incidents and accidents, hints and allegations

I'm working on another two-kinds-of-people theory.

( a poll about how you deal with browser tabs )

( prompted by )

Because skygiants asked, and because I don't mind using search & replace to generate DW poll code off of Wikipedia's novel list (hence the years, because it would take too long to edit them out): a poll about Heyer's Regency romance novels, what your personal top-tier are and, bonus question, what (if any) one you suspect is probably underrated generally.

Because there are a lot of books and the first question involves ticky boxes, it's behind the cut.

( Read more... )

Clearly I should have had this as a question, I don't know what I was thinking:

(If the answer is "no," you want the prior post.)

I think I've heard about most people I know who are coming to Worldcon, but just in case:

We've been continuing to quietly watch Avatar: The Last Airbender from NetFlix—actually I've been mostly listening, taking the opportunity to cross-stitch, but regardless—and last night we got through the second-to-last disc of season two, the one that concludes with the filler episode "The Tales of Ba Sing Se." Which reminded Chad that he'd channel-surfed past the finale without realizing it last weekend, and which reminded me that I'd seen posts about it, but nothing outside spoiler-cuts (thank you all), and so I had no idea how it was generally received.

So, for those of you who've seen the whole thing, a poll (format nicked from coalescent):

And if it's not just BAD but a complete trainwreck, do feel free to say so (though without details, please, as if you spoil me I will kill you with my brain), since I've had enough of that for the moment with Kage Baker's Company books.

(Also, we were bummed to see that the voice actor for Uncle Iroh, Mako, passed away during the series. Wikipedia indicates that he finished out season two; I hope his season three replacement doesn't suck.)

I'm having trouble picking my next book. The past few things I've read (The Somnambulist, A Matter of Oaths, The Truelove) haven't been satisfactory, which I think is leaving me very bleh about the prospect of putting effort into another book, rather than just mindlessly playing NetHack and web puzzle games. Today I tried reading a book I saw oracne recommend, Anne Gracie's The Perfect Rake, and, finding myself unusually critical of the prose, put it down to try some other time.

So, a poll. I'm mostly looking for something that will be really satisfactory, something I can sink my teeth into without feeling cranky about the construction of the plot, or the prose, or the treatment of gender, or whatever. Strong likeable female characters a plus, after the unsatisfactory books above. I suspect that humor and quirk may be minuses rather than pluses just now; ditto very sad or very dark (yes, I know Use of Weapons is a poll choice, but I've read that before, know what I'm getting, and think it would be okay). Also, something that's not too much work at the beginning would be good.

Edit: thanks, all! As of 8:15 Wednesday morning The Steerswoman's Road has 44.4% of the votes, and that and the accompany comments have convinced me to bring it into work and try it over lunch. But feel free to suggest fallbacks or add data on the other stuff in the poll.

( A dozen options, by author: )

Wiped out for no obvious reason today, so no new panel reports. Here's a poll to help me decide which to do next:

Also, the "tell me which fictional character I am" meme is very much fun, even if I absolutely suck at coming up with answers. (I've been thinking about it on and off most of today, and the only person I've decided on is veejane, who hasn't even asked and might not appreciate my answer anyway.) But the accumulated results are like the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen game that went around a few years ago: yhlee is Iskierka from the Temeraire books, and oyceter is Fuu from Samurai Champloo, and I am Kate Somerville from the Lymond Chronicles [*], and together we fight crime! In the person of . . . someone who has unleashed a plague of locusts, because they would all be very upset at the wrecking of the food supply.

Okay, I said I wasn't very good at this.

[*] According to rachelmanija, but if you have another idea, go ahead.

And now I go off to gather strength for the morrow by reading Qwan.

Here are the books that I am definitely taking to Japan:

• Scott Lynch, Red Seas Under Red Skies
• Kij Johnson, The Fox Woman and Fudoki
• R.H.P. Mason, A History of Japan
• Sei Shonagon, The Pillow Book

I am possibly bringing various John M. Ford books that I haven't read yet, in case that memorial panel actually happens—does anyone know if it's going to? If not, well, Ford is not my ideal vacation reading.

For the last half-dozen-ish slots, I find myself with a plethora of mass-market paperbacks, so, like everyone else: a poll!

( possible books )

In a very limited fashion, that is.

I've hit one of my periodic "don't wanna write anything" moods, and while there are reasons, still, the queue is growing long. I may have a short time tonight to write, and start getting myself back in gear as it were. So, behind the cut is a poll: out of a selected number of things in the queue, what should I write next?

( poll )