hale pupule

Here's my List of Happiness on Tuesday, thanks to a Monday holiday:

1. The holiday allowed Mom to come home Sunday night, even though it was an Aunt Millie weekend. Mom surprised me with takeaway from my favorite Chinese restaurant, which is an hour's drive from Long Beach, so I don't get it often. On Monday, we saw The Avengers, and I fixed tacos for dinner, which is Mom's favorite.

2. We saw the last three of Donna's episodes of Doctor Who Sunday night. There are things about Donna I'm not particularly fond of, but she is a brilliant character and an excellent foil for the Doctor.

3. Yay, Andrew Scott won a BAFTA! (I was rooting a teensy bit more for Martin Freeman, but I'm delighted Andrew got it.)

4. I had artist's block Saturday and Sunday, but I forced myself to work through, which is so unlike me. I'm working frantically on the final draft now.

5. I'd never heard of I've Never Seen Star Wars before I saw the episode Jo Brand hosted, and Stephen Fry was the guest. I was in agony when Stephen labored and sweated over the IKEA desk, but everything else was cool. His relief that the ear piercing wasn't as awful as he'd feared was downright adorable, and I wish he'd been able to keep it.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_10vkCgS3k

I also saw Rory McGrath's and Clive Anderson's episodes via YouTube, which were fun, too.

6. I'm enjoying reading The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, though it's slow going because of deadlines (see #4). There's another overdue library book to add to my tally, and shame on me.

And that's about it at the moment. Happy Tuesday!

I don't have a specific goal this year when it comes to books, either in the number of tomes or the pages read. I've slacked off a lot in the last year and a half, though, and just read the same stuff over and over again along with fanfiction. I'm fair certain I read fewer than five new-to-me books in 2010, which is why I feel so stagnant. So I'm making a to-read list, which does include some stuff I've read before, but most of it is uncharted territory.

I haven't bothered tracking my books for the last two years, and I rather miss it, so here's my list of books I've read and books I intend to read.

( Read more... )

( Stuff I Intend to Read. )

I'm open to suggestions, too.

I got a promotional e-mail from Audible.com because I have an Amazon account, but I never paid them any mind before because I wasn't into audio books until a few months ago. But I went exploring today. I got my ooo-shiny Mulan face on (see icon) because Stephen Fry's books are there, and so are Cabin Pressure and two versions of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. But before I sign up and go nuts, I want to know a few things from those of you who use it. I can figure out how it works and all that; what's more important to me is how you like it and how user friendly it is.

Thanks in advance,

Kel

So there's some good stuff and some bad stuff. Good stuff first. Here's a baker's dozen for the Friday List of Happiness: ( Read more... )

Boo-Cat news is not so good. ( Read more... )

Wheeeee! I loved this book! ( Not a terribly coherent review ... beware of spoilers. )

Verdict: I love this book. I must buy this book. (Thank heaven for public libraries.) And I must read Connie Willis's other books that take place in this world.

Next up: The Wall by Marlen Haushofer. Should be pretty quick, and than I can start Lord Peter Wimsey's adventures with Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers.

This book is one of my beloved Boo-Girl's suggestions. It's the story of Stephen, an orphan who learns that his great-uncle has just died and left everything to him. Stephen sets off to claim his inheritance, but there's nothing and no one to greet him at Lansbury Hall except a mystery.

( Spoilers under the cut. )

Written by Charmian Hussey and illustrated beautifully by Christopher Crump. Young adult ecological fantasy mystery fiction, originally published in 2003 by Simon Pulse.

I give it 7 out of 10.

I really ought to be doing something on this beautiful Saturday when it's partly cloudy and 73 Fahrenheit out there, but I'm still sniffly and coughing, and I can't be arsed to get out of my pajamas. Hell, I can't even be bothered to wash the dishes.

In spite of all the delicious food in the hobbit hole, I got Chinese delivered last night. Fried rice, one entree, and two half orders of appetizers. Dinner was a feast, and breakfast consisted of leftover entree. I still have most of the fried rice left, so I will probably have it for dinner tonight. Yum yum yum yum yum. Other than that, though, I'm eating like I should. Hot soups, water, and juices rule the kitchen, and I'm getting really sick of it.

The Disney resort in Anaheim is doing a promotion for SoCA residents. Two days admission for $99. Since an adult's one-day admission is $76 or $78, $99 for two days is less offensive. Still pretty expensive, but Mom hasn't been to California Adventure, so we'll go this spring. How I'm going to keep from giggling (and therefore having to explain why it's funny) in front of Mom when we pass this poster is beyond me.

In the interests of thorough research, I've started to watch more Sherlocks than this young whippersnapper Cumberbatch. I rented Basil Rathbone's first adventure, The Hound of the Baskervilles and watched it last night. A little slow a times, but appropriately eerie and tense. I shall return it for more of Basil Rathbone, and then I'll move on to Peter Cushing. While the DVDs are in transit, I placate myself with the gorgeous Jeremy Brett on Netflix.

I've finally started reading Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and I'm enjoying it a lot more than I thought I would. I have a hard time with abstract art, whether it's visual, written, or musical, and I wasn't sure if I could get through Alice, but I'm eating it up.

Now I have to take back the can't-be-bothered stuff. Dad just called and wants me to drive with him to the car repair shop, so I have to shower and get dressed in jeans -- I could go all grungy, but my hair is a weird and wild mess every time I get out of bed. I shall extract a fee from Dad when I'm driving him home: he must go into the sweet shop on Second Street before I drop him off.

Edit: the sweet shop has Curly Wurlies! I've heard about them on QI, so I bought one, even though I'm not a huge fan of caramel. It's pretty good.

Hooray for holiday weekends! With Monday off, I will have a second chance to go out and do stuff before I go back to work.