Hello There (if anyone is still around)

My, it's a little dusty around here. And there goes a tumbleweed. I haven't been around my blog (or anyone else's) in quite a while. That's because of school. It's hard to fathom, but each semester is busier than the last. Only seven weeks left until summer, but before then, I have three research projects to finish, several more books to read, fall classes to sign up for, and more. 

But my friends and I watched Julie & Julia yesterday, and it reminded me of how much I enjoy blogging, so I thought I'd drop by to say hello, I am surviving, but barely. 

And also to say that I have blogging plans for summer. I'd actually like to start a new blog because I have grown and changed so much over the past two-and-a-half years of school that I don't think this blog necessarily fits me anymore. So, like an old pair of jeans, I would like to discard this blog in favor of a more "grown up" blog (meaning a move to Wordpress!) where I will feel more comfortable posting not only about books but about my life and studies also. 

In the meantime, you can find me on Instagram (which is where I lurk most often on the interwebs). 

I hope you're all doing well! Drop me a comment and tell me how you are. 

2018

2018 happened in three chunks for me. So much happened in each of these chunks that it's as if I lived three separate years in one.

January-May

Spring semester is so far away that I can hardly believe it happened only this year. I took Writing of Fiction, Writer's Style, History of the Christian Church, Epic Literature, and a host of other classes, including a course about the history and geography of Israel to prepare for the spring break study trip to Israel that I went on! 

In the spring, I continued working as a Teacher's Assistant and as the Social Media Intern for the English Department. When my roommate Sarah and I decided we needed a break from sitting on the couch doing homework, we sat on the couch and watched sitcoms or Monk. One of the highlights of spring semester was attending my school's annual film festival with some of my closest friends. The lowlight of the semester was contracting some horrible plague, spending a day in the emergency room, and missing a week and a half of school because of it. 

May-August

School ended on Thursday, and over the weekend, my roommate and I moved into summer housing. On Monday, I started my first full-time job, cleaning the main dorm building with facility services. The work was hard (we moved desks, dressers, and mattresses; de-bunked bunk beds and put them back together again; vacuumed; vacuumed some more; washed walls, tables, and light fixtures; swept stairwells; mopped floors... If it was dirty, we cleaned it) but the company was great and made the job so much fun!

Summer wasn't all work, though... Sarah and I went to two weddings; Abby, Andrea, and I explored parts of the city; summer housing shenanigans abounded; I got to go home for two weeks to see my parents, bestie, and extended family; and I went kayaking for the first time and LOVED it. 

September-December

School began again, and this was the most exhausting semester yet. I'm no longer the Social Media Intern for the English Department, but I run the Instagram account for a student group, so I attended many of their events throughout the semester. I also continued to be involved in the English Department as both a TA and a member of Sigma Tau Delta. To keep a stiff upper lip as I faced such classes as Literary Theory (LACAAAAAAAAAAN), Structure of English Grammar, and Christianity and Writing, I dyed my hair blue and purple and, depending on my mood, felt either like a unicorn or an oil spill. 

Here on the blog, I participated in the Silmaril Awards and hosted The Most Mischievous Imp Silmaril. I wasn't able to post much else on here due to one of my classes where each student had to research a historical topic and build a website presenting their research in a user-friendly and interesting way. I did mine on the symphonies of three Soviet composers under the reign of Stalin. 

Check out my website by clicking this link.

One of my goals for this past semester was to be more focused on academics than on social life, but 2018 has turned out to be a year of relationships, and I'm glad. People are so much more important than grades. Sarah's family and Andrea's family have adopted me since my own parents live over a thousand miles away from school. Amidst the craziness of academics and obligations, my friends and I made time for wandering around a golf course, watching movies and playing foosball and Dutch Blitz in the basement, attending rad Halloween and Christmas parties (don't worry, most of the attendees were English Department people, so the craziest thing to happen was misplacing a modifier), playing board games and video games, attending school theater productions, and dressing up all fancy to go to the orchestra. 

Now, I am home on Christmas break, reflecting on 2018 from the comfort of my bed, even though it is 2:00 in the afternoon. I did a lot last year. I did well in school and at work. I made new and wonderful friends. We did and saw a lot of great things together. But what the pictures don't show is the emotional exhaustion and mental strain of trying to balance school, friendships, and self-care. They don't show the anxiety and self-image issues. They don't show the hard decisions and heartache. 2018 was rough (I know that because I only managed to read fifteen books the entire year!). I didn't achieve in full any of the goals I set for myself last year. 

Looking Ahead

Being at home for break—or, rather, being away from the pressures and responsibilities of being on campus—has been so so so good for me. I've been able to rest and recover from the total exhaustion of last semester, and 2019 doesn't look so dark as a result. I've felt the most myself that I have since Thanksgiving.

As some of you may know, I love lists (which is part of the reason why I started bullet journaling in 2018 and am going to continue this year). Usually, I make a list of goals for myself during the infancy of a new year, but I haven't done that yet because, frankly, I don't want another to-do list. I do, however, have a few vague ideas of things that I want to improve upon in 2019, which I shall put in a list for readability sake (also because I just love lists).

-I would like to move my blog to Wordpress and buy a domain name. 

-I would like to be confident about who I am so that I can stop the niggling voices at the back of my brain telling me lies about myself.

-I would like to stop being so self-sufficient and humble myself to trust God more. 

-And I suppose it would be nice to double my reading from last year and finish thirty books in 2019. (Okay, this is dangerously close to a goal. Time to stop.)

Pastors and parents talk about stages of life and how some are stages of waiting. Well, I've been walking r e a  l   l    y slowly across that stage for over a year now. I have no idea what any serious aspect of my future looks like, and that's frustrating and scary. 

I'm hesitantly optimistic that 2019 holds the answers to some of the questions I asked in 2018. I'm beginning to look forward to heading back to school next week. I've got some great classes and some great people to get back to. 

Watching // Listening to // Reading // Writing

WATCHING //
After watching for more than a year, I finally finished Friends. 

I started it last summer, I believe, but when school started, I stopped watching (we were on a break, okay??). It's not my favorite sitcom ever (that will forever and always be Frasier), but it was oh so much fun to see all the silly situations that Ross got himself in to.

On the subject of sitcoms, my roommate and I are nearing the end of The Office. It's been a fun Netflix Trip.

Some friends and I went to see Incredibles 2, which I thought was incredible (haha). Did you know the movies are set in the 1960s? I didn't notice the time period in the first movie, but it was evident in this one. It adds one more element to an already fantastic film.

This poster belongs to Disney Pixar

My friend and I just finished Netflix's Lost in Space. I have so many thoughts about this show that it will be its own separate post.

Last but not least, I watched the first episode of Babylon 5 last night. My dad and I are watching it "together." Even though we are 1,500 miles apart, we will watch an episode or three a week and then talk about it. My thoughts so far: it reminds me a lot of Deep Space Nine, but Star Trek has much better graphics (and better acting and writing, too, methinks, but I don't want to make a final judgement yet since I have only seen the first episode). I'm excited to keep watching!

LISTENING TO // 
I've been on a classical music kick over the past few weeks. I've been listening to a lot of Rimsky-Korsakov, Mussorgsky (Pictures at an Exhibition <3), Debussy, Tchaikovsky, and Saint-Saens. Check out The Carnival of the Animals—it is so much fun! My favorite pieces are "Aquarium," "Pianists," and "Fossils."

I've also been listening to a lot of Twenty One Pilots. I'd never heard of them before coming to school, but they are now one of my favorite bands. They are coming out with a new album in October and have released three songs with music videos. I love Twenty One Pilots because they have created a whole world and story line within their music, and it is SO. COOL. because it is an extended metaphor for the singer's mental health. I can't embed their new music into my blog for some reason, so here is a link to their music video "Jumpsuit" (which I think is slightly more understandable than "Nico and the Niners," which is my favorite of their three new songs).

READING //
This summer, I have been making my way through the Minstrel's Song series by Jenelle Leanne Schmidt. I've been reading them on the Kindle app on my phone, usually in my fifteen minute morning breaks at work. I'm at my grandparent's house until school starts next week, however, so I am reading, reading, reading. I finished Yorien's Hand yesterday. Whooooaaaa. So epic! I am afraid for Oraeyn, Kamarie, Yole, Brant, and the gang, and my intrigue about Kiernan Kane continues to grow! I started Minstrel's Call this morning.

From Instagram

I am also reading a book of short stories by Willa Cather, which I am enjoying. The stories are about the disillusionment that creators sometimes feel. I am re-reading "The Garden Lodge" right now, which is about a practical woman who has a famous tenor to stay at her house. When he leaves, she has a breakdown as she remembers how her childhood was destroyed by over-sentimentality and how she refused to indulge in anything imaginative as a result. I didn't quite catch the meaning of the story the first time I read it; I understand it more the second time. The stories make me sad because the characters are misunderstood and purposeless artists, but it is a good kind of sadness because it reminds me that I do have a greater purpose when I am creative: I reflect God the creator.

From Instagram

WRITING //

I haven't been writing anything, but I do have several ideas floating around in my head... I am going to keep them in my head right now, especially since school is starting next week, and I definitely won't have time for personal projects then. I will tell you that one idea is sci-fi and one is fantasy and one is memoir(ish).
Also, there are exciting things happening on the blogging horizon...

COMING SOON TO TEN BLOGS NEAR YOU

So, what have you guys been watching/listening to/reading/writing? Are you excited for the Silmaril Awards? What do you think of the slightly modified name?

In My Life #2

I've finally admitted to myself that I am a horrible blogger when I'm at school. I thought that I could do it all, and do it all well, but I just can't. I'm balancing classes, homework, a job, an internship, and a growing group of friends. I'm sad to say that blogging and all things creative have moved to the bottom of my priority list.
Just what have I been busy with? Let me tell you!


Academics 

I've worked hard in my classes over the past two years, so you can imagine my excitement when I qualified for induction into Sigma Tau Delta, the international English honors society!
In addition to an English major, I added a History minor last spring... only, I've loved my time in the History Department so much that I decided to bump the minor up to a major. As of last week, I am a double major! Good thing I like to read so much...

Friends

Last year, my friend group was relatively small, but this year, I've developed deeper friendships with the girls in the English Department and made a few new friends in both the English and History Departments. We have a good time: late night drives to McDonalds... dressing up fancy for the Film Festival... going to see Ready Player One in theaters... hanging out in the dorm watching The Office... I am so grateful for the people I have in my life right now!

Israel

Over spring break, I went to Israel on a study trip! The picture above is taken from Mount Arbel, overlooking the Valley of Genneseret and the Sea of Galilee. It was an amazing trip. If you ever have a chance to go, don't hesitate: go. I want to do a full post on my trip eventually, but that might have to wait a month or so until I am on summer break.

And that is what has been taking up all of my time! Since I haven't posted in over a month, I figured that I should probably let you all know that I'm not dead, I'm just busy. I can't make any promises that I will be able to jump back into the blogging community any time soon, but I want you all to know that I care about you and miss you! Let me know what you've been doing in a comment. I'd love to hear from you.

Five Things I Learned About Myself This Semester

1. My body needs at least eight hours of sleep every night.

That's my bed way at the top, two feet away from the ceiling. No, I never rolled out during the night. Yes, we did move it down a few notches for next semester.

This is a lesson I learned spring semester after sleeping an average of seven hours every night and being constantly cranky and sick. This semester, I set myself a loose goal of getting eight hours of sleep every night—or at least to go to bed earlier. My friend and roommate wanted to get more sleep, too, so together we were able to be in bed before eleven most nights. Even if I didn't sleep for eight hours, I made sure to be in bed at least eight hours a night. I was mostly successful, except for the week or two leading up to finals!

2. I like to cook and clean more than I thought.

In addition to having a full kitchen this year, I have a George Foreman and a freezer full of meat. I also have a dining fund that is significantly smaller than last year. I had to prepare a lot of my own meals, and I quite enjoyed experimenting with potatoes and eggs. I even made myself a vat of chicken soup! I surprised myself with how much I like cooking (when I wasn't stressed by other commitments). I also surprised myself with how much I like cleaning up my messes, too. There's something satisfying about seeing the tangible results of wiping up spilled salsa or scrubbing the soap grime off of the bathtub.

3. Listening to live music and walking by water make me happy and calm when I am sad and stressed.

I took a walking class this past semester that reminded me of how much I enjoy walking. Luckily, I live in the land of 10,000 lakes, so there is plenty of beauty around me to look at while I get exercise. Next semester, I want to continue walking several times a week. I also want to continue taking advantage of the concerts and plays that my school puts on while I am still a student and can get them for free! They make me feel alive.

4. I don't take risks if it involves making mistakes or risking confrontation.

This picture has nothing to do with confrontation, but it makes me laugh so I thought I'd share it.

I'm just not a risky person. I learned this through my internship. I was too timid to follow through with many of my ideas because I was afraid they would be taken badly. Next semester, my plan is to take more risks... because if I don't take risks, how will I ever make mistakes? And if I never make mistakes, how will I ever grow?

5. I'm not cut out to be an editor.

Yeah, I'm surprised, too. After all, one reason I chose the college I did was because they had an editing and proofreading class! I took said class this past semester and... really didn't like it all that much. I mean, the class was great, like most classes at my school, but I didn't enjoy the work. So, now I'm at a loss. If I'm not to be an editor, what am I to be?

I don't know, but I've got time to figure it out.

In my next post, I want to talk more about my editing class and share the things I learned and why I don't want to be an editor anymore. Stay tuned for that!

Until then, have you learned anything about yourself in the past few months?

In My Life

I'm on Winter Break, which means that I'm back from hiatus!! Hurrah!

This semester has been a walk in the cold wind of a Minnesota winter, when you simultaneously enjoy God's beautiful creation and hate your life because your face has frozen.

In August, I moved into a dorm-apartment, fully furnished with plumbing and moisture problems, a couch with a "chastity bar" in between each cushion, and a full kitchen...

In September, the English Department had a picnic...

In October, some friends and I went to an opera showcase in the rain...

Photo credit: Andrea

and to an apple orchard in the sun...

In November, the English Department had an English Tea...

Photo credit: Professor Hougen

and I got to meet Maggie Stiefvater...

In December, we went on an overnight trip to Duluth...

and the English Department had a Gatsby-themed Christmas party!

The main part of my days, however, was spent balancing seventeen credits of classes, one credit of internship, a job as a TA, cooking, cleaning, health, and mental health. I wasn't able to balance these things as well as I'd hoped, so this Winter Break I want to come up with a plan to be a better human in the spring. I learned several things about myself this school year, but I want to save that for my next post.
This post is just to catch you up on the last few months of my life, and to let you know that I am back in the blogging world!

Also...

Are you excited for Christmas? What are you doing for the holidays? Let me know in the comments! I want to hear from you all!

Summer dreams, ripped at the seams

Bu-ut, oh. Those su-u-ummer... nah-hi-ights.

You may remember that last year when I came to school, nearly all blogging stopped. I posted once or twice a month (if that), and I disappeared entirely in February (what a rare gift—sorry, that was a Lord of the Rings reference in a Grease-inspired post). When I realized that I hadn't posted anything in February (not even a courtesy post to say that I was on hiatus), I vowed to myself to post every week* until the next school term began. Aside from one week, I kept that vow, and I have been very proud of myself for that.

*Tip for beginning bloggers: never tell your followers that you are going to post a certain thing at a certain time because, inevitably, something will come up to mess with your schedule and then you will face the moral responsibility of lying to your audience. If I had known that as a young blogger, I could have saved myself a lot of stress and guilt.

Now, I am at school again, so what will happen here on Regarding Reading and Writing?

My wish and intention is to continue blogging every week. I have a document with weekly post ideas stretching into the New Year, so I have no lack of material. Time, on the other hand, is a precious commodity. When I write blog posts, I usually write and schedule two or three at a time so that I don't have to worry about content for a few weeks. I'd like to keep doing this, but I may not be able to manage it because of how much work* I have this semester.

*And by work I mean lying in bed dying of the Plague because I get sick a lot at school. I got sick on the first day of class! And not just the "Oops, you got the back-to-school cold" kind of sick. No, I got the "Oops, you have a super high fever and have to stay in bed for three days" kind of sick. Now, it's several weeks later and I'm sick again with the back-to-school cold/fever. If anyone has a spare, working immune system lying around that they would like to donate to a poor, sick college student, I know a girl. 

One type of post that I'd like to do over the next few months is publish the short stories I wrote over the summer on my blog. I've already shared one (The Fire Alarm Fiasco), but there are four more. I want you guys to pick which one you want to read first, second, third, and fourth! I'll give you the title and a brief synopsis and you can tell me in the comments which order you'd like to read them in.

If Music Be the Food of Love is about a boy who grows up with a single mother who is a violin player. She teaches her son music and follows him throughout his musical career. This story features experiments in description and imagery. 

A Simple Trip to the Beach is actually two short stories. They are about a page each and were inspired by a family reunion. One features a rabble of brothers and the other features three sisters. 

The Ups and Downs of Being Invisible was going to be a fun friendship story. Somehow it turned into a creepy murder story. I haven't opened the document since I wrote "the end" because, frankly, I'm a little scared of what I wrote. I shall be brave and open this document for you, though, O my Followers. 

Miles the Organized Man is about exactly what it sounds like. It is about a man named Miles who is very organized, and it is about what happens as a result of his organizational skills. 

Blog...

I'm not going to give up on you, so let me know in the comments what order you'd like to read my short stories in, and keep a weather eye out for more posts! They're on their way. 

A Successful Summer

Summer is over, and I am back at school. I had a lot of goals for myself this summer, and I completed a lot of them! Today, I thought I'd share them with you.

WORKING

Regrettably, several black holes have obscured part of this picture. 

I got out of school in mid-May. Almost immediately, I started searching for a job. I didn't want to work for my previous boss because I needed more hours than he could give me. I also wanted something with more human interaction as picking up trash in industrial parking lots is a solitary job. Well, I traded out a job with no human interaction to a job with constant human interaction. A hardware store hired me as a cashier. 

I enjoyed my summer job a lot! At least, for the most part. This particular hardware store has been in my city for ninety years, which means that it feels like you have just stumbled upon a gathering of your great-uncles who grew up on the farm and, therefore, know everything about nuts, bolts, watering systems, tools, paint, plumbing, and electrical, and don't mind talking about it. 

This kind of "Mom and Pop" atmosphere draws an... interesting crowd to the store. I helped contractors who were only interested in getting the tools for their current job. I helped little old ladies who only wanted to buy plants. I helped Asians intent on making sure each and every price was right. I helped Hispanics who were always ready to smile and talk with me. I helped people who clearly had never been in a hardware store and were only there to buy one thing and then leave as quickly as possible. I helped long term customers who sang the praises of the store. And then I helped people like Dean. Dean—and other old men like him—were always ready to flirt with me and the other young, beautiful cashiers. 

I worked approximately 340 hours this summer (72 of those hours in the last week of work, hence the lack of a blog post a few weeks ago), and I learned a lot about people. I have a deeper well to draw upon when I'm creating characters, that's for sure! 

READING

From my Instagram

From the time school ended to now, I read twenty books. Nearly all of them were middle grade/YA books with a few nonfiction thrown in. I read the Chrestomanci series by Diana Wynne Jones and The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater. I also read a bunch of standalones. Stay tuned for more on them in my summer reading list wrap-up post! 

WRITING

Caution: Writer At Work

One of my summer goals was to finish the fourth draft of my fantasy-fairytale novel by June 1, which I did. You can read more about that in this post. I'm excited to begin draft five, especially since in my last blog post I announced that I am going to publish this book next summer! But, more on that in my next post.
In addition to completing the fourth draft of my book, I wrote approximately 20,000 new words. This includes five short stories and a blog post nearly every week. I participated in The Silmarillion Awards again this year, which was SO much fun!

OTHER

Into the fog. 

I had a birthday. I'm twenty-one now! Which means that I am legal to do almost anything except run for national government.
I also did a bunch of Fun Things like climbing a mountain (albeit a small mountain, but a mountain nonetheless), canoeing with my dad and uncles and cousin, waking up at 4:00AM to catch a ferry so that I could spend thirty hours with my friends in one of my favorite places on earth, and exploring a stream with one of my best friends.

It's been a good summer! I'm excited to be back at school, though. I've missed learning, and I've missed my friends. I can't wait to see what adventures the next academic year holds.

The One Where I Update You On My Life

Could this be considered an Ishness post? I've never done one before, so I'm not exactly sure of the protocol. Let me know in the comments! 

For the uninitiated, "Ishness" is hosted by Deborah O'Carroll. She and other participating bloggers talk about what they've been doing lately... I want to talk about what I've been doing lately. So. Let'sa go-o.

LIFE-ING
I got a job! After several stressful weeks of searching, a local hardware store hired me as a cashier. If you ever happen to visit... first of all, how did you find out where I work?? Second of all, do not ask me to direct you to the ladders because I do not know where we keep the ladders. We carry everything from paint to propane to potting soil, from things that kill bugs to things that kill moss (I live in the Pacific Northwest where moss is a Big Problem), from whitewood-that-is-actually-gray to hula hoops. I don't know where any of these things are.

I don't know who made this gif, but I want to give them all the credit because Totoro hula hooping is just too cute. Also, I'd like to thank them for making a hula hoop gif that doesn't feature a half-naked woman. 

I've never cashiered before, so this is a good learning experience for several reasons. 1) With cashiering skills, I can now get a job at any store. 2) I'm forced out my cozy eggshell in order to politely and happily interact with strangers for long periods of time.
My (far more) introverted (than I thought) soul did not, initially, like interacting with strangers for long periods of time, but now that I am getting used to it and have worked on changing my attitude, I don't mind it as much.
Plus, it's a great opportunity to people watch! There are many, many, many different types of people who peruse hardware stores.
Here are some of the most interesting people that have come through my line:

-The old woman who bought $600 worth of soaker hoses. I asked her, "Do you have a big yard?" and she said, "No, but I have a lot of plants." Her plan was to hook up all the hoses and snake them through the yard so that she wouldn't have to use a sprinkler to water her plants.
-The man with the Star Wars t-shirt and the Chihuahua named Yoda.
-The old, deaf couple who told me "Thank you" with their hands, their eyes, and their smiles.
-The woman who wore her blue tape as a bracelet and looked far more regal than royalty.
-The man whose money made the cash register smell like cigarette smoke every time I opened it.
-The man who yelled at me for double checking that I got a price right.
-The talkative woman who went on and on about how easy it is to hide the true nature of things. Even people can put up a facade and you would never know until you marry them. (That story went from very philosophical to very sad in a very short amount of time).
-The woman who said she was having a s*** day (quite literally) because her husband had stepped in dog poop.
-The lady trying to discourage her elderly father from buying Mountain Dew.
-Oh, yes, and the two teenage girls trying to beat up their friend who had taken refuge behind the service counter. That was an interesting morning.

I also got an Instagram account where I post pictures of books with (what I hope are) witty captions.

WRITING
My goal since finishing the fourth draft of my novel has been to write a short story a week. So far, I've written two and edited down the VBS skits to an acceptable length.
My first story is about a musician whose mother always sits in the front row of his concerts. The second story recounts the Terror of having to evacuate one's dorm at 3:30 AM because someone on the boy's floor burned orange chicken and set off the fire alarm (based on a True Story).

READING
Somehow, I've managed to read seven books so far this month. I read Rosie the Riveter, which is about women in World War II. This is research for my next novel, which I will talk about in another blog post. What did I learn from this book? Mainly that if women in the 1940s could leave their homes and children to do hard, physical labor and raise the production of planes from 60 a month to 360 a month (and all while maintaining their waved hair and makeup-ed faces) so that their men could win the war overseas, then I can be a part-time cashier without bemoaning my life.

Contrary to popular belief, THIS is Rosie the Riveter, not the lady with her sleeve rolled up saying, "We can do it."

I also read The Magicians of Caprona and Witch Week by Diana Wynne Jones (the third and fourth books in the Chrestomanci series). I enjoyed them immensely. I liked The Magicians of Caprona better, though, because of the parts with Punch and Judy. Also because of Benvenuto the Cat.

I dunno about you, but I drool over these editions of Diana Wynne Jones' books.

The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater, however, took up most of my reading time this month. Several people whose bookish opinions I trust raved about this series. I tried reading it a year or two ago and couldn't get into it because of the clairvoyancy. This time, however, I pushed passed the first two chapters and read the entire series in two weeks. There is SO much in The Raven Cycle to talk about. I'd like to re-read the series and do a full review on it sometime in the near future. What I'd like to say now, however, is that, yes, Maggie Stiefvater's writing style is just as beautiful as people have said, her characters are flawed and real and wonderful, and her plot is unique and wacky. Also, yes, this series does have "questionable" content if you are a Christian. I say "questionable" in quotation marks because I have a lot of thoughts about this content. I would like to address this in a separate blog post, but, as I said, I'd like to re-read the series before I talk about it more on my blog. For now, I will say that I enjoyed the series a lot, but if I were to recommend it, it would be with extreme caution (at least until I can explain my thoughts about it). 

One thing I can say without re-reading the series is that THESE COVERS ARE SO GORGEOUS.

Now, I'm reading The Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve in preparation for the movie that Peter Jackson is making. I'd forgotten how much I like Philip Reeve's prose! I also plan to start the fifth Chrestomanci book soon. 

WATCHING

I watched Sherlock Season Four and it was So. Good. The middle episode was my favorite (mostly because of Mrs. Hudson). I had to pause the last episode several times to say "WHAT??!" I didn't like season three or the Christmas episode, so I was glad to enjoy Sherlock again! If Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat were to end the series here, I would be happy because they wrapped up the storylines and character arcs fantastically.

And now it's time for a confession:

...

...

I love sitcoms, and I have been watching quite a bit of Friends and Cheers since getting home from school. I started watching Friends at school, and I started watching Cheers again because I wanted a show where I could take a break from all my worries (sure would help a lot). Y'know, sometimes I want to go where everybody knows my name, and they're always glad I came. Cheers is a great show to make you feel that way.

"NORM!!!!!"

MUSIC-ING

I've been listening to my usual variety of contradictions. Jazz followed by '70s rock followed by classical music followed by Christian rock from the '80s followed by the Hamilton or La La Land soundtrack followed by heavy medal Middle Earth music.
The Beatles album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band had its 50th anniversary a few weeks ago, so I've been listening to that a lot. In fact, I had to force myself to stop listening to it so that I wouldn't get tired of it. It's an incredible album, though. I watched a documentary on how the Beatles made it, and they pioneered several techniques and sounds with this album. They were a truly legendary band (but perhaps that's another blog post, too).

Let me know what you've been up to recently! What have you been reading? What have you been listening to? I love getting comments, so don't be shy.