The Library

And so I don't get my books. It's really annoying. Each time I try to pay, I get a message about "payment stopped". What? I checked my credit card details; all's fine. I logged off and then on again. Still the same. WTF??

I wonder if the voucher is the problem. But they gave it to me! As an incentive to buy from bol, of course. But whatever, a voucher is a voucher, and I want books. I wouldn't be trying to buy those books without the voucher. It's 5 Euro off. And I can buy one or two ebooks from Torquere for 5 Euro.

I'm not going to try Amazon, because they are more expensive than bol. Perhaps I should look at prices over at booklooker. Only, I don't have a voucher for them. *sighs* It's really, really annoying. I want books. Real books. Stuff I can read while lying in bed. I can't do that with my laptop.

*growls*

But, hey, talking about books and annoying. I'm still - and always - looking for a really good book. Slash, of course. I've got no trouble finding good books that aren't slash, but when it comes to m/m romance ... Well. I could do with some recs. Do you know any really, really good m/m romance novels? And I mean really good. Books with some plot, well-drawn characters, preferrably even character development, some romance, some humour. Something intelligent, and intelligent not only because the author said so.

You see, I'm a picky reader. Very picky. And I can't rely on the majority. I tried that. It's no good. ( For example, Evangeline Anderson, or Books I Do Not Like At All - something of a rant )

Okay. Enough book ranting. ( Now for some books that I enjoy reading )

So, now that I've bored you to tears, I'll go and see whether bol has decided they want my money. And if you have recs for some really, really good m/m novels, please, gimme!!

Voldemort is a villain-hero in Gothic tradition and James Potter was an arrogant arse until he fell in love with Lily Evans in his seventh year at Hogwarts.

I ought to have stopped reading at that point. I must be harbouring a secret fascination with masochism, because I didn't. By the end of the book I was ready to do a Dobby and bang my head against the nearest available hard surface.

You wouldn't believe what that woman wrote.

( Try this )

Yesterday evening, Muse came by for a visit. She wants more Harry/Scorpius. And she brought a wonderful bunny. I reminded her that I need to write my hp_yule_balls fic, which is decidedly not Harry/Scorpius. She showed little interest and no understanding.

Sometimes I really don't like her.

It's so mean and unfair. I really like my Yule Balls fic. I had such fun plotting it, and the bit I've written so far is pretty funny. I've got 4,800 words down and from the way things are looking now, I'll have to write about 12k more. And apart from all the "Soon, I won't have much time to write fanfiction" problem, I want to write it.

But Muse wants Harry/Scorpius.

Sometimes I really, really don't like her at all.

Cause it's gone. Left around Saturday. Temperature at noon yesterday: 11°C/ 50°F. *shivers* I sat in front of my computer, wrapped in a blanket. And this morning I noticed: I did exactly the same thing one year ago. With the not so little difference that one year ago I was in New Zealand and it was winter. This - *points out of window* - pretends to be summer! Wherever the wanker went, I hope he's having a thoroughly unpleasant time. Just when term finished, too, and I finally would have had the time to enjoy the sun. Typical.

But at least, I managed to write some (a lot) yesterday. Not what I had planned to, though - bad Cira! Just, when I woke up, I had this bunny hopping over my blanket and sticking its fuzzy nose into my face, and I couldn't resist. It was fun. ( But )

So. Now that I've complained about the weather and my writing, I can go on to some more interesting topics. Like the book I read last week: Watching the English by Kate Fox. Anyone know that book? I highly recommend it. It's funny and really interesting.

Kate Fox is an anthropologist and in her book, she set out to define the Rules of Englishness. I'm a bit sceptical about taking everything she says at face value - which I have to do, me not knowing any English people - but the book's still good. Not only because I learnt the Rules of Englishness. Ms Fox gives lots of examples and often contrasts English behaviour with, say, Japanese or American behaviour. Fascinating, that. Plus, it proved some things I noticed about fanfiction. But that's something for another rant. ^-^

I also kept thinking about how things are in Germany while I read the book. And yes, in a way discovering the Rules of Englishness helps me understanding the German national character. ( Some thoughts about German national character and English sense of humour. )

But if you allow me an aside: literature very nicely demonstrates the difference between the Germans and the English. Look at the big names in German literature - Goethe, Schiller, Lessing, Brecht, and so on - and what they wrote. People always die in the end. Then look at what the English wrote while Goethe inspired a whole generation to commit suicide. I'm not good at 18th century literature, but I've read some of the works by Richardson, Defoe, Fielding, and Smollet. There's a marriage in the end.

There's a reason why I'm studying English Literature and not German Literature.

Yes, and now I'll really shut up and go and turn on the heater and get a warm, woolly jumper. I'm freezing.

Lovely summer this year, isn't it? Huh, typical.