Very Bad Blogger

I suppose I should just say this blog is on indefinite hiatus. I won't delete it, because I don't want it to be taken over by spammers. Besides, who knows, I might one day pick it up again.

If you're curious what I'm up to in Doctor Who fandom, email me at
janiejane (dot) books (at) gmail (dot) com and I'll give you my Livejournal info. I don't want to post it here. Full disclosure: it's fanfiction, along with other fannish and real life things.

Or you can just email me at the above address if you want to keep in touch.

I hope all of you are well, and I hope I can keep in touch with you!

Bad Blogger

So, I'm a bad blogger, but I'm really trying to improve!

There's not much to report - I haven't been doing much reading, but I've been doing a lot of writing. Work is busy, and the courthouse is not immune to budget cuts, so we're waiting to see where the axe will fall.

But, in fun news, I just read that Claudia Christian from Babylon 5 will be at Gallifrey One in a couple of weeks. I'm going to be in sci-fi heaven for one whole weekend!

Happy Holidays!

I'm a day late for wishing you Merry Christmas, but I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday (if you celebrate) or a nice day off (if you don't)! I hope 2009 is a much better year for all of us.

One of my resolutions is to actually pay attention to this blog again. I miss writing about reading, and I have a pile of books I'm excited about reading.

And I keep forgetting to tell you guys this: I'm going to Gallifrey One in February (Yes, a Doctor Who Convention. No, I couldn't be more of a geek.) But the best part is: David Gerrold is one of the guests! So I can ask him in person where Book 5 of the Chtorr series is!

Online Friends

I was very sad to learn last week that Dewey of The Hidden Side of a Leaf passed away. I only knew her through her blog and mine, but I did consider her a friend, and the news hit me much harder than I expected.

And being me, I started thinking. I only found out because her husband posted the news on her blog. If anything were to happen to me, my family doesn't even know I have a blog. So I guess I should include some instructions about online accounts, etc., along with my will (which I haven't written yet either). I know it's not what anyone wants to think about, but there it is.

Sorry I don't have a more cheerful post, but I hope all of you are well.

Did you miss me?

Wow, I've really been neglecting this poor blog. Work has been keeping me busy, but that's not a very good excuse. I have been catching up on DVDs, and writing (fiction) and reading, but not anything particularly good. I went to the bookstore today, so my TBR pile now includes the following:

Dies the Fire - SM Stirling
Interred with the Bones - Jennifer Lee Carrell
Three Bags Full - Leonie Swann
The Demon in the Freezer - Richard Preston

Hopefully I'll have an actual review in the next few days! What have you been up to?

Book purge

I took the day off work today, and decided to finally go through my bookshelves and get rid of some so that I could finally shelve the ones sitting in piles on my floor. I'm glad to say I got rid of a lot, and managed to fit everything onto the bookshelves, but there still isn't room for much more! It feels good to get rid of some old books though, the ones that have been sitting in the giant TBR pile forever. To just say, "You know what, I'm never going to read that," and pass it on to someone who will. Of course, in the process I uncovered some books I forgot I had, that now I want to read/reread. Funny how that happens.

The Unthinkable - Amanda Ripley

The subtitle is "Who Survives when Disaster Strikes and Why." I loved this - devoured it over the weekend, in fact. My minor was sociology, and my major was psychology, so I am always fascinated to figure out why people do the things they do. This researcher interviewed hundreds of disaster survivors, trying to figure out why we react the way we do in emergencies, and why some people survive when others just freeze. The style is not at all dry and academic, and she makes the people she interviewed very vivid. I am one of those who reads the emergency information card on the plane, and I often think what I might do in a particular situation. As a bailiff, we get some training in emergency response in the courtroom, but you still don't know what you would do if something really happened. Highly recommended.

Daughters of the North - Sarah Hall

The description from Amazon.com says it is set in a "dystopian, near-future UK." So you know why I had to buy it! I enjoyed this a lot. I liked watching the main character evolve and change over the course of the book. The book is written as if it were reconstructed from tapes, so parts of it are "missing" - forcing us to fill in the blanks. I liked that. It makes you think about what you might do in a similar situation - what does it take to become a freedom fighter?

Meme

I saw this at Everyday Reads, and thought it looked fun:

Do you remember how you developed a love for reading?

I've read for as long as I can remember. I can clearly recall losing myself in books in elementary school. My teacher talked the school librarian into letting me into the "big kids" section while I was still in 1st or 2nd grade.

What are some books you read as a child?

Well, I read everything I could get my hands on. Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, Trixie Belden, Cherry Ames, Five Little Peppers, fairy tales, the Boxcar Children. My sister and I would re-enact scenes from the books, and even come up with our own scenarios. I guess it was fanfiction, although we didn't know it at the time.

What is your favorite genre?

You guys know the answer to this - Science Fiction. Not fantasy (Harry Potter is the exception).

Do you have a favorite novel?

I re-read a lot of books. The Handmaid's Tale, the Chtorr series (David Gerrold), Pride and Prejudice, 1984, Jane Eyre.




Where and when do you usually read?

At work during lunch, in the evening while watching TV, and before bed. Anytime I know I'll be waiting. Lately I've been taking a book down to the courtroom to read between hearings.



Do you usually have more than one book you are reading at a time?

Yes. In fact I would say almost always.

Do you read nonfiction in a different way or place than you read fiction?

Only in that I might skip around with the chapters, if the book is set up in a way to make that possible.

Do you buy most of the books you read, or borrow them, or check them out of the library?

I buy most of them, or get them from Paperbackswap, or at the used bookstore. I do try to get them from the library first, but our library is very slow about getting some books, and their sci-fi selection is abysmal.

Do you keep most of the books you buy? If not, what do you do with them?

I keep the ones I like, and either swap them on Paperbackswap or sell them at the used bookstore. Some I pass on to friends.

If you have children, what are some of the favorite books you have shared with them? Were they some of the same ones you read as a child?

I don't have children, but my nephew has inherited our childhood book collection, and loves them as much as we did.

What are you reading now?

The Godmother - by Carrie Adams
On Writing - Stephen King


Do you keep a TBR (to be read) list?

No, but I have a pile - well, actually two piles right now - of books to read next.

What’s next?

I have one coming from Amazon - "Watching the English." And my sister has one that she'll be passing on to me, but the title escapes me right now. I have a towering pile to be read, but those are the likely next suspects.

What books would you like to reread?

I keep thinking I should pick up Dune again.


Who are your favorite authors?

Connis Willis, David Gerrold, Nancy Kress, Jane Austen.

BTT: Other Worlds

Are there any particular worlds in books where you’d like to live?

Or where you certainly would NOT want to live?

What about authors? If you were a character, who would you trust to write your life

I think I'd like to at least visit Harry Potter's world. Maybe Jane Austen's, but only if I got to be friends with Elizabeth Bennet or Emma Woodhouse. My real answer is Star Trek, but that didn't start out in books, so that's cheating a bit.

I certainly wouldn't want to live in 1984, or the Handmaid's Tale, or most any other dystopia. I like to read them, but I wouldn't want to stay there for long.

I would trust Connie Willis or Nancy Kress to write my life, though. It would be interesting, yet real.

21 SF/F books that would be better with "pants" in the title

Courtesy of SF Signal (some of the best ones are in the comments).

You know I can't resist an 80's music quiz

Weekly Geeks #10

I'm a day late on this, but I thought it would be fun to answer anyway. Last week's Weekly Geeks was about magazines. I LOVE magazines. I used to blow my whole allowance as a teenager on magazines: music, fashion, movies, and especially Starlog. I currently subscribe to a lot of magazines, but the ones I truly love and look forward too each issue are:
Entertainment Weekly (my sister and I split this, and have for years)
Wired (I especially love the "Artifact from the Future" on the back page each month)
Harper's
The Atlantic
The Progressive

My guilty pleasures are: Glamour, Allure, and a bunch of travel magazines
I also get Newsweek (my sister gets Time, and we swap each week), and the state bar association magazine, plus the ABA magazine.

My mom gets Real Simple and Good Housekeeping
My sister also gets Consumer Reports

We spend a lot of time trading magazines.

I love reading them while watching television, or eating lunch at work, or between hearings at work.

Checking in

No, I haven't dropped off the face of the earth. I've been enjoying my little break from blogging. I've been reading, catching up on TV, and watching Doctor Who. (Seriously, I think I need an intervention.) We've had lovely, spectacular thunderstorms every night for the past few nights, so the weather is actually bearable. And the three day weekend didn't hurt, either! How was your 4th?

Blog 180

Remember Blog 365? Well, I made it through 6 months, and today I'm throwing in the towel. I'm sure you've noticed the filler: quizzes, one-liners. So I'm abandoning the post-every-darn-day directive, and will now only post when I have something to say. I do hope that will be often! So, my faithful few readers, thanks for sticking with me through the experiment. I hope to be much more entertaining in the future!

Currently reading: Worldwired - Elizabeth Bear, and as many sci-fi magazines as I can get my hands on.
Currently watching: As much Doctor Who as possible
Currently listening to - Alanis Morrisette - Flavours of Entanglement

Readathon

I did not participate in the 24-hour readathon, but congrats to those who did:
pages turned
dewey
3M (also the hostess!)
and all the others I don't know! Get some sleep!

I always come out as INTJ

INTJ - "Mastermind". Introverted intellectual with a preference for finding certainty. A builder of systems and the applier of theoretical models. 2.1% of total population.

Free Jung Personality Test (similar to Myers-Briggs/MBTI)

Friday's Feast 195

Friday's Feast time again:

Appetizer

What is the weather like today where you live?

Hot and sunny, although there is a chance of a thunderstorm this afternoon. We had one yesterday, which made this morning nice and cool.

Soup

On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how career-minded are you?

8? I'm still trying to figure out what I want my legal career to look like, so I'm pretty focused right now.

Salad

What type of window coverings do you have in your home? Blinds, curtains, shutters, etc.?

Curtains in my room and the living room, blinds everywhere else.

Main Course

Name something that instantly cheers you up.

My nephew!

Dessert

How many times do you hit the snooze button on a typical morning?

Two or three times. It's a terrible habit - I should just set the alarm later, but I'm always optimistic I'll actually get up early for a change. Plus I like just lying in bed, thinking of what the day might bring.

BTT: Definition

Booking Through Thursday comes through to help my writer's block:

What, in your opinion, is the definition of a “reader.” A person who indiscriminately reads everything in sight? A person who reads BOOKS? A person who reads, period, no matter what it is? … Or, more specific? Like the specific person who’s reading something you wrote?

Well, even those of us who read "anything" do discriminate somewhat. I don't like westerns or mysteries, but will make an occaisional exception based on a friend's recommendation. I do think the definition is broad enough to include lots of things: websites, comic books, manga, etc. Of course, when an authors says "Faithful reader" in the text, they mean you - the person reading it. So in that sense it can be specific. But I think of it as broader - any text counts.

Unmotivated

I don't know what it is about this week, but I just can't get motivated to do anything! I guess I can blame it on the heat. It looks like the rainy season/monsoon will start this week, though, so that should help. It'll be hot and muggy, but at least it might rain a bit to cool things off. I look at my TBR pile and don't feel like starting anything, or finishing anything I've started. I'd rather play around on the internet or watch TV or sleep or eat ice cream or fruit or anything else, I guess. I know it's just a phase, and it will pass soon enough. Maybe I'm trying too hard, making reading a chore instead of an escape.