So I got a gift card to Barnes and Noble, and decided to get a whole stack of books yesterday. I went into my two favorite sections (Literature and SciFi/Fantasy) and ended up with these:

I Am Charlotte Simmons, by Tom Wolfe

The Idiot, by Dostoyevsky

Princess of Mars, by Edgar Rice Burroughs

Shadow and Claw: The First Hal of the Book of the New Sun (two books in one volume) by Gene Wolfe

The Knight, by Gene Wolfe

plus a giant book of crossword puzzles.

I'd heard the Tom Wolfe book being talked about a little online, read the first chapter online, and decided it was interesting enough to read all of.

I got the Idiot, because I love Dostoyevsky and it's supposed to be one of his best books.

I've been wanting to read Burroughs' Mars books for awhile (gosh darn it, Mr. Wright, stop talking about books, it keeps expanding my reading list!) Plus, it had a picture of a space princess in a bikini on the front. How could I resist?

Gene Wolfe also comes highly recommended by Mr. Wright; I picked up The Knight and started reading the first chapter to see if I wanted to buy the book. After about 2 pages, I felt like my mind had been pulled through into another dimension, and been remade as something new. On the strength of that, I bought both G. Wolfe books that I'd grabbed, instead of just onoe. Can't wait to see where he's going with this story! Even in the first two pages, there were references to Norse mythology and Platonic dialogues.

It's here!

The first movie poster for Prince Caspian! It gives me the shivers just to look at it!

 

http://www.cinematical.com/2007/09/17/exclusive-the-chronicles-of-narnia-prince-caspian-official-o/

 

*blushing furiously*

So, as some of you know, I recently concluded a practical joke (for lack of a better term) that lasted a little over a year. Now, this wasn't a mean type of joke; it actually involved anonymously giving gifts to people at my workplace. (No, I'm not giving more details than that)  At a recent company-wide meeting, I had finally revealed then identity of the secret giver, causing much uproar, surprise, and happiness (apparently, my little gifts had meant more than I thought! Yay!)

 

So that was nice, and everything. I was a little sad that I couldn't send gifts anymore, now that everyone knew who I was, but I'd given something to just about everyone in the company, so it worked out ok.

 

But then came today.

 

Today did not start out well. I arrived at work, and everyone else was dressed in the official colors. I was told that a memo had been sent out, and why didn't I dress in colors myself? I hadn't received the memo and was very upset.

 

Then, a few minutes ago, my manager called a meeting (this happens at least twice a week) and we all turned off our phones. Everything was normal. Then the Big Boss said, "ok, everyone gather around Elizabeth's desk!" Well, that was a little unusual. Then, to my utter suprise, they presented me with a lovely book of fairy drawings (http://www.amazon.com/Deluxe-Book-Flower-Fairies/dp/0723249393/ref=pd_bbs_2/105-2550683-5390823?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1190228218&sr=8-2) and a gift card to Barnes and Noble!

 

I still haven't stopped blushing!

Arrrrrrrrr!

It be National Talk Like A Pirate Day today! Tell all ye mateys!

 

*sigh*

It's started....I'm in a Christmas mood. I have no idea why. Maybe it's the predicted rain this weekend, maybe it's the idea that I could get an actual Christmas tree this year, who knows....But I'm in a Christmasy mood!

 

Now, where did that Joni Mitchell CD go, I want to listen to River......

 

My favorite blog

This blog is probably my favorite blog right now. It's excellently written, often funny, and always worthwhile. Here's the great post from today:

 

http://johncwright.livejournal.com/119334.html#cutid1

 

 

Thanksgiving day?

Hello all! My sister may be visiting me this Thanksgiving Day, and we are looking for someone to share it with! I'm perfectly happy to have the meal and my house and do the turkey, if someone else (or lots of people; heck, I'd be happy if a bunch of people wanted to show up) wants to join us and bring side dishes.

 

Let me know if you're interested!

Tarkovsky

About a year ago, a lot of people from a certain Torrey class became obsessed with the Russian filmmaker Tarkovsky. I was not one of them; I have to date only seen one of his films (Andrei Rublyev, which I loved). However, on faith, I purchased the book he wrote about his films and art in general. It is fantastic. He has quite a few really excellent things to say. He maintains that art cannot be simply about self-expression, because art is empty if it elicts no response in the viewer. Can't wait to read the rest!

 

Now I'm going to Netflix to add all of his films to my queue.