entirely ruined her disposition with books

So despite my typical complete disinterest in sports that don't involve doing pretty twirling on ice or doing flips on four-inch-wide beams, I actually quite enjoy the Olympics. Mostly because of the ideal behind them--the idea of the whole world getting together peacefully to just have some serious fun. Like, that's beautiful (I wish there was something else where everyone in the world got together that way--something that doesn't involve sports, but what can you do?). And I know it doesn't always live up to the ideal (Munich 72), and I also know that there's really nothing fair about modern sports (the amount of training and the facilities the rich countries get skew everything horribly towards them), I still like it.

Mostly I like hearing the stories about the competitors--those little mini-documentaries we get--and I'm always on the lookout for a good story, some beautiful transcendant moment like that one swimmer from Equatorial Guinea who had never swum the length of a pool and yet kept going a few games ago, or the time the runner hurt his leg while running and his dad came down and helped him struggle through the end of the race--people, even if sports are silly (which, they really are when you think about it), that is gorgeous.

So I'm always on the lookout for things that construct narratives out of something that is essentially narrative-less (which I think is why I can enjoy sports movies without actually enjoying sports). Yay that.

But you know what I hatehatehate about the Olympics? NBC'S COVERAGE. The way they chop things up--we get fifteen minutes of swimming, then we're back to gymnastics for thirty minutes, then we're back to swimming, then we move over to diving. NO. DO NOT WANT. It's stupid because of the time difference--you absolutely could show all of each event at the same time. I feel like they're trying to manipulate me into watching things I don't want to watch--into keeping the TV on even during events I don't care about so as to make me watch ads so they can get money. Gross.

I would watch things online where you can do it all in one sitting, except that I like making icons while I watch, and I can't do both. So I'm stuck with muting the TV during things I don't care about while keeping one eye on the screen so I can turn the volume back up when something I like comes back on. UGH.

Also: Ryan Seacrest, go home. I cannot take you seriously.

I bet y'all in other countries have better coverage than we do, don't you? Tell me about it and make me jealous.

To close on a happier note: as I was watching the countries come into the arena on Friday night, the only thing I coud think of was I HAVE NEVER SEEN SO MANY ATTRACTIVE PEOPLE IN ONE PLACE.

A series of things you probably care nothing about! Yay!

- I have finally (finally, finally) seen Inglorious Basterds and I am in love. I have sort of a love/hate thing with Tarantino, but there is no hate here, only love.

( flailing and squeeing about the movie )

Now I just need an icon....

- This past weekend was warm! Like, short-sleeves warm! I washed my truck, and it is shining and clean and lovely. It was disgusting before, covered with all that streaky whiteness that is the result of snow and salt. My daddy showed me how to change the oil, too, so now I know how to do that in addition to changing tires and such. Things everyone needs to know, y/y?

- Work kinda sucks. I need a new job.

- I am annoyed that the Russian couple got the bronze in ice dancing (you know you've been in Buffy fandom too long when: you want to capitalize the word "bronze" every time you type it). I thought they were heavy on their feet and that Belbin and Augusto (of whom I've been very fond for a long time) had a much more poweful skate. But I was thrilled for Virtue and Moir (who were exquisite), and I fangirl Davis and White liek woah, so I was very pleased about their medals.

- KIM YU-NA DID JAMES BOND. HOW AWESOME IS THAT? Also, it made me wish that there was a female equivalent of Bond. That would be epic. Help me cast such a thing. Zoe Saldana, perhaps?

- Speaking of skating, a new entry into the list of things-I-shouldn't-care-about-but-I-do: Evan Lysacek is dating Nastia Liukin. Why is this the cutest thing I have ever heard ever ever ever? I do not know, but I love her and I love him, and the idea of them hanging out and comparing gold medals has me squeeing for joy when I usually could care less about the love lives of famous people. Adorable x 1000.

- Thank y'all so much for the book recs. I swung by the library Monday night and picked up a few, and there are so many more that I'm so excited about! I knew you'd come through; y'all all have great taste!

- A question: Would anybody be interested in Three Sentence Drabble-a-Thon or something like that? There was one I was a part of (and a few members of my flist made appearances as well) a short time ago, but there wasn't much (any?) Buffyverse stuff, and I was wondering if y'all would be interested. The thing I like about it is that it takes so little time--you can whip them out in a few moments, so there's no commitment there, but it's enough to get the creative juices flowing. Thoughts?

But first: curling: greatest thing ever, y/y? I'm beginning to think that it's not that I don't like sports, it's just that I don't like sports that are popular in America. Caber toss? I'm all over that nonsense. Clearly, I should move to Scotland and watch rugby and curling and other awesome sports.

Anyway, back to books.

So, as most of you know, I was an English major. I never even considered another major; I knew in elementary school what I was going to do. I've always been a big reader, and I was in college, too, though I read less books because I was reading longer, more complex ones--lots and lots of the classics. And there were some amazing books--to give you an idea, Absalom, Absalom! is my favorite book. Period. And I never would have read Madam Bovary or The End of the Affair or something on my own, but: brilliant.

But. Since graduation, I hadn't been reading much. Well, that's not true; I'd been reading lots of fic and lots of Jezebel articles and lots of essays online about race and gender and other interesting things. But I hadn't read very many books. I think I got sort of burned out? I was reading such intense, complex texts on a very analytical level for four years of college that I needed to...not do that anymore. And it made me sad, because reading is what I do. I only read 23 books last year. That's very, very low for me, and I was kind of disappointed in myself.

But in the last month or so, I've been wanting to read all the time, and I think my appetite is back. I'm so happy! It feels so good!

So this is me asking for book recs.

A couple of things:

1. Nothing too dense, please. I know I need to read Lolita and War and Peace, and I want to, so I'll get to them eventually, though probably not anytime soon. But at the same time, I am not a beach read reader. I like well-written books (read: nothing Nicholas Sparks-esque or Jodi Picoult-ian, okay?).

2. I have no interest in reading about contemporary Western people. I want to go somewhere else when I read. This means that I want:
A. Books set in some other historical period or, at the very least, somewhere else on the planet.
B. Speculative fiction. I love fantasy, and I love character-driven sci-fi, though I lean toward the former. (Also, re: fantasy: I'm over the whole "we're going on a journey through a vaguely medieval European" brand of fantasy, and I'd prefer something unique).

3. I like long books. Something meaty that I can really dig my teeth into. This isn't a must, but just something to keep in mind.

4. Character, character, character, okay?

5. Most important: I want I-love-it books. Books y'all love. That you'd read more than once. There are too many books to read to waste my time on something that's just okay. So only rec it if you love it (or if you think I might love it).

Help me out, y'all?

The Olympic coverage hasn't even been on for twenty minutes, and I'm already crying like a baby.

I teared up at the coverage of the death of Nodar Kumaritashvili (could anything be more tragic?), but then I lost it when they did their little salute to the Canadia/American relationship. Oh, Canada. I love you. Y'all are awesome.

It's montages: pretty pictures and emotional music and pretty words that make me cry like you wouldn't believe. I'm going to cry again and again and again over the next couple of weeks, because they always do these little mini-documentaries about the atheletes and all they've overcome, and I AM SUCH A SAP. I JUST CRY!

I mean, I've been crying for the past month and a half about the Olympmics already: there's this credit card commercial with MORGAN FREEMAN narrating and it makes me sob every time.

Watch it yourself:



*sob*

DO YOU SEE WHAT THEY DO TO ME?

I love the Olympics!