...you're in a library where many items are mishelved because the space is cramped and/or nobody has time to reorganize it, and you have to fight the urge to take all the books out and put them back correctly.

Life bites. Or to be more specific, death bites. J.D. Salinger, author of Catcher in the Rye just died and the fantastic sci-fi author Kage Baker is dying. At least Salinger held on until the very ripe old age of 91; it's come out that Baker fought cancer for a long time but the cancer is winning.

I haven't read Catcher in the Rye yet but it's on my lengthy To Read list. Kage Baker has written loads of amazing sci-fi books and I've read only a handful so far. I'm usually more of a fantasy girl but I'll read anything Baker writes, that's how good she is. Probably most well-known for the Company series, I'd recommend starting with In the Garden of Iden.

During his senior year of high school, my younger brother's English class was reading Hemingway (I can't remember which novel). I haven't read any of his novels myself, but I do know that his readers often turn out to either love him or hate him. When the teacher asked my brother's opinion on the novel, he said, "I don't like it very much. It isn't really interesting."

The teacher then tells him [almost original wording]: "That's because you're reading it wrong."

Granted, it wasn't quite "You're interrogating this text from the wrong perspective," but it was close enough to make me collapse into laughter at the dinner table. And no, the teacher isn't Anne Rice. Even though my brother attended a Catholic high school.

*headdesk*

xkcd accurately summarizes the majority of children's fantasy in three panels. Too true. I'm surprised children's fantasy hasn't revolted.

Without even trying hard, I can think of (to varying degrees of accuracy--the children are kicked out of the world they discovered):
--The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
--The Dark is Rising Sequence by Susan Cooper
--Seaward by Susan Cooper
--Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie

I despite homework. I am sick to death of homework (particularly for my Cataloging class, which is tedious and dense. Pray you never have to study this). I want to cast it down and burn it up, and by the light of the flames work on my to-be-delightful fic for help_haiti. If this homework were to throw itself into a black hole, I wouldn't bat an eye. I would just make a cup of tea and catch up on my writing.

Comment and I'll give you a letter, then you have to list ten people/places/things you love that begin with that letter, afterwards post it on your journal and fill out letters of your own.

I got the letter "M" from bwinter several days ago but didn't have time to do the meme until now. Here we go!

Mint
I love to drink mint tea, especially the Harney & Sons brand. Mint juleps and mint candy are good, too. Mint planted in the garden is also a great idea though you need to have it in a contained area, unless you want it to take over your entire property.

Mermaid
I spent one semester researching mythology and folktales related to mermaids and other supernatural women connected to bodies of water. It was some of the most fun I've ever had.

Museum
Even though you usually can't touch the items, I have so much fun in museums. I seek them out wherever I go.

Medieval
I love to learn about countries' different medieval periods. Even in two regions next to each other, what they consider to consist of "medieval" can be wildly different. At this time, I'm most interested in medieval Spain.

Meme
Who doesn't love doing Internet memes? They're a great way to kill time, learn more about your online friends, and get ideas for writing.

Maureen O'Hara
Maureen O'Hara is an awesome actress. I've only seen her in two movies (The Quiet Man and the original version of The Parents Trap) but she steals the show in both of them. If you haven't seen a movie with this woman, you have no idea what you're missing.

Mediterranean
I'd like to see more of the countries around the Mediterranean; maybe go on a cruise someday.

Hayao Miyazaki
His movies are enchanting, pure and simple. I think the first one I ever saw was Princess Mononoke. The animation style is amazing and unforgettable, and the stories are enchanting. His movies always have the best soundtracks, too.

Music
I can't write without music. I just got a new CD ("Caledonia's Hardy Sons" by Silly Wizard) and I'm still at the stage where I listen to it again and again.

Mythology
Give me any mythology to read about, and I'll be happy for days.

Can anybody tell me how many characters are allowed in an entry on twitter (145?) and do spaces in between words count as characters?

Ok, I did it. I joined help_haiti and posted a fan fiction offering. Offering reposted here for your convenience:

User Name: amelia_petkova
Email address: amelia[dot]petkova[at]gmail[dot]com
You can see things I've created at: amelia_petkova Click on the tag "fan fiction" on the right-hand side.
I am offering: A fan fic of at least 1,000 words in any of the following fandoms:

Fandoms (if appropriate):
Books:
--The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander
--The Keeper Chronicles by Tanya Huff
--The Ordinary Princess by M.M. Kaye
--The Dark is Rising Sequence by Susan Cooper
--The Tower at Stony Wood by Patricia A. McKillip
--Possession by A.S. Byatt
--The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle
--Tamsin by Peter S. Beagle
--Mortal Love by Elizabeth Hand
Music:
--The Hazards of Love by The Decemberists
Television:
--The Storyteller (Jim Henson series)

Additional Info (optional): Most of my writing tends to be genfic or humor, though I do enjoy writing in other genres (ex. AU or crossover). I don’t write lemons or noncom. As far as character relationships, I usually stick to what’s established in the canon, though I'm willing to be flexible.

Starting Bid: $5

ETA: You can find the bidding guidelines on the community's entries. I believe the auction ends on January 20.

A little while ago I turned on the news for the first time today and heard about the major earthquake in Haiti. I really feel sorry for that country; the people there just can't seem to catch a break. Anyway, the Red Cross can really use donations if you're inclined that way. such_heights at dreamwidth has collected links to some other ways to help in recent entries. It's been a long day and I'll be going to bed soon but tomorrow I want to look into the idea of writing a fan fic for somebody in exchange for a donation. If I decide to do it (I'll make the decision within 1-2 days), I'll let you know.

Any day that I get new books, whether from a library or a store, feels like Christmas.

As a result of following links from one LJ to another, I came across this Supernatural fan fic: Twitterpated, in which several of the main characters acquire twitter.

It's set during Season 5; for the most part, I know jack about what happens after the end of Season 2 but I still grin and bounce inanely while reading this. I kid you not, an audible "Eee!" escaped my mouth at one point and I wondered if any of the neighbors heard (probably not).

Title: F is for Felony
Fandom: W.I.T.C.H. (TV show)
Genre: Humor
Summary: Cedric’s attempts to corrupt an underage girl to the side of evil are misunderstood by uninformed observers.
Rating: PG-13 for subject material
Disclaimer: I do not own anything from W.I.T.C.H.
Author’s Notes: Spoilers only through Episode 11 of Season 1. More detailed Notes are located following the end of the story.

( It really isn't what you think )

I’m working a lot on revising today, both original work and fan fiction. So clearly, the best thing to do is take part in a fan fic meme! (Not like I don’t already have 20-plus other ideas for stories to write.) I got it from such_heights.

fifteen word stories

1. Write down the names of 10 characters.
2. Write a fic of fifteen words or fewer for every prompt, using the characters determined by the numbers. Do NOT read the prompts before you do step 1.

Seriously, try this meme. It's a hell of a lot of fun.

Author's Notes/Source Information
--"The Rake's Song" is from the album "The Hazards of Love." Listen to it on YouTube. The lyrics sum things up pretty well. Nightmare fuel, ahoy!
--Charlie is female (short for Charlotte)
--Austin is a one-eyed cat
--Minor spoilers for The Long, Hot Summoning by Tanya Huff.
--More Author's Notes at the end

( These pairings are all insane )

This coming semester I'm taking a class focusing on services for young adults/teens in libraries. All the books we're reading are YA novels. The good news is that we're not expected to buy any or get specific editions; we "just" have to read them. All the students in our classes will be looking for these books but most are common enough for there to be multiple copies, and I can use both the university library and the entire local library system. Although I know all the books we read will be relevant, I have to read the first book in the Gossip Girl series. Yuck.

Disclaimer for this paragraph: I drink alcohol in small amounts. If you know me in real life and we're at a party, you'll notice that I'm one of the people who drinks least. Still, I'm tempted to turn the book into a minor drinking game. I've only read the first couple pages so far and all I can think of at the moment is, "Take a drink each time somebody's wardrobe is mentioned."

At least the teacher isn't making us read Twilight.

Now that we're into the Yuletide reveal, I can show what I wrote. Reposted here.

Title: The Truth of Kings

Fandom: The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander

Disclaimer: All the characters and events within The Chronicles of Prydain belong to Lloyd Alexander.

Summary: Friends meet one last time before the Sons of Don leave Prydain.

Author's Notes: Although at the end of The High King it is implied that everyone departs soon after Taran is declared the High King, for the purposes of this story I have taken the liberty of inserting a longer space of time between the ending events of the book.

( Riding to their futures )

I've discovered etsy recently and am eyeing all the gorgeous yarns, even though I can't afford to buy any of them. But this is too awesome to not pass on.

Somebody dyed a yarn inspired by Calcifer from Howl's Moving Castle!!! Fandom doesn't get much better than this.

I just read my Yuletide fic and it's the best! I've been grinning ever since I started reading it. It's Songs That My Mother Taught Me. Fandom: The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. It has Helen and the Narrator, libraries, archives, and letters. What more could a girl ask for?

What I said in the comments: Thank you! This is a wonderful Yuletide present. You did a great job of capturing the characters’ voices. Also, I recently started graduate school to become a librarian and archives are dear to me, so this is doubly special. Thanks again.

I want to read through all the other posted stories right now but I'm going to make myself wait until the website is less busy from all of us reading our goodies.

Title: "Hotel California"
by Amelia Petkova

Fandom: Supernatural

Disclaimer: Sam and Dean Winchester are the property of the TV show Supernatural. The song lyrics are from "Hotel California" by the Eagles.

Genre: Humor/Drama

Summary: Dean takes Sam to the Winchester Mystery House in San Diego, California on Halloween.

Author's Notes: The story takes place during Season 2, though there are no real spoilers for any events before that. The Winchester Mystery House is located in California. You can visit the official website. Please bear with some creative liberties; although I did research, I have never been there myself. That being said, I am not making up the bit about birthday parties. The theory on the reason behind the haunting near the end is all my own doing. Many thanks to my beta-reader, lotesse.

( This could be heaven or this could be hell )

The good news: I was able to pick up my laptop today. This was almost the last time you'd hear about it. The bad news: I finally got my laptop reconnected to the wireless Internet at my apartment and...none of my stuff was saved. Talking with an employee when repairs were being done and a new hard drive was being ordered, I arranged for my information from the old hard drive to be saved: documents, music, bookmarks.

None of that is on my computer.

Fortunately, I distrust digital information and everything I have is also on flashdrives or music CDs. I can recover it all on my own. The point is, I shouldn't have to. Everything should have been transferred because only yesterday afternoon an employee called me to confirm that this would be done. I hope to be able to get this taken care of after work this afternoon.

The employee who gave me back the laptop also could not tell me what had gone wrong with the first hard drive. When I attempted to find out what went wrong by asking, "What can I do to prevent this again?" I was told to avoid moving it around a lot when the computer is on because hard drives are fragile. Yeah.

Update: I returned to the store and was lucky enough to get a student employee who actually has a clue about how to communicate. All the information I thought was lost was in fact backed up onto the computer. The problem is, it was hidden in a file that nobody else had told me about. (My main comment throughout the process was along the lines of, "This is really helpful, my main problem is just that nobody told me any of this.") I skipped asking about what went wrong with the hard drive this time because the laptop's been through so many hands by this point, I'm not sure anybody could give me a clear answer. At least I'm 90% sure it wasn't something I did to screw it up. In the end, the store seems to know what it's doing but often has poor customer service. I've told my parents that I'm adding an external hard drive to my Christmas list.

Recently I picked up a copy of Her Fearful Symmetry, the recent novel by Audrey Niffenegger.

Overall, I enjoyed reading the book. I finished it in a couple of days because I was eager to find out what would happen next. It's very good but not the best book I ever read. In my case, it may have been a case of the book was over-hyped following the success of The Time-Traveller's Wife (still on my To Read list). (The cover art is also attractive; not necessary for a book, but always a bonus.)

I found one of the best parts to be the scenes that take place in Highgate Cemetery and its descriptions. Niffenegger's love of the cemetery and fascination with it come across clearly to the reader. I'm curious to know if the number of visitors to the cemetery has increased noticeably since the book was published.

( lots of spoilers to follow )

As I said earlier, this book is a good read. I was absorbed by it for hours at a time and wanted to know the fates of all the characters. I'm glad that I read it. Still, the fact remains that several elements constantly jerked me out of what is otherwise a fascinating novel.