In which I talk about November without the writing part, and lots and lots of BOOOKS.
So, I was working on my Ishness post, and realized I had finished the NON-writerly/non-NaNo part of it and was avoiding the NaNo stuff because it’s sooo confusing and complicated and insane and… yes. Plus it’s probably going to be long.
So I decided, Hey! Why not just post this part as Part 1, along with my December Nightstand books, and do the writerly NaNo part later?
(I WILL do it, I promise. My brain just… doesn’t want to think of writerly things right now. *collapses and wraps up in a shock blanket*)
I know what you’re thinking. “Waiiiit a minute, this person managed to do things during NaNo that WEREN’T writing?? HOW EVEN.” I know, I know. But, strangely, it did happen. So here are some highlights of my month, with pictures because I happen to love pictures.
During November, besides writing, I also managed to…
Go to a library sale.
Read a book (huzzah!), namely Archer’s Goon by Diana Wynne Jones. It was fabulous and mind-boggling and I adored it. It effortlessly blends past, present, future, ordinary contemporary, fantasy, and sci-fi, of which I have NEVER seen the like. Also the characters are in a constant state of changing around in the eyes of the reader: who’s good, who’s bad, who has devious intents, WHO IS UP TO WHAT AND WHAT ON EARTH OR POSSIBLY OFF OF IT IS GOING ON??? O_O Basically it broke my brain, mixed impossible things together extraordinarily well, had mind-blowing plot twists (SERIOUS. PLOT. TWISTS. WOW. *flail*) and was exciting and breathtaking and downright HILARIOUS! Just. Gaaah. Let me flail. All Diana Wynne Jones books are brilliant. I just love them so much. ❤
Started reading Six of Crows because it was at the library and gorgeous and new and I needed it.
Survived being an ML, i.e. doing lots of organizing, posting, emailing, and going to oodles of NaNo events. (If you’re looking for my introvert self, it’s rocking back and forth in a corner, feeling rather shriveled and glad to be back after so much excitement and fun…)
Caught a cold. Yay. (NaNo-ing when one is sick is NOT fun; I do not recommend it.)
Had Thanksgiving which was wonderful and foodish.
It’s gone. Because I ate it all. Because Thanksgiving piiiie. Nomnom.
Blogged a lot. Because I made the mistake of thinking I wouldn’t want to blog during November and so I scheduled posts… and then ended up writing at least a post every week anyway. Oops. 😛
Watched some Castle episodes between writing — good reward! (I think Leverage has spoiled me for other shows… buuut ’twas still enjoyable!)
Saw Mockingjay: Part 2, which, considering I haven’t read the books, was… interesting. (Still not sure what I think of it… I have this odd “meh” feeling that I can’t seem to sort out…) Also, FYI, going to a movie at 10 p.m. after a writing meeting when one is behind on wordcount and has a cold (and therefore going to bed at 1 a.m.) is kind of nuts, as I have now discovered. Don’t try this at home, folks.
So there are my non-writing Ishnesses of November!
December Nightstand Books
Nightstand books is a monthly meme held by Jenelle and D.J. — hop over and join in the fun! This is the last one of the year, and as I’m simply ecstatic about being able to read again now that NaNo’s insanity is over, I just can’t resist joining in this one.
I’m not sure I’ll get to all of these but they’re the ones I want to read this month:
Book of Christmas Carols: Cute collection of Christmasy songs I picked up at a library sale, this was fun to read. ^_^
Six of Crows: Um. Aslkdhadkgh. I kind of finished this one. I don’t know what I think of it except it’s totally addicting/immersing, I love heists and snarky dialog and KAZ, it’s super dark/gritty/violent (um. Wow. o.o Lost a star…), and I need the sequel LAST WEEK ALREADY. Unfortunately, it’ll probably be like a year till it comes out. I’ll just be over here dying of suspense because CLIFFHANGER noooo. (Seriously, HOW can it end that way?! *wailing*) *huggles Kaz even though he would quite literally murder me for it* 4 stars.
Skulduggery Pleasant: Scepter of the Ancients: Soo… this was weird, and adventures of a skeleton detective in a modern fantasy (Dublin, Ireland!) setting doesn’t really sound like my thing, buuut I gave this a try because I’d heard it’s hilarious with witty dialog/banter and just GIVE ME ALL THE HUMOR AND FUN DIALOG. So yes. I adored the dialog and it’s quite a fun story, a little weird at times but… *shrug* Lots of fun. And I kind of love Skulduggery a lot. 4 stars.
The Hunger Games Trilogy: I dunno if I’ll get to these but I’m vaguely contemplating reading the books now I’ve seen the movies… I’m not sure I want to inflict 1171 pages of dystopia on myself though, so we’ll see. 😛
Aaand ebooks, which sadly do not display themselves nicely on nightstands…
The Sunken Realm: I’m reading this for review and I’m SO EXCITED to get to read the sequel to The Seahorse Legacy! I basically can’t wait. Keep an eye out for a review hopefully this month…
The Poisoned Cure: I finally got this and am insanely excited to read it. *flail* For better or worse, I seem to be addicted to the Book of Sight series…
Yorien’s Hand: Because dragons! And ARCs! And yay!
Rising Shadows: Looking forward to reading this prequel to Chasing Shadows…
Heidel: Third of the Nine Princesses novellas, I finally read this! I’m giving it 4 stars… The first part I wasn’t so sure about and didn’t know if I’d like it, but it turned out quite enjoyable/adorable. 🙂
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Oh, and while I’m thinking about books (who am I kidding; I’m ALWAYS thinking about books…) — here’s a couple additions to last week’s Top Ten Tuesdays post. Because naturally covers like to appear just days after I showcase the books I want to read in 2016…
Cover for A Spy’s Devotion (ISN’T IT GORGEOUS I’M EVEN MORE EXCITED NOW AAHHH)
Aaaand cover for Songkeeper, sequel to Orphan’s Song by Gillian Bronte Adams, which Enclave Publishing just revealed the cover of and which I’m insanely excited about because apparently it’s coming in Spring 2016 AND MY EXCITEMENT KNOWS NO BOUNDS.
I will be back with tales of my NaNo writing, hopefully soonish!
Deborah O'Carroll (Road of a Writer) 