Booklog 'em.

New job is pretty good so far—the people are nice, I'm occupied but not overwhelmed, and I'm learning interesting new things about Photoshop and Dreamweaver. The only drawbacks so far appear to be the commute (an hour and a half each way—dreadful) and the fact that my desk is right at the front, directly in my boss' line of sight, so no looking at LJ and only minimal checking of e-mail is possible. *sad* So once again I am exhausted and behind on everything. But at least I'm making money?

Here's one of the things I'm behind on:

Weeks 31—34: 30 July—26 August

( 169. Wonder Boys — Michael Chabon )

it's a really good book. But it's a FABULOUS movie.

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( 170. Persepolis 2 — Marjane Satrapi )

Not quite as good as Persepolis, but still excellent.

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( 171. Embroideries — Marjane Satrapi )

Satrapi as usual is great at conveying character and telling stories. I only wish it had been longer.

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( 172 & 178-180. Y: The Last Man -- Unmanned, Cycles, One Small Step, & Safeword — Brian K. Vaughan )

highly, highly recommended.

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( 173. My Sister, Guard Your Veil; My Brother, Guard Your Eyes — Ed. by Lila Azam Zanganeh )

I would love to read more good books about Iran and the Iranian experience.

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( 174. InterWorld — Neil Gaiman & Michael Reaves )

This would have made an even better show than a book, dammit.

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( 175. The Pirates! In an Adventure with Ahab — Gideon Defoe )

I believe I was somewhat pleasantly diverted for about an hour at the time?

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( 176. These Old Shades — Georgette Heyer )

Before I read These Old Shades, I was planning to read The Grand Sophy soon, but now I'm not so sure; Shades turned me off, and I also heard that Sophy has a really ugly Jewish stereotype in it. Those of you who've read it: what do you think?

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( 177. The Kid — Dan Savage )

The whole book is a fascinating, engaging, political, emotional read. I really recommend it.

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( 181 & 184. Over Sea, Under Stone & The Dark Is Rising — Susan Cooper )

I suppose I didn't like The Lord of the Rings, either.

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( 182. The Commitment — Dan Savage )

I'm looking forward to reading more of Savage's work.

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( 183. Serenity: Those Left Behind — Joss Whedon, et. al. )

I'm glad to have finally read this, I guess, but it was really not worth the desperate efforts to get it over the last several years.

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( 185. The Sharing Knife: Legacy — Lois McMaster Bujold )

the plot of this book could have gone somewhere more interesting. Maybe if Fawn and Dag had set out on their journey a little earlier. Or maybe that's a book she still intends to write? I'd definitely read it.

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( 186. The Lies of Locke Lamora — Scott Lynch )

the relationships between the characters, especially Locke and Jean, make the "gah!" moments well worth it. I've already gotten my hands on the sequel, Red Seas Under Red Skies, and am most pleased.

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( 187. Heart-Shaped Box — Joe Hill )

it's a good novel, yeah, but not a great one; I really do wish Hill's spark of originality could have burned a little bit longer. Maybe in the next one.

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( 188. Prime Times — Ed. by Douglas Bauer )

I feel like this same idea could be done in a much more interesting way. Maybe when fandom finally takes over the world?

Total Books: 188

And finally, something that cheered me up and made my whole week better:

The Doctor, Martha, and the Master, meeting Rodney and Vala as space pirates. Possibly at an alien cantina? by anna_luna. This is possibly the greatest piece of fanart, ever in the history of fanart. *loves insanely*

(no subject)

My new job isn't leaving me enough time to Angst—but that doesn't mean you should resign yourself to the same tragic fate! (Real Angst means fighting to be emo another day!) Try these recent Angst stories for an excellent dose of the good-hurt:

On the Trail of Polaris is a quiet and sad Rodney POV story that does excellent things with (the absence of) dialogue. Achy but not without hope, I really love how the author uses the setting and the atmosphere to reflect what's going on in Rodney's mind. You can feel the cold, still air and see Rodney's breath frosting against the white sky as he opens his mouth, but doesn't say a word.

Hold your breath and read On the Trail of Polaris

Life (Sometimes It Washes Over Me) is a truly amazing AU that I don't want to say too much about because I don't want to spoil it; it's one of those stories you just have to read and experience for yourself. But it takes several hard, brutal topics and deals with them in a way that's sensitive and utterly, incredibly believable. Even more breath-taking: though the John and Rodney in this story are greatly altered, they're still so clearly our John and Rodney, with the relationship, the connection between them intact. This is not an easy story, but it's an incredibly worthy one; one that'll make you tilt your head, and blink, and go "...whoa."

Go be changed by Life (Sometimes It Washes Over Me)