Nostorm :(

Some thing I have done today (written circa 3pm):

*Made French Toast
*Vacuumed and cleaned up a little the bottom corner of my desk area
*Vacuumed and cleaned up a little the Giant Pile Of Annoying Boxen
*Put all my pins on embroidery hoops and hung them up, which I've been meaning to do for a while
*Got the laundry sorted and hung or put into the basket as see fit
*Shower

Some things still left to do:

*Grading x3 (I said in exchange for the snow day I would grade three things, and I am feeling very cheated by the lack of actual snow)
*Therapy 1630
*Start laundry? Maybe strip bed, too
*Build a LEGO
*Curl up and read a book for a bit, comics or book or something
*Austin is making grilled cheese, eat that yes

***

I did most of the things on the "left to do" list, most critically the grading. I graded 4/12 assignments that are in my folder. Yes I chose the easy ones. Yes, I really need to get like...everything graded, before February break ideally, so I can have a nice relaxing time. I didn't do LEGO and I didn't do laundry or strip the bed (but it's nowhere near urgent, I did laundry like a week ago)

Austin and I had a good snuggle-and-chat, and we're maybe gonna try and do some Power Hours together in the upcoming times. And I didn't curl up to read my book, but I did walk Austin halfway home and then read my book as I returned to my house. I should do a media post again.

Therapy was a lot of feeling very sad from the sad weather lack-of-snow, and very behind on everything. One of the things I mentioned to Jenn was that I'm in that space where even when I accomplish things, it doesn't really do anything for me except make me realize how much there is left to accomplish. There are so many things left for me to accomplish. :(

On the plus side, I am probably gonna earn a die for today (need to finish these words, and brush my teeth) and that's nice, that hasn't happened in like three weeks because I've been falling apart without necessarily realizing it. I mean, and also I have legitimately been _busy_ there has been a lot going on and I feel like I haven't been inside the house very much lately. This is true if you are referring to both the literal house of the Ministry for Feline Accomplishment, and the metaphorical house that is my body, my heart, my self.

Books are good and dice are good. Time for medialogging. I hope you are well.

~Sor
MOOP!

Return of the Not Actually Wednesday Books!

It's been a Right Age since I did one of these (like...four months) so let's see if I can remember what all I've been consuming of late! The most exciting book-news between then and now is that I got an ereader for Chrimbo. Her name is Talia¹ and she's a Kobo Libra 2. At some point I should get a case for her, possibly with an elastic band to hold her more easily? Anyways, I love her very much.

Finished Reading Recently

I did finish the draft of Aly's novel, it took me until like...early January, and I finally managed it by downloading it onto Talia so I would actually _keep my fucking place_ and not lose it constantly (which is why I wasn't any good at reading it on my phone). I enjoyed it! I cried a bunch, because it pushed the sister buttons pretty hard, and more exactly, _Alys_ pushed the sister buttons pretty hard. It's still clearly unfinished, but I am looking greatly forward to reading a final draft someday.

I then finally got around to reading The Steerswoman by Rosemary Kirstein. My assessment is that it's actually the book that Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality thinks it is --a fantasy novel with science and magic where the main characters are using logic and rational thinking to Get Shit Done. If you disliked HPMoR but felt there was a seed there, you should absolutely check this one out! Also man-oh-man, I want Rowan and Bel to hang out with Kethry and Tarma _so bad_. Anyways, I loved it, and bought it and the three sequels so it can be reread.

While I was in Maryland (<3!) for winter break, and trying to figure out how to best utilize Talia, I downloaded a ton of fanfic to leave on her. So I've been rereading all of Sorrowful and Immaculate Hearts OH SHIT RIGHT KAREN FROM HR UPDATED THIS WEEKEND AND I HAVEN'T READ THAT CHAPTER YET AND I THINK IT'S THE ONE WHERE SHE GONNA MAKE A BAD FUCKIN' DECISION AND I AM PUMPED ABOUT IT! Anyways, I need to consult with my friend who has an Extensive Fanfic Downloading System about how best to keep my device synced with the most updated version of things.

I also reread Slow Dancing in a Burning Room which is a porny-as-hell dark-and-violent James Bond/Q fanfic. It's verruh good if you like your rough sex interspersed with trauma and puzzles. There's a sequel that crosses over with White Collar, which I've never seen, but can't possibly be as polyam as the fic makes it out to be.

More recently (like, yesterday) I reread You're Where You Should Be All The Time, which is a warm-and-fuzzy Agent Coulson/Hawkguy fic based on an Ask A Manager post about The Worst Date-Slash-Holiday Party Of All Time. It's hilarious and extremely fluffy.

As got its own post, I read Tess of the Road by Rachel Hartman, which _beat me around the head and shoulders_ with feelings. And then ended --and sure, the thread of the story is at a close but OH GOD PUT THE SEQUEL IN MY MOUTH RIGHT NOW WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT'S NOT ON OVERDRIVE? Anyways, I don't know how easily I'll be able to reread this book (the first four chapters are just _painful_ in how bad everything is for Our Hero, much like Shadow Scale, Everything Is Better With Quigutls). But holy shit, am I glad I read it. It's...it's good. It's so good!

Currently Reading

While I was at the library (see below, I am writing this all out of order) I grabbed a stack of The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl graphic novels, since I've never actually read them and I've heard good things. So I'm through issue one of that! She interacted with Kraven the Hunter. It's possible there's someone out there who's enough of an Unpretty fan to see these threads and start snickering, and yeah, yeah it's on the list for soon.

Shortly after I got Talia, someone on twitter linked to a romance novel that was on sale for like four bucks, and had an amazing classicly lurid cover with a shirtless man and a busty woman and generally looked like fun brain-candy. Specifically, I needed something to leave as my default book for Tal, so that when she's sleeping, the e-ink is on something interesting and fun, and not just on a random Ao3 intro page. Yesterday I started actually reading That Time I Got Drunk And Saved A Demon (by Kimberly Lemming) and it is absolutely as lighthearted and delicious as I wanted. I'm like three chapters in, and if it stays at this level, I am gonna be over the moon. Regardless though, that cover is so good!

Reading In The Future

Anyways, as mentioned above when talking about Tess, In The Serpent's Wake was not actually extant on Minuteman Overdrive, and I haven't had time to set up any other ones yet, but I finished Tess at like 4:45 in the afternoon so yep, boots on and ass out the door to walk to the west branch library and grab the physical copy. And I would've started it _fucking immediately_ but I realized it was Monday and that's usually Austin day, and I didn't want to completely ignore him forever while reading books. So I haven't actually started it yet, but it might be my walk-to-school book for tomorrow.

I convinced SamSam to pick up Bloody Jack (by LA Meyer) and so they've been texting me their reactions, and the likelihood that I start reading along is *so high*. I love my Jacky _so much_, I love her books so badly, and also I think she and Tess would be great friends.

On a whim, I grabbed Alanna: The First Adventure from the main branch library yesterday, mostly because I actually wanna see if she learns about menstruation from a nice sex worker while she's disguised as a boy. I mean it that this is my new favourite oddly-specific trope and you should tell me if you know any other books that meet it.

There are three Steerswoman sequels on Talia, just sitting there waiting. I purchased them, not checked them out, so they don't have a countdown (which is part of why I read Tess first, it was my ~very first~ Overdrive book)

Speaking of firsts, my ~very first hold~ was me putting my name on the list for a different romance, that Austin is currently reading, called The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches (by Sangu Mandanna). It sounds adorable, and I enjoyed reading the first three pages while he was packing yesterday. It should be available in approximately one week.

And then, the whole thing with the ebook is that I should finally Get Organized about all the random free-or-cheap books I've downloaded over the years. Where are all of them? How can I get them from Mel to Talia? Specifically, there was a humble bundle that just went by with 35 Discworld novels, so yeahhhh, digging up a reading order chart might be in the cards for me soon.

Dang, books are pretty great!

~Sor
MOOP!

1: Because I name all my electronics after Cool Women From Media, and can you think of a heroine who loves books more? I mean, honestly maybe, and yeah, her books are on the complicated side of the Lackey canon (read: sexual torture all up ins) but I'm not gonna _not_ pay tribute to the roots of who I am.