goingnowherefast

It’s been a while since my last post, esp. when measuring in books I’ve finished (and started) since the last post. So let’s see, what’s new… 

Still waiting for the newest MaryJanice Davidson’s “Queen Betsy” book…even though it was published over a week ago. The library only ordered 1 copy and I’m currently 9th on the list. ugh! I did however read her “Fred the mermaid” series. (Sleeping with the Fishes; Swimming Without a Net) Both of which I highly recommend! I’m going to work on a page for Davidson under the Favorite Authors tab. I have plans to start Derik’s Bane this weekend. I also finished all the current novellas for “Betsy” and “Fred” since my past week.

Graphic novels. God love ‘em. So I’ve finished Ellen Schreiber’s latest. (waiting on book 5 still, not sure the publication status on that one) Recently the books got their own graphic novel spin off. Vampire Kisses:Blood Relatives, by REM. Overall I enjoyed it. I had issues with the tv cliffhanger quality of graphic novels but absolutely loved seeing “Raven” and “Alexander”. Her outfits rock. I wonder if I could pull off a gothic look. I like striped knee high tights and black lace. I mean, who doesn’t? Downside…graphic novels apparently take as long to finish as books. I have to wait until fall to read volume 2. Patience is the enemy. On the topic of graphic novels, I’ve discovered a more traditional manga by Kaoru Mori. I’ve finished 5 of the 7 volumes of Emma. Once I got used to the reading backwards style they are addicting. I finished 4 of the last night. I’m hesitating finishing volume 6 because we dont have volume 7. I’m at a good stopping point right now, so i think ill wait.

As for general fiction, yes I do read other novels (those not involving vampires, witches, faeries, werewolves, mermaids or other paranormal goodness) once and a while. I’ve been judging books by their covers once again…sigh. Don’t worry, that’s a good sigh. Last week I read Meg Cabot’s latest teen novel Airhead. The book is about a girl, Em, who is in a horrible accident in a mall. In a bizarre coincidence a teenage supermodel, Nikki, suffers a brain aneurism in the same mall. So doctors perform a risky, expensive, morally questionable brain transplant. So Em wakes up in Nikki’s body. Only she’s not allowed to tell anyone. Even her best friend (who she happens to have had an undying crush on). I loved the book! It has all the angst I love about Meg Cabot. My only complain… Cabot writes in trilogies and I have to wait until next spring to read more and the spring after that to finish. Speaking of Cabot, Queen of Babble Gets Hitched was published last week. Yet another books i’m impatiently having to wait for. 

Last of all (for the list of recent reads), I finished You Had Me At GoodBye by Tracey Bateman. This is the sequel to Catch a Rising Star and book 2 in Bateman’s “Drama Queen” series. The book could be catagorized as overall feel good christian romance. (that came out sounding kind of kinky) The book continues to follow the girls introduced in Star, centering on ”Dancy” as she struggles to find what she’s looking for in life. [thinking about it, I think I’m going to start a page for series romance novels…keep an eye out for that]

So…currently working on. The Rites of Spring (Break) by Diana Peterfreund. (I don’t have time to get into it now, but this will soon have its own favorite authors tab) On a personal note… The weather has been undeniably beautiful (but a tad hot for comfort, considering we dont have air conditioners) This weekend is the fourth of July! Tracy has invited me to a friend’s house and to “Freedom Fair” with them. According to Griffin, “Freedom Fair” has one of the top ten fireworks shows in the nation. “Tall Ships” is in full swing also. Speaking of Griffin, he has a job! And the summer school attending punk has a dream job at that! Griff is working for a new tour boat company. He has to do all the dull things like cleaning and maintence of the 6 seaters (which is the name only I informed and holds over 20 people). But he also get to drive and give tours on the Destiny and the Maritime. He’s scheduled to work the long weekend, but the coolest part. Griffin is going to get to see the fireworks show from the water. You couldn’t ask for a better view. Work is…..*grumble grumble. I find myself outgrowing Tacoma Public Libraries and feeling restless. I’ve settled in a routine and the predictablity of it all is boring me. The hours are killing me. It’s one thing to have to work a 4-8 shift two days a week then 3-6 the rest of the week. Problem is I go to school in the morning and then have to stick around Tacoma all day. And bridge tolls just jumped to $2.75. It’s another thing that for the shit hours its still only 17 hours a week, which barely gives me enough to pay bills and at such shitty times finding cooresponding hours elsewhere is next to impossible. I can’t work full time while trying to finish school, but It would be nice to have a few extra hours. I’ve started looking for work with Pierce County Libraries. In the end, better hours, better pay, new opprotunities… I’m finding it hard to justify staying with TPL. And my list of coworkers I can stand is growing thin. The aggression between me and the other pages has moved beyond passive. I’m full on imposing and I have many unkind thoughts to accompany it. I’m extremely bitter because its not fair. plain and simple. I’m sick of the finger pointing. I get done what needs to get done. Maybe if others, not naming names, did the same and stopped fussing over what I’m doing the hostility would die out. I’m extremely peaved to discover I’m the ONLY one working saturday. I’ve lost count of saturdays a certain someone has had off recently. So I emailed my boss yesterday and requested next tuesday off to focus on school. I have a big test coming up so getting home before 9 so I can actually get some homework done would be nice. That and I figure that gives Tuesday and Wednesday mornings for ”them” to put a dent in the backlog from the weekend and what I wouldnt be able to finish from the holiday.

Enough…focusing. its out of my system now. I’m going to do what I do and do it well, mind you, and ignore the “suggestions.” Being the “bigger person” and all that jazz. I’m going to try to attach pictures of the dogs. We filled their kiddy pool to play in last weekend. So funny. Winnie (the mutt) would have little to do with the water except for the occassional drink.  Matilda (the great dane) was endlessly amused. We discovered when we threw rocks in the pool she would stop at nothing to get them out. Matilda would dig at them with her paws and once and a while stick her entire head under water. I need to make a point of taking her to the dog park at marrimore so matilda can swim. I think she’d like that. Last time we went we had just adopted her. Ok, that’s about all I have to say. Another day, Another book.

talk about a busy and sleepless few days. friday and saturday I spent at the gig harbor Relay For Life. I finished the queen betsy series. I was 3 pages from the end of undead and unpopular when I lost my light source. (i guess since it was midnight they decided to dim the lights so people could sleep and the luminaria lit the track.) we left a blow up mattress in the back of my mom’s burb so I read my 3 pages in the car before curling up to rest. I woke up shortly after 3. Not sure how or why, but I was wide away. since it was still to dark to read I walked the track with my ipod. I don’t remember the last time I’ve watched a sunrise. it was awesome. I just walked and walked and felt so…i don’t know. by 6 the thing that finally stopped me were the blistered forming on my heels. ouch. so I rested and started undead and uneasy. I ate my weight in pancakes and walked more. I finished the second half of my book after I returned home. then I started annette blairs Gone With A Witch, which I just finished. Now I’m working on Melissa Marr’s Ink Exchange.
I read her first book Wicked Lovely a few months ago. I really like the sudoseries but Marr is hard to read. At the risk of sounding rude, she’s a great story teller but not a great writer. her stories are difficult to get into. they aren’t coherent. that’s the risk with paranormal and science fiction. if you create a new world you can’t expect your reader to just jump in without a little lead in. its like starting a movie in the middle. with Wicked Lovely by the time I had a grasp of who’s who the plot completely threw me off. certainly wouldn’t recommend that book, but I believe in second chances. Marr’s stories have so much potential, maybe second times a charm? ill be sure to let you know. another day, another book

edit: Finished Ink Exchange and was less disappointed but not quite at a “love.” Since I spent the 300 odd pages of Wicked Lovely figuring out the who’s who it wasn’t so bad this time. In all the writing was even better. Still…something bothered me. It had all the makings of a good story, so why do Marr’s tales bother me so. I’ve narrowed it to two possibilities. first, she breaks the rules. not that theirs anything wrong with that but she doesnt do it well. Normal book plot, character building, crisis/problem created, shit meet fan, and then happily ever after. ok, maybe its not quite that neat but you get my drift. Marr’s books go more…introduce characters but make very vague references to who they actually are and why they are revelant to story, crisis/problem, shit meet fan, introduce more characters, introduce more crisis/problems, establish unbelievable love triangles (ill get back to that one), shit meet fan…again, spend 100 pages of wtf, resolve nothing and leaving reading feeling incomplete and confused. yeah… so second possibility. Unbelieveable love triangles. you can have your cake and eat it too. marr laughs at this and says, “watch me” Not only am i unconvinced to anything im confused. Wicked Lovely she get both guys and its weird. Ink Exchange she gets no one and its weird. I’m not giving up. like i said. soooooo much potential. this one had it for a while. this shit met fan and met fan and met fan….and everything was very unresolved.

On a personal note, my brother of eighteen years (who ive shared a bathroom with for most of that) learned my first name today. At first it was one of those…youre kidding right? moments…but he was serious. and blames me going by my middle name as an attempt to confuse him. like its hard. So here’s how this discovery was made. When I moved to Washington about a year and a half ago I started going by my first name. I had always gone by a shortened form of my middle name growing up. So we’re at Relay and one of the ladies asked my brother “what’s your sisters name again?” and he had to stop and think….”what is she calling herself these days” as if i made up a name. which he thought i did. So I tell him, no thats my actual name. You would think my initials on the backpack he’s borrowed or when they called my name at my high school graduation that he would have caught on. no. not my little brother. And my mother wonders why i dont have a better relationship with my brother, well mom, might help if he knew my name. I’m going to get some sleep. Class tomorrow. Meanwhile, I’m finishing Kat Richardson’s Poltergeist.

I have unkind words to say about those who write novellas between books. It wouldn’t be bad but I have the book I want sitting on the shelf at work and its so close but so far. let me back up. so I finished undead & unappreciated and undead & unreturnable today. I get home to start the next in the series and hold up. when did george the fiend start talking? a girl needs warning before crocheting fiend start talking. ghesh. so I ready the authors note and discover referencing to a novella. Its not like I don’t have plenty to read but I wanna that one! (throws tantrum) k, now that I have that out of my system. who am I kidding. ill stew over that most of the night. but nevertheless, moving on…um griffin has to go to summer school. I told my mother I don’t want to take summer classes and she gave me the go to school or move out ulitmatum. my eyes are going to get stuck in the back of my head from rolling them. I got home tonight at 9. I’m tired and cranky and hungry (not that I’m doing anything about it) wow, I’m acting like a 4 year old. maybe I should get some rest. the act of forming coherent sentences that aren’t whiney seems beyond what I’m capable of at this point. I know right? (that was for tracys benifit) maybe tomorrow will be better. another day, another book.

Today was the first day this month Tracy and I have worked together. We really must plan our vacation time better. So after endless chats about how freakin awesome its going to be to see Stephenie Meyer and filling out leave request and justifing that this is TOTALLY work related and generally killing the better part of 4 hours discussing such, we logged on gmail. I’ve had gmail for years and Tracy got it while I was gone. So not only did we talk across the room to each other we chatted on gmail with each other (multitasking is a requirement for working in a library) after all we had half a months worth of excitement to catch up on. I mentioned we had planned on going to the zoo yesterday but the meercats were still in quarantine, so tracy brought the zoo to me. Its amazing how 2 twentysomethings can be so easily entertained. so we dropped the little capsuls o zoo animals in hot water and watched our lions, tigers and bears oh my! hatch. Tracy says its gross how the capsul never completely dissolves and you get stuck with a slimy afterbirth. (im sure that’s a visual you wanted) In all, good day at work. I didn’t have school this morning so it was nice to sleep in and hang around the house until I had to go to work. By sleep in, I refer to being wide awake by 8. I then managed to eat, shower, get ready and kill time to discover in was still only 10 o’clock. I worked on finishing Mr. Monk in Outer Space. At 11:30 I checked my library account and noticed no changes to my account. Positive I should have several holds come in today, I emailed to harass Tracy (thats what friends are for). She essentially told me to (comment inappropriate to share). When I got to work it was like Santa had visited and left me holds! yippee skippy! seriously though, overcaffinated excitement aside… this past week I started MaryJanice Davidson’s “queen betsy” series starting with Undead and Unwed. I’m addicted. So I got the next book in today. I think I want to start on it. another day, another book.