alexiscartwheel | Recent Entries

At the beginning of 2015, I set some reading goals. So how did I do?

First, I wanted to read at least 75 books. Go figure, by setting that goal lower, I actually ended up reading more. According to Goodreads, my total was 106, including rereads of the first six Toby Daye books. (There were some picture books, too, and plenty of single issue comic books, but I generally don't count those.)

I did a much better job determining what books I was or was not interested in. There were plenty that I read 20-50 pages and abandoned. There were a few exceptions where I soldiered on, mostly for a reading challenge at work.

I read Do Muslim Women Need Saving by anthropologist Lila Abu-Lughod and The Butterfly Mosque by journalist and comic writer G. Willow Wilson. The former is more academic and provides many examples of how the lives of Muslim women are more complex than they are portrayed in Western Media. The latter is a memoir of Wilson's years living in Egypt, where she met and married her husband, after she graduated from college and converted to Islam. (I also have continued reading Wilson's Ms. Marvel comics.)

Heather and I read lots of the same stuff. Is anyone surprised?

At work, our manager also designed a reading challenge for the staff with a different genre or category for each month of the year, e.g. a romance novel, a young adult book, a non-fiction book, a Newbery winner. There were a few duds in that bunch, but also some great books I probably would not have otherwise read.

Overall, it was a good year for books. I stayed on top of the YA releases I wanted to read, and I also read significantly more non-fiction than previous years, with excellent results.

Crossposts: http://alexiscartwheel.livejournal.com/161600.html

It's not Friday, but whatever. This is hardly a regular weekly feature, and anyway, I run this show.

Hamilton. I reluctantly accept the fact that I'm very unlikely to actually see the show on Broadway, so I'll just have to pray that they really do film a performance sometime. On the other hand, I can listen to the cast album as often as I want, which right now is ALWAYS, because it really is THAT GONE. Catchy, funny, earnest, heartbreaking. There are so many parts of it that are ZOMG MY FAVORITE. Right this moment it's "don't modulate the key and not debate with me!" If only real life presented me with an opportunity to throw that at someone XD

Carry On. Rainbow Rowell wrote a whole book about Simon and Baz from the fake Simon Snow series in Fangirl, and it's excellent. I posted a full review on Goodreads, which I rarely do, so I'll link to that instead of re-stating the same thing. What I didn't mention there is how well Rowell addresses many fan concerns about the Harry Potter series, like the lack of diversity in the Wizarding World and lack of strong character arcs for Ginny Weasley and Draco Malfoy. (For the record, I was never a big Draco fan, or a Draco/Harry shipper, but getting being Harry's paranoia about him could've been interesting. On the other hand, I love Ginny Weasley, and was disappointed that she ended up on the sidelines in Deathly Hallows.) Anyway, you should read it.

Lumberjanes. I just caught up on the series through Issue #17. I feel like the book keeps getting better, and has so many examples of how indie comics are innovating in ways that DC and Marvel aren't keeping up with. And since we're talking Lumberjanes, I don't mean that it's dark or gritty. I mean that good storytelling goes hand-in-hand with supportive friendships and positivity about differences in gender, sexuality, and race. I know Noelle Stevenson is moving on to other projects, so I hope the quality stays so high with the new team.

Crossposts: http://alexiscartwheel.livejournal.com/161401.html

I've seen several posts floating around Tumblr in the last week lamenting the demise of old-school LJ fandom, which prompted me log on and check my old f-list, which came with the pleasant surprise that some old friends have been posting recently! (I mirror all my posts at LJ, but because my f-list seldom shows much besides posts from communities I've honestly lost interest in, I'm guilty of abandoning it for long stretches of time.)

The combination of these events has me thinking about what I personally miss about LJ-style fandom.

I think a lot of it comes down to the fact that LJ fandom was a lot more personal. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy Tumblr a lot, but mostly I know the people I follow there by what they are interested in, not who they are. Part of that is definitely down to a lack of critical conversation. I found friends on LJ (and before that, in forums) not just based on shared interest, but from the ability to have interesting conversations about those shared interests.

One of the phrases that baffled me when I was just starting out on Tumblr was "don't tag your hate." My primary fandom, to my ongoing shame, for the past few years, is Teen Wolf. The source material is, putting it kindly, not very good. But on Tumblr, if I want to be critical of the show at all, fandom tells me that I shouldn't dare tag my post #teen wolf. I have to react positively to everything in fandom, or be banished to some weird, untagged corner where no one else can accidentally hear my opinion? It's weird.

(And don't even let the librarian side of me get started on how, from a metadata standpoint, "don't tag your hate" is a terrible, nonsensical idea.)

Lately I've mostly used my journal as a dumping ground for all the personal stuff that doesn't fit on Tumblr--and that I'm honestly not comfortable sharing that openly anyway--but I think it's time to open it back up and start writing about the fannish side of things here too. We'll see how long that lasts ;)

Crossposts: http://alexiscartwheel.livejournal.com/160557.html

So researching what types of piano music Lady Mary could conceivably have learned how to play has led me to reserving and checking-out piano music (that is quite possibly too difficult for me to play) from work. But I don't own a piano, so then it led to me researching digital pianos, which though less expensive than there acoustic counterparts, which I was also looking at for shits and giggles, still cost more money than I have to spare right now.

I guess I could go over to my mom's house and play there? This was not a very well thought-out plan.

Crossposts: http://alexiscartwheel.livejournal.com/160456.html

Out of the blue I just remembered the time at last year's Dragon Con where we found an free almost full 12 pack of Diet Coke in our hotel hallway. Did I gleefully stash it in our room while Patty and Karen summoned the elevator? Yes, I did.

Crossposts: http://alexiscartwheel.livejournal.com/159951.html

Okay so last year I failed miserably at reviewing all the books I read here. I think I left off around August? Sometime after that I did start trying to post more reviews on Goodreads to sort of make up for it. Though I didn't deliver on my goal to read and review 100 books, I did meet a big goal set when I got my new job in March: reading more children's novels, graphic novels, and picture books. (Actually, had I included picture books I would have been well over 100 XD)

This year I'm going for more realistic goals (which do not include reviewing every single book I read).

Read at least 75 books. (A lower and I think easily achievable goal. This should give me more flexibility to branch out into some new genres.)
Continue mission to select books that I truly want to read, not books I think I should read. If I'm bored with a book, don't like it, or find it makes me VERY ANGRY, I'm allowed to just quit.
Read a couple books about Islam, both in America and globally, and including something about women in Islam. Columbus has growing Muslim immigrant and refugee communities, and in edition to being personally interested in religions, I think it's important to understand the traditions and beliefs of a marginalized group that is becoming an important part of the local community.
Bully Heather into reading everything I love. (jk) (Or not really.)

That seems like a good place to start, yes?

Crossposts: http://alexiscartwheel.livejournal.com/157928.html

Last year I divided the list into Fiction, Non-Fiction, and Graphic Novels thinking that would make me actually read more non-fiction. That... failed spectacularly. In general, I just didn't finish as many books as I would've liked last year, but it's not fair comparing to 2012, since that was when I got into Marvel and read a ton of trades. Still unaccounted for were (and are) single issue comics and the massive amount of fic I've been reading.

I did do a pretty good job writing reviews for everything, so I'm going to at least try to keep that going.

( CLICK FOR THE LIST. OR ELSE? )

Crossposts: http://alexiscartwheel.livejournal.com/155764.html

I applied for a promotion. Ahhhhhhhh.

CAPTAIN MARVEL MOVIE. Eeeeeeeeeee.

Crossposts: http://alexiscartwheel.livejournal.com/157404.html

Once again at the request of

ceitfianna: Teen Wolf-how did you get into it? When did you first fall for Stiles? Sterek, what fanfic should I read? Anything you can think of.

I'm not 100% sure Fi realizes how potentially dangerous it is asking me to write about "anything I can think about" about Teen Wolf, because it's a bit of an obsession these days, but I'll try not to go too crazy.

( The Show )
( The Fic )

Got another topic suggestion? Go here to suggest something! (In the absence of which I will continue rambling about looking for jobs.)

Crossposts: http://alexiscartwheel.livejournal.com/156125.html

Patty tagged me in a book meme that's been going around Facebook and Tumblr, and just to be ornery, I'm posting it here. I've seen multiple versions of the directions, but I'm using the one's from Kelly Sue's Tumblr because.... I just like that version better than some of the others, I guess.

"List 10 books that have stayed with you. Try not to think too hard. They don’t have to be "right" or "great works" they just have had to have touched you in some way."

A lot of these books are children's books, you will probably note. But of course! They were formative! But even as a kid a read a ton of books and they've stuck with me because they really meant something. So....

Go, Dog. Go! by P.D. Eastman. We used to get the audiobook from the library all the time, and the rest of the time we just made Mom read it with the funny voices from the recording ("Gooo around agaaaain!"). I'd quote this book all the time if people wouldn't think I'm crazy. Apparently, most people don't know most of Go, Dog. Go! from memory. Philistines!
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. The first and the best. (I like to get into arguments over the correct reading order for these books.) Who didn't ready it and want to find a portal to a magical world in the back of their closet? I read all 7 by third grade, but this is the one I come back to repeatedly. I choose to ignore Susan's eventual fate since, as an older sister, she was the character I always identified with.
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery. I actually didn't finish this book the first time I tried to read it. Sometimes it's just not the right moment, you know? Later it became a favorite and it led to an L.M. Montgomery binge. Getting ahold of copies the less well known ones like Magic for Marigold and Jane of Lantern Hill took some doing. In reality I'm much more like Emily Starr, but Anne Shirley is a classic weirdo. (Yes, I just called Anne a weirdo. Wanna go?)
The Sky is Falling by Kit Pearson. Like Anne, this book came to be from Oma, who always gave us books by Canadian authors. Unlike Montgomery, Pearson isn't well known outside Canada, but for awhile she was my absolute favorite author. Nora, the main character, and her brother are sent from England to Canada during WWII, and Nora remains pissed off about this arrangement for pretty much the whole book. My original copy split in two and is held together with a few pieces of tape.
Wild Magic by Tamora Pierce. Everyone loves Alanna, and I think those books are great too, but Daine was my entry point into Tortall. Being a knight is cool and all, but Daine can turn into animals. In retrospect I should maybe be a little skeeved by her relationship with her teacher who's over a decade older than her, but... nah. I was very, very sad there weren't more than four books in the series.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. The most stereotypical book appearing on this list! (Don't worry, the next book is not The Great Gatsby.) I really love Jane Austen. I even love weird old Mansfield Park, but it's not comfort reading like P&P. I really dig relationships where antagonism develops into mutual respect, or where mutual respect is demonstrated by antagonizing each other. I will always watch movie adaptations of P&P, and I've read too many poorly done modern adaptations because I'm just a sucker for this book.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling. Yes, a middle book! It's tough to pick a single book from a series that, as a whole, was incredibly important to me, but this one stands out because it was the one where it really went from "these books are really good" to "holy shit this is amazing" and years of fandom investment. POA introduced the backstory of the Marauders, and made it clear that the books weren't just single episodes, but part of a mythology that had been building since book one.
Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I read ALL the little house books, and then I moved on to all the supplemental stuff: biographies and histories of the places the Ingalls family lived. I desperately wanted to go on a vacation and visit all the places from the books. It all started because Mom had an old copy of Little House in the Big Woods at home. Fun fact: I have never seen the TV show Little House on the Prairie. Bonus fun fact: I would make a terrible pioneer.
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. I'm not sure if it's fair to put a book this new on the list, but whatever, it's my damn list. There were so many parts of Fangirl that felt like they were written just for me. Fandom, specifically Harry Potter fandom, was an important outlet for me when I was starting college, just like Cath. And the whole overwhelming experience of being an introvert at a huge university full of people and not knowing all the social rules and trying to make friends and date boys was just so perfect.
The Hours by Michael Cunningham. Finally, the only book on this list that I ever read for a class. I read Mrs. Dalloway for fun (ha!) in high school, then in college I had an intense critical writing class focused on Mrs. Dalloway and The Hours. The class was really challenging--I was writing 2-3 pages every night--and it was my first serious introduction to feminist theory, and I went on to take four more classes from the same professor. The Hours is typical of what I read when I'm not reading books for children and teens--really beautiful prose about women with miserable lives. Seriously, this book is a work of art.

Crossposts: http://alexiscartwheel.livejournal.com/155292.html

At the request of

ceitfianna: "Talk to me about what being a librarian means for you and your journey to become one."

(If you'd like to suggest a topic to make me write about, comment on this post. Right now it's all Fi.)

I got my first job at my local public library when I turned 16. (I actually asked the circulation manager about jobs about half a year before that, but 16 is their minimum age.) I worked there as a shelver for the rest of high school and came back for most of my summer breaks during college, but for most of that time I didn't actually know what kind of career I wanted after graduation. At the time, what I really knew was that I didn't want to teach high school, which is what many of my fellow English majors were preparing to do. I think I only took one creative writing class, not because it didn't interest me, but because by college I was pretty convinced I had no realistic chance of success there. At some point it finally occurred to me that I could just keep working at the library, and if I got a Masters, I could do that professionally. I really don't know why it took so long to put that together.

It wasn't all smooth sailing from there, though. I applied to, I think, five different graduate programs. I ended up picking McGill because the university is well-respected, I liked the idea of living in Montreal, and the tuition was super cheap compared to American universities. (I'm a Canadian citizen, so I didn't have to pay international fees.) After a few months, I was feeling pretty disenchanted with the whole thing, so I withdrew, spent a month in Columbus, then moved to Kansas City where a worked in, you guessed it, a library, this time at a community college. I went back to grad school at Maryland in the fall, where I discovered that LIS programs just suck universally, but you have to jump through the hoops in order to get the professional qualification.

Between bogus LIS programs and the terrible job market, I've developed quite a bit of library related cynicism, but that's mostly concerning structural problems, not library-work itself. Because that? I still really enjoy. Almost all my jobs in the past decade plus have been in libraries, almost exclusively in public institutions, and at this point I really balk at the idea of working in the corporate world, presuming they'd even have me. I like providing a service that enriches people's lives, whether that translates as suggesting good books to read or teaching technology
skills.

Obviously right now, I'm open to a lot of things, but I would love to get back into a public library position. My ideal would be either working with teens or working with local history materials. (I took a lot of archives classes and worked in archives digitization for three years before I took the high school job.) Columbus is a smaller city, so there aren't as many openings, but there also aren't two competing grad programs in the city, so hopefully the market won't be as oversaturated as it was in D.C. Fingers crossed, you know.

Crossposts: http://alexiscartwheel.livejournal.com/155040.html

This year I'm trying something different, and instead of posting my full reading list at the end of the year, I'm going to try to add to it as I go along. (Normally the in progress list is a Word doc sitting on my desktop.) Hopefully this will prompt me to write at least brief reviews somewhat more often. Volume wise, I hope to at least mostly keep pace with last year. I'm already woefully behind schedule because of The Diviners, but I refuse to give up in January. I'm also going to try splitting the list into fiction, non-fiction, and graphic novels in the hope that I'll actually read some non-fiction.

( Read more... )

Crossposts: http://alexiscartwheel.livejournal.com/149001.html

Now that I've been posting again and feel like I have a chance of actually doing this, I'm stealing the topic posting meme from

phoenixchilde

Pick a date below and give me a topic — it can be anything, from fandom-related to life-related to history-related to whatever you want.

They will probably be brief, or not, depending on the subject.

Also, I reserve the right to decline prompts that I don’t feel equipped to meet.

Topics: you can get an idea from my tags/from the stuff I usually ramble about/from things you maybe wish I talked about more but don’t.

You can request multiple topics (as long as they’re on different days — one topic per day!).

( Dates below... )

Crossposts: http://alexiscartwheel.livejournal.com/153875.html

In case you missed it, last weekend the New York Times posted an interactive dialect quiz, complete with fancy heat maps and stuff. Answer 25 multiple choice questions and a magical algorithm tells you what region your speech characteristics match up with best. Cool? Cool.

So I took the quiz, and I think the first time it said my speech matched best with the dialects of Springfield, Missouri, and Reno, Nevada. Excuse me, what? Well, I thought, there were a bunch of questions where I really could've gone with one of two answers, so maybe I'll switch some of them. Still no good. Springfield again, plus Overland Park, Kansas, and Tulsa, Oklahoma.

I lived in Columbus, Ohio, for 22 years and Washington, D.C. adjacent for another 5 or so, with short sojourns in Montreal and, well, actually, Overland Park, Kansas. But that means I should sound mostly like an Ohioan, with a few Maryland oddities—for instance, I like "traffic circle" a whole lot better than "roundabout", so I default to the former—not like someone from Missouri.

At this point, I've taken the damn quiz at least 20 times, because a) I can get freakishly narrowly focused sometimes and wanted to figure out what was going on with my results, and b) I have too much time on my hands. Here's what I've found:

If you only took the quiz once (congratulations, sane person!) you won't have noticed that there are actually more than 25 questions. The quiz always starts with the "you all/y'all/you guys/y'inz/etc." question, but the rest randomly change order each time, and the 25 question set changes.
I absolutely do not, under any circumstances, sound like I am from Boston, Providence, Jersey City, NYC, or Jackson, Mississippi. The quiz is much more consistent about who I don't sound like than who I do sound like.
My results were disproportionately skewed by the responses to a smaller set of questions. Apparently the more unique features of my idiolect are: "blow-off class", "potato bug", "drinking fountain", "lightning bug", "highway", and, dammit...
"Crawdad." The one's above were all cited as distinguishing at some point, but whether I got this question and how I answered it ALWAYS drastically changed the result. I grew up going to summer camp, and one of the activities was always going "creeking" and catching "crawdads." Were I to go creeking again, I would probably call them that. But the rest of the time, I'd call them "crayfish" because I think that's their actual name? So this one's a register problem. I do know that finally switching my answer to "crayfish" got me the most reasonable sounding result of Cleveland I'd had up to that point.
- Creeking, fyi, is basically fishing. In a creek. While standing in a creek. I'm pretty sure this is a regional thing, too, because Google says creeking is some sort of activity involving a kayak, not wet feet and a fishing net.
- Crawdad is one of the main factors in my repeated Springfield, Missouri quiz result.
I decided to settle on a single answer for each question, even though there were some I was conflicted about (e.g. I both think "dinner" and "supper" have the same meaning but don't actually use the word "supper" ever) to see if I could replicate any of my quiz results. That didn't work, because, like I said, the results were drastically skewed by the words listed above, so if I, for instance, didn't get the potato bug question, I knew I definitely couldn't be from Portland this time.
Cities that popped up repeatedly included: Grand Rapids, Springfield, Overland Park, Fort Wayne, St. Louis, Indianapolis, and Rockford (Ill.) which are at least all in the Midwest, but I also got everywhere from Pittsburgh to Portland to Mesa (Ariz.). Basically the entire country that isn't New England or the Deep South.
If you take the quiz enough times, you stop having to read the questions, because you can locate your answer automatically.
One magical time, I got the right set of questions to land Columbus, Ohio. Don't ask me how, it was like 1 a.m. and I wasn't very scientific about any of this.

My conclusion isn't that I'm a special snowflake as much as that my idiolect is just weird enough to flummox the quiz a little bit. It's been awhile, but I studied enough linguistics in undergrad to know that I sound not only very Midwestern, but very Ohioan. If the quiz were heavier on phonological variation instead of lexical variation (but that doesn't make for fun quiz questions that make you think "They call it what now?") or if it were just longer, I'm pretty sure it could pin me in Central Ohio much more easily.

Crossposts: http://alexiscartwheel.livejournal.com/153604.html

TWO POSTS IN AS MANY DAYS! WHAT?

Today I am celebrating the end of my reading slump, which I supposed should more accurately be called a book slump. I've been reading tons of fic, but until this morning, I hadn't managed to finish a book, despite starting several, since Thanksgiving week. But I pushed through most of Sabriel yesterday, which hopefully will get things back to normal. (It'd better, because now that the count's at sixty-nine books for the year, I'd really like to make it an even number, because I'm really weird about numbers.)

I am also oddly proud of myself for surviving donating blood this morning. This is only the second time I've ever done it, because I am a terrible, terrible blood donor. I meet all the criteria just fine and have been told I have great veins (oooh, sexy, sexy veins, that's totally what everyone's looking for in a romantic partner, yes?) but I am literally in danger of fainting if I start thinking too hard about medical procedures, and being at a blood donation center about to have a needle jabbed in my arm does tend to invoke that response.

lunamystic texted me several helpfully distracting "look at the cats being stupid" videos (kittens I miss you!) and then I tried to distract myself with music while one of the nurses frequently reminded me to breathe, and I am proud to report that I didn't faint, despite the fact that all my extremeties were tingly and I was really freaking out by the end. And then I almost fainted in line at Wendy's trying to buy a Junior Bacon Cheeseburger. BUT ONLY ALMOST. VICTORY. Ahahahahaha. Anyway it was horrible, but I did it cause I guess the Red Cross gets low on blood around the holidays, so hopefully that's worth some good karma, right?

Crossposts: http://alexiscartwheel.livejournal.com/153462.html

Patty made me do it. She just kept sending me all these text messages about an AU fic she wanted to read where Derek and Laura have an decorating business and Stiles hires them to redecorate Lydia's house. And then somewhere along the way I wikipedia'd way more than I ever needed to know about CSU and UC admissions and watched a bunch of videos of faux finish techniques and checked out housing styles between Oroville and Redding, CA and then the fic was over 13K words long and none of that information was even used except to justify the character's backstories in my head.

I've only seen like one episode of Designing Women because the entire series aired before I was nine and back then we literally were only allowed to watch things that were either PBS or Saturday morning cartoons, but the title was too punny to pass up.

Anyway. I wrote a thing.

Title: Designing Werewolves
Author:

alexscat (

alexiscartwheel)
Fandom: Teen Wolf
Pairing: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski
Wordcount: 13,197
Rating: Teen
Summary: Stiles doesn’t know the first thing about interior design, which is unfortunate, since Lydia wants him to redecorate her whole house in a week. It’s lucky Scott’s packmates run their own decorating and painting business. Stiles has his doubts about the Hales, but Laura turns out to be pretty cool, and Derek, well, he’s the hottest painter Stiles has ever seen.

Read at AO3

Crossposts: http://alexiscartwheel.livejournal.com/152799.html

d4ni kept bugging me with fic ideas, until I finally caved and wrote something. So I made her beta it. (It's only fair, right?) This is nothing but plotless fluff.

Title: The Moral of the Backstory
Author:

alexscat (

alexiscartwheel)
Fandom: Teen Wolf
Pairing: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski
Wordcount: 2338
Rating: Teen
Summary: Stiles knows all about the messy tragedy that is Derek's past, but somehow he didn't know that Derek went to college. (And graduated!)

Read at AO3

Crossposts: http://alexiscartwheel.livejournal.com/150554.html

Okay, I'm a little bit late to the game with this, but here it is, finally, the list of every book I read in 2012. There were A LOT of Marvel comics, and even with that I'm not totally caught up.

( THE LIIIIST )

The other trend of the year is apparently I didn't post any book reviews here. I do have a trio of short reviews on my other blog, plus a few on Goodreads.

Crossposts: http://alexiscartwheel.livejournal.com/148919.html

Repeating from last year, because books are always relevant!

1. What's the best book you read this year?
It's a two way tie between The Fault in Our Stars by John Green and Code Name, Verity by Elizabeth Wein. Both are amazing, heartbreaking books about love... but one takes place in contemporary Indianapolis and the other in Vichy France. READ THEM. (The author's are not paying me to pressure you, I swear.)

2. Any other reading highlights?
This year I read ALL the comics. 61 trades/graphic novels, mostly Marvel, but also a few other things like Fun Home and Morning Glories.

3. What's the most challenging book you read this year?
I almost didn't read The Mockingbirds when I read that the plot centered on date rape, but I'm so glad I did. The main character struggles with her experiences, but with the unwavering support of her friends stands up against her rapist. It is the anti-slut-shaming, anti-victim-blaming message that so many people—teen girls and otherwise—need to hear.

4. What's the worst book you read this year?
Tuesdays with Morrie was pretty dreadful. I read a review that compared it to a 200 page greeting card, which pretty much summed it up for me. I was also really uncomfortable with the way the author talks about disability in the book.

5. Which authors featured most prominently for you in 2012?
Brian Bendis, because this was the year that I started comics, which included A LOT of Avengers and New Avengers. I still haven't read Disassembled, but I've read most of his run.

6. Were you part of a reading challenge? Did you meet it?
Nothing formal, but I challenged myself to finish 100 books this year (twice my goal from the year before) and I actually exceeded it!

7. Are you signed up for any in 2013?
Again, nothing formal. But I'll probably aim for 100+ again.

8. What books are you hoping to get for Christmas (or buy next, if you don’t do the holiday gifting season thing)?
Christmas has already passed, of course, and I got several new books including the first trade of Saga, The Cooks Illustrated Cookbook, and The World of Downton Abbey. All wonderful for very different reasons!

9. Which books are you most looking forward to reading in 2013?
Um, what is being published next year anyway?

lunamystic is way better at keeping track of these things than I am. Seanan McGuire's got two new ones coming out next year: Midnight Blue Light Special and Chimes at Midnight, and I always enjoy her stuff.

I know what comics are coming, though! There I'm most looking forward to three new books: Young Avengers, Fearless Defenders, and Pretty Deadly.

10. Any final book thoughts?
I did much better at not reading books that bored me this year! It is, in fact, to give up on them. Unless they were for book club, in which case I suffered on.

Also, this is not a book, but The Lizzie Bennet Diaries is the most fun novel adaptation happening right now!

Well I've just crawled out from under a rock I like to call "that research project I've been working on all summer" and it's a huge relief. We also successfully put the school library back together in six days, so I'm officially back to summer vacation for another two weeks. Yay!!

Other news: I'm going to Dragon*Con at the end of the month. I've never been to a con before, so it will be an adventure. Luckily, I'm going with some Dragon*Con vets, so I won't be completely lost.

NBCs Olympics coverage is ridiculous. (Last night I watched gymnastics. Based on what I say, I can only assume that the US and Russia were the only teams in the competition.) I do like this Olympics drinking game.

No, this post has no point. Hi! How y'all doing?

Crossposts: http://alexiscartwheel.livejournal.com/147239.html

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topic meme: librarianship

What I'm Reading: 2013 Edition

here's your chance to make me babble on the subject of your choice!

me vs. the nyt dialect quiz

reading, (almost) fainting. not at the same time.

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I Wrote A Thing!!

Ye Olde Liste of Bookes 2012

The Year in Reading: 2012 Edition

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January 2016

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