(no subject)

This is it, I think. My last update from my office here at Reed. I keep trying to think of reasons to stay, but I'm running out. Plus, movers tomorrow at 8 am--oh joy, oh rapture, oh bliss--so I have a lot of packing and laundry to do.

(no subject)

My current packing dilemma does not involve Winston the cat. Instead, it's book-related.

Over the course of the year, as the B.H. and I were rereading the Lymond Chronicles (of course he's read them and liked them) my copies of The Ringed Castle and Pawn in Frankincense began to fall apart. They were old yellow-backed Warner editions that I'd found used at Green Apple Books, back when Dunnett was out-of-print in the US (and hard to find even used). They weren't in great shape to begin with, and since then they've moved with me to England and back--twice--with stops in Chicago, New York and finally Portland.

So when the B.H. informed me that he could no longer read them because pages at the front and back kept falling out I went up to Powell's and bought shiny new versions with covers that do not make it dreadfully clear that the illustrator never read the books. But now, what do I do with my old copies? I can't give them away or sell them, because they're decomposing before my very eyes. But throwing them out seems far too cruel. Is it insane to pack them up and ship them to Halifax?

ETA: Somewhere in the packing frenzy, they made it into a box. God only knows which box.

Alias feedback challenge

I don't know whether Amy did this on purpose, but I was very happy to be assigned an author who writes characters and pairings that I don't usually read. I had a wonderful time reading through the stories on Lara's (larasdice) web page, and I couldn't have asked for a better writer to re-introduce me to the Syd/Vaughn pairing.

I'll start with Borrowed Time. This is Vaughn after the S2 finale, wrecked with hope: ( read more here )

I also enjoyed Equilibrium, a story set immediately after the S1 finale. Lara does a wonderful job skirting the non-con issue here: I don't ordinarily see a great deal of potential violence in the Syd/Vaughn relationship, but here it seemed completely right. ( story spoilers below )

It seems almost trite to point out the technical qualities of Lara's writing, but as one can't take grammar and phrasing for granted, I'll add that her prose is perfectly lucid, without a single awkward or ungrammatical phrase. her rhythms are wonderful. Here's an example from the opening of Communique:

Berlin, this week, and they'll meet up eventually in the club. It will be hot, crowded, smoke over the lights. Smoke in her nose, sweat, and sex. His voice in her ear, worse than sight or scent.
She'll complete the mission. Crack, steal, run, fight, whatever it takes. She'll hand him their quarry in the car, take a deep breath and wipe at the sweat on her forehead. He'll tell her good work, at least. Maybe she'll be amazing this time, if the mission proves difficult and he's got that bold look in his eyes.
This is their protocol.

I just love that.

So thank you, Amy, for organizing the Alias Feedback Challenge, and thank you Lara for writing such excellent stories. This has been a real pleasure.