Reading

taps microphone Is this thing on?

Wow. Okay. Well. It's been, apparently, like 11 and a half years since I last used this and while I initially thought I was never going to post here again, my 'Tism brain (oh, hi, yeah, I'm pretty sure I'm autistic but getting diagnosed is a paint because ~*United States*~).

So, I joined a reading challenge. A rather large reading challenge. Been trying off and on for years to get back into my reading groove, I was a little bookworm as a kid (see, again, 'Tism), and I think this may have done it. It's called the Hardest Reading Challenge You'll Ever Do, and you can find out more about it here.

So two things about this challenge that lead into why I'm reviving this account and what I'll be using it for:

One of the aspects of the challenge is that you can earn points by your books read fulfilling certain criteria/you do certain things while reading, and one of those is to write a detailed review of the books you read.
One of the prompts is to complete a challenge of your own making, and I chose to read 10 longfics (min 10k words) as my challenge.

Most of my book reviews will go on my book blog, Pass the Bookmark, but I wanted to do something with this blog for "reviews" of the fanfic I'm reading for the personal challenge. I know I can't review fic the same way I review published books, so they'll most likely be more along the lines of fanfic recs versus fanfic reviews, but they'll be in one central place (and separate from my published book reviews), and I'll be able to link them if I need proof of the review.

Entry tags:

Ooooh shiny

So I got an email tonight-- seen in my last check of the evening-- inviting me to beta the new Procreate. Which probably means it's a fairly broad beta at this point, because I'm nobody, but --

Um. Yes PLEASE.

I've only done a bit of playing with the new brushes but holy crap it's so good. Some of them have dynamic color interactions, behaving more like physical media. Some of them have amazing texture. Some of them would make amazing calligraphy.

I've gotten through 12 of the 18 categories in the comes-with-Procreate default library, and I really ought to go to sleep, but eeee this is so cool!

Entry tags:

musings,
sport

That sort of person

I had a visitor this week: a very earnest German Shakespeare scholar and teacher who I met last year on a writing retreat. She was swinging through Oxford to attend a conference and stayed in my guest room for a few nights.

When she came into my sitting room she first admired my bookcases, as one does, and then did a double take: "Oh! You have a really big television! What do you watch?"

"Cycling, mainly," I said, but this didn't help. Didn't compute. I could practically see steam rising off the top of her head as the gears clashed. And actually she's the second friend of mine who's been visibly perplexed by my TV.

No doubt they had assumed I'd be the sort of elitist literary snob who wouldn't allow such a thing into the flat. Whereas in fact I am such a massive elitist literary snob that I don't feel any lurking status threat from the presence of a 55" flatscreen. (Plus my favorite cycling commentator is a devoted fan of Fitzcarraldo Editions, so.)

Very minor anecdote but I've never seen anyone so obviously realizing in mid-stream that they'd gotten their assumptions about my preferences and habits all wrong. Do you ever find that you surprise people by liking something that you "shouldn't" like?

Entry tags:

I feel like an idiot

Guy came around with "the government wants you to have a free phone because you're on benefits"

and my roommate who is aggressive with solicitors wasn't home

and so I said sure (thinking maybe I could use it to try swapping the sim card from mom's old untextable phone)

even though I know better

so now I have a phone I don't really need, that may or may not be a scam, that I regretted accepting like five minutes later

(they didn't take cc info so maybe the worst they can do is harass me)

...fml

General Exchange Letter

Hi! I have previous past letters with likes lists and prompts that still hold true, so feel free to peruse old letters, though please be aware of my current DNWs and requests. This is a general letter with likes lists, etc., but because I often request fandoms that I have requested in the past, please feel free to check out my fandom tags on the sidebar and see if there's anything in past letters you think might apply! There's probably a greater than 50% chance I have requested the fandom or ship before.

For ease of finding me: tuesday.

What I've written and what I want as a gift can differ, so for best results, please rely on my likes and DNWs over what you may find on my AO3 works page.

( Text Likes )

( Art Likes )

taps microphone Is this thing on?

Ooooh shiny

That sort of person

I feel like an idiot

General Exchange Letter

( General Likes )

( Ship Likes )

( Smut Likes )

( Vid Likes )

( Do Not Wants )

*taps microphone* Is this thing on?

Ooooh shiny

That sort of person

I feel like an idiot

General Exchange Letter

( General Likes )

( Ship Likes ) ( Smut Likes ) ( Vid Likes ) ( Do Not Wants )

taps microphone Is this thing on?

( Ship Likes )

( Smut Likes )

( Vid Likes )

( Do Not Wants )