've been reading fan fiction nonstop trying to trim down my to-be-read fan fiction folder but haven't really made an appreciable dent in it. I find that rather alarming because I don't want to suffer burnout - it's happened before - but what can you do aside from try to pace yourself?

Admittedly, I don't have to read it all right now or even any time if I don't want to but it's still easy to get swept up in a Fan Fiction Haze (FFH - we have a support group, yo) and felt like your mind is bending or turning into mush. *tries not to drool* :P

Anywho, I did start in on two new books this week that will count towards my overall goal but I really felt that I should have had them out of the way by now. I keep getting sidetracked by fan fiction. Mostly Merlin based *points to icon*. I have a weakness for Arthurian Legend (well, okay, to be fair, while I was growing up I was drowned in this kind of thing thanks to my mother's love of castles, knights, etc. etc.) or any legend at all. It doesn't hurt that BBC's Merlin is about as gayilicious as you can get *shifty eyes*.

That Said, the icon by thelake :



Is something I heartily agree with.

Anyway. Back to the books.

I started reading Bram Stoker's Dracula on Tuesday. The style it's written in - journal entries with vivid descriptions - took me a while to get into and enjoy but now that I'm past the initial 'er, whot?' faze, I'm enjoying myself immensely. The descriptions are surprisingly rich (if not a little pedantic, though I realize the neccesity of it). I'm going to reserve my overall opinion until I'm finished but really I don't see a reason why I won't enjoy it to the end.

The other book - this one an audiobook - is actually The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks that I'm finding strangely informative and not just from a what-if-zombies-rose kind of way. It gives quite a bit of useful information as well as making you think about what you would do in a survival situation. Also, you know, it's zombies, which right up my alley. The problem, of course, is that it's an audiobook and so I only listen to it while at the gym. I only go to the gym for an hour a day, four-five times a week, and the audiobook is over seven hours long. It's going to take me a bit to finish it.


Oh, and, before I forget, the numb3rs_awards  are once again open. I'm not nominated this year (it was exciting last year to be nominated!) but I'm still excited because I use the nominees as a kind of guide to what NUMB3RS fan fiction to read. I'm lazy when it comes to checking communities so this time of year I get to load up on fic (and Don). I'm happy! XD

I've been thinking about writing another Don Eppes/John Sheppard story like my previous 'Eppes in Atlantis'. Not a sequel, necessarily, but maybe something in the same universe. The 'Las Vegas' episode of Stargate Atlantis really works well since, you know, Rodney was an FBI Agent. Oh...man...now I'm going to have to write it. ...

Well, I officially finished reading Daddy-Long-Legs a few days ago. I loved it just as much as I thought I would. It was witty, humorous, and romantic. Just what I needed.

Now, however, I'm in a crunch as to what my next book should be. I decided, long before I picked the number of books, that I would allow myself to include a few (just a few!) audio books in my list. Not many, mind you, because as much as I adore audio books, it takes me forever to finish them. I tend to only be able to listen to them late at night (they're on my ipod) or during a workout and, let's be frank, most audio books are 8+ hours long, usually more. It'll take me weeks to finish a long-ish book.

Though, let me just say, if you like Stargate SG-1 or Stargate Atlantis I highly recommend getting the Big Finish audio books. They're wonderful, with sound effects and extra characters who come in to do audio themselves. Excellent.

Anywho, as my list stands:

1. Black Powder Wars by Naomi Novik
2. Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster
3. Worst Witch by Jill Murphy (audiobook)

3 / 135 (2.2%)

I honestly don't know what to read next. I've got the Pendragon Cycle by Stephen Lawhead on my ereader but...

I'm totally not in the mood.

*sigh*

I'll figure something out.


Onto a book meme...

What was the last book you bought?

Empire of Ivory by Noami Novik.

Name a book you have read MORE than once

Ella Enchanted. I love that book. It makes me feel good about life.

Has a book ever fundamentally changed the way you see life? If yes, what was it?

Not answering on the grounds that it's personal in nature. Damn you, book meme. *shakes fist at it*

How do you choose a book? eg. by cover design and summary, recommendations or reviews

It's usually a combination of summary, cover design, and reviews.

Do you prefer Fiction or Non-Fiction?

I like both, equally.

What’s more important in a novel - beautiful writing or a gripping plot?

Gripping plot. The prose might be wonderful but if they're boring, it's all for naught.

Most loved/memorable character (character/book)

John Constantine. He's so unbelievably fucked-up and he's supposed to be a "good" guy.

Which book or books can be found on your nightstand at the moment?

Iron Man Comic, Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks, Power Play by JM Snyder

What was the last book you’ve read, and when was it?

Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster

Have you ever given up on a book half way in?

Oh god, yes. Confessions of a Shopaholic. It was god awful. WHY DO PEOPLE LIKE IT?!

This morning I woke with the realization that sometime during the night, the entire city and beyond was a land of fog and wetness. You, literally, couldn't see someone standing two feet in front of you if you tried. Which, let me tell you, made for some interesting driving.

It's rather like starring in your own horror movie (very much like, "The Others" with Nicole Kidman_) but with thicker fog. I wish I could take a picture to properly showcase just how foggy it is (*cue horror music in the background*) but every time I've tried, the picture was just a white-ish mass and didn't look that impressive.

Even when I was in San Francisco, which is laid with fog routinely, it wasn't quite as thick as this and dissipated by mid-morning. It's going half two and the fog is, if possible, getting a little thicker. It rather fits my mood, though, so I'm not complaining.

In fact, it's kind of fun. Idiots on the road aside. Maybe I'll take a picture later, if it dissipates some, so all can see. It's rather beautiful and murky, in it's own way.

Anyway. Enough of that.

I've decided that, much like previous years, I'm going to participate in one of those read x-amount of books in a year. This year - the Year of the Ox (my year, mind you) - I'm going to be ambitious and read 135 books, if possible.

It seems likea lot of books but I read quite often and faster than most. Any spare moment I have - in the car, during lunch breaks, etc. - is usually accompanied with reading a few pages of a book.

The past few years my goal - which I don't think I've ever really posted on here to any extent - was only to read 50 books, which isn't a great sum and I've always accomplished.

The large increase this year is only due to, truthfully, the fact that my lovely sister bought me a Sony Reader and therefore makes reading all the more easy and convenient.

I admit to starting of the year with two re-read - which I won't be count - by Naomi Novik, to refresh my memory on the goings on in the book so my first official read was...

Black Powder Wars by Naomi Novik

Which I happened to love despite the fact that a good portion of it was grim for the war and Laurence and Teremaire. I'm putting of reading the next one, Empire of Ivory, until I'm able to get my hands on Victory of Eagles so I don't have to wait impatiently.

My current read I'll be done with by tonight, no doubt, and is absolutely heavenly:

Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster


I had no idea that the movie - which is likewise heavenly and one of my favorite movies of all time - was book but in hindsight it makes perfect sense. I'm reading through the pages like they're going to disappear and smiling all the way.

The book itself is much funnier than the book movie (sorry guys, I'm taking cough medicine and obviously it's not so good for my writing skills) and just as cute so I'm thoroughly satisfied with it. I'm going to have to find the movie and buy it. I've tried in the past but could only find the black and white version. I want to color one as well, darn it!

I highly recommend both the movie and the book for those of you who want to read a romantic-esque comedy. They both make me wish that movies like The Major and the Minor (1942) and The Enchanted Cottage (1945) were both books.

Anyway, down to the nitty gritty...

Books of 2009:

1. Black Powder Wars by Naomi Novik
2. Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster

2 / 135 (1.5%)