Shadowchaser44's fan fiction

Supernatural Fan Fiction article

shadowc44 — Wed, 17 Dec 2014 21:36:10 GMT

Long time no post, I'm sorry!

I found an article on zap2it.com about Supernatural fan fiction. It has actual recs. I thought it might be interesting for some of my followers to see it. I have no idea if the authors know their works are being recced in this way:

http://www.zap2it.com/blogs/best_supernatural_fan_fiction_to_get_you_through_hiatus-2014-12

FIC: Forever Home (Glee, Adam/Kurt)

shadowc44 — Sun, 13 Jul 2014 02:55:18 GMT

Here's the link to my completed Glee fic, Forever Home. It's finally up on AO3, for your reading ease. It's an AU, with Adam/Kurt being the main pairing. Adam is wealthy and bored, and decides to adopt a hybrid cat named Kurt. In this universe, hybrid means a being who can change from human to animal. There are no animal characteristics in the human form, so no tail, fuzzy ears, or whiskers. In his cat form, Kurt looks like a regular cat. Both forms have some personality traits of the other, however. It's 461,000 words, so be warned.

It's been updated and corrected as of July 31, 2014.

Forever Home

Broadchurch (no spoilers)

shadowc44 — Wed, 04 Jun 2014 04:20:42 GMT

Finally, eight months or so after recording it on my DVR from BBC America, I finally watched the entirety of Broadchurch, in about 2 1/2 days. I'd tried several times to watch it before, but had a lot of trouble understanding David Tennant's accent. Listening with headphones helps!(Side note: I'm always nervous when I listen to TV with headphones that I might miss a knock on the door or a phone call or something. But because I have Comcast for my phone and TV, there's this cool announcement box that pops up in the middle of the screen, telling me someone's calling and who it is. So cool!)

So, desertport has been asking me for about 8 months, if I've watched it yet. Finally, Port, yes!

Fascinating miniseries. No spoilers here, but I really enjoy murder mysteries, and trying to figure out whodunnit. I accidentally read a spoiler, but looked away as soon as I could. So I kept expecting it to be a certain person, and it wasn't, because I hadn't read the entire spoiler.

There's going to be an American remake (of course!), but this will also star David Tennant in the same role. The lead female character will be played by Anna Gunn, who played Skylar White in Breaking Bad. I don't remember who all else will be in it. I have heard there will be a different killer this time, so it's not just a play-by-play, for those who have seen the original. I was surprised to read very recently, that a second season of the British Broadchurch is in the works, with most of the same actors. That Tennant is a busy guy! What's fascinating to me is, instead of there being another murder, like one might expect in an American show, it's going to focus on the aftermath of the first series. There were so many people in one town who were affected by this case, and now some of those missing pieces will be picked up and inserted into the puzzle, to get a more complete picture of what grief, guilt, secrets, lies, mistrust, and anger do to the residents of a small town, who have to keep dealing with each other, even after some of their most painful, shameful secrets have been revealed.

That was one problem I had with this show, as I do with many other mysteries or suspense series. It's a murder investigation, people. Yes, almost everyone has things they're ashamed of, or want to hide, or are afraid to reveal to the world at large. But lying about anything, to protect your personal secrets, is such a stupid thing to do, when a murder is being investigated. Whatever secrets you have, however personally embarrassing, are not worth impeding an investigation, just to protect yourself. OTOH, I think it will be fascinating to see the long-term consequences of all these things coming to light, now that many of the townpeople know much more about each other than they ever thought they would, or wanted to know.

If anyone wants to talk about this more in depth, feel free to comment, but try to keep spoilers below the first few lines in your comments so others aren't accidentally spoiled. I know, at this point, probably most people who want to see this have already watched it. I finally kicked myself in the rear to do it when I realized they were filming a sequel, as well as the remake, and figured I'd better get it into gear.

Thanks, Port, for encouraging me to watch it!

I'm Still Here

shadowc44 — Tue, 06 May 2014 20:13:51 GMT

I know it's been a long time since I've posted anything, but I'm still around.

I wanted to post an announcement, for any of my friends who perhaps used to like Glee but haven't watched in a long time.

Please watch tonight, or DVR it. Or download it from iTunes, or watch it on OnDemand, or the Fox website…however you can.

Tonight's episode (Tuesday, 5/6) at 8:00 EST, 8:00 PST, and I believe 7:00 MST, Fox will air an episode written by Chris Colfer! Yep, that's right. In addition to writing a series of best-selling books, Chris was asked to write an episode of Glee. He certainly knows his character, Kurt Hummel, better than anyone. And he's a bigger Kurtsie than any of us could ever hope to be. It's the penultimate episode of Season 5, and nobody, including Chris, seems to know what's happening next season, except that the show's been renewed. Chris doesn't even know if he'll be a regular, a guest star, or not on it at all.

The episode is called "Old Dog, New Tricks." It's about adorable old people and dogs. Wait, hang on, there's more! Chris sings "Memory" from Cats, with June Stubbs, who plays a guest character. The episode is also guest-starring Tim Conway (The Carol Burnett show, among many others), and Billy Dee Williams (Star Wars, among many other projects). Chris and June also sing Madonna's "Lucky Star" and are part of the large group singing Eddie Money's "Take Me Home Tonight." Other songs featured are Warren Zevon's "Werewolves of London", sung by Artie and Sam, and "I Melt With You" by Rachel, Mercedes, and Santana. Kurt is depressed about being the only one of his group of friends who hasn't had a huge success in New York, but then he befriends some retired performers in an assisted living home. They're doing a production of Peter Pan, and guess what? They need a new Peter. But Kurt's elfin looks aren't enough to win him the part right away - he needs to audition. Chris Colfer gets to fulfill his dream of flying (in a harness) across the stage as Peter Pan. Meanwhile, Rachel needs to improve her public image, so she, Santana and Mercedes volunteer at a dog rescue shelter, called "Broadway Bitches". Chris said he wanted to write in a cameo for his cat, Brian, but he couldn't resist that name for the shelter. He hopes he can write a part for Brian next year, if he's asked to write another episode.

If you are interested in any aspect of the above, please watch the episode if you can. You can also buy the music, as an EP, for $6, or as individual songs, all available on iTunes.

In a series of interviews, Chris has shown he has exactly the same concerns about the show as a lot of the fans, and former fans. He said he was pleased that the cast said it reminded them of a Season 1 episode, partly because it's about (literal) underdogs again. He wants to see Kurt get some validation for all his hard work, and Kurt is feeling left out of things by his friends, so he finds some kindred spirits who need to feel young again. The songs all fit into the episode. He said it was very important that they have a purpose to support the story. He also wants the audience to get the message that you need to get validation from yourself, not from any outside sources.

I really think it's going to be special, and I'm doing everything I can think of to promote the episode and support Chris. As many of you know, I am as devoid of maternal instincts as it's possible to be. However, I don't know how to explain the proud and protective mama feels I have towards Chris.

Update - SPN fans

shadowc44 — Sun, 08 Sep 2013 16:24:16 GMT

I just realized, I haven't posted anything about Supernatural since late 2011. It's been much longer than that since I've posted any fanfic. It is unlikely that I will ever finish any of my SPN fics, or write any new ones. I simply don't have the motivation I once did.

I'm still watching the show, but instead of watching each episode several times, the last few seasons I've watched them when they aired, and usually not watched the repeats, and usually deleted them off my DVR pretty quickly. I find it much harder than I used to, to care about the characters in the way I need to in order to write them. They've changed so much in the last few years, and while I understand some of the reasons for those changes, I'm not particularly happy about them.

If anyone on my flist is there primarily in hope of getting new fics or fic updates from me, I'm sorry, but it's very unlikely to happen. I won't be offended if you de-friend me, if you're only here for the fics, or you need to weed out your flist, that's fine. I've moved on to other fandoms, and am probably about to move on from the one I've been involved with since SPN, if it doesn't shape up pretty soon.

However, I realize there's a new season coming up for SPN, and maybe things will change. Maybe the brothers will go back to acting like they can stand being in the same room with each other, and will try to work more actively with each other instead of against each other. I'm not sure that will be enough to inspire me to go back to writing about them. I may still post opinions of episodes, but I've hardly done that for the last 2-3 years.

The only fic I'm currently writing is an AU of Glee, and when that's done, I'm not sure when I'll get back to writing. Or at least I'll try to work on shorter projects; this one is over 300,000 words, and not quite 3/4 finished. I haven't even bothered posting it here, since very few people on my flist are ~~Glee~~ Chris Colfer fans.

I also realized I haven't been posting all that much. I'm not really comfortable talking about the daily details of my life. Some of you I know personally, and others, well, frankly I have NO idea who you are, so it makes me a bit nervous about posting personal things. If I've de-friended you, or do so in the future, it's more likely because I don't know who you are or why you're here, or it's been a really long time since we've communicated, which usually indicates changing interests and priorities.

If I've de-friended anyone who really still wants to be on my flist, let me know.

PSA: Walking Dead Marathon July 4

shadowc44 — Mon, 01 Jul 2013 17:50:00 GMT

For anyone who's been thinking about getting caught up on The Walking Dead before the 4th season starts, AMC will be doing a marathon on the July 4 weekend. Season 1 (original and black-and-white versions) airing on Thursday July 4, Season 2 on Friday, Season 3 on Saturday AND Sunday. The episodes will be interspersed with various promo thingies for Season 4.

You're welcome.

Never enough time

shadowc44 — Thu, 20 Jun 2013 11:04:20 GMT

It occurred to me that were she still alive, my mother would be very upset about James Gandolfini's passing. I hope that now she gets to meet him, and tell him how much she enjoyed his work. I just checked IMDB to see if I should add Eli Wallach, but thankfully he's still alive, at 98! So not for a while yet, Mom.

I think Eli Wallach is the only actor my mom ever sent a fan letter to, and that was maybe around 10 years ago. She was saying something about how much she'd loved him in The Good, The Bad & The Ugly, and had enjoyed him in a number of things since. I suggested she write him a letter, and found an address (I think his management company). I was kind of joking at the time that she'd better hurry, because of his age. I believe she did write and send a letter. She never got a reply, so I'm not sure if he ever received it, but at least she got to express her feelings.

I guess my point is this, it's so common to think we'll always have more time to tell someone we care, or admire them, or we love them, and then suddenly it's too late. So if there's anyone in your life you've been thinking you should contact, whether it's someone you actually know personally or not, go ahead. Send an e-mail, or better yet, write an old-fashioned letter where you can write as much as you want. I'm guessing people pay more attention now to a letter someone takes the time to write by hand.

If you think you might have regrets if you never got to say what you want to say to them, you'll feel better if you write, or call them if you can. Don't keep putting it off till "the right time" because sometimes the right time is now.

Change in e-mail address

shadowc44 — Sat, 03 Nov 2012 18:20:33 GMT

My e-mail client that I used to use for LJ and fannish-related stuff suddenly decided, with no warning, to go from a free-or-paid service to just a paid service. I decided to go with a different free account. I also don't have access to any of my e-mails or addresses or anything at the old account.

If anyone has been trying to reach me through my former e-mail account in the last week or two, please check my profile for my new e-mail address. I haven't had the old one for about a week, so I may have missed some messages.

Avengers DVD

shadowc44 — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 00:59:49 GMT

Because I think there are at least a few Avengers fans on my flist, I thought I'd mention that Amazon now has the 2-disc BluRay of the movie at the same price as the regular 1-disc DVD, $19.99.

I had pre-ordered the regular version, but decided since they're the same price, I might as well get the ton of extras that are only available on BluRay. I imagine most people have either already pre-ordered the BluRay from somewhere, or were planning on getting it anyway, but I think this is a heckuva good price.

Still haven't seen the movie, but I've now seen Thor, both Iron Man movies, and Captain America, so hopefully that will be enough background to be able to appreciate the movie. Never was much of a comic book fan, so I don't know much about the other characters that weren't in one of the above movies.

FIC - Brian Colfer, Future NASCAR Racer (Glee RPF, Gen)

shadowc44 — Sun, 15 Jul 2012 03:21:11 GMT

Title: Brian Colfer, Future NASCAR Racer
Fandom: Glee RPF
Type: Gen
Rating: G
Characters: Chris Colfer, Brian Colfer, Ashley Fink
Summary: Chris finds the purrfect distraction for his feline roommate, so he can write.
Disclaimer: I regret to say I own none of the characters in this fic, and mean no harm to the real beings named herein.

Chris thanked the delivery man and carried the box to the kitchen table. Once he'd freed it from the delivery box and outer packaging, he was able to show Ashley his latest acquisition.

She didn't seem sufficiently impressed. "Why do you need the RoboVac 3000? You have a perfectly good vacuum cleaner."

Chris shook his head, disappointed in her lack of imagination. "This is much more than a vacuum cleaner. Look, I'll show you." He started to walk into the living room as he called, "Bri--" He barely avoided tripping over the large cat who had suddenly appeared. "Hey, buddy, look what I have for you!"

He set the small, round device on the floor and turned it on. It started moving around the kitchen floor, seemingly of its own accord.

Brian examined the intruder skeptically, then they could practically see the light bulb going on over his head.

He jumped onto the device and settled, letting it zoom around the room while the humans snickered. They obviously didn't have sufficient appreciation for his genius. They probably expected it to take longer for him to master this new device.

Lacking fingers to snap, he imperiously demanded, "Brian-mover! Treats! Take me now!" His motorized vehicle ignored the command, zipping around randomly. He ignored the silly humans, who were leaning against each other and making alarming wheezing sounds. "Now, dammit!" he insisted, thinking raising his voice would show the device that he was serious. He attempted to point his paw in the direction he wished to go, the cabinet above the sink. The obstinate transport didn't levitate, or even move in that direction. Instead, it bumped into the table leg, and got caught between the table and chairs.

"Should we rescue him?" Ashley managed to choke out.

Chris wiped his eyes. "Nah, let him figure it out. Sorry, Ash, I don't mean to be rude, but I'm wasting a prime writing opportunity here. I'll see you tomorrow?"

She glanced down at the floor, where Brian was still meowing at the top of his lungs, his ears flattened and tail thumping against the chair legs. "I should have known you had an ulterior motive. Call me if he catches on and you need a ride to the hospital."

Chris merely raised an eyebrow at her, then hastily retreated to his bedroom. He figured he had at most 15 minutes before Brian gave up his quest. He could surely finish the chapter he was on, and maybe write two more, in that time.

Yay technology!

shadowc44 — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 15:01:18 GMT

I just watched the repeat of the live stream of Chris Colfer at the BEA (Book Expo of America) breakfast, which he hosted this morning. I missed the original live stream, which aired about 5:30 a.m. my time, but someone responded to my dismayed reply, pointing out it was showing again, and I only missed a couple of minutes. I realized this because there's now a YouTube video of Chris's speech. I"m not even sure I"m using the correct terms, because this is another corner of the Internet I haven't explored until now. By the way, Chris's first book, a children's fantasy novel called "The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell" will be released July 17 this year. I think he's already started working on the sequel.

I remember the days when we didn't have the Internet, and then when you could only get it if you worked in certain industries, and obviously at that time there was no such thing as live streaming. In those long-gone days, if something was actually televised and you missed it, you could hope it would be re-run, but usually you just missed it and that's all there was to it. I'm really thrilled that I can vicariously take part in so many events because technology makes it so accessible. It's amazing enough, in some ways, that we can read almost instantaneous accounts of events if people tweet or blog about them, and can see pictures or brief snippets of videos people share. It's not the same as being there, but it's as close as we know how to get now.

I suppose in the future there will be even better ways to somehow capture live events and share them with others who weren't there, but I'm just amazed at the technological advances I've seen in my lifetime (52 years).

I'll post the links in a minute, in case any of you are interested in watching the BEA events.

YouTube clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=le3hXg9VHkE#!

BEA livestream page: http://www.bookexpoamerica.com/Show-Info/Streamed-Live-Events/?campaignid=61690097&iusercampaignid=71477276

I'm not sure why the second one isn't an actual link, but you can copy and paste it into your browser, and it should work.

Why isn't this all over my flist, and the internet in general? J2 sans pants

shadowc44 — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 01:40:45 GMT

http://blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/2011/12/supernatural-jared-padalecki-and-jensen-ackles-take-their-pants-off-for-the-cause.html

Go to the above article to see a hilarious video. It has something to do with encouraging us to vote for SPN at the People's Choice Awards.

So...Glee. Why have I never heard of this show before, LOL.

shadowc44 — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 06:36:15 GMT

Okay, yes, I've heard of Glee before, and seen a lot of references to it in various posts and TV site blogs. I always thought, "Eh, doesn't really sound like my cup of tea," and, "Oh, Gawd, high school kids, again, some more, really?" But tonight, I sorta accidentally started watching it. I was flipping channels, when I realized Dancing with the Stars was on at 9:00, not 8:00, and I came across this group of guys singing a pretty awesome version of 'Uptown Girl' by Billy Joel. Huh. Oh, yeah, this is that musical show. But I kept watching, because I'd seen several references to the storyline, and it seemed interesting. And also, the singing was much better than I'd expected.

Anyway, I don't want to spoil anything for those who haven't seen it yet, but I was pretty impressed, and caught on pretty quickly as to some of the main characters and what was going on. So, why have I waited...how many years now, to watch this? I think I'm going to have to try to catch up.

The CW once again shows Smallville and SPN fans what they think of us

shadowc44 — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 02:24:50 GMT

http://www.tvline.com/2011/01/smallville-supernatural-returns-delayed-a-week/

Yes, you read the right, the CW decided TODAY that it's more important to re-air the new episodes of Nikita and The Vampire Diaries tomorrow, in place of new episodes of Smallville and Supernatural. The reasoning is that the shows are being pre-empted in some markets by local sports, and they want to give the fans a chance to catch the episodes. Fair enough, except there are other ways fans can watch those episodes after they air tonight. We'll have to wait a week now to see the new Supernatural.

Just to be on the safe side, I'm going to see what my DVR does tomorrow night. It's set to catch any new episodes of Supernatural.

I wish they'd thought of this, and had announced it in various places where the fans would find out ahead of time.

Here's the schedule from the CW's own page, and by the way, it's Vampire Diaries at 8:00 and Nikita at 9:00.
http://cwtv.com/schedule/

ETA: The other reason they're doing this is CW is scared of the Thursday competition from American Idol. Yes, seriously. I guess they think somehow things will change between this week and next. How long have they known their Thursday night shows will be up against AI? And they just decide today to pull this bait-and-switch? They must be more worried about TVD and Nikita losing ratings, and figure we're so damn loyal we'll still watch SPN next week or whenever they decide to air it. Which is true, but it's a lousy way to thank the loyal fans who have done more to promote the show than the network ever has. And they don't even pay us!

Son of ETA: I wonder what Sera Gamble and all the people who work so hard on SPN are feeling right now? At least as betrayed as we do, I'm sure.

World's largest gummy bears

shadowc44 — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 20:14:30 GMT

The world's largest gummy bears are available to buy. Yes, 5-pound gummy bears, in cherry, pineapple, blue raspberry, cola, grape, orange, and lemon. At $29.95 each and combined shipping, it's probably around $250-275, for one of each. For reals. Amazon only has two flavors available, but they're out there, folks! Of course, the second I read about it, I thought of our favorite candy-monster, JP.

Here's the link. Scroll down just a little on the page:
http://www.aintitcool.com/node/47582

Please, someone write a story about Jensen buying one of each for Jared for Christmas? Or at least his favorite two-three flavors. Pretty please? You KNOW that's going to happen in real life, so why not write a story about it before we hear about the real version? :)

R.I.P. Stormy 3/10/00 - 10/16/10

shadowc44 — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 06:40:19 GMT

I couldn't find a good home for my kitty, and even the SPCA wouldn't take her, because of a combination of her health (about 25% overweight) and emotional state (lonely and depressed). They said she'd be even more upset to be housed with 500 other animals. For a number of reasons, I agreed to euthanize her. It wasn't an easy decision, and I cried a hell of a lot more than I have in a long time. At least maybe now she and Mom are reunited, keeping each other company.

If you're caught up with the latest ep of SPN, my theory below

shadowc44 — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 14:00:11 GMT

I'm going to put this behind a cut, so anyone who is current on all the SPN eps can comment and theorize with me. No spoilers about future episodes, just a new theory about where certain plotlines are going. Seriously, if you haven't seen the episode yet, please do yourself a favor and wait till you have to read the rest, or you'll be kicking yourself. And me, and I bruise easy. :)

New theory: The reason Sam didn't want Dean torching Crowley's bones: Crowley sounded like he might have actually seen Sam fall...perhaps from the other side, from Hell? If he's made himself the new King of Hell, maybe he's the one who made Sam a deal, within a very short time of Sam landing in Lucifer's cage. Sam's soul for his return to his life, whole, healthy and alive. Just literally without his soul. It's quite possible Sam doesn't remember, or maybe he's lying about not remembering. I think in most cases, like with Bobby and the kid Aaron from last ep, there's the equivalent of a 'Sold to --' tag, and the soul is given over at death. But I think in Sam's case, Crowley probably ripped it right out of him (maybe along with his memory) before sending him back.

Maybe Crowley HAD to evict Lucifer's vessel from Hell so he could take over. Presumably Lucifer is still there. Unless some small part of him is still in Sam, whether or not Sam knows about it.

It sounds like Sam did consent to it, and sort of feels like he still owes Crowley. At times he seems like Our Sammy, and other times he does seem outright soulless, doesn't he?

Counter theories? Gimme!

For my friends

shadowc44 — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 00:33:05 GMT

"If there is one person or more on your friends list who makes your world a better place just because they exist and who you would not have met (in real life or not) without the internet, then post this same sentence in your journal."

WTF is your problem, LJ? Logging in again?

shadowc44 — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 12:17:59 GMT

I clicked my link on my browser for my friends page, same as I've always done. Do I get taken to my friends page? No! I get taken to some LJ page warning me of adult content (duh) and I need to log in to get here. And there's an ad for some acai berry drink called Bossa Nova that I have to watch before I can log in. Then I log in and get taken immediately to my friends page.

Is anyone else having this problem???

Modified my communities

shadowc44 — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 03:47:25 GMT

I've just left and/or stopped watching a bunch of communities. Most of them hadn't had a single post since sometime last year, or the year before. Some had more recent activity, but I'm either not as interested in that aspect of a character or fandom as I used to be, or it seemed like a redundant community. Nothing personal was meant by leaving the communities, but I now have about half the communities to watch as I did before.

WTF plumbing? Scary repair bill

shadowc44 — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 21:39:26 GMT

Ridiculous.

A washer, tiny metal part: $1.50
Labor to install the washer: $133.00
A working shower for tenant: Priceless, I guess.

Too bad we couldn't have waited a week for my brother to be here so he could do it, but then the tenant would have had to put up with a leaking shower.

Thanks so much!

shadowc44 — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 03:51:11 GMT

Thanks to woman_of and rule_number_7 for the birthday wishes, and layne67 for the awesome virtual flowers and virtual kitteh! How did you know I needed a basement kitteh of my very own? :) Since my real!kitteh is either becoming incontinent or developing a behavioral problem, I'm all in favor of virtual pets at the moment.

Reading

shadowc44 — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 13:21:35 GMT

This is just rambling about what I have and haven't been reading, books vs. my Kindle, etc. If you're not interested, feel free to skip it.

I've recently been able to catch up on all the SPN or CWRPS stories I've saved. Not all the ones I printed out long ago, that will still take some time. However, the ones I've been saving for the last two years or so, I've finally finished those. I have three more that I've collected in the last few days, but it shouldn't take long to read those. I'm hoping I can pretty much keep up with things so I don't get a huge backlog. I still have a bunch saved that I really enjoyed and want to re-read.

I haven't actually read all of them. Some I began, or even got a fair way through them, and then realized I really wasn't enjoying the story. Either the author's style, the overall darkness and bleakness of the subject matter, or the relationship itself, or the way one or both of the main characters were written, just didn't appeal to me. What I did in those cases was simply delete the story. I didn't see any need to comment on them or let the author know I didn't like their story, because it was mostly based on my own reaction. If I realize I'm not enjoying a story and really don't care how it ends, deleting it and going to the next seems the most sensible solution.

Because I've gotten caught up with fics, I've had more time to read professionally published books, and I haven't done much of that in the last four years or so, because I've been so obsessed with Supernatural. I still love the show and the characters and want to see what's going to happen, but I'm more willing to let myself be distracted by other influences as well.

Some years ago I decided it was time to get rid of all the paperbacks that I'd collected since I was in high school and hadn't yet read. I figured, if I haven't found time to read these in the last 25 years, I doubt I'm going to get around to them. I think it's time to purge my collection again. I've got over a hundred books on my Kindle that I haven't read yet, plus the ones I've already read. I love the idea of having so many books in one place, rather than the space they'd take up on a bookshelf. There are some books, however, that aren't yet available in Kindle format, and maybe not in ebook format at all, and may never be. I did find that Kindle has a ton of books where the copyright has run out, I believe, so they're free. There are a ton of classics that you can download for free, so I have a lot of those.

The problem is this collecting thing. I wouldn't quite call it hoarding, but it's getting close. Some of the books I have are long out of print, and I don't want to lose them or loan them out...because I so rarely get anything back when I do that, even though I tell people I want them back. Those books I'm keeping in plastic boxes with lids that seal pretty well, and they're still in about the same condition they were when I put them there. I like being able to find those books when I want to re-read them. I've been trying to cut down on buying actual books, if they're available on the Kindle, or in some cases if I can get them at the library.

I occasionally forget the library is an option, but it's a good source. A week or so ago I was trying to find books in a particular series that's out of print, and some weren't available on Amazon, or only from individual sellers, who wanted way too much in some cases. So I bought one book for $1.35, and the shipping cost more than that. The next one I wanted was $100.00, and I was disappointed I'd never be able to read it, till I thought of trying to local library system. Luckily all the libraries in the County will send books from one branch to another, so if you want to pick them up at your local branch, and they only have them at the library at the far end of the County, you can get them at the local branch in a few days. So I found the one that was going for $100.00 on Amazon, and it was good, but not one I think I'm going to read again.

So here's the thing. One of the main reasons I buy so many books is because I'm afraid if I wait till I have time to read them, they'll be out of print and I won't be able to find them. If it turns out it's something I love to death, then I want to be able to keep it. But the vast majority of books I read, like the vast majority of fics, I just read once, and that satisfied me. What I should do, before buying ANY more books, is check to see if they have it at the library first. If I borrow it and like it a lot, then I can see about finding a used copy or buying it new. I could save so much money, and space! I'm going to slowly weed through my collection (about 13 bookcases, plus all the ones on the floor and every other semi-flat surface), and figure out which ones I really want, and which are just taking up space, that I'll never read. I'm pretty sure I'm going to keep all the reference books, because I may need them some day if I ever get back to writing.

I'm trying to pursuade my Mom that we should both go through ALL the books in her room, and figure out which ones she's read that I don't want to read, and donate those. That way I can also find all of my books that I want to keep, or that I haven't read yet, that she thought she might want to read. That's only one overflowing bookcase, and a bunch on the floor and every semi-flat surface, but I've found some things there that one or the other of us forgot we had. So I think before I start loading up my Kindle again, or getting new books, I really should take the time to read some of the ones I already have here. I might even be pleasantly surprised at what I find I've already got.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY layne67 !

shadowc44 — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 21:23:31 GMT

I hope you're having a wonderful birthday!

Happy birthday, Muni!

shadowc44 — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 03:42:44 GMT

I wanted to wish a very happy birthday to munibunny! It's still technically your birthday here, so I hope you're having a great one!