Crystal Moon

I've been wanting more aesthetically pleasing bookshelves (or at least something different from the norm) and my mom was kind enough to buy me this! It's small, but I like it!

( Books! )

Just as an fyi, in case anyone is interested, I created a Dreamwidth community for discussion of the life of Empress Elisabeth of Austria. You can find it at empress_elisabeth. Membership is un-moderated, so please feel free to join, and/or point interested people in the right direction!

So far, this year hasn't been the best for me in terms of new books. I don't know if writers are just getting better at writing summaries on the back covers, or if I've just become less discriminatory in my buying habits, but it's just not been working well. Part of the problem might simply be that last year was an extraordinary good year. Not only did I read a lot of enjoyable books, but there were a goodly number of five-star, take-on-a-desert-island finds as well. Gone With the Wind, The Last Unicorn, The Mists of Avalon...these and a fair amount of others really impacted me for the better. So far I've only had one new five-star ranking, and that was for a phenomenal translation of the Tao Te Ching. The thing is, not only have I not been finding new OMG!AMAZING books, not only have a lot of them been simply mediocre, a large handful have been just plain bad. (I'll be saving these for another entry where I can just whine.) So, to counteract all this depression, I've started re-reading.

Project Gutenberg has been invaluable in this respect. I started using it on my lunch break at work, and it's been really enjoyable. I don't like to do nothing when I eat, but I also dislike reading physical books. Not only is it awkward, but I don't want to risk getting sauces or grease on the paper. The computer, obviously, works perfectly. I initially convinced myself it was just a good idea to re-read things, because I would be doing it so choppily (only about 30 minutes a day, five days a week) and it would be hard to get into something new anyway. As it turns out, this is just what I needed. I started out with my second favorite book in existence, Pride and Prejudice. Every time I read it, I realize that I've forgotten how wonderful and funny and just truly enjoyable it is. As much as I love watching the movies and drooling over Colin Firth, there is a charm that never gets fully transmitted from paper to screen. I'm currently working my way through Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and will probably move directly on to Through the Looking Glass. Alice has always been one of my favorite stories - the madness is so incredibly fascinating! - and anyone who has known me for a while will acknowledge my unadulterated love for the Cheshire Cat.

But without a doubt, my favorite re-read thus far is of a novel I first read in middle school and have dearly loved ever since - a Star Trek novel entitled Time For Yesterday, by A.C. Crispin. This is the second in a duology that spins off an episode where Spock and McCoy are accidentally transported to a planet's past, during its ice age. While there, they meet a woman who was wrongly exiled there, and Spock, who has reverted to a more primative mind-set, falls in love with her. Crispin creates an original character named Zar, who is supposedly the result of this union. Without a doubt, this woman shows an understanding of the Vulcan mind and spirit only second to Leonard Nimoy himself. She allows Spock to care for his son without being overly emotional, to show pride in his accomplishments, and to truly become a father to a boy he once proclaimed an unfortunate accident. By today's standards, Zar might be considered a Gary Stu, but Crispin managed to fit him into the world as seamlessly as if he'd always been there, and my love for him and his relationship with Spock has only grown over the years.

I've met many people who believe that re-reading is a waste of time. While I do try to limit myself in this, if for no other reason than because there are so many books out there I haven't read and need to, but sometimes I just find myself needing to go home. Hopefully I'll get better at finding good books again soon, but for now, I'm content to curl up with some old friends.

Are there any books you return to over and over again at times like this?

(x-posted to livejournal)

= Amazing / Desert Island Worthy
= Impressive / Recommended to Interested Friends
= Good / Amusing
= Perhaps Not the Author's Best Work
= RUN AWAY!!!!!!!!!!!

Star graphics stolen from genrocks

Books with an asterisk (*) denote re-reads.

Books with a double asterisk (**) denote religious or philosophical texts whose ratings are based on translation and readability, not on doctrine.

( Books! )

As you all have no doubt guessed, this is sanalith from livejournal, and I basically wanted to get my foot in the door over here...just in case. At the current moment, I plan on taking a leaf from a lot of other people's books and just cross-post random stuff over here. I'm thinking maybe book and movie reviews. At any rate, feel free to friend me...or subscribe to me...or whatever the heck it's called over here! If you're from LJ and it's not readily apparent who you are, just drop me a note so I know. I plan to keep all my posts public for the time being, but we'll see.

Happy beta-ing!


(note - everything before this entry has been cross-posted from livejournal)

Reviews of books from January:

( My Thoughts )

I may be the last person on LJ to see Prince Caspian, but see it I did! There be spoilers under the cut, just in case, but I'll just say that I liked it all right. There were some WTF moments, and some completely unnecessary alterations, but in the grand scheme of things, I'd say they kept things close to the spirit of the book. Plus, Caspian himself was hot.

( I liked Reepicheep the best! )

Warning: This may in fact be the longest post I have ever made. Read at your own risk.

When I was probably around 15, a friend of mine asked me what my favorite movie was. I opened my mouth to reply, and she quickly clarified that I could NOT choose what she considered my silly sci-fi movie series, such as Star Trek and Star Wars. It had to be a stand alone film. I’ll admit that I had to think about this for a while. Eventually, I threw out the name of a movie I loved, but I don’t think I truly believed it was my absolute favorite. It was lovely and haunting and fun, but I was still on my ST and SW kick and really couldn’t believe I would ever come to love anything as much as I did those movies.

The movie I tossed out to her was Labyrinth, and surprisingly enough, I soon discovered that I was right.
 

( In the beginning )

( Analysis )

( Jareth + Sara = OTP! )

( Conclusion )


"Things are not always what they seem in this place, so you can't take anything for granted."

I decided to start with Star Trek because, quite frankly, no other show or book has ever had such a huge impact on my life. Pretty much everyone who knows me knows that I am a Trekkie. At the same time, it’s not something I talk about a whole lot, in the way that I don’t often discuss that I’m female, or that I have ten fingers. It’s something that simply is, rather like the air we breathe.

Before we continue, keep in mind some distinctions. I come from a generation where there was a huge difference between a Trekkie and a Trekker. I consider myself the former, meaning I am a die-hard fan of The Original Series (TOS). I have NOT seen every single solitary episode of every Star Trek ever aired. In fact, I tend not to like Voyager or Enteprise much at all. I HAVE seen every single episode of TOS, and that is where my true love lies. I am NOT a techno Trekkie. I cannot tell you how to build a starship or explain how a phaser works. I did go to several conventions, but I never did any cosplaying. The closest I ever got was buying a replica of a Bajoran earring. I did, however, meet William Shatner (Kirk), John de Lancie (Q), Michael Dorn (Worf), and I hugged James Doohan (Scotty).

And yes, I can speak a few words in Klingon. I own the official dictionary.
 

( How the obsession began )

( How it changed me )

( Recomendations )

To this day, Star Trek comforts me when nothing else can. When I'm sad or depressed or unhappy, I know I've got a home to go back to, so to speak. I can't ever watch Star Trek and not come out on the other end smiling, and feeling a million times better. I love this show, and I can pretty much promise you that nothing else in the world will ever impact me in the same way.

Qapla'!

As many of you know, I have been and eternally shall be obsessed with names and their meanings. This is just a part of my personality that has been with me for just about as long as I can remember. I've been collecting baby name books for years, and you can always tell when I'm about to start writing something (either an original story, or a fic that calls for an original character) because I will be sitting on my bed surrounded by ten naming books. I've also been known to learn about the personalities of my friends and co-worker - as well as myself - through the meaning of their names. I'm not into astrology and I could care less what your sign is, but I'm huge on knowing name meanings. Go figure.

Anyway, the latest installment in my collection is the Character Naming Sourcebook by Sherrilyn Kenyon, which is the first name book I've ever seen that specifically deals with how to name story characters rather than your children. Obviously, the vast majority of the book is comprised of names and their meanings, but her introduction was so incredibly interesting that I had to share.

Also of interest is the arrangement of names. Pretty much all of my other name books simply go in alphabetical order from A to Z, with one section for males and another for females. This book is organized by origin, and *then* subdivided alphabetically for men and women. This is to make it easier for authors who know they need a Scottish or African name, and don't have to sort through ever single letter to find them. This is highly interesting for me.

( So what else about this book is awesome? )