Reading Rambo

First off, if you missed Doug's post on Pride and Prejudice last Friday, check that out. Because Doug is awesome.

Second, The Casual Vacancy is kicking ass and taking names.



I think, lurking in the back of my brain ever since the book was announced was the thought that 'Um....I probably won't be that into it.' That has been proven FALSE. Because I started Harry Potter when I was 14, I couldn't read it critically. Could. Not. So when my professors would be like "Blah blah, Order of the Phoenix the worst one blah blah" all I could do was go "I LOVE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX THE MOST AND I CAN'T TELL YOU WHY."
But with THIS, I'm all a grown-ass lady and stuff, so it's like "Oh, J.K., your character details are what make us love you. THIS IS HOW YOUR WRITING IS MAGICAL." Because she somehow knows EXACTLY what to say to flesh out a character. I suspect I'd read this with a lot more reservation if it were by anyone other than her, …

PHEW. Labor Day, amirite? So much, you guys. I made Doug of Wuthering Heights fame and Katie from A Writer Must Record the Times watch Blazing Saddles because THEY NEVER HAD BEFORE, only Doug showed up already kind of wasted, so he watched most of it while hanging upside down off the side of my couch. And a good time was had by all. Then Julie from Contractually Obligated to Like Books said we should go to Julius Meinl, and I HAD NEVER BEEN, so we did that and I ate all the Austrian food.
No, seriously, you guys. This was the best:


And then Doctor Who happened and I MADE A VID about one of the characters. You know the one I mean. Soufflé girl. THEN there was the White Sox game (for those of you not in Chicago, the Sox are our actually good team) where I had ice cream nachos. Then I bothered everyone on twitter. OH, what a weekend.

I was reading a book called Straight: The Surprisingly Short History of Heterosexuality that I'm going to review later, because I need to think about it, b…

If you guys aren't taking part in The Moonstone readalong, I URGE YOU to change your mind, because it's already like a zillion kinds of fun and we haven't even started the book.
Well. I mean, I have. And some other people. And omg it is AWESOME. Y'know how you read Dickens, and you're like "Wow, women were really boring in this century"? TURNS OUT THEY WEREN'T -- HE JUST WROTE THEM THAT WAY.
Damnit, Charles, we've discussed this. And someone mentioned that while Wilkie was kind of like "Maybe we SHOULDN'T go into India and take all their stuff and kill all their people," Dickens was like "YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT" and huffed off. I hope that's followed up on in more detail next week, Whoever Wrote About That (I visited a lot of blogs yesterday).
By the way, WHAT HAS A NEW TRAILER OUT TODAY? Oh right, that'd be Doctor Who, the Best Show of Any Show in the History of Shows.



Let's not talk abou…

Damnit, Dewey's Readathon! Stop happening on days I am otherwise engaged! It's April 21st this year, which is when I go to Milwaukee to see Rachel Maddow be smart and awesome. I'm not giving that up, people. I'm not giving that up.
Today's probably a catch-up day, as my other entries lately have been weird things like book reviews, so let's do this:
1) WOMAN IN WHITE READALONG. Do not forget. We're starting April 2nd, first reading is the preface to page 126, and I will have chapter numbers for you instead of page numbers when I have my copy of the book with me. Which is not right now. We're gonna finish this and we're gonna finish it good (you heard me).
2) I have been collecting ALL SORTS of gifs and haven't been using them.



3) I'm going to be in NYC Friday to Wednesday. Doing crazy hedonistic things like marching in the 101st Remembrance of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire and visiting the site of Emma Goldman's apartment. So I don…