the list

[katekat]

- thanks everybody, who sympathized with my less than fun eye pain.  I'm now mostly back to normal, except for some drops I have to administer every 3 hours - to ensure I don't get pink eye (and probably to keep those pesky aliens away or something)

- Japanese test results:  Oral Exam = 85% (massive YAY).  Written Exam = 73% (slightly more somber yay).  I'm counting the entire business as a win, because Japanese is not an easy language, and a 73% is a damn good score. 

- However, Sufism & Islamic Mysticisms test results:  51... out of 100.  Yep, I about died too.  I thought I'd done badly, but not *that* badly.  There will be much studying of Sufism in my future.  Cancel spring break and call it 'read and flashcard until I drop' instead. 

- still waiting for the results from American History and Government (one of which might get returned tomorrow).  I should have done significantly better on both of those, since they actually required interpretation instead of just regurgitation.

- I have read the new Anita Blake novellette (or whatever I'm supposed to call it) and am... less than impressed.  It read more like repetative fanfic than anything else. 

Does the woman really have to repeat the SAME EXACT LINES over and over?  Really cheezy ones too, like "he got that look in his eyes that a man gets when he knows he's sure of you." GAH!  I don't  think that look exists except in her head, and she's used it in EVERY sex scene in both the Anita & Merry Series.  Also, if this was meant to 'flesh out' Micah as a character, could she have at least given us more than a couple of paragraphs devoted to him?  I felt like the story went just like this: 
a. plane!fear YUK
b. sexist comments from the FBI guy ARG
c. committment!fear GAH
d. micah, who's he?
e. MORE committment!fear GAH
f. teh SEX (which I actually *skipped* this time)
g. sex!blood!non-angst WHA?
h. zombie raising!fear WHOOPS
i. oh, I'm hurt, ok, back in the hospital, safe and sound with two boyfriends again.

I will NOT buy the next one.  OH NO.  The pregnancy thing alone made me want to hurl, but if she's gotten this repetative (seriously, could the woman use a different set of phrases to describe how anita feels safe and a huge connection with Micah?  Because I'm reading the same thing I read in the first book he was in.  Now it's just stale as year-old-bread)

Actually, qualification:  more like repetative bad!fic.  I am terribly pleased I was not the one who paid for it, becuase I would seriously consider asking for my money back.

- now that i've got that rant out of my system... um, i'm boring and lame because those are the only things I have to talk about.  ha.

- oh, one more!  My boyfriend is cute and my cat is the cutest.  That works.

eta - one more thing! In a complete and utter waste of time last night I decided to add graphics to my profile. HAHA time management gurus! I defy you with my piffing away of time!

Comments

[dara-starscream.livejournal.com]

You skipped the sex? Yikes.

(pets your cutest cat, leaving the boyfriend petting to you)

Hooray for mega-test scores! You rule hon. Have a trophy.
-BJ

[katekat]

thanks lady! and yeah, i couldn't really believe that of myself either - i mean, i'll read Spara for gods sake. so you know it's got to be bad ...

i think maybe she needs a good beta... maybe?

[elizabuffy.livejournal.com]

Hey! that makes it sound like spara is teh yuck!

*pouts in your general direction*

♥s Spara

~e!

[katekat]

lol! you used the POUT! I LOVE the pout!

and i know, it's not really that bad to like spara, except that so much of it is dreck! that i'm not sure if the success of the pairing is more due to the talents of the authors than to any of the character's personality traits, you know?

like, i've been reading the old stuff in the b/g archives and realizing why i didn't have much of it saved: it's dissappointingly horrid. There are so few good authors!

but I do LOVE Spara too!! I promise!

[emeraldswan.livejournal.com]

I will NOT buy the next one.

I say that about every Anita book. I always cave . . . though to my credit, I've not purchased Micah yet.

[katekat]

honestly, i'll think about buying the next full book, but probably at a used book store so i don't feel so guilty.

and micah took me less than 2 hours to read - was shorter than most fanfic i read these days. sadly. my advice is to get it used too....

and I LOVE your icon!

(ooo, i'm going to go respond to your email too)

[emeraldswan.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I actually made that icon. I love that scene, too . . . a classic Xander moment.

I didn't start reading the AB books until last year, so I bought all of them in paperback, and the oldest ones were very cheap. I tried very hard to wait until the paperback of ID came out to buy it, but I caved when Amazon had it on for less than ten dollars. Usually, though, the Harry Potter books are the only ones I buy as soon as they come out.

[katekat]

i totally understand about not being able to wait for her books in paperback - I've got the last three in hard cover for the exact same reason... and i'll probably cave just because i can't stand the idea that the story goes on without me knowing what's happening (that's one of my biggest book things - I have to know what comes next!)...but I'll probably complain about it at the same time *grin* because I'm that much of a dork. Besides, it gives me something to rant about, right?

[pixelleate.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad your eye is better. I have eye issues...eye things freak me out.


- oh, one more! My boyfriend is cute and my cat is the cutest. That works.<.i>

Freaky...it's like we had the same thought with the same brain, momentarily.

[katekat]

thanks sweetie! and that's hilarious - cats and bfs are both good.

[mishloran.livejournal.com]

I can't say nuffink about Anita Black 'cause I haven't bought or read any of her books ever, but I can categorically tell you NOT to buy Queen of the Slayers, a BTVS book whose editing was so bad it had me ranting randomly to people about it. OH MY GOD. Also it was badly written and there was pregnant by both Angel and Spike Bufy ay the end and OH MY GOD, How discustingly out of character for all of them? Etcetera etcetera. Also the author's mixing of Latin and Greek throughout (and inability to translate problerly, too) pissed me off.... the wound, it is still raw!

Also, do not worry too much about te bad test result, the good ones will make up for it (I@M SO impressed by the 70+es!)

Also does your boyfriend know his cuteness ranks only second to the cats?!

[katekat]

well, I will say if you like the tough-talking-vampire-hunting-lots of UST (until the later books, when there's lots of smut) kind of fun novels, they're a great break from serious reading. However, I think I may've gotten too invested, since I'm now ranting about her. But I promise not to buy Queen of the Slayers - it sounds dreadful.

re: bad test result, I'm going to be talking to the prof about extra credit so I don't fail the class too badly.

re: boyfriend cutness - he actually agrees with me about the cat cuteness (part of the reason why we dote on her - we're both smitten) ... and he'd probably say the same thing in the same order about the cat and me! *grins & points to icon*

[dwg.livejournal.com]

I'm kinda at the point where I'm thinking the annoying, repetitive bad!fic that I've come across is much better than what LKH has been publishing lately.

Mon dieu, the horror of it all.

I'm willing to put money down now that the next 'official' book in the series will tank with fans. Sales are another thing entirely, I'm sure it'll do all right in sales because people honestly want to know about the horror of it all - but I don't think LKH will be winning any new ones after this.

[katekat]

that's a perfect assessment of the whole situation. Sadly, that will not pull her up short and make her reevaluate her repetative writing style. Heck, I'd be happy if she just went back and reread her own books to realize how much she's said before, in the same way.

Ok, I'll stop bitching now. And maybe go read your snark of CD.

[dwg.livejournal.com]

Oh god, I need to finish writing that. I've got a huge chunk of book to recap and I really hate writing up huuuge chunks.

But I'll give it a go. Reading a bootlegged Micah has motivated me to resume my snarkage. *thumbs up*

[lillianmorgan.livejournal.com]

Congratulations on your scores. The Japanese ones are outstanding and at least for the 2nd one you passed! :) I wish you lots of good luck for the ones you're still waiting for. I'm really impressed with what you're studying. Sufism & Islamic Mysticisms sounds so fascinating, something I've always been interested too, but only really touched the surface of in terms of what to read. Any pointers?
Very glad to hear that the eye situation is on the mend ::hugs::

[katekat]

Thanks for the test!encouragement lady! I've got spring break between me and the tests, so plan on cramming like crazy that week.

Now, with regards to the Sufi class - honestly, although the material is really interesting, and the professor is really smart, the class is not what I'd hoped just because it's one of those 150 people lectures, not a 15-25 person conversation class where we really get into the materials. However, one of the books we've read I thought was really interesting, it's like a philosophical dissertation on Islam (and is considered a Sufi text): The Alchemy of Happiness by Al Chazzali. (which, it turns out after a simple search, you can get for free here: http://www.sacred-texts.com/isl/tah/ ) The language is different than the usual (because he died in 1200s... not exactly a new guy), and once I got into it I really liked it. Also, it's really interesting to see how he suggests philosphy, society, etc should be structured.

[lillianmorgan.livejournal.com]

the class is not what I'd hoped just because it's one of those 150 people lectures, not a 15-25 person conversation class where we really get into the materials.
Yeah, that's a real shame. Tends to completely alter the feeling of the class too doesn't it? Poop.
Thanks so much for that link, I will definitely take a look :)
The language is different than the usual (because he died in 1200s... not exactly a new guy), and once I got into it I really liked it.
Heeeee! But, still, it's amazing some of the ideas they had back then, so completely devoid of our need to consume, consume, consume!