Mental note: go to bookshops more. I went this morning, and I really don't think there's a better feeling than finding two books you wanted, discovering they're both on a '3 for 2' offer, and that you get to choose another completely random book for FREE.

Plus, there's the general atmosphere and smell of books that you just don't get on Amazon. I still dream of working in a bookshop and getting that every day.

To balance the good side of the literary world with the claw-out-your-eyes-awful, after lunch I headed over to Jeannette's for a marathon Loinfire Club session. We started off watching Barbarian Queen, which is... godawful, for many reasons BESIDES the fact it claims to be set around and in Rome, though I decided early on it couldn't POSSIBLY be Rome, being far too inaccurate and anachronistic, and was clearly some other city, which we dubbed Bome.

After a vote, we then settled on finally reading and mocking Master of Dragons, one I've been waiting for us to do since I bought it a year and a half ago. It did not disappoint. During a sex scene, one description made me laugh so hard I literally doubled up and couldn't keep reading. It was painful. Recap will come soon, hopefully.

As for the story I'm trying to write... it's still incredibly exciting? But, I've found a way to fit it into REAL historical events, which makes it that much more daunting to write. I'm still going to do it, I think I'm just going to need a bit more time to prepare.

Home on Tuesday. Yay!

I know I haven't written much Sylinder lately, but I'm finally facing up to the fact I have two summative essays due. I may write more this weekend.

Record of the latest Loinfire Club meeting, in progress! We did end up reading Knight of Darkness (much to Frankie's disappointment, she kept reading Virgin Slave, Barbarian King during and there seemed to be far more sex in that one. So far there's only all our reactions to the insane objects of power listed in the back of the book, but more will be posted as the Chronicler ignores essays and writes it up.

I want to read Lady of the Upper Kingdom next. I flicked through it, and it looks like it would cause me even MORE pain than Virgin Slave, Barbarian King. It took me several chapters to realise that the guy who I thought was the Evil Bastardish Attempted Stealer of Chastity was actually the Hero.

COMPLETELY RANDOM FANGIRL ASIDE! I just saw in a video posted by forsquilis that Zachary Quinto can do the Star Trek 'V' fingers now! He couldn't do that before, he said he was practising! I'M SO RIDICULOUSLY PROUD OF HIM.

I saw Cloverfield, btw, and I loved it. I wish I could write something that felt so real, even with giant purple tentacled space-sea bug-cows stomping around just out of shot. And the moral, as always, seems to be - if the rats are running somewhere, you want to be following them.

IIII'm bored and don't want to do my essays.

Once every couple of weeks or so, some of my friends and I gather to read trashy romance novels and drink copious amounts of alcohol. So far we've read such delights as Lord Dragon ("Hey, girls, your dad's dead. Now which one of you lovely ladies wants to be my BRIDE?") and Cupid's Melody (A fairy gardener hunting for his reincarnated wife. And that's not even the most ridiculous part of the plot.) We are the Loinfire Club - reading and snarking at terrible melodramatic smutmance so that you don't have to.

We even have a website!

And we're currently trying to decide which novel to read next. So I thought I'd repost the poll here too. Our options are:

The Sheikh Surgeon's Proposal - How could you possibly resist a handsome boss, playboy surgeon Sheikh Malek Aal Hamdaan, heir to the throne of desert kingdom Damhoor? (Well, who could?)

Knight of Darkness - By the woman who brought you WereHunterWolf: Imagine King Arthur's court in a modern setting, with weredragons and demons serving as knights and the most stupidly overpowered artefacts in the world... (The WereHunterWolves were APPALLING. Not only was the hero creepy and the heroine a psycho, we'd get occasional asides which sounded like far more interesting plots. And it ended on a GROUP LAUGH.)

Winter is Past - Jewish MP hires devout Christian for ailing daughter: conversions and Godgasms ensue. (Lack of actual smex could be interesting. Or, more likely, not.)

Virgin Slave, Barbarian King - Julia realizes that she's more free as a slave than she ever was as a sheltered Roman virgin. (Guaranteed Classicist pain.)

Warrior or Wife - Lelia the Gladiatrix faces the ultimate choice: independence and the danger of the arena, or an uncertain future with the man she once adored. (I've actually flicked through the first chapter of this - it seemed pretty historically accurate. But then we find out the heroine has VIOLET EYES.)

So...

Poll #1145320 Katie's Very First Poll (with extra smut)
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 15

Which book should we read at the Loinfire Club next?

And this LJ is not just going to turn into a Heroes fanfic/macros fest.

Umm. Well, I'm all recovered from Banquet. Already it feels like it was ages ago. For the past few months it felt like I was climbing this hill towards it, so enclosed in storm clouds that I had no idea what was going to happen or what was past it - but then Banquet itself was the eye of the storm, and awesome. Then there was some turbulence coming out of it, and I felt a bit lost, and not sure what was happening - but now I'm out of it again, and just wandering around in blue skies with my arms outstretched going "Aaaaahhh." There are still essay rainclouds in the distance, but hey, I figure I can deal.

... I'm sorry, I have a thing with walking/weather metaphors.

I went to see Sweeney Todd at last. And it was awesome. Except Johanna was a scary Christina Ricci clone. And afterwards everyone wanted pies.

It's SNOOOWING. And I've been procrastinating all morning. Perhaps the two are connected. I certainly like to think so. Snow is so much easier to blame than myself - no-one can stay mad at snow for long. Well, maybe Eskimos could.

Also! Newly up, the Loinfire Club reads Night Play! http://loinfireclub.blogspot.com/ Gods, that book was rubbish. I mean, teleporting werewolves? Really?

Basically, life is good, so yay.

At least the germs were polite enough to wait for my work to be done before leaping into action.

Yesterday - the first day I woke up with absolutely no work that needed to be done - I woke up with what felt like the beginnings of a chest infection. This was hardly helped by several hours out in the freezing wind in Edinburgh with Beccy, and now it hurts to breathe too deeply.

But it was fantastic fun nevertheless. There was a FAIRGROUND! We went on the chair-o-plane and the ferris wheel, and waved at Edinburgh Castle calling "Hi Justin! Hi Lucian!" There was also a market which sold really good German food - forget burgers, try marinaded pork steak in a bun - and also peasant rings, which we both bought. They're like sundials you wear around your neck - you adjust them so that a little hole in the outer ring is next to the month of the year, then you hold them up to the sun, and light shines through the hole and lands on the hour engraved inside the ring. I love it.



In other news, I'm really sad about Terry Pratchett. Getting Alzheimer's as an author is one of the worst things I can imagine. Though I do love him that much more for posting in the official announcement that he 'aten't dead'.



And in yet other news, some of you may know of my Romantic Novel Drinking Game sessions. Well, we now have a blog:

http://loinfireclub.blogspot.com/

Gems from the last session include:

"When your reader has a mental image like that, you should just stop writing."

"Or breathing."

And:

"You can't rape someone who's uglier than you."

"Clearly, it's just surprise pity sex."

"In other words, charity."