In no particular order:

-Get started on my research paper for 5210
-Finish that damn mermaid story!! I'm really almost done (I think)
-Read most of the manga I've got out of work right now (mostly Love*Com, which is a quick read, and Kaze Hikaru, which is not)
-Clean out the laundry storage area
-Rearrange things in my closet

All that between going to the Apple Store to bitch at people tomorrow, helping with Thanksgiving on Thursday, and setting up Christmas decorations on Friday. Tomorrow I plan to devote to cleaning and reading once I'm done with the bitching, though.

Books:
The Wine-Dark Sea by Patrick O'Brian
Biting the Sun by Tanith Lee

Manga:
Zombie-Loan 7 by Peach-Pit
Cat Paradise 2 by Yuji Iwahara
Tsubasa 23-24 by CLAMP

Counts:
Books: 126
Comics: 324

I'm going to be reading a shitton this week. I've got to finish Snow White and Rose Red by Patricia C. Wrede 'cause I've got it out on ILL (it's due today hurr) and a couple books I've really wanted to read have come in for me at work (namely Melinda Lo's Ash and Scott Westerfield's Leviathan). I'll also be finishing The Commodore this week (I've only got four and a half hours left on it) but I dunno if I'll start The Yellow Admiral or not... I'm only woking two days this week, after all. I'm sticking it on my iPod regardless, though. I need 41 more comics to hit 365, my ostensible goal, and I have easily that many lying around in piles waiting to be read (either mine or from the library). We'll see where I get!

-Buy a chain for Mum
-SWEATER QUEST III (I need twelve more sweaters!)
-Watch a movie and write a stupid report on it ugh what is this, elementary school?
-Get my hair trimmed stupid hair stop growing already!!
-Work on my lovely apron I am making (it's cute... okay!)
-Play some stupid Dissidia (Friday is my bonus day!)

I think that is totally it.

My choices for the movie:
New Orleans Animal Rescue (documentary that will 100% definitely make me cry)
Watchmen pff
A Fistful of Dollars (which I requested at work and can't be bothered to actually watch)
For a Few Dollars More (likewise)
Master and Commander (I couldn't possibly watch this too many times!)
The Hot Rock

Most likely it'll be either The Hot Rock or A Fistful of Dollars.

Bonus to do lists!

SATURDAY
-work on Exercise 3.2 (due Sunday!)
-there was totally something I was supposed to do this day but I can't remember what it was
-watch more Higurashi???
-play video games (requires a lot of planning, I know)
-read a shitton 'cause that ILL book is totally due Monday

SUNDAY
-finish Exercise 3.2 (at the last possible minute!)
-read another shitton
-play more video games e_e


Can you believe this semester is almost over? Just crazy. I wonder if my 4.0 will hold another semester. I sure hope so, because having straight A's in grad school will totally make me look pretty good even if no one gives a damn in reality. All I have left is two final papers (one of which involves RESERCH (note: intentional misspelling) and I will write it over the break next week (yeah, right, you'll totally write it the day before its due) and the other of which involves copious amounts of BS like every other paper I've ever written), one exercise left in Cataloging (not counting 3.2 which I haven't actually started on yet) and one book report (on FANTASY!) which isn't due until the week after Thanksgiving, which is good 'cause I have no clue what to read for it. Fantasy for adults is typically blasé and lame. And all has the same plot. Any recommendations, anyone? If you've actually read this far? Maybe I'll just re-read Deerskin and squick out my conservative Christian classmates some more. Or something by LeGuin... I dunno. RECOMMEND THINGS, PEOPLE. Children's lit classes are so much easier because children's fantasy is actually interesting and entertaining and doesn't all have the same plot. Or is at least better at disguising it.

I won't read anything with elves, though. That is my standard policy.

Now I'm going to bed 'cause today kind of sucked and everything I've eaten has made me feel rather ill.

EDIT: And as I read a bit before going to bed, I suddenly realize that the book I'm frantically trying to read before Monday IS AN ADULT FANTASY NOVEL. Hohoho I'm so dumb. :/

EDIT 2: OH SHIT I forgot to play video games all weekend!

You'd think that I could at least post these on time, since it's they're only damn thing I ever post over here anymore...

Books:
Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Manga:
Dragon Eye 6-8 by Kairi Fujiyama
Sayonara Zetsubou-sensei 2 by Koji Kumeta
Nabari no Ou 2 by Yuhki Kamatani
The Outcase 1 by Vaun WIlmott/Edward Gan
Oninagi 1 by Akira Ishida

Counts:
Books: 124
Comics: 320

It turned out I'd miscounted my books so I have one more than I thought I had... Maybe I'll make it to 150 but I'm not going to bet on it.

I counted the other day and out of that 124 books, 53 of them were for school. Library school might be kind of a joke, but damn do they make you read a lot! Of course, most of that was children's books, but still! e_e

I'm mad 'cause my rip of The Commodore (the Aubrey/Maturin book I'm currently on) is all glitchy and I forgot to bring it home to re-rip it. Though even if I did, the disc polishing machine at work is out of commission at the moment, so I couldn't clean it first... probably wouldn't make any difference. It seems to skip real good at the end of every chapter, so perhaps I should just go grab the book off the shelf and fill in the gaps that way... I really wanted to finish it this week, too. :/

Nothing to do with anything, but somehow or other I'm bringing my accordion to work tomorrow. Ziba, who thinks anything older than thirty years is OMG ANTIQUE!!!!! wants to see it. She was utterly aghast when I told her I don't know anything about its maker or where it had come from, and that I haven't the first clue how old it is either. She also wants to see Grandad's old crappy violin but to hell with that. I love the accordion, but have no particular feelings for the violin and therefore have no desire to show it off for no reason.

Books:
The Truelove by Patrick O'Brian
The Gates by John Connolly

Manga:
Kamen Tantei 2 by Matsuri Akino
Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service 1 by Eiji Otsuka/Housui Yamazaki
Elemental Gelade 1 by Mayumi Azuma
Dragon Eye 1-5 by Kairi Fujiyama
Someday's Dreamers: Spellbound 1 by Norie Yamada/Kumichi Yoshizaki
Otomen 4 by Aya Kanno
Parasyte 1-2 by Hitoshi Iwaki
Vampire Doll 1-3 by Erika Kari
tactics 4-5 by Sakura Kinoshita & Kazuko Higashiyama

With The Truelove I am caught up to my Dad on Aubrey/Maturin novels!

The Gates is a fine follow-up to last year's The Book of Lost Things... While I liked The Book of Lost Things better on principle (fairy tales do a lot more for me than quantum physics and demons, I'm afraid), The Gates was a lot more lighthearted and therefore more fun. Vaguely reminiscent of Good Omens, if I can go out on a limb. XD

~Manga reviews!~

Kamen Tantei is actually really cute in a what-is-this-manga-supposed-to-be sort of way. Like, it's a comedy, but people keep dying in awful ways? And there's ghosts? Who also died in awful ways? Lovely! :/

Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service actually disappointed me a bit. It's a fun read, but it's nowhere near on-level with MPD Psycho (they're written by the same guy, though with different artists).

Elemental Gelade is stereotypical shounen blah blah blah but I do need to get more of it.

Dragon Eye was an extremely pleasant surprise! I mostly bought vol 1 because it had nice art and was by Del Rey, but unless it all goes to hell in subsequent volumes it's shaping up to get on my short list of god-tier shounen manga (a list which is currently, um, Kekkaishi... and that's about it xxxHolic would be on there but CLAMP series don't count). And then I bought 2-4 and loved it even more. So then I bought 5-8...

Nothing much to say about Someday's Dreamers: Spellbound (other than oddly engaging for a manga where ABSOLUTELY NOTHING HAPPENED AT ALL) and Otomen is Otomen (which is to say fuck yeah Otomen!)

Parasyte, oh Parasyte. Why did I wait so long to read this? It's amazing! I must pick up more of it ASAP. Luckily there's already five or six volumes out! :D

Vampire Doll is a very nice example of gag manga working really well. The concept is ludicrous but the author's sense comedic timing is truly to be admired. This is actually a reread as I borrowed it from someone to read it before and have since obtained it for my own collection (it's rare for me to do that, which proves that it must be good... or it was just on sale for $.99 a volume, haha).

Counts:
Books: 122
Comics: 314

Books:
The Nutmeg of Consolation by Patrick O'Brian
The Pirate Bride by Shannon Drake

Manga:
Kaze Hikaru 2 by Taeko Watanabe
FLCL 2 by Gainax/Hajime Ueda
Someday's Dreamers 1-2 by Norie Yamada/Kumichi Yoshizuki
Switch 1 by naked ape
Kamen Tantei 1 by Matsuri Akino

Currently reading:
The Truelove by Patrick O'Brian
The Gates by John Connolly
Let the Right One In by I still don't feel like checking

I was instructed to read Graceling by Kristin Cashore immediately but it will have to wait until I am done The Gates I am afraid. XD Shouldn't be long, since this week for school is historical fiction and The Truelove is my book for that (so I don't have to read anything else). I've got to finish Let the Right One In by next Wednesday, too.

By the way, The Pirate Bride was an absurdly terrible romance novel I read for class. If you follow me on Twitter you got to hear me bitching about it all day Wednesday.

I don't feel like doing reviews because all I have to say is Patrick O'Brian rocks and bad romance novels are bad. I ♥ Kaze Hikaru, though. I guess I should say that. Shinsengumi + girl pretending to be a boy = yes please.

Also Otomen vol 4 comes out this week~~ We've got it at work already so I will probably end up reading it tomorrow while my boss isn't looking hahahaha e_e

I should read more or unpack (I was at Onicon this weekend) or clean or something but I have a headache so I think I'm going to bed in a bit here. It feels like it's after 9:00 anyway... Stupid Daylight Savings.

Counts:
Books: 120
Comics: 288

Tonight I need to:
-Do my programming paper (modifying an assignment I already did for this, so it should only take an hour or so)
-Fix Polka shoes (I forgot about this completely!!)
-Finish taking Halloween photos for Poupeegirl (e_e)
-Pack for Onicon (small suitcase! small suitcase!)
-Nice long shower
-Vehemently hope Ali doesn't die or anything

I think that's it? I went to Target for foodstuffs yesterday...

Onicon is this weekend, btw. It really doesn't feel like I'll be at a con tomorrow... probably because I'm not frantically sewing until the last minute. XD

Books:
The Thirteen Gun Salute by Patrick O'Brian
Calling You by Otsuichi

Manga:
Fool's Gold 1 by Amy Reeder Hadley
X-Men: Misfits 1 by Raina Telgemeier & Dave Roman/Anzu
Mark of the Succubus 1-3 by Ashly Raiti/Irene Flores
Momogumi Plus Senki 1 by Eri Sakondo
A Midnight Opera 1-3 by Hans Steinbach
FLCL 1 by Gainax/Hajime Ueda
Kaze Hikaru 1 by Taeko Watanabe


Let's try something different... Currently reading:
The Nutmeg of Consolation by Patrick O'Brian
The Gates by Michael Connolly
Let the Right One in by I can't remember how to spell his name (someday I will finish this book!!)

And I have to read a romance this week, so I will be picking something random up at some point. Probably something with vampires, because other romances just aren't worth reading. I really wanted to finish The Gates this weekend but I failed to. So now I shall go read it some more over lunch.

Counts:
Books: 118
Comics: 282

Books:
The Reverse of the Medal by Patrick O'Brian
When the Emperor was Divine by Julie Otsuka
The Letter of Marque by Patrick O'Brian
ZOO by Otsuichi

Manga:
Shugo Chara! 7 by Peach-Pit
R.O.D. 1-4 by Hideyuki Kurata/Shutaro Yamada
Hibiki's Magic by Jun Maeda/Rei Idumi

Two Aubrey/Maturins in one week!

I don't feel like doing reviews blurbs this week...

Counts!
Books: 116
Comics: 271

Previously on Vampire Diaries: Chewing on your girlfriend gives you away! Spiking people's drinks is what HEROES DO.

( Finally caught up! Until tomorrow. )

Really just farting around 'cause I don't feel like going to bed yet...

( My schedule for the next few weeks: )

Somewhere in there I also need to call Sarah's mom and ask how early they want me to come so I can help set up or whatever... Also there's going to be a chat with Jayne Ann Krentz but I don't remember when 'cause I never wrote it down!

Also I need to get Halloween candy for the 26th... we're celebrating Pat's birthday and Bruce's birthday (observed) at work. Bruce won't tell anyone when his real birthday is so tech traditionally celebrates it on Halloween, but since that's a Saturday this year he gets the party early (he hates having a party, but you know he really likes it).

School this semester is... really laid back. Or at least I'm really laid back. I think I mentioned (I probably didn't) that I'm taking Adult Materials and Cataloging this semester. Cataloging is no big deal, though it's nice learning the actual reasons behind the things I do regularly at work (also I need to start seriously reading the lessons hurrr). Adult Materials is... I read one book a week and write a book report. No biggie there! This week is multicultural literature week, so I'm reading When the Emperor was Divine by I don't remember who. I keep picking short, quick reads. e_e The only week that's actually been painful was Christian Fiction week. Blech! And I picked a particularly horrible one, too. XD

I really haven't been doing much with my time lately. Taking a break from cosplay, which ended up being a break from sewing completely even though I've got several projects I should be working on. Just haven't felt like it. I'm writing some, too (trying to do a page a night but also trying not to feel too bad if I don't make it). Work's been excessively boring due to the fiscal year ending and the new one not having completely gotten off the ground yet. No one's allowed to order things yet so I have nothing to catalog, and an emu with nothing to do is not a happy one. Bruce's been having us catalog A/V crap but I've already done my part on all that now, too (I think). And he seems to be having trouble coming up with stuff for me to do. At least authority control isn't quite as painful with Patrick O'Brian on my side (reminds me: I need to put the next book on my iPod...).

Um, that's all! Forcing myself to go to bed now.

Books:
Why Me by Donald Westlake
The Far Side of the World by Patrick O'Brian
Maid Machinegun by Aaliyah

Manga:
Papillion 2-3 b Miwa Ueda
Kimi ni Todoke 2 by Karuho Shiina
Train★Train 1 by Eiki Eiki
Shugo Chara! 6 by Peach-Pit

Why Me is the greatest book I have ever read for school. I plan to read the entire series (the Dortmunder series, that is) now... I already have The Hot Rock checked out, since that's actually the first one.

Far Side of the World had the best ending for any of the Aubrey/Maturin books so far. XD

Maid Machinegun was pretty fun to read. The ending totally surprised me...

As for manga, I am reading too much shoujo manga. Papillion is typical shoujo melodrama. Kimi ni Todoke, on the other hand, is THE MOST ADORABLE THING I HAVE EVER READ. If I knew Sawako, I'd probably have accidentally murdered her by now because I wouldn't be able to resist hugging her half to death every time she said anything. ♥♥♥ And it's being animated this season, so I've got TWICE THE KIMI NI TODOKE. So cute!

Current counts:
Books: 112
Comics: 265

Finally! Did last week even happen? I don't remember it!

Note: I am simultaneously doing homework so there may be some gaps.

( Wheee! )

Books:
Scrapped Princess: A Tale of Destiny (vol 1) by Ichiro Sakaki
Treason's Harbor by Patrick O'Brian

Manga/comics:
Rose by Jeff Smith & Charles Vess
07-GHOST 1-3 by Yuki Amemiya/Yukino Ichihara
Nabari no Ou 1 by Yuhki Kamatani
Vassalord 1-3 by Nanae Chrono
Yggdrasil 2 by Lay Mutsuki
Yokai Doctor 2 by Yuki Sato
Papillion 1 by Miwa Ueda


Scrapped Princess is pretty rocking in book form!

I don't really feel like going into all the manga so here is a summary: Awesome, pretty cool, ninjas, gay, lol internet, yokai, shoujo. Sometimes I wonder why I even read shoujo manga other than Skip Beat, to be honest! What is the point?

I kept feeling all weekend like I was forgetting something. Guess what it was? My homework...

Oh well.

PS I'm feeling a lot better now?

EDIT: Just noticed I'd forgotten Treason's Harbor and also forgot current count!:
Books: 109
Comics: 258

Since it'll be a month or so before I'm working on anything again, I shall post all the progress photos I never posted here before AnimeFest. I hope there's at least one of you who likes looking at my progress shots. e_e

( Better late than never... or not. )

And that's all you're getting out of me.

I want to sew some doll stuff but since I fail at everything in the entire world I don't know that there's a point!

PS- I totally tried to tag this post with "gwen"

Actually posting on the proper day of the week for once.

Books:
The Ionian Mission by Patrick O'Brian
Full Metal Panic: One Night Stand by Shouji Gatou
We Have Always Lived In the Castle by Shirley Jackson

Manga/Comics:
Gunsmith Cats revised ed. vol. 3 by Kenichi Sonoda
Kimi ni Todoke 1 by Karuho Shiina
Yggdrasil 1 by Lay Mutsuki
Cat Burglar Black by Richard Sala
Yokai Doctor 1 by Yuki Satou
Maria†Holic 1 by Minari Endou

Reviews (I like doing this review thing; hopefully someone's enjoying it as well e_e):

Nothing to really say about The Ionian Mission. Patrick O'Brian will never get old. I'm about halfway through Treason's Harbor and plan to finish both that and Far Side of the World this week.

Full Metal Panic is still great. Having read the manga and seen the anime, it's nice reading the novels finally because there's a lot in them that didn't make it into the anime or manga... more characterization and actually more action. ♥

We Have Always Lived In the Castle was creeeepy but really, really good. I totally recommend it to anyone who likes being slightly unsettled. XD

As for the manga... Sonoda, you draw some awesome shit but would you please lay off the naked little girls? You're making us all uncomfortable.

Kimi ni Todoke I bought because there was a preview in Shojo Beat and it looked cute. It is cute. The artist apparently just wanted to draw a story about an awkward girl and a guy who is so nice it seems like a joke. XD She's succeeded.

Yggdrasil has some nice art and a plot somewhat reminiscent of .hack. Mostly I just love the main character, Koki, who is a cranky pants like Haseo only, unlike Haseo, is actually cool (okay, that's a lie... he's a giant nerd. Whatever).

Cat Burglar Black is from :01, and that should really be all I need to say about it. Those guys can do no wrong as far as I'm concerned. Barnes & Noble has a lot of their stuff, too, which makes me super happy.

Yokai Doctor is pretty standard shonen stuff, but I like stories with yokai so whatever! It had the best boob-grab joke I've ever seen, though. e_e

And Maria†Holic is what it is. XD There were actually some jokes in it that weren't in the anime, and while of course it's a lot different stylistically from the anime that doesn't make it any less entertaining.

And that's that.

Current counts:
Books: 107
Comics: 247

Still reading Let the Right One In (which is getting progressively creepier), and am nearly done the first volume of Scrapped Princess (finally... I only bought it, what, three years ago? e_e). Since I finished We Have Always Lived In the Castle today I haven't started a new third book yet... I'm trying to get through the rest of the library books I've got out, though, so it'll probably be one of them. I'm actually doing pretty good with not checking any more books out right now so I might as well put an effort into finishing what I've got. Then I'm going to read all the damn light novels I've got that I haven't read yet... I just ordered a pile more from Amazon the other day, too. Whoops. XD

I just want to support the publishers who are putting out light novels! Speaking of which, Spice and Wolf comes out in December. :3

Because it makes me deeply depressed I have no one to watch this show with and I feel bad bothering Zoë with it all the time I will now have VAMPIRE DIARIES EPISODE 3 RUNNING COMMENTARY: THE LJ POST.

First things first: why I call Stefan "Romedo," taken from AIM:
emu: I love how every time he says something that he has in common with girl he likes he gives her this pointed look. "My parents are dead. JUST LIKE YOURS RIGHT? :DDD"
Zoë: CRY XD;
Zoë: way to beat people over the head there, Romedo
Zoë: *Romeo
Zoë: Romedo XDD
emu: XD Romedo fits him better.
Zoë: it sounds like a pasta sauce brand XDDDD
emu: That is his new name. Romedo. Because I can't call him Stefan with a straight face anyway (why are all vampires named Stefan? Even I have a vampire character named Stefan)

Following that logic arbitrary nickname, Damon is Domero.

Elena is usually "what's-her-name" because I can never remember her name but I will make extra effort now (also I just typed it so I only have to scroll up!)

And here we go. Disclaimer: I really do like this show, I just also like being snide and mocking.

( Cut cut cut no one's going to read this )

I actually messed this up last time because of forgetting not to include books I read after last Sunday, so a couple of these that got posted previously should be on this week's.

Books:
These Boots Weren't Made for Walking by Melody Carlson
Crazy Beautiful by Lauren Baratz-Logstead
Kieli vol. 1: The Dead Sleep in the Wilderness by Yukako Kabei

Manga:
Tsubasa 19-21 by CLAMP
Future Diary 2-3 by Sakae Esuno

Future Diary is actually one of the best "people being manipulated into murdering each other" manga I've read... Though I don't really know why I like it so much, because some of the plotting is kind of uninspired and it's already gotten rather formulaic despite being only three volumes in. e_e So I really guess I shouldn't say it's one of the best, but one I'm enjoying the most (and I do read probably a disturbing amount of manga in that particular genre).

Crazy Beautiful was terrible. :/ Nothing to say about it beyond that.

Kieli was quite good! Yen Press is doing a nice job with the light novels they're releasing (which reminds me... I saw vol 2 of Haruhi in Borders today, so if you've been waiting to read it it might be out already!). I totally recommend it, anyway. I didn't read the manga version and have really no intension of reading it, so I can't say much about that... But I can't wait for vol 2 of the novels~

Since I whined about hardly reading any YA lately I read two YA books this week. XD

Counts:
Books: 104
Comics: 242

Currently reading: Full Metal Panic vol 2 (bathroom book!); We Have Always Lived in the Castle (kitchen table book!); and still reading Let the Right One In (making this my work book so I can finally finish it!). Since this week is graphic novels week in Adult Materials I'm kind of treating it as a free week. Why bother reading another graphic novel for class when A) I read them all the time anyway and B) I just took the comics class over the summer. Also I swear I'm going to finish The Ionian Mission this week (I guess I should've included that above... with a (while I'm working!) qualifier) and hopefully start on Treason's Harbor. I need to catch up to Ali!

Since I've had crap shit to catalog lately at least I haven't been checking anything new out! Go me! :D I've only got 40 checkouts right now, which must be like a new record low for me.

Here is a dumb, pointless post. JUST LIKE OLD TIMES!



I was going through albums to add to iTunes... this is from the Nodame Cantabile Paris Hen end theme single. It caught my eye because that table she's standing in front of is the same table I use as a sewing table. Gigantic IKEA tables! Great for photoshoots and sewing!

Though my table looks much less Photoshopped in than hers does.

Clearly I can't be bothered to make posts over here at all anymore. I'm sure no one misses them anyway!

Books:
Appaloosa by Robert B. Parker
The Magicians by Lev Grossman

Manga/Comics:
xxxHoLiC 12-13 by CLAMP
Bone 6-7 by Jeff Smith
Rurouni Kenshin 4-6 by Nobuhiro Watsuki
Tsubasa 17-18 by CLAMP

Tsubasa makes waaay more sense when not reading really shitty scanlations. e_e I think I'm just going to wait for Del Rey to finish the series and not read any more of it online at all (which really was my plan anyway). Giving up xxxHoLiC is hard, though.

Appaloosa was my western for Adult Materials, since I loved the movie anyway. The book's pretty great as well, though the movie is so faithful to it there's hardly a point in reading it as well. XD Definitely going to be reading Resolution and Brimstone (and any others he writes) sooner or later.

The Magicians I loved. I wanted to get Dad to read it until learning he's never read Narnia... there's kind of no point in reading The Magicians if you aren't familiar with Narnia. I loved all the Harry Potter jokes he kept dropping in. I've got Lev Grossman's other book checked out now but I dunno when (or if) I'll ever get around to reading it.

These Boots Weren't Made for Walking we are not going to talk about.

Damn, I haven't read a decent YA book since May (though I did read one terrible one last month). Next week for Adult Materials is graphic novels week, so I can read something else. One of these days I'll finish Let the Right One In, too (probably when we're on horror novels--I love that she made it a condition that whatever we pick for a horror novel has to actually frighten us, though? XD).

I also haven't listened to any Patrick O'Brian in a couple of weeks. How depressing! Perhaps the end of The Ionian Mission will help me keep from dying of boredom at work tomorrow.

Um, current counts:
Books - 101
Comics - 237

I almost said "I read too much" but A) can you even read too much? and B) Jenny.

Unrelated but after reading all that Kenshin I've been on a Kenshin music kick. Maaan. e_e