mercy_angel_09 | Entries tagged with books

I decided, on a whim, to do some poking around at TV Tropes. ~~Yes, I realize that it is an extremely dangerous venture. Hasn't stopped me though.~~ I ended up on the page about Public Domain Characters and started clicking through to see what qualified. It should be noted that this usually impacts what I decide to get from Project Gutenberg, and on a whim started reading through the description, which is a lot easier to understand than The Other Wiki. To put it bluntly, anything that was written prior to 1922 is in the public domain. In terms of what I read, this includes Anne of Green Gables, Anne of Avonlea, Anne of the Island, Anne's House of Dreams, Rainbow Valley, and Rilla of Ingleside. Anne of Windy Poplars and Anne of Ingleside being written in 1936 and 1939 respectively aren't up for the terms of the U.S. definition of "Public Domain."

And it doesn't look like they ever will be. Most likely because of the constant flux of copyright laws in the US. While the books are public domain elsewhere (Canada and Australia, for example), because of the screwy ways the current U.S. copyright laws, nothing new was added to the public domain in 2010, and it doesn't look like anything will be entering the public domain in 2011 either. As it stands I can buy the remaining two books off of Barnes and Noble for my NOOK without issue, it's now tracking down a copy of The Blythes are Quoted that's becoming a bit sticky. Apparently it was published in 2009 in a limited run. I can't find it on Barnes & Noble or on Amazon. Well, scratch that, I can find them, but it's either ridiculously overpriced or has to be imported. Seriously Canada, why are you holding out on us?

At any rate, in my constant quest for literature, I find the public domain a rich source for reading material, but sometimes there are titles that I want in particular but can never have.

Current Mood: annoyed
Current Music: "Libera me" from Hell

On Facebook, my brother posted that he's watching Van Wilder. The temptation to quip, "Oh, you're watching the movie version of your collegiate career?" is very, very strong and it's taking every single ounce of willpower I possess not to. But I want to, so very, very badly. Seriously, the kid has been in college for the last seven years. It's about damn time he graduated with a B.A. in something.

( In which I muse about a good franchise gone bad. )

Current Mood: tired
Current Music: Can You Save Me? - Apple Trees & Tangerines

As a general rule, I'm kind of cheap. I'm usually pretty good about being able to discern if I need something or if I just want something. Most of my reading material falls into the "want" category, and so instead of constantly downloading new books to my Nook, I usually just get the freebies off of Barnes & Noble or the classics from Project Gutenberg. This isn't to say that I haven't bought books for my Nook - I was so impressed with the freebie by Julie Klassen that I bought her other three books, as well as Isabel Wolff's A Vintage Affair and On the Night of the Seventh Moon by Victoria Holt. Likewise, I've been pleased with Karen Witemeyer's work (her first book was offered as a freebie) so I've been debating about buying her other two books.

I was also going through some of my other favorite authors, trying to determine which books that I wanted to get - I know I have a couple by Dianne Mott Davidson that I am as yet to add to my collection, as well as the most recent "-Hunter" books Sherrilyn Kenyon. Since both of those are long runner series, I'm thinking that I'll just get the rest of the books in eBook format so I don't have to keep making room on my shelf.

Obviously, some books you just have to have a physical copy of. I'm still planning on buying a copy of The Hobbit - though there are multiple editions to choose from. Further more, I'm going to be getting the rest of the Patricia Briggs's Mercy Thompson series in physical form because 1) she's a local author and I'm all about supporting local anything and 2) since she's a local author, going to book signings is easy and I want something she can actually, you know, sign.

At any rate I'm itching for some new reading material, so I may just have to buckle down and get the other two Karen Witemeyer novels. They're historical novels with Christian themes, but not so overtly preachy that I wanted to throw the Nook across the room in disgust. And, to be fair, most of the Christian themes in the book were completely period appropriate. I'm a non-denominational Christian, but that doesn't mean I don't get twitchy over that evangelical, overly preachy bullshit. On more than one occasion I've stopped something half-way though when it becomes obvious what the real motivation is. Thankfully Witemeyer manages to avoid that whole overly preachy tone and overall I found her work enjoyable. I'm willing to give the rest of her work a try. I may just start with her second book and if I like it, then I'll get the third one.

Current Mood: mellow
Current Music: Everything to Me - Rockapella

So I mentioned raiding Project Gutenberg for free eBooks a few entries back. After raiding TV Tropes for Anne of Green Gables, I somehow ended up on the page for FujiTV's World Masterpiece Theater which has been adapting classic literature into anime series since the seventies, Anne of Green Gables included.

On a whim I decided to go down the list and see which ones I had, had read, or still needed to read. The list has most of the basics, Little Women, Tom Sawyer and the like, but it also included Trapp Family Story (if you've ever wondered about The Sound of Music as an anime, there you go) and Moomin. On the list was Daddy Long Legs which I had heard about, but had never read. Since it and its sequel were offered on Project Gutenberg, I downloaded them and loaded them on to my nook. Since Daddy Long Legs is fairly short, it only took me an evening to get through it. And I loved it. I had that moment of, "Why the hell didn't I read this sooner?!" Kind of like me resisting reading The Secret Garden until I got really sick in the fifth grade and ended up bed ridden for a week with nothing to entertain me but a stack of books that my sister and handed me that I ended up plowing through (and loving).

( Thinky post on Daddy Long Legs, both the novel and the anime adaption. Plenty of spoilers for both if you haven't read the novel or seen the series. )

Anyway, it's late and I think that sums up my feelings on both the novel and the anime. I may write about the novels (covering both Daddy Long Legs and Dear Enemy) tomorrow, but as I'm starting to nod off at my computer, obviously it's bed time.

Also, on a completely unrelated note, I found that the LJ Hook add on for Firefox has been updated to work with the latest version of Firefox and I can now get back to easily coding entries. Huzzah!!

Current Mood: thoughtful
Current Music: Victorian Vigilante - Abney Park

Well, had a heck of a storm yesterday. Hopefully some time this afternoon I'll upload the video that I took. We had driving rain, as well as thunder and lightening. ~~Very, very frightening me! Galileo! Galileo! Galileo! Galileo! Figaro-oh-oh-oh-oh!~~ We unplugged all important electronics (so the computers, TV and stereo system) and resorted to just sitting back and chilling.

Or in my case, I kept reading. I finished Anne of Green Gables yesterday afternoon and then read all of Anne of Avonlea before bed. This afternoon I'm going to read Anne of the Island (which is probably my favorite out of all the Anne books) and then probably start on Anne of Windy Poplars within the next couple of days. Since a handful of the Anne books are public domain, I got those off of Project Gutenberg to put on my nook so that I can take them anywhere. I do have the entire series in paperback, though, so I can read the entire series without waiting for the rest of them to become public domain. I've also decided that I want to watch the TV movies again, which I can thankfully get off of Netflix.

This does mean that I should probably clear off Farscape and watch those streaming (because they are streaming, and I really don't watch the bonus features on the DVDs), which will also mean that my husband and I can add actual MOVIES to the queue and watch those instead of getting the Farscape DVDs and trying to slog through them. Sheesh, I've had several episodes from season 2 (or is that season 3) sitting on my end table waiting to be watched and I just haven't had the urge. So. Memo self - this afternoon take the rest of Farscape off of the queue and start loading it up with other stuff - stuff that I'm actually going to watch.

At any rate, I do need to do my cleaning before I can do any reading, but that's a given, considering that I can and will spend a whole day reading if I feel so inclined. Tomorrow I'm going to work on TCLBA stuff (as well I should), and try to get as much as that done as I can before I call my mother so we can work out dues and whatnot. (Not that it's particularly hard, but I need to get used to the mail merge function in Word.)

Current Mood: content
Current Music: Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen

I don't have anything particularly interesting to write about today. We had the last Bollywood night before Maria gets married last night, watching the Bollywood equivalent of the the Peter Sellers film After the Fox. It was...interesting. Not great, but not horrible either.

We chowed down on curry, rice and flat bread, watched the movie, and then indulged in Hawaiian Punch flavored jelly beans. When the movie was done we talked perfume, fairy tales and cosplay.

Nothing overly exciting.

When I came home I found my husbands books in disarray, as usual, with Ender's Shadow being in the bathroom. My guess was that he was sore after exercising and had taken a soak in the tub in hopes of alleviating some of that pain. The shower curtain was drawn back and his towel was still damp. Seems like the most logical answer. I refuse to acknowledge option two.

( A nice move? More like a knee-jerk nervous reaction, an unconcious gesture to show that I was totally terrified and out of my element. )

Current Mood: mellow
Current Music: After, In the Dark ~ Torch Song - Yoko Kanno

I'm taking a short break after my shower to write a quick entry. First of all, I've gone in a completely different direction with NaNoWriMo. I was originally going to write a follow-up to Magnolia Blossoms - last year's completed effort - when I had a little brain storm that wouldn't go away. So I opened Word, started jotting everything down, and lo and behold, I have a completely different story idea for this November. You can read more about it at my NaNo LJ,

penismighter. Also there is the link to my official NaNo profile. :)

Secondly, today will be spend doing more cleaning. The oven needs to be pre-washed (to get the worst of the gunk out, and may be assisted by boiling some water, sticking it in a dish, and letting the oven steam for twenty minutes or so) before running the self-cleaning cycle, tables and whatnot need to be dusted, and the whole apartment should be vacuumed for good measure. I'm also going to run the excess plastic bags down to be recycled as well as pick up a few boxes to start putting Goodwill bound clothing into.

Of course, I still have all of the usual things to do today - doing dishes and making the bed - never mind that all I want to do is play around with the special features on Beauty and the Beast. Also, I want to watch all of Saiyuki again. Maybe what I do is put Saiyuki in as I work so I have background noise. Besides, I think my major plans for once the cleaning is done is to cut out the pattern for the Christmas party dress. I'll probably go and pick up the fabric tomorrow. I'm going with that dusty, rose pink. It has light peach undertones, but I can wear it. Plus, I have a coupon for 50% off of a fabric purchase. Now seems like a pretty good time to go and get it, that way I can get the dress sewn before NaNo starts.

In other news, I finished Naked Heat last night, but that's an entry in and of itself. And in case you were wondering, there really is a Firefly reference on page 141.

Current Mood: busy
Current Music: Chrono Cross ~Scars of Time~

As Sunday's go, today has been pretty laid back.

forgotten_relic came up to visit (again) because her niece was born yesterday morning. Since the family wasn't expecting the baby until some time today, her early arrival meant that Relic ended up coming down to spend the day here yesterday when she had originally not been planning on it. Once she finished visiting with her brother and the new baby, she came to my place to crash (natch). We were up until 2:30 this morning gabbing, because it had been almost a year since we'd had some time to girl talk.

At any rate, she left shortly before lunch today (she was going to be lunching with her family), so I took a quick shower before starting in on the cleaning. When that was done, I opted to just chill for the rest of the day, though I'm probably going to dig out some fabric scraps here before too long to piece together to make a banner. Said banner will be to display my growing collection of pins (kind of like

travellyr's, if you know what I'm talking about) that are currently living in a plastic bag in the guest room closet. I'd like to display them, and I'll probably hang them up on the empty hook in the living room. My husband can just deal with it. X3

Further more, I've found all of the official cover art for the Mercy Thompson books online. I have downloaded it and now I shall make icons. I also have some stills from various Harry Potter movies as well as Doctor Who with the intent of making icons for that. I do have an icon journal (

angelrelic_icon that only have Fire Emblem 9/10 icons. Ultimately I need to just sit down and make the icons, which will also have me pulling out my tablet (I find it much easier to do photo editing with my tablet than with a mouse, which is something that I thought I'd NEVER warm up to).

Lastly, my computer seems to have completely recovered. No sticky keys. It shuts off and STAYS off. No more jittery screen. All in all things seem to be working better - but I'm still gonna back up my music on the HTPC and then start backing up important documents, etc. onto CDs. (Though...theoretically I could just transfer them onto a flash drive and then insert the flash drive into the HTPC and put ALL of my files on to DVDs...but I think that's more work than I'm willing to put in, at the moment.

Current Mood: lazy
Current Music: Those Lazy Hazy Crazy Days of Summer - Nat King Cole

Today is cool, overcast, with a chance of rain. The perfect kind of day to curl up on the couch with a cup of tea and a good book. Admittedly, I have some other stuff that I should be doing (like, you know, looking for a job) but the book and tea idea is infinitely more tempting.

Of course, I once blew off school work to sit on the couch and read Anne of Windy Poplars while it snowed several winters back, so you can obviously see which choice is going to win.

Further more I have some cleaning to do around the apartment, as things are becoming cluttered again. I also need to remake the guest room bed, as I actually remembered to strip the sheets yesterday and wash them. I may give them a quick tumble in the dryer to get the wrinkles out (because they've been sitting in the dryer all night) before I tackle that specific task. I also wanted to start on those skirts - I think it's best that I get them done before I really start job hunting, as I can only imagine that it's going to be a major pain in the ass to sew while also juggling a job. And it's not like skirts are hard to sew in the first place.

And thinking of other things I should be doing, going down the gym to hit the treadmill comes to mind. Though I might come up with a "Gym Playlist" of happy, peppy music that motivates me to get moving. Anyone have any suggestions?

Current Mood: lethargic
Current Music: ALMATERIA~Vocal Mix~

I've decided, that when my friends get their own places, I'm going to get my friends something to welcome them into their new homes.

Ideal gift: a cook book.

Admittedly, a few friends already have a stack of recipes or family cook books that they're taking with them, but I've decided that everyone needs a copy of the

Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book

, which I have deemed the Kitchen Bible. Seriously, my grandmother has one, my mother has two, and I have one.

I have the Pink edition, the one that is slightly pricier than the standard Red and White edition, but part of the inflated price goes towards breast cancer research and education. Plus they've included bonus recipes from celebrity chefs and additional appetizers, desserts and sides. As to the main part of the cook book, it's the same as the Red and White edition.

(As an aside, my mother has two copies of the cook book because she has the Pink edition, but I also got her the 1953 reprint a few years back which as all of those wonderfully fattening 1950s recipes and entertaining tips.)

Anyway, it's just an idea. If my friends don't want that and would rather get a plant, I can do that, too.

Current Mood: thoughtful
Current Music: Evan Lysacek on The View

Guh. This weekend is gonna suck. Not so much because of the Black Friday sales that are probably going to extend into the weekend, but because Sarah Palin is going to be signing books at a bookstore 1.8 miles from where I live. I think that means that I will not be going anywhere on Sunday. >_o

NaNo goes - I'm trying to get my word count way up before Thanksgiving because I'm fairly certain I won't have time to write. I suppose I could do it during the parade...but....I'd rather just watch the parade. XD And of course, after the parade, I'll need to take a shower and head over to my parents house to visit for a bit. From there, we're going to my husband's cousin's house for dinner. I honestly have no idea what to expect - but I'm going to playing cards and my DS with me. So yeah, I don't know how much time I'll have to write on Thanksgiving, so I'm trying to pad my word count so I only have to write a few hundred words.

Other than that, life is pretty good. I have fabric for

chaosblue 's dress, but I still need to get the pattern. Of course that should go together fairly easily - I'm confident that I can get that it done with a few weeks to spare. Also I'm working with

sideshow_ericka on getting her fabulously accessorized, because damn it, she's getting married and she has to look fabulous.

Anyway, I need to shower, work on NaNo a little and I have errands to run. Ta.

Current Mood: blah
Current Music: In the Hall of the Mountain King - Edvard Grieg

I finished Heat Wave around 11:30 last night. I gave a content sigh and then started reflecting back on the book itself, and figured I should talk a little bit about what I thought of it.

( Tropical heat wave, a tropical heat wave, the temperature's rising, it isn't surprising )

Current Mood: nerdy
Current Music: Heat Wave - Irving Berlin

Completely unrelated to the last post, which was purposely silly. This one is being turned into a meme.

So how many have you read? (X)
How many do you want to read? (+)
How many do you want to avoid? (-)

( 100 Greatest Books Ever Written - or so decrees the Easton Press )

I have read 22 books on this list. I want to read 36 books on this list. I want to avoid 42 books on this list.

Current Mood: thoughtful
Current Location: Sunday afternoon
Current Music: Viva La Vida - Coldplay

Totally ganked from

bandnerd88 .

( According to the BBC, most people will only read 6 of the 100 books on this list. )

Why yes, I am a book whore. X3

Current Mood: geeky
Current Location: X18999
Current Music: Enforcement Rush

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Ii've picked three book hooks that have become favorites because they have such quirky hooks.

This is one that I'm sure many will post - and yet it's not hard to see why:

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife."

Yup, that's right, the opening lines to Pride and Prejudice. At the time that this was written, only one thing was expceted of women - marry, and marry well. The richer, the better. Elizabeth Bennett represents a different perspective of these times; she wishes not to marry for fortune or stability, but rather for love. She's intelligent, witty, and not afraid to speak her mind, traits back in the Regency that were considered scandalous in a woman. However it is her intelligence and wit which attracts the proud (and convienently rich) Fitzwilliam Darcy. Austen was a keen observer of the world around her, and then she would gently poke fun at the genteel manners and actions of those she saw. Pride and Prejudice is easily one of my favorite books.

The second goes as follows:

"I Will Not
Drink more that fourteen alcohol units a week.
Smoke.
Waste money on: pasta makers, ice cream machines or other culinary devices which will never use; books by unreadable literary authors to put impressively on shelves; exotic under, since pointless as have no boyfriend.
Behave sluttishly around the house.
Spend more than earn.
Allow in-tray to rage out of control.
Fall for any of the following: alcoholics, workaholics, commitment phobics, people with girlfrinds or wives, misogynists, megalomaniacs, chauvinists, emotional fuckwits or freeloaders, perverts."

Of cours Bridget Jones goes on to entail the rest of her "Will Not" list and follows it with her "I Will" list, which includes such gems as:

"Will not - Obsess about Daniel Cleaver as pathetic to have a crush on boss in manner of Miss Moneypenny or similar"

and

"Will - Go to gym three times a week no merely to buy sandwich."

Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding is a modern day Pride and Prejudice. Though Bridget is a tad more shallow than Elizabeth Bennett, she's also not one to let people walk all over her and makes a concious effort to better herself. She is the modern single woman who, despite the constant drive to find a boyfriend, is also wanting more to her life than to simply get married and produce children. She wants a (relatively) meaningful career. To be indpendent. To make her own way in the work. All while dealing with a crazy mother (who ran off with a Portugese conman), a playboy boss (styled after Hugh Grant) and the proud lawyer who remembers her best as the naked child from his paddling pool (Mr. Darcy).

Finally, the last book which hooked me and started me into an addiction that has pwns my soul:

"I'm so sorry Vane. I swear I didn't mean to get us killed like this."

My very first Sherrilyn Kenyon book. Night Play. I stayed up until 1 am to finish reading this. My first foray into the world of the Dark-Hunters, Were-Hunters and Dream-Hunters was with Bride and Vane, a pleasantly plump New Oreleans shop owner and a sexy, hunky were-wolf. Sherri's books are fantastic, as each of the books has a hook that will grab you and not let go until it's over, however since Night Play was my first, it will forever be my favorite (followed very closely by Seize the Night).

Current Mood: hot
Current Location: Here and there
Current Music: Nights in White Satin - David Lanz

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Page Summary

Adventures in the Public Domain
Notes, etc.
In the pursuit of reading material
My current book diet, to quote Trys
We can has stormy weather?
How a nervous tick saved my ass in charades
Busy Little Worker Bee
Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness (i.e. talks. a lot.)
At times like these, my English roots show hardcore
Housewarming Gifts
We can has media circus?
But she certainly can Can-Can (Heat Wave review)
O rly?
Books! \o/ 23 Read...
Writer's Block: Awesome Openers

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Entries tagged with books

Adventures in the Public Domain

Notes, etc.

In the pursuit of reading material

My current book diet, to quote Trys

We can has stormy weather?

How a nervous tick saved my ass in charades

Busy Little Worker Bee

Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness (i.e. talks. a lot.)

At times like these, my English roots show hardcore

Housewarming Gifts

We can has media circus?

But she certainly can Can-Can (Heat Wave review)

O rly?

Books! \o/ 23 Read...

Writer's Block: Awesome Openers