This year, I joined a library!

Before I talk about joining the library, I want to mention that right this moment my friend Michael Atkinson's book CATRINA IN SPACE, which I read, loved and reviewed here, is available in eBook format free. If you want very silly yet clever entertainment in a sci-fi sort of way, check out this link to get your free e-copy on Amazon!

Right, now moving on to the point of this post: "This year, I joined a library!" This may seem a strange statement coming from a librarian, but there you have it. I joined a public library out of the desperate need to stop buying so many books, and here's why I am so desperate:

A rather old bookshelf literally sags under the weight of (some of) my TBR list.

A rather new bookshelf harbours books I read in 2012, 2011, and some books read years ago...and also at the top is my "TBRRN" shelf - i.e. "to be read right now"

This third bookcase, also rather old (i.e. from the late 80s or early 90s) harbours yet more books I've read in the far distant past (or in some cases, re-read quite recently)

So yes, I joined a library, not just 'cause I wanted a break from breaking the bank on Book Depository (which really I should refer to as my preccciouuuuussss 'cause it is rather addictive!), but also because I have no room for new books!

It's shameful, really, that it's taken me this long (though I did belong to the public library I worked at back in 2008 for a couple of months). But maybe it's the same as how this hairdresser chick I met recently sometimes doesn't wash her own hair for two weeks at a time

Book Review: CATRINA IN SPACE

I first met Princess Catrina back when she was called Princess Caitlin, and appeared in a Chrysalis Experiment story in 2011. Little did I know where Caitl-rina's journey would take her - across 53 episodes of the Catrina Chronicles and one complete Catrina novel, the one I'm talking about here! I haven't read all the episodes yet, but I'm up to episode #48 and slowly but surely getting all caught up!

It took me a while to get around to reading CATRINA IN SPACE, but now that I have, I can say I was not disappointed. There are so many things to love about this story - the kick-arse heroine Catrina herself, the space hamsters and occasional mentions of the hamster rock band Gerballica (classic!). Undeniable heroics with a towel, and the fact that there's a woodmouse with a Southern accent called Becky-Jane. As always, the evilness of Susan and how it was eclipsed by the evilness of Murphy. The almost teaming up of Catrina and Susan (I thought the universe really was going to break at that point). And the Pen of Creation? Genius. I also appreciated that the author had ultimate control (even if he can't necessarily control his characters' sassy backtalk. haha). I guess it reassures me as a writer myself that my characters do NOT have the final say...or at least I like to think so.

I also confess that I love that I got an acknowledgement as a loyal Catriniac in the back of the book. Thanks Michael, but the pleasure really has been all mine. ;)

What I really want to do now is go through the novel again and add some of my favourite quotes (of which there are way too many to count) to GoodReads, so that you guys can get a taste of Michael Atkinson's genius comedy.

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Buy Catrina in Space from Amazon.com.

2012 goals so far

I've got a huge playing card collection...this is one of my packs!

(I collect them while travelling, you see)

This year, I've got my usual Goals page, but I also did up this chart (inspired by Ruthie at Live, Love, Laugh, Write! and her spreadsheet) that helps me keep track of my weekly goals. They're not all writing goals, but here's a rundown on them anyway:

• WIP chapter review - I'm working on FIRE, and I've edited two chapters which have merged into one. I've cut out a few words, but I'm already thinking of the next round of revisions where I may chop off many thousands of words from the start (as happened with SUNDOWN revisions). FIRE sure as heck needs some slash 'n burn. This round though, I'm taking it easy, to refamiliarise myself with the story.
• Chrysalis story review - I've revised two so far. One of them I'm shelving, but I'll keep working on the other in the hopes of someday submitting it somewhere. The latter started out at about 3.7k, and is now over 5k.
• Read Catrina story - Catrina is a character of Michael's creation (Michael was a participant in Chrysalis last year). He wrote many instalments of the Catrina (formerly Caitlin) saga, and somewhere along the way, I fell behind and stopped reading them. So far this year I've read two!
• Yoga classes - I skipped the first one solely due to not having any cash at all and being totally broke. Too much sharing? *Blush* But I went to yoga this week and got stretched to within an inch of my life. haha. Pigeon Pose was quite an eye-opener...
• Beach walks - I do these on the weekends. They're 4km walks followed by a glorious swim in the beautiful ocean. Got to love my home town for its beaches!
• Write song - So far I've written one, but haven't got to this week's yet. However, I have the entire weekend to work on it so I'm not worried. My goal this time is to write a rockin' song instead of yet another melancholy one (I've written a lot of melancholy stuff in the last few years).
• WIP 1000 words - Generally I've written about 1.5k per week. I'm working on DANNA, one of last year's NaNo novels). I'm mostly happy with my progress so far, but I also know that part of the story is weak, so I'll have to look at improving that later.
• Sort 100 photos - I'm well on top of this, having sorted way more than 100 photos. But the hard part of this really hasn't begun yet, scared to say!
• Monthly goals (Travel post, Book review) - I have not done either of these yet. Better get cracking!

In other news, I got some awards - THANKS people! - and will address those at some point soon. But also, check out my Blogfests, Etc. page for some cool upcoming activities!

How's 2012 going for you guys so far?