Stuff I've been doing

- Getting settled in at work. I'm still enjoying it a lot, though I'm always pretty fried after working nights.

- Playing ALL THE GAMES on my new PC. It's so shiny!

- Been messing with a short children's story idea (it involves carpet sharks).

- Continuing operation I Am The Person Who Lives Here. Currently this is mostly in the garden. I've been slowly clearing out the weeds and while I think it looks like I'm not doing much, the neighbours on both sides regularly give me an enthusiastic thumbs-up about how things are looking. And when I look at my brush pile/compost heap near the back fence, I realise I've already done a hell of a lot of work.

And things are now sprouting! I believe the bee hyssop seeds died in the two month autumn that's just passed, but one or two may still make a surprise appearance. Several sunflower seeds are sprouting, nasturtiums are randomly popping up in the wood chips, my wildflowers are all going insane in the second bed. My gifted baby borage is doing really well and hanging out in the big bed being all fuzzy and adorable.

My thyme overwintered and flowered! I'm not sure that's supposed to happen to a plant that was bought for two quid at the local supermarket and shoved in a barely prepared corner of the big bed. Both the sage and English lavender are hanging out and putting on more leaves. I lost over half my tomatoes and all my beans, but my potatoes are growing like there's no tomorrow (sprouted eating potatoes planted using the 'chuck them over there and I'll shovel some soil on them later' method).

I have one (1! Ahaha!) chilli plant. It had a flower, which has now shriveled up. I hope this means there will be a chilli pepper eventually. There's also a bunch of sweet pepper plants that need planting out, but I need containers and soil first. I'm also going buy a couple of plants that already have flowers and that will do some good now rather than wait for potential success with seeds next year.

The honeysuckle is attempting to invade the big bed again by burrowing underground. Wily bugger. I'm just pulling the sprouts out as and when they come up, because I can't get at any leftover roots and such without destroying my bed. Of course, if we're building an extension, we might as well clear and resurface the garden...ah well, that's for the future. The rose refuses to die, but is now a small bush, as opposed to some kind of three-sprigged monstrosity. Hopefully I can keep it small and contained.

- Other things: I'll post that in a different entry.

Here's the other thing [Recommendations]

While I've been reading a lot of fic and books I got ages ago, I'm currently going through the list of of the 2012 Hugo nominees. This year, six people I admire and read on a regular basis got nominated, so I bought myself a Supporting Membership to Chicon (2012 WorldCon), which comes with electronic versions of all nominees and thus allows me to actually make a decision based on merit, rather than on pure fangirl levels. I will try to remember this come voting time.

I'd like to recommend a few things that I love (and in some cases should have recommended yonks ago). The list is long, so this will be a few entries spread over some days/weeks, I think.

2012 Hugo Nominees

Graphic Novel

Fables by Bill Willingham and Mark Buckingham. Here's the thing: I love reimagined fairytales and folklore, so I was predisposed to like Fables from the start. I didn't expect to enjoy it this much, though. It's not 'fairytale characters are thrown into the real world, shenanigans ensue' (okay, it is. But that's not everything!). The characterisation, storytelling and artwork are all top notch. The first story arc, for example, is a classic murder mystery, with Bigby Wolf (think on it for a bit, it will come to you) as its equally classic sheriff/private eye who has to solve the whole mess. It sounds trite and overdone, but it really isn't.

Digger by Ursula Vernon (ursulav). Oh, come on. Is anyone really surprised this is one of my recommendations? I've been raving about this to any of my friends who didn't have the foresight to run away when I started getting That Look in my eyes. The author is awesomely entertaining and I pretty much recommend anything she does. However, I especially love Digger. I have a fondness for black and white art, epic story telling and engaging characters anyway, but I love Digger as much as I love Bone and that's damned hard to do. Read it! There are wombats (well, one), talking statues (also only one) and adventures (definitely more than one, a lot of them undertaken reluctantly).

Novel

Deadline by Mira Grant (available in LJ format as seanan_mcguire. This is the second volume in her Newsflesh trilogy and it's just as big a ride as the first volume Feed (which, incidentally, got nominated for the 2011 Hugo). I can't recommend one without the other and the following applies equally to both books: I stayed up all night reading these. I literally could not go to sleep until I had finished them. This was two nights in a row. During a work week. The ending to Feed was like being punched in the heart. It was like a (faint) echo of what it felt like after I lost my dad. That's some seriously good writing, I'm just saying.There was crying. I needed a hug afterwards. Read them! (Also read the novella Countdown, which is also nominated for a 2012 Hugo!) These books are believable zombie suspense/horror: the science behind it works, the people in the books are so real I expect them to walk down my street (or see them online at some point), the storytelling will hook you and take you for a ride you won't ever forget.

Related Works

Jar Jar Binks Must Die... and Other Observations about Science Fiction Movies by Daniel M. Kimmel. Just...go read. The title probably tells you whether or not you will enjoy it. I'm liking it a lot so far.

The Steampunk Bible: An Illustrated Guide to the World of Imaginary Airships, Corsets and Goggles, Mad Scientists, and Strange Literature by Jeff VanderMeer and S. J. Chambers. Same as above. With gorgeous, gorgeous photos and artwork. I wanna steampunk elephant!

Wicked Girls by Seanan McGuire. I love this album. I grabbed it a few days ago and it is a thing of joy. I am rubbish at recommending music, because my eyes start glazing over when others (or even myself) get technical, but I'll try. Wicked Girls has got punch. The songs all tell a story. A lot touch on fairytales/folklore (most subverted), but several tie into her fictional worlds as well (not that you need to have read those books in order to like the songs). Give this a go if you like good folk, intelligent lyrics and songs about strong women/girls. I especially recommend Wicked Girls and My Story Is Not Done.

I think I'll leave this here. I've got more to recommend, but they deserve not to get lost in a massive entry that makes people's eyes glaze over.