All the ART!

And yet, nothing I can share in pictures yet! It's so frustrating. 

Since I don't have a job this year, I knew that I would be art-ing all of the gifts this year. Which is awesome until I realized that I only had a few weeks to make those gifts. Fortunately, I'm nearly done now. Arting is the right word, too! I have a few pictures painted with ink and watercolour, I have a few gifts made of resin, and more than a few acrylic pour canvases done (a style that I seem to have a natural gift in). In addition to that, I've also done a canvas painting for myself (it's adorable, but I don't know if it matches anyone's aesthetic but mine). 

Not the drawing I was talking about, but a picture I took a few weeks ago.

What does this mean? It means I have very little to show off for all this work. At least, until after the holidays, when I can ask people if they mind me sharing pictures later. 

I've also been editing. I got my work back from my editor on the 10th and spent a couple days reading it over and thinking about the changes she suggested. Now, I'm going through the biggest problem area she suggested and I'm working out what it's doing and what I need to change. She's suggested a rather large rewrite, but I want to see exactly what needed before I commit to that suggestion. 

What does all this mean? Well, firstly it means that I've been trying to avoid editing and succeeding. It also means that now that I'm actually working on it, it is getting done now. I'm hoping to have a full idea of what changes are required before the 25th and hopefully a full idea of exactly what rewrites will be required before my next post on the 27th. 

I will also cheer in getting another review as an early X-mas gift! I'm up to 4 on Goodreads, as well as three up on Amazon (over the different countries and locations). Hopefully, I'll get even more before Lord's Curse is released! I was so excited I made this for it!

As a final aside, I'll wish of you lovely readers a Happy Holidays, no matter what you celebrate this time of year. I'm personally very excited to have Solstice and Jolabokaflud happening this week. I don't know if I'll be able to afford a new book specifically for it, but I do have a few new books that I haven't had a chance to read yet, so one of those will probably have to do. 

Have any of you bought a new book for your friends/family for Jolabokaflud yet? Which books did you buy for them, if you did?

Jolabokaflod!

      First off, I'm certain some of you are wondering what the hell that word above is. It's the name for an Icelandic holiday that I have begun celebrating in recent years. It translates roughly as "Christmas Book Flood" and the idea is that on December 24th you give friends and family a new book and chocolate. You are then supposed to spend the rest of the evening, warm in your bed, with chocolate at your side and begin reading your new book. It is a  huge thing over there... all of their new book releases tend to be released from September to December just to make the most of this holiday. Also, when they buy books, they don't go cheap. Hardcovers are the preferred gift here and I assume they get snazzy about their chocolate too, though don't quote me on the last.

      Now I've changed that a bit in my own gift giving. For instance, I tend to give softcovers or hardcovers, and the books aren't always newly released. I do my best to not give books out that I haven't read, though it does happen on occasion. I do that so that we can chat about the books once they're done reading it... it's a guaranteed conversation starter later that year. I am also not hung up on giving chocolate. I prefer caramel or salty snacks to chocolate, so I tend to try and give people their preferred snacks (as an example, I gave out small bags of Kernels Christmas flavour popcorn this year and everyone seemed super pleased). But everyone I know gets a book and snack to enjoy.

      Unfortunately, Jolabokaflod is over this year already, but I figured I'd share with you the books that I was given as gifts or that I picked up for myself as part of my Yule book buying binge. I stress that these are in no particular order.

      Firstly, I received Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. I've read the Harry Potter books and while they aren't favourites of mine (I was already over 20 years old when they were released), I do quite enjoy the series so I'll be looking forward to reading this one later this year.

      Next is a super fun and nerdy book called Wordsmiths & Warriors: The English-Language Tourist's Guide to Britain by David and Hilary Crystal. This book is exactly what it sounds like. A look at Britain through the very specific lens of the Warriors who fought for Britain and its poets, writers, ect that helped shape its culture. As a language buff who loves weapons, I can't image a better book for me. Really looking forward to this one.

      Next are three books I bought myself. I am a big fan of the Log Horizon anime and I love the light novels they're coming out with to accompany them, so when I found out that Log Horizon had a set, I picked them up. Last year, I picked up books 1-3 and quite enjoyed them, but then I didn't hear anything else about them until this Christmas when I found books 4-6 gracing the shelves. Needless to say, I picked up all three for myself. I already re-read the first book in the series to prepare for the new set!

      Monstress Volume 1 is a graphic novel that I picked up earlier this year in digital form, but had never finished reading it. A friend of mine picked it up for me in paper copy and I finished it within a day. It's well-written, it has interesting characters and the art is really nice. If you're looking for a good graphic novel to read, you can't go wrong with this one. I think I gave it 4/5 stars on Goodreads.

      Lastly, there's another gift, The Fox & the Peach by Nick Thaler. A YA novel about a kitsune who is being hunted during the time of Oda Nobunga's reign in Japan, I started this one just a few days ago and am quite enjoying it so far. I was really excited to start this one since its a book about a kitsune that I hadn't heard of yet! That is always a pick me up!

      I'll leave you with my personal New Year tradition. Every year, I head to the bookstore on the 31rst or the 1st and buy myself one book. That book must fit three critia to be bought. One is that I must enjoy the cover art. Two, I must find the idea of the book interesting. Three, I must have never read anything written by that author before. Basically, it's like a blind date with a book and makes sure every year I am giving at least one new (to me) author a go. Sometimes I find authors who aren't my thing, and sometimes I find new favourites. The point is that I'm always trying something new for the new year.

      Do you have any bookish traditions? What do you think of the books I got? Either way, let me know and I hope you have a great New Year!

Jόlabόkaflόd

          I've been out for a while taking my break after Nanowrimo; December is usually known as the month of no writing for me. This month, my blog hasn't been silent as the dead, but it has been quiet. That’s what happens when you get sick, are working overtime and busy with the holiday season, I suppose. Today though, I am not going to complain. It’s Christmas Eve, a holiday for some, though not one I generally celebrate, since I'm not Christian, Catholic or one of the others. For those of you now wondering, I'm Pagan. My personal path is a mix of general paganism (goddess/god worship, heavy focus on the moon and finding life and meaning in all things) and Shinto (specifically worship of Inari).

          However, instead of talking about religion today (we can do that in the comments if you’re so inclined, I suppose), I want to talk about interesting cultural practices. Specifically, one from Iceland that takes place on December 24 every year. They don’t celebrate Christmas Eve up there (or if they do, its done side by side with this other holiday). I am of course talking about Jόlabόkaflόd.

          The word apparently means Christmas Book Flood. Apparently, everyone in Iceland gives each other books and chocolates on the twenty-fourth and then after dinner they each retire to their beds with said awesomeness and read the night away. I find this to be a truly beautiful thing and thus every single gift given out this year consisted of a book and a box of caramel chocolates.

          Of course, they have a different culture up there in Iceland.

          First off, the books they give are not disposable paperbacks, but larger hard covers that you are expected to keep. From the websites I've read, books are not considered disposable items in Iceland and thus they don’t treat them as such. As well, nearly 10% of the population has written a book, though I don't know if that same amount has published. Also, I'm assuming that they don't give cheap chocolate, but expensive stuff, though I don't have any actual information to back that up.

          Still, I am determined to make Jόlabόkaflόd a thing here in Canada. I'll do that the best way I know how... by giving books and chocolate to everyone I know and wishing people a happy one on December 24th which gives me a chance to explain it to them.

          How did you spend your Christmas Eve? If you were reading, what were you reading? For those of you who are wondering I spent my Jόlabόkaflόd in bed reading Spice & Wolf, Vol 15, The Coin of the Sun I by Isuna Hasekura.