Random Updates

[oilan]

• Borrowed my first book with the Libby app, now that I have a library card (awesome!) -- and leave it to me to choose one I ended up really wanting to buy to read over and over again. It was Friday's Child by Georgette Heyer, and for a book where 5/6 of the main characters are utter idiots, I enjoyed it immensely! Highly recommend it to Regency romance fans -- it includes a sweet and earnest heroine, a hero that undergoes a full character arc (albeit needing a bit of a push from his friends), a parody Byronic hero, and two dudes who are 100% in love (at least in my own mind). Predictably, responsible and slightly awkward Gil Ringwood was my favorite character.
• Someone needs to talk me out of starting the Wilbour translation of Les Mis. I have so much more to read, but every time I crack open this book I fall a little bit more in love with it. I have a good feeling about it and want to see if it will beat out Donougher as my favorite translation.
• Zac is currently bribing me into cooking for us more (which I should be doing anyway, since he both works more hours AND cooks for us 90% of the time) by saying he'll listen to my Les Mis audiobook with me in exchange. I wonder if he thinks he's set an impossible task for me, so then he won't have to? Joke's on him -- I'm determined to indoctrinate gently introduce him to appreciating this book too, and have been wanting to trick myself into actually liking to cook.
• I've been slacking terribly when it comes to writing and drawing. I'm trying to focus on writing my fic about Combeferre meeting Grandaunt Enjolras, and I'm pleased about it so far. It looks like it's going to be one of my longer one-shots (3500 words so far, and the grandaunt has just been introduced). It feels good to finally write something I've been thinking about for so long, but I don't know how it's possible to feel so inspired and yet so lazy about actually doing anything.
• Planning on re-starting Skyrim. The question is whether I remake a Skyrim!Enjolras or a different character. Playing as a grizzled and confused-why-he's-there Enjolras who has to deal with dragons and guilt-tripping orphans and being sucked into alternate dimensions adds a hilarious layer to the game, but maybe some other character would be just as fun!
• I've really been slacking on my French studies also. If anyone has any tips for self-study/motivation, let me know? Got a really good intermediate grammar book, multiple audiobooks and shows and podcasts, Lingvist, and Rocket French. If I'm really serious, though, I should probably find a language partner since speaking is the hardest thing.
• I'm going to be home in Hawaii for my aunt's 90th birthday next week, so I don't know how much time I'm going to have to keep up with my other hobbies, but I will try!

Comments

[troisoiseaux]

ISN'T LIBBY GREAT???????? My library also offers digital loans on Hoopla, but I'm less of a fan of its format and it has less actual (e-)books, it's mostly audiobooks and movies. :/

[oilan]

It's a little TOO great -- I don't even know what to do with myself now that all those books are just there, WAITING FOR ME <3 My library uses Hoopla as well, but you're right, I'm just going to use that for movies!

[genarti]

I don't have any good tips for self-study/motivation, I'm afraid! My best tip is that if you find something fun for listening practice, then you can be like "this isn't slacking off, it's LANGUAGE PRACTICE." I did a lot of watching C'est pas sorcier and Le meilleur pâtissier that way. That's not much good for speaking practice, though, or grammar. I am terrible at motivating myself to do grammar practice in any kind of sustained way, though, and I agree that a language practice partner is the best way by far to practice speaking. (Though sometimes I'll read aloud for pronunciation practice.)

It feels good to finally write something I've been thinking about for so long, but I don't know how it's possible to feel so inspired and yet so lazy about actually doing anything.

Oh look you have described the majority of my experience with writing. >.

[oilan]

If only finding a language partner wasn't so daunting! There are apps like Tandem of course, but I don't like talking to strangers even in English, lol. At least Netflix and podcasts make it easy to find listening practice, and my old French teacher gave me some very good recs for grammar books.

And the writing struggle is real! I wish this fic would magically finish itself, haha