Clarissa > Recent Status Updates

Before I'm bombarded with concerned questions, yes, hubby and I are doing AWESOME! Calm down. xD

This is not a self-help book, or a crisis read. This is a devotional and prayer companion that I've prayed through roughly a dozen times over the years because they're incredibly powerful prayers.

But since this is the first time in about 10 years that I'm reading the whole chapters, it gets an official reread. :-D

Oh Mr. L'Amour...I'm still enjoying this one of yours, but this first part of it that talks of General Sherman (the despicable asshole that burned a ruined path across Georgia) as if he were some blessed saviour makes it infuriatingly difficult. If you wanted me to hope this Irish lad is successful in stopping a gang from boarding a train and killing a man, you should have picked a different scenario than this one.

"The army lacked qualified officers. Even common soldiers could do as they pleased. Before a battle, they'd vote on whether fighting was necessary. They even elected officers. If the men liked them, they were qualified to command whether they were ignorant of military matters or not. One unit elected a colonel, but when he disciplined them, they hung him as a despot." This is the most French thing I've ever heard. xD

Watched the movies recently. Now I must re-listen to the books, because I don't remember some of these events, and must know which are book-things, and which are movie-things. :-P

Poor Murderbot. I just want to be its friend...which is sad, really, since that would just make it more uncomfortable. xD No one will just leave it alone.

Hmm. Alas, that they could not get Tim Curry to narrate this one. I'm not sure how much I'd like Heather Wilds even without the contrast between her and Curry, but as it stands, there's an almost unbearable lot of magic lost without him, or at least a male voice to make it similar. *sighs*

"Who is far shall die at once; who is near shall fall from the sword; who hides shall die of hunger, who survives shall perish from the frost...for Tedd Deireadh, the Time of the End, the Time of the Sword and the Battle Axe, the Time of Contempt, the Time of the White Cold and the Wolfish Snowstorm shall come..." So what you're saying is...Winter is Coming? *grins at own lame joke*

Good lord, Yen. Of course Ciri ran away to go see Geralt. She's a teenager. She misses him. You never tell her ANYTHING, so she has no proper idea of the threats to her life. You and your drunk, naked chick-friends are allowing her to leave your sight (NOT SAFE) to fetch more bottles of wine (NOT COOL). You're just a pervy, selfish b**ch, and a horrible caregiver. I hope Geralt skins you alive when he hears of this.

When the audiobook reader just isn't doing it for me, I'm grateful for Overdrive's playspeed ability. It doesn't really make it better, but it makes the time shorter, and sometimes covers the odd, daft-sounding, valley girl inflections someone might have chosen to use while reading one of these aloud. >.< *sighs*

It's come to this! I'm officially making a "Not Interested" shelf for self-sorting purposes. Doesn't mean I can't have my mind changed about anything I put on there...but dang, I'm tired of reading about a book only to realize I decided months ago that I didn't want anything to do with it. Open to discussion if I should place one there that y'all think I should give a shot, but no promises that I'll change my mind.

Lesson two in Political Show-Don't-Tell: When making political statements, also be cognizant of the reactions of your other characters to those same statements. For example: I'm pretty sure 1776 Nick wouldn't react so nonchalantly to a gal wanting to lay a big smooch on his female travelling companion. Particularly taking into account his reactions to other rather progressive ideas in previous scenes.

Authors would do well to remember that "Show, don't tell" also applies to whatever message they're trying to send. It's pretty distracting to wade through two pages of a thinly-veiled sermon on modern feminism when it would only take one paragraph to show Etta's astonishment at the harsher circumstances of life in 1776. The story is magnificent thus far, I just hope the statement won't begin to outweigh the plot...

I've basically become spoiled by Overdrive. It's a terrible shock to read a preview of something and become so enthralled in it that I must finish it IMMEDIATELY, only to find that it's a 12 week wait for it on any online library outlet at my disposal. "I can't have it immediately? I have to wait?? Or wait a shorter time for the physical copy??? BARBARIC!!!" xD (How quickly we come under the thumb of technology.)

You know it's an awesome series when: You plan to read another book between each installment to let yourself savour the joy of a really great series, but spend the entire day wondering just what happens to those characters you've come to love--to the point where you simply cannot stomach reading anything but book two RIGHT. NOW. So yeah. Guess I'm reading this one now. :-P (I'm gonna have the worst book hangover...)

Reading aloud with my folks for the first time in years. And it's AWESOME.

So far, this book anything but fun. However:

"And in the end, we lie awake
And we dream of making our escape."

You best believe I had a ridiculous fangirl moment when an obscure bunch of Coldplay lyrics appeared on the page. Because I'm still basically a 12 year old.

Geeze, literally EVERY man in this book is a groping, salivating, lowlife scum, including the "hero". You know those books you can just tell were written by a narrow-minded guy? This one was written by an intolerant woman. All the men are pigs, the women are darling saints warped by male cruelty, and the plots revolve entirely around that. Not a single gentleman to be seen anywhere. 'Cause that'd be too unrealistic..

Geeze, literally EVERY man in this book is a groping, salivating, lowlife scum, including the "hero". You know those books you can just tell were written by a narrow-minded guy? This one was written by an intolerant woman. All the men are pigs, the women are darling saints warped by male cruelty, and the plots revolve entirely around that. Not a single gentleman to be seen anywhere. 'Cause that'd be too unrealistic..

It's the same every time. I get my research books from the library, wait until the last week of the last renew to even start them...and then get halfway through before I burn out and must send it back. WhyDoIDoThisToMyself.

The ladies at the local branch must be so confused lol.

This book is not without its glaring flaws, but honestly...if real people viewed race the way the children of Neverland did in this book, the world would be a much pleasanter, less tedious place to live.

Judging from the reviews, however, I'm the only one who sees it that way. *sighs*

This book has some glaring flaws...but honestly, if all the people in real life viewed race the way the children in this book did, the world would be a vastly pleasanter place to live.

Judging by the reviews, however, I'm guessing I'm literally the only person who sees it this way. :-/

Alright, Overdrive...I'll bite. But only because I'm trying to fill my kindle up with borrows while the internet semi-holds. And because I'm a huge sucker. >.>

It makes me ill reading from Jaina Proudmoore or Vereesa Windrunner's PoV. I get mourning loved ones lost in the atrocity of what was basically an a-bomb decimating a capitol city, but that doesn’t give them leave to be insufferable, bigoted, self-righteous shrews to literally everyone. But hey, why face things with growth or maturity when you can condemn an entire faction for one man's crime? "Heroines", indeed. UGH

So...according to the heroine's suddenly very ooc actions and thoughts, it's apparently a-okay for the bisexual goddess/queen to rape her. Even though Jane's straight and totally not interested, she can forgive queenie because the sex was REALLY GOOD, and she's a GODDESS. Let's forget all about the impending destruction of Earth (which incidentally is known to be queenie's fault), and do that again ASAP!

WTH???

"The whole thing was like straddling a sofa made of muscle, six feet off the ground."

This is the most accurate description of what it's like to ride a horse that I have ever had the pleasure of reading... xD

Reading this aloud has been a trick--particularly since I've found it completely impossible to read this Manual For Cats By a Cat without using a horribad British accent... >.<

Somewhat embarrassing, but at least my listeners are entertained.

I found my old homeschool reading lists today!! Now, not only do I have access to the dates I read things, but I had apparently even given a lot of them a star-based rating, too. Seems I was Goodreading before I knew Goodreads even existed! :-D (I'll be having some fun updating my shelves, now, I'm sure. And rereading most of them, since I can't remember a lot of them at all, lol)

"Books liked her. Books wanted to look after her."

That's it! That is the absolute best magical talent ever. Books that magically appear when you need them most. True, it could be bothersome at times, but really, there are much worse and much more bothersome talents to have, yes?