Reading Wednesday

Finished reading: Bryony and Roses by T Kingfisher, better known as Ursula Vernon. This is a lovely retelling of the Beauty and the Beast story. I suggest it for those who like practical-minded protagonists who don't mind getting their hands dirty (literally, in this case. Bryony is a gardener. <3 ) One thing that I really like about it is that their romance is so -- it just works. Bryony and the Beast fit together so well, in such a nice way. They're prickly and sarcastic together and it was just a pleasure to read. ...Kind of thinking of requesting this for an exchange, to be honest (Yuletide, maybe?) or writing fic outside of an exchange, because I enjoyed their relationship so much, and I want more of it.

Also finished reading: Goodbye Tsugumi by Banana Yoshimoto. While I liked this one, I didn't enjoy it quite as much as I enjoyed Kitchen, though I think that might be because Kitchen hit some very personal notes with me, whereas this one does not. But it's still lovely; there is so much.... lingering on images here and there, very vivid. Nice. <3 (And Tsugumi sure is... something... as a character, pfff. Good lord, what a person.)

Also-also finished reading: Love Poems by Pablo Neruda. I don't know if this particular volume is representative of his work, but I enjoyed it immensely. Poetry goals, right there. Wow.

Currently reading: N/A, it is buttfuck in the morning and I haven't started anything yet. ;p

Reading next: A book I was hoping for just came out! T Kingfisher/Ursula Vernon's new novel, The Raven and the Reindeer*. Totally looking forward to this one. It's based on 'The Snow Queen', which is a tale that I didn't read as a kid, so I don't have any particular attachment to it (in fact I'm not sure if I've ever read it at all?). Though I did enjoy the Soviet animated version of it when I watched it last year - you all should watch it too if you haven't seen it before; it's up on youtube with subtitles and it's great. The author has seemed really excited about this one for a while, so I expect it'll be awesome. Also, glancing at the tags on Smashwords, it looks like this one contains f/f? Which I didn't expect, but is a pleasant surprise. :D

Mundane moments of happiness

☆ I'm partway into The Raven and the Reindeer and I love it so far! (But I'm not that far in, so shhh, don't tell me about it. I mean, I know how the story goes, but shhh.)

☆ Managed to get editing done on 5 out of 6 Chocobox submissions, and I'll work on the last one tomorrow... it's a bit longer, so it'll take more thinking. Upside is, I sent Rabbit a few of them, and the result was a pile of melted Rabbit-goo, so I'll take that as a good sign. GAHHH I can hardly wait for reveals. There are things in the collection that I really want to read... trying to be patient is so frustrating.

☆ Somebody wrote some bite-sized La Grande Illusion flash-fic, and it's lovely. And it reminds me just how much I love that film - I should watch it again. (And those of you who haven't seen it really should watch it too - it's such a wonderful movie. Very touching.)

☆ The blank cosmetic pans I ordered came in today. I'm going to press all the wacky shades of eyeshadow on the weekend. No more loose powder, hooray!

☆ Daéa is back from the land of No Internet. <3 It's nice to have her back. Though ffff I promised that I'd try to have that one Hannu/Paju fic finished by the 14th... it's not quiiiiite done. But now that I know she's back, maybe I'll be motivated to finish it. (After the last Chocobox is done.)

☆ Passenger's Wicked Man's Rest is such a gloriously wonderful album and I simply can't stop listening to it. <3 <3