Tag: goodreads

Blogging, Crafting, Random, Reading, Singing, Writing

Wrappin’ Up The Month With Fog: July Edition

Emily

Alright, I’m back! Only a week late, so I’m calling this a win ;P Let’s get started shall we?

Once More Unto the (Writing) Breach

  • Camp NaNoWriMo
    • The Goal- Write 50k words and finish the first draft of Clarity, my Loki/OC fanfiction.
    • The Results- 63,554 words written! Woohoo!

Camp-Winner-2015-Web-Banner

As for finishing the draft… well… That didn’t actually happen. I don’t know if you guys recall from last month, but I expressed some doubts as to whether this fanfic would actually make 50k as a story. I should never doubt things like that. As per usual for me, the story has well exceeded the 50k word mark in its (very rough) first draft stage. Most of this will probably be cut and modified in editing of course, but the plot and the characters have grown and evolved into something I never would have guessed when I started (and in the process I have learned more than I thought I would ever want to know about Norse mythology). Again, I really shouldn’t be surprised, as this has frequently happened to me in the past. I am apparently incapable of writing a short story 😛 But still, I am very pleased with what has been vomited onto my hard drive so far and I’m planning to work very hard to finish the first draft before I go on vacation at the end of August! It can be done!

  • Changing History
    • Well, if any of you are following this on Archive Of Our Own, you will already know that I did not post as many new chapters as I’d planned. I think I managed to post one. Sorry about that. Loki took over my mind and soul and I could not let him go, but never fear! Now that Camp has finished, I am planning on getting back into the swing of posting semi-regularly again! Stay tuned!
  • Speaking of plans, I have one! Or, at least I have the beginnings of a plan. I’ve decided I really need to start taking this writing thing seriously, so I’ve made up a couple of guidelines that I’m hoping to follow:
    • Write 1000 new words a day (Monday thru Thursday).
    • Work on editing for one hour every day (Monday thru Thursday).
    • If I don’t manage this, work weekends (hey, just like a real job! ;P)

It’s that simple really. I’ll be keeping up with my social media/comments/other writing related internet shenanigans as time allows, but I’m hoping that if I at least stick to these two things, I will be able to make more significant progress, not just in my fanfiction work, but in my dreams of publishing my original work as well.

  • To help with the planning and keeping myself accountable, I bought a new notebook!

Notebook1

Look at those gloriously blank pages… They’re already filled with my month to month plans, as well as thoughts about months previous and how to improve my productivity, and there’s a page devoted to ideas regarding my publishing model and costs.

  • One last very important note: This past month, I discovered Jenna Moreci. You should watch her videos. For reasons. Yes. Here, I’ll even get you started!

**Warning: Adult Language and Hilarity included!**

Have You Hugged a Book Today?

ReadingChallengeJuly

My reading challenge goal didn’t get met, but that’s okay, since I was writing. I did finish a few books in July so it wasn’t a complete waste, and I’m getting back into it for August. I’m also going to try a new format for this portion of the program. The links I’ve included will take you to my review for that book on Goodreads, rather than just repeating it all here and wasting precious internet bandwidth (Save The Bandwidth!). I am going to include my star review for each book so that you know what you’re getting into. For reference here is how I determine stars for my books:

Five Stars: This book changed my life. It was so profound and wonderful that I can think of no way that it could possibly be improved upon. All the old favorites get this rating. You should read my Five Star books immediately if not sooner. Why are you not reading them yet?

Four Stars: This book was really good! No, really! I liked it! I might even read it again! But there was just that One Thing, you know? That One Thing that bugged me. Maybe it was the writing. Maybe it was a particular character. Maybe it was some unquantifiable vibe that the book just exudes for no discernible reason. You should pick it up and see if you can figure it out for yourself. If you do, let me know.

Three Stars: Eh, *shrug*. This book was okay. It wasn’t the best thing I’ve ever read. But hey, I finished it! That should count for something, right? Probably not gonna read this one again. It might even end up in the free bin at Second and Charles. Probably not worth your time, but hey, what do I know?

Two Stars: Okay, this one was bad. No other word for it. It was bad. But there was at least one redeeming characteristic, just one glimmering thread of hope that brought it just a step above being a complete waste of my time. Maybe the writing was beautiful, but the plot sucked. Maybe there was just one stand-out character in a sea of insipid cardboard cutouts. Either way, this was not my cup of tea and I feel a little bit of regret about that. Because it could have been so much more…

One Star: Do I really have to spell this out for you? I feel like it should speak for itself. I don’t give out this review often, but when I do you can bet that the book deserves it.

Okay, now we’ve gotten all that out of the way, on to the books!

  • Books I finished this month:
  • Book to Screen (New Section! Devoted to movies and/or shows I’ve watched based on books I’ve read)
    • Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban: I rewatched Prisoner of Azkaban this month, and once again, I somehow felt a little cheated. It’s not as bad as I remember when I first watched it (I vividly remember being so disappointed the first time around that I didn’t watch the movie again for years), but still something felt a little… off. I still can’t quite put my finger on it. It’s probably the little details I miss, but whatever it is something about this movie just feels slightly off to me. I still love it, mostly because REMUS AND SIRIUS! They are, and always will be I think, my favorite Harry Potter characters, and they are nearly perfectly portrayed in this movie and in subsequent movies. I really want to know which member of the production team sold their soul for that perfecting casting. All in all, I was still a little disappointed, but not so much that I would not watch the movie again.
    • Daredevil: I FINALLY finished this show! 😀 It was amazing! Quite gory in spots, but all in all the story telling was amazing and I loved all the characters. I was actually upset when one of the villains was killed close to the end, that’s how invested I was in these characters. Amazing show, I’m looking forward to watching it all again in a marathon eventually, and I hope they come out with Season Two soon!
    • Also this just in, SHANNARA IS GOING TO BE A FREAKING TV SERIES OH MY GOD STILL NOT OVER IT NEVER GETTING OVER IT WATCH THIS TRAILER!!!

If you have not read the Shannara books by Terry Brooks, the link in the FREAK OUT above is a suggested reading list on Goodreads from the author himself. Read them! DO IT NOW! And then come back and freak out with me because THIS SHOW IS GONNA BE AMAZING!!!

#Hashtags and other minutia

I have really been putting forth some effort to stay out there and available on all my social media gizmos! Here are some highlights from the month.

Do I Actually Have a Life?

  • I joined a gym. I did this for several reasons, not the least of which is what might possibly be the worst case of social anxiety I have ever experienced. In June I started running at a park that is close to my place, and it was nice… but then people started talking to me. Now, I have no problem with a friendly “Hi, how you doing?” in passing. But I am not outside, sweating my butt off and jiggling my fat rolls around, to socialize. I actually would prefer it if no one noticed that I was existing in these particular moments of my life. There is a reason I wear bright pink headphones and prominently display my phone on my arm. I don’t want to talk to you. It’s nothing personal. I don’t want to talk to anyone. But if you speak, I have this weird Pavlovian instinct to respond, even if on the inside I’m thinking “WHY DID I DO THAT? ARGH!”

Plus, really, triple digit weather is just too dang hot. Even going in the evenings. Too dad-gum hot.

So, yeah, I joined a gym! I haven’t done much with it yet, I’ve been really busy writing, but I’m hoping to get back into my C25k again, hopefully regularly now.

  • Speaking of C25k, I made Week Two! Of course then I immediately backslid and the next time I went to the gym, I didn’t make it. I’ll have to keep trying until I can keep it up, but I made it once, I can do it again!
  • Under the heading of “Weirdly unrelated news that is apropos of absolutely nothing” I’ve started playing My Singing Monsters:
Friend Me! Code 30574047FH
Friend Me! Code 30574047FH

God help me, but I love their cute little stupid faces… Peggy Erickson, I blame you!

“And In Conclusion…”

  • Writing Goals- Keep up with the new writing plan (which has already changed a few times since I decided on it). Post three chapters of Changing History a week. Finish the first draft of Clarity (Loki/OC fic).
  • Reading Goals- Since the end of August will officially mark the three-quarters mark of the year (HOLY CATS, WHAT?) I’m going to make a sincere effort to hit that mark on my reading challenge. This means I will be reading A LOT of comic books. Starting with the rest of the volumes of Fables that I own, plus whatever else I can get my hands on because I NEED IT. Be prepared for a Reading section like you’ve never seen before in next month’s Wrap-Up post ;P
  • Social Media- Twitter probably won’t see much action in the coming months, but I’m going to be trying to stay active on Tumblr and Instagram at least. Feel free to hit me up there with questions, comments, random pictures of furry animals (because YES PLEASE!), anything really, I love hearing from you guys!
  • My Personal Life- Keep up with the Couch25k. No, really. NO EXCUSES! Also, I will be going on VACATION the last week of August! WHOOPWHOOP! I will still be mostly available, but be prepared for an Epic Vacation Post of Epic upon my return!

And that’s it! This is still a huge post, but I’m working on that! I’ll get it whittled down, little by little until it’s manageable. Until then!

Blogging, Crafting, Random, Reading, Writing

Wrappin’ Up The Month with Fog: June Edition

Emily

So, since I’m not doing much else with this blog thing, I’ve decided to try something new. I have no idea if it will work. I have no idea if I want it to work. But I figure, what do I have to lose by trying, right? ;P So, welcome to the first edition of Wrappin’ Up The Month with Fog! In these posts, I will attempt to recap what I’ve been doing for the past month and what I would like to do in the month(s) to come. Be warned, this post is long so let’s get to it, we don’t have a lot of time here.

Once More Unto the (Writing) Breach

  • So, the writing thing. Let’s start with fanfiction. I’ve been working diligently on Changing History rewrites, but not much else. I’ve also been trying to prepare for Camp NaNoWriMo July, but that hasn’t gone nearly as well as I’d hoped. I’ve been pretty distracted by rewrites and other not-so-important things. But yeah, I’ve made it most of the way through the rewrites now, and I’ve decided that once I’ve finished rewriting Second Chances, I’m just going to jump right into posting Part Four, Search For The Entwives, even though the first draft isn’t finished (which is irking me, by the way).
  • As far as original work goes, I have started formulating a plan for one of my stories, an Alice in Wonderland reimagining that I started as a NaNoWriMo project a few years back. I think this story is going to be my NaNo2015 project. I don’t want to get into too much detail, as it’s all pretty hazy at this point, but I’ve been thinking a lot about it, how I want to present it and market it, which is more progress than I’ve made in a very long time. I will keep everyone updated as this seed of a plan develops.

Have You Hugged a Book Today?
ReadingChallengeJune

  • Books I finished this month
    1. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban– I’ve been rereading the Harry Potter books on audio for the past couple months and I finally got to my favorite of the entire series. Book Three was my favorite book the first time through, and I am happy to report that it has held up to the high standards I had set for it. I’d also like to say that, even though I know all the major plot twists, it has been so much fun to reread the books again with a new perspective. I’m also watching the movies as I re-read the books and I’m enjoying comparing them to each other. I haven’t watched PoA yet, but I’m looking forward to it. This re-read has also inspired thoughts of a new fanfiction (big surprise, I know ;P) and I’m having fun imagining my new character in each of the books.
    2. Nation by Terry Pratchett– I started this book as a book club read in April. I managed to get about halfway through, but April was a pretty busy month for me, so I didn’t manage to finish it before the library required it back. I finally got it back from the library early this month… and finished it in one night. I couldn’t put it down. It was just so beautifully written. It’s hard to describe really. And the end took my breath away. It was really, really good and I highly recommend it, especially if you’ve never read Pratchett before, and are intimidated by all of the Discworld books. This is a separate book all on its own, so you can get a feel for how he writes, without committing to a whole series. Basically, it’s wonderful.
  • What I’m currently reading (in order of date started)
    1. The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett– I started this back in April, but as I said before, April was a busy month for me. I’m planning to start it back up in July, if I can get a few of my book club reads out of the way first. What I read was good though, I’m excited to really dig into the Discworld books from the beginning!
    2. Inuyasha #2: Family Matters– I received a stack of these mangas as the result of a book swap on Ravelry. Inuyasha is a guilty pleasure from my failed community college days, when I would stay up until all hours of the night to watch repeats of the anime on Cartoon Network. I recently discovered that the entire series is on Hulu, which has renewed my love of the series. As I usually do with this kind of thing, I’m enjoying comparing the manga to the anime. So far, it is very similar, but there are some things in the translations that are much funnier in the book. It’s been very entertaining so far, and I’m looking forward to the rest of it.
    3. The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie– This is also a Ravelry book club read, that I was actually supposed to finish this month, but didn’t have a chance. I’m planning to finish it up in the first week of July, so I can join the discussion. As far as the book itself, I’ve really been enjoying the mystery! I have no idea who the killer is, but I have several theories that change with every page I read. This is the first of the Hercule Poirot books and also my first Agatha Christie and I already can’t wait to read more! I also found it ironic that my first Christie novel, the murder victim is named Emily… Coincidence? I think not! ;P
    4. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum– This is my “running” book. I have it on audio from Librivox on the Nook Audiobook app (free audiobooks, hurray!) and I’ve been listening to it as I try to run my Couch to 5k program. It’s just as lovely and magical as I always imagined it would be. I have laughed so much at the different characters and I’m enjoying watching the Scarecrow, the Tinman and the Lion work through all these obstacles with traits that they all claim not to have. I think there might even be a message about self-confidence in there somewhere, but I’ll save that for a book review.
    5. The Help by Kathryn Stockett– This is an audiobook I got used for six dollars. And it is possibly the best six dollars I have ever spent. I’ve heard so much about this book, but somehow no one ever told me it’s a book about writing a book! How is it that no one ever told me this??? And I love the characters so much, every single one of them (okay, maybe not Hilly so much, but everyone else has at least a few redeeming qualities ;P). It’s written in different points of view, Abilene, Minnie, and Skeeter, and the actresses who read the different parts are perfect. I have laughed, I have cried, and I haven’t even finished the book yet! I can’t wait to watch the movie and compare!
    6. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson– This is a book I recently started on impulse while I was knitting. I wanted something to do that wasn’t watching television. I’m not terribly far into it, but I am intrigued by the differences I can already see between the original material and the interpretations that I’m familiar with. It’s definitely creepy and I can’t wait to find out more.

#Hashtags and other minutia

I admit, I have not been very active on social media lately. Frankly, it’s been a little overwhelming. But here are a few of the highlights from June:

  • My Favorite Tumblr ReblogReblogJune
  • My Favorite Tumblr PostTumblrPostJune
  • Two faves from Instagram:IG1June IG2June
  • And one more from Tumblr, just for fun ;PJFFJune

Do I Actually Have a Life? (real life stuff that happened)

Alright, as I mentioned briefly in the reading section (under The Wizard of Oz) I am trying out one of those Couch to 5k apps. The app I’m using is C25K Free for Android, just in case anyone is interested. It’s a pretty cool app, it runs simultaneously with my Nook Audiobook app, so I can listen to my book and the C25K app pauses my book to tell me when to run and when to walk, so I don’t miss anything.

I have managed to work my way up to Week One this month, which is an accomplishment for me. I found a little park not far from where I live that has a sidewalk for running/walking. It’s pretty and I get to spend about an hour listening to an audiobook and trying not to feel self-conscious. I keep telling myself that it’s good for me, not just my body but my mental state as well, but I’m not seeing any results yet. Basically all I’ve accomplished is discovering that my ankles hurt all the time and spending a ton of money trying to find ankle supports I can wear with my shoes. But I’m gonna try to stick with it, despite my tough schedule and the intense heat down here in Texas. It hasn’t been too bad where I live yet and I make sure to go just as the sun is setting so it’s cooler, but man, it is something else. I’ll try to remember to post my updates on my Twitter (and consequently Facebook) so you guys can keep up with this insanity. I have no idea what I’m doing.

“And In Conclusion…”

  • Writing: July is Camp NaNoWriMo! I plan to write the first draft of a brand new fanfiction, a Loki/OC set during the year of his imprisonment in Asgard (Thor: The Dark World). In the event that the first draft does not make 50k words (which, if I’m being honest, is pretty likely), I’m going to write up the first draft of a short continuation of my Bruce Banner/OC, Worth Living For. Basically, this is the month of Avengers writing! I am going to attempt to continue to post at least one rewritten chapter for Changing History, but that is not my priority this month.
  • Reading: Finish The Mysterious Affair at Styles and start up The Color of Magic again, for sure. I’m also going to try to get my book challenge down to the halfway mark. I have a stack of comics that need to be read, which should help with that 😉
  • Social Media: I am going to try to post more frequently. No really, I solemnly swear! Even just scrolling through Tumblr and reblogging things, or posting to Instagram with what I’m knitting and/or crocheting. I’m also going to try to add more of those posts to my Facebook and Twitter. Since I’m working on something new for Camp, keep an eye on the Twitter feed, I’ll probably be doing some word sprints with the NaNoWriMo Word Sprint peeps!
  • My personal life: Honestly, I just want to get through Week Four of my Couch to 5k. If I do that, I will feel like I’ve accomplished something. And I have Tour de Fleece coming up in July as well, which is a challenge to spin yarn while the champion bike racers spin the Tour de France. I’m looking forward to it, especially in light of the weird amount of attention this post got on my tumblr a few months ago 😛 Keep an eye on my Instagram and Tumblr for updates!

And that’s it! I promise, not all of these posts will be this long, but I am going to try to make one at the end of every month, just to keep everyone abreast of my activities. We’ll try this out for a few months and then reassess the situation, so let me know what you think! And now, I’m off to prepare for Camp NaNo! 😀

Reading

Book Review: Brave New World

Emily

Brave New WorldBrave New World by Aldous Huxley

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

 

BraveNewWorld

Wow… What to say about this book? Because I really do feel as if I should say something. I feel profoundly impacted by what I’ve read, and yet at the same time woefully unprepared to put what I’ve experienced into words. I’m very glad I own this book, because it is one that deserves to be read again. It makes you question yourself, question your reasoning, question morality (both personal and societal), and question where you got any of those ideas in the first place. In fact, it asks far more questions than it answers.

Can there be any good without bad?
Can there be any bad without good?
Who ultimately decides what is good or bad?
How much of what we consider “moral” or “immoral” comes from our own conditioning?
Are we actually capable of independent thought? Or is it all conditioning and genetics?

On the surface, those questions seem pretty depressing, I guess. And none of those questions feel like they were ultimately answered in the story. Which I don’t think is a bad thing. I think it’s good that the reader is asked to draw their own conclusions, that the author is not trying to force his own thoughts down our throats. And it made the story very relatable for me. I found so many parallels between Huxley’s utopia and our own society, not just “feelies” and the banning of books and religion in favor of industry and progress, but even the concepts of sexual independence and loneliness that are addressed. To see things that I had thought of (and still do, to an extent) as good things, steps that the world should take toward peace and understanding, to read about them as extremes was jarring and eye-opening.

As far as the story was concerned, I was annoyed by most of the characters, especially Bernard, who I considered to by the “main” character. But I think that was part of the point, so I’m willing to allow it to slide, and also my intense love of Helmholtz Watson helped make the story more than bearable. As a writer myself, I connected with Helmholtz, empathized with his desire to put out meaning into a world that couldn’t possibly understand, that even he could not fully understand himself. Helmholtz makes me want to write Brave New World fanfiction, that’s how awesome he is 🙂 And the end… well, I think that might be one of the most poetic and beautiful endings I’ve ever read, (view spoiler). That’s all I’m going to say about it.

In short, I feel like this book is a masterpiece, and if you have a couple of weeks to set aside, I strongly suggest you at least give it a try. The first four chapters are so terribly uncomfortable and jarring that you can’t possibly look away and really, once you’ve gotten that far, you might as well finish the rest 🙂

View all my reviews

Reading

Book Review: The Fencing Master

Emily

The Fencing MasterThe Fencing Master by Arturo Perez-Reverte

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

There are a couple of reasons this isn’t getting one star. The first is the writing. I will admit that there were moments that the writing in this book was beautiful and I have to give the author credit where credit is due. The other is my understanding that a lot of my dissatisfaction with the story has to do with the fact that I am not a Spanish native. It is my understanding that this book was written by a native of Spain and translated (quite well, I might add) into English. So the references to Spanish historical events and people that I didn’t understand and therefore found distracting, are probably common knowledge to many Spanish citizens and added to the story for them rather than detracted.
But then we come to the story itself. I didn’t have a problem with the main character, the fencing master. He was, quite frankly, the only interesting, multilayered character in the whole book. I found the other characters (especially the “femme fatale”) to be one dimensional and unbelievable, when I could keep the characters straight that is. The plot was flat and predictable. (view spoiler) The glimpses into the maestro’s past were far more interesting to me than the action happening in “the present” and honestly THAT’S the book I’d like to read 😛
Overall, this book was a chore to get through, but I powered through it because it was short and occasionally had glimmers of hope in the pretty prose and the main character, but these were well overshadowed by the many problems with the plot and other characters. Take from that, what you will 🙂

View all my reviews