October 4, 2013

Stuff and Things 10/4/13

In case you missed it last week, Stuff and Things is my new weekly thingamabob where I talk about whatever I want to talk about, including, but not exclusively, books, music, and TV. Please assume that there will be spoilers. I'll make sure to post them under the jump break so they're not plastered all over my homepage.

Life As I Know It
This was supposed to be your post on Wednesday. But it was unrepentantly ugly, and I kept messing things up, so yeah. Can anyone guess what it is? (Hint: it's not a mountain of mashed potatoes.)
Look, twinsies!
I finished my NYCC cosplay, yay! Which is good because it's next week. O.o I still have to glue down a few edges, and I'm still playing with the idea of sticking "Bad Wolf" somewhere (maybe along the hem in the back). And in case you can't tell, I'm wearing galaxy print leggings, and galaxy print high tops.
The shoes are seriously like my favorite part, because I was so worried about what shoes to wear. I don't do heels, especially if I'm going to be on my feet all day. I have a pair of Converse knock-offs that I thought about wearing (because David Tennant wears All-Stars as part of his costume) but they're kind of bright purple. Then I found these, which are high-tops, like David Tennant wears, galaxy print, so they're more TARDIS-y, and only $17, because they were on sale. Boo to the yah. (Galaxy print is apparently very in right now, which makes TARDIS cosplaying a lot easier). I got them both from debshops.com.

I also just signed up for an account on GoodReads, so come find me and check out my very eclectic taste in books! And that segues us very nicely into the next section:

Books- Here there be spoilers
So, it just recently occurred to me that having a Kindle means instant reading gratification, and I've been reading a lot. I just wish there was some sort of app or something that I could use to scan my existing books into the e-reader. Or if Amazon provided you with the Kindle version when you buy the hard copy, so I could go back and forth. Because I'm always going to prefer the actual book, but the e-reader means instant book and easier to transport book, so I want both. Amazon, make that happen.

Anywhozzle, the book I want to talk about this week is Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell.
I first saw this book in Entertainment Weekly. Usually I skip over their book recommendation, just because I don't really read mainstream fiction (I mean that as a genre, not in a hipster type, "that's too mainstream"). I usually read urban fantasy or horror or weird fiction (also a genre), but the title of this book caught my attention, and the synopsis made me want to buy it. The main character writes fanfiction. Oh my glob, how could I not? It was literally speaking my language: words like shippers and canon and squick and beta readers and slash fic. Words that I use all the time, but that nobody around me understands.

I have never identified so hard with a main character. I mean, other than the identical twin, bipolar dad, and absent mom, we could be the same person. Except I would know better than to turn in a piece of fanfiction for a writing class, just saying.

Fangirl is really a coming-of-age story, focusing on main character Cather learning to live a life apart from her twin, Wren, and away from home in her first year of college. Fairly basic stuff. There's of course the boy troubles, and the peer pressure, and the "why binge drinking is bad for you" bits. Rowell's voice is what sets this apart and her choice to tell the story by relating events in Cather's life through her fanfiction (in the fictional "Simon Snow" universe, a Harry Potter-esque set of books about a magic school that I now want to read even though they don't exist. -.-). I thoroughly enjoyed it, but I do have to say it didn't feel like there was much of a plot. There was no real climax to the story. I kind of felt like it was building towards Cather meeting her mom for the first time in over a decade, that there would be some emotional resolution there, but when it happened, while it was certainly a difficult moment for Cather, that was the extent of it. And then it was over. That was the way with most of the difficulties she encountered in the story. There was some build up, it happened, it ended, no big deal. It didn't really feel like anything got resolved, except the standard coming-of-age bit, with Cather learning to come out of her shell and be her own person apart from Wren.

That being said, if you read and/or write fanfiction like me, it was still a lot of fun to read. If you don't read and/or write fanfiction, I don't think you'd really get it. But I'll happily explain anything you have questions on.

I need book rec's. What books have you been loving lately?

TV- Moar spoilers!

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.- An inflatable raft. Really? Really? If it had been a small hole, maybe, but really?

Also, there was some fangirl squeeing at the super special secret end scene, but they kind of hyped that up way too much. I love Nick Fury and all, but chill out already. It would have been so much better if they'd kept it quiet. Although I am sad Coulson doesn't get his fish tank. I love Coulson. And I want to see more Agent May. So, chilly down on the hype, and more Agent May and Coulson, okay?

Castle- Okay, I knew he wasn't going to die, and that sort of takes away a lot of the suspense. Also, I'm not loving the Attorney General gig. I miss Ryan and Esposito being a part of the team. I know they were still in it, but in a sort of bit part. I'm hoping Beckett gets sick of the political machinations, punches a senator in the face, and goes back to New York. And then Ryan and Esposito are technically in charge, because she's the low man on the totem pole again. That would be fun.

Once Upon A Time- So. Many. Plotholes. I like the show, but my suspension of disbelief only goes so far.

Shameless Self-Promotion
This week I posted: