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!!

I've been a very bad fangirl. I got the most wonderful fic and I didn't immediately start squeeing over it. Bad Cira! No spanking for you. Allow me to do some squeeing now.

SQUEE!!! :D

So, on August 28, I innocently started reading my friends list and saw my name on that day's hp_sas fic. It made me very happy because I was desperately looking for a good fic to read.

Then, there was the summary: Harry’s a natural Dom looking desperately for a sub. He is directed to a delightful ‘restaurant,’ where anything you crave is in the offing. But Harry isn’t sure his order, when it arrives, is what he actually wants. It’s up to Scorpius to convince him he picked the right dish. Harry resists, but who could say no to such a treat? No one, indeed. And me least of all. squeee!!

And then there were the warnings which totally should read enticements: D/s, semi-public sex, chan, dom!Harry, threesome (Harry/Scorpius/OC), cross-dressing, bondage, spanking, blow jobs, a little rimming, very brief mention of foodplay, partially-clothed sex. This had little Cira bouncing in her seat and half-melted into goo already. squeeeeee!!!

Afterwards, I needed about half an hour to write a coherent comment. Happy goo cannot write coherent comments, and I totally was happy goo because the fic is totally, absolutely brilliant. *insert incoherent squeeing*

It's hot. No doubt about that. Brain-meltingly hot. You saw the kinks, right? But it's more than that. It's got a little plot with a nice twist. It's got some angsty moments. It's got humour. And it's got some real sweetness under all the hot smut. Not fluff, but sweetness. I loved how Harry at first went to the restaurant for fulfiment of his sexual needs and eventually found fulfilemtn of his emotional needs as well. And the glimpses of Scorpius's emotions were lovely. Most of all I adored his reactions to Harry complimenting him.

Oh, and the idea of the restaurant? Brilliant! So much room for future playing. :)

The icing of the cake for me was finding out that the_con_cept had written the fic. Squee! I mean, how often do you get a wonderful fic tailored to your requests written by one of your favourite writers? I'm a very happy little Cira and I think I'll just go an re-read the fic. Again. (No, I haven't counted how many times I've read it so far. Often.)

Now you all want to read it as well, I'm sure. Right? ;) So follow me to Valentino's!

squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! ^__^

Written exam is only two weeks and two days away. But I Will. Not. Panic.

*takes deep breath*

To relax my poor, abused, literarified brain, me wants fic. Rec me something, please? Something happy or romantic, heck, anything is fine as long as the end is happy. Can be original or fanfic. Would prefer slash, though.

In case of HP fanfic, I want something with Harry in it.

Oh, and I have a weird craving for some pining (meaning one character has been in love with the other for some time but never acted on it before, for whatever reasons).

Or, you know, just something funny and light. I can't take anymore tragedy.

Wrote 1,550 words today for Watching Him, and I'm still far from finished. Also, I'm only about half-way through the smut. It has now become a certainty: I am genetically (or whatever-ally) incapable of writing short smut. My principle in writing is definitely 'Why write something short if it can be long and blow-by-blow, yes, pun intended?'

I've also been tempted by softly_sweetly to sign up for hp_sas and spent about an hour fiddling with my sign up form. I thought about doing this exchange before, but being tempted was nice. Plus, there'll be almost four months to write the story, so I couldn't really say no. And they give me a maximum wordcount, which is very nice, because see above for newly discovered principle.

On an entirely different note, let me rec you a story. It's original, slash, and it's got the most wonderfully pervy unicorns you can imagine:

Swordwick by maderr: Section One and Section Two

( there be rec )

And now I'll go and try to convince myself some more that I really can't spend more money on books this month, and that waiting one more week won't kill me.

Long review of Prisoner still refuses to be written, so I write short reviews/recs of some ebooks I’ve read.

( Chris Owen: Six Years On )

( Mychael Black: Whispers From Beyond )

( Mike Shade: Flight Plan )

( Chris Owen: Gemini )

Three more weeks. In 21 days, this torture called thesis will be over. I'm so looking forward to Feb 9! It will be over, and done with, and I'll be freeeeeeeeeeee.

I'll get drunk and then stay in bed for a week, and sleep and read, and do a lot of things that have nothing at all to do with M.A. finals or Harry Potter. And to reward myself for putting up with stupid canon!Harry, I'll go and buy everything written by maderr that is not yet in my possession. She's put "Dance with the Devil" and "Midnight" up on LULU as ebooks. *wriggles happily* Hm, and "Finder Tolan," haven't that one, either.

And talking about maderr: I love Amazon!! My books came today! SQUEE! I ordered them only 11 days ago. Estimated delivery was February 23, 2009. And they arrived today! *dances around happily* Prisoner, Sandstorm and Regency, all mine! And they are so pretty, and I don't care that I had to remove my manga to the top shelf in order to make room for them. Noooow, the only problem is: I bought them as b-day prezzies. It's still nine days until my birthday. I'm not allowed to read them before that day. Nope. Must. Resist. *twitches*

And talking about books: my brother and his girlfriend gave me "The Uncommon Reader" by Alan Bennett for Christmas. I read it yesterday on the train and laughed my head off. It's brilliantly funny! You're so lucky that I got the German translation, or else I'd be quoting half the book. :) Seriously, a highly recommended book. The blurb says it's about Queen Elizabeth II and literature, and it's true, they both feature in the novel. To me, though, it was more a book about reading in general. Why does one read? What makes a book a good book? How does reading change the life and outlook of the reader? If you like reading and writing, and don't get hung up on the implausibility of the Queen entering a mobile library book van alone, then this is a book for you. :)


Now, back to Harry, and if only I could think of something brilliant to finish my conclusion with ... *sighs*

Since I couldn't choose between the 15 books I got for Christmas, I've been reading fanfiction and had a lot of fun making my way through the Yuletide offerings.

( Yuletide recs )

For two original slash stories. They were recommendet to me, and I simply adored them, so I had to pass the rec on.

Numero Uno:

Shadow of the Templar by M. Chandler

Three out of four books published on the website. The fourth is scheduled for January 2009. But the third doesn't leave you on a cliffy - or not much of one, it's bearable - so you can start reading. ^-^

Summary: Simon Drake is an up-and-coming young FBI agent. Jeremy Archer is the world's best thief. You do the maths.

Rating: none given, I'd say R, mostly for language.

( Why everyone has to read it? Well... )

Highestly (is that a word?) recommendet!!


Numero Due:

The Slave Breakers by maculategiraffe

Two stories finished, the third and last in progress. I think.

Summary: Bran is a "pleasure slave" in a society where impoverished peasants are legally permitted to sell their children into slavery starting at age 15. When he tries to run away one too many times, his master sells him to the fearsome married couple known as "the slave breakers."

Rating: a loud and clear NC17.

( Why everyone has to read it? Well... )

Go read! Now!