I've managed to avoid most of the Christmas shopping crowds this year by doing most of my shopping online. Mum is getting Barbara Kingsolver's latest novel The Lacuna, and Dad is getting a Peter Dawson CD (Dawson is a famous bass tenor from the 40s/50s, and Dad likes to sing along whenever his music is played on Classic FM). I don't particularly have any wants this year, though a second bookcase would be nice....plz Santa? Will probably get more books though, so the bookcase is at the top of next year's birthday wishlist (and I'm turning 25, so something practical would be nice).

Really though the highlight of the holiday season is the awesome programming- Channel 7 in particular seem to have a big crush on Stephen Fry at the moment and are screening Kingdom (and one of his Bones episodes also got an airing). John Adams has finally made it to Australian free-to-air- it started screening on SBS three weeks ago, and if you love costume drama and British actors, then you should watch (Sunday nights, 9:30). Next week's episode has Tom Hollander playing George III and it is so LOL-worthy. Now, if only it would get a dvd release here! Also watched a Black Adder Christmas Carol for the first time in years (and completely forgot about the horror of seeing Tony Robinson in a leather speedo D:), and Colbert Christmas will be showing again on Christmas day, so looking forward to that.

I'm feeling....: chipper
I'm hearing....: Stephen Colbert & Elvis Costello- There Are Much Worse Things to Believe In

Alexandra Moen confirms cancellation of Hotel Babylon
(And there are some minor spoilers there for Christmas/New Year Doctor Who specials, since she's in them!)

Honestly not surprised or that disappointed, to be honest. Season four was depressingly bad and lacking in good plots. Hope Dexter Fletcher gets a new tv gig soon though, I'll miss seeing him regularly on my computer screen on the tv now. :/

I'm feeling....: blah
I'm hearing....: Feist- Please be Patient

This update's actually been sitting here for a while, but I only just got around to posting it. I know, FAIL. It has been a very non-eventful three weeks of non-updating though, readers. Which is why this update is half book meme, half fandomy stuff. I'm canvassing Fishpond for gift ideas, and gearing up to commence the nightmare which is Christmas shopping.....and really, that's it.

So, here's the book meme. Which really are my favourite memes, when it comes down to it.

1. What book are you currently reading?
Just started reading The Road to Jerusalem by Jan Guillou. Crusades fiction set in Sweden!

2. What is the last book you read?
An incredibly shitty novel that I can't even name, it's that bad. I've lost a week of my life reading it, and I can't even get my money back for it because I picked it up second-hand on a whim. FML! And if you're looking at my reading list, it's not on there because I would rather forget I read it at all to begin with.

3. What is the next book you plan on reading?
After The Road to Jerusalem, I think I might re-read Terry Pratchett's Hogfather, since that's a favourite holiday read.

4. What is the worst book you've ever read?
Caesar by Allan Massie used to be the worst book I ever read....now I believe it's this heinously bad novel I got through. What has made it worse is that the author in question appears to be a shit-stirring amateur Egyptologist after some Google-Fu. NOW I FEEL TAINTED FROM READING THE BOOK. D:

5. Name a book you were required to read in high school that you loved:
Jane Eyre. I know, LAME, just about everybody reads Jane Eyre in high school. Think a large chunk of my love for the book is because of Mr Rochester and his Byronic hero ways.

6. College?
...This is actually a tough question, because I only did two semesters of English literature and after that? Well it was all pretty much academic textbooks, which aren't exactly what you read for leisure. And I'm not actually sure there was any fiction I read for university that I ended up loving. Well, I read The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde but I'd read that in high school so I don't think it counts? If you were going to press me, Apuleius' cracked-out magnum opus The Golden Ass was quite fun.

7. Name a book you wish you read in high school but did not:
Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh. Actually read it for the first time in the summer after my first year of uni and felt disappointed that it wasn't on our curriculum in high school English or the English literature course I did at USQ.

(Somewhat related sidenote: after the really crappy even though I haven't actually seen it film adaptation came out last year, I think the best critique of the film I read was from Christopher Hitchens- I mean, if Christopher Hitchens hated the film based on a book that is essentially about how God's grace operates in our lives, you know something's wrong.)

8. Name a book you would like to read but haven't:
Ulysses, James Joyce. Well, maybe not so much 'read' as 'conquer'.

9. Why haven't you?
Well, I actually got about 100 pages in before Joyce's dizzying stream-of-consciousness narrative made me put down the book in surrender. I've not tried to read any further since, but think I could probably only average about ten pages more of the book per year, it gave me that much of a headache.

10. What books are on your wishlist?
I haven't actually updated my Amazon wishlist in ages.....thinking about what I might like for Christmas, a lot of the tomes I want are to do with my academic studies- stuff on cults of saints, early Christianity, church fathers, etc. But fiction? I've decided I'm going to try and get through the entire Aubrey/Maturin series by Patrick O'Brien (Read Master and Commander and Post Captain, so HMS Surprise is up next), so those are on my wishlist. Oh, and Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh.

11. What book changed your life?
I'm not sure I've actually had a book that *~changed~* my life, but I read Marcus Aurelius' Meditations when I was in grade eleven. Between Marcus Aurelius and Seneca (Meditations is here because I like it a fraction more than Seneca's writings), I had decided by the end of that school year that it was classics and ancient history that I primarily wanted to pursue at uni after finishing high school.

....All that said, now onto part two of the update: finally got around to watching the last Doctor Who special and Sarah Jane Adventures!

( The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith...aka Ten crashes Sarah Jane's wedding to Nigel Havers. )

( Waters of Mars....spoilers and a whole lot of blather/speculation about Ten's final episodes. )

I'm feeling....: calm
I'm hearing....: Coldplay- 42

Ack, Alan Cumming is going to be performing his cabaret show in our humble little city this coming Sunday and I only just found out today and the show is SOLD OUT. :( I suppose I had a good run of luck, managing to see REG in 2006, Michael Palin in '07 and then Martin Short earlier this year; I was bound to miss out the next time one of my favourite actors randomly dropped in on this otherwise-neglected city.

Despite going in a slightly medieval direction with my possible doctorate topic on relics, I find that I'm still tending towards snapping up any book on early Christianity- the latest one I ordered through work: Charles Freeman's An Early History of Christianity. I'm quite excited about this one, because it'll have more recent scholarship and thought in it than some of the sources I was using for my thesis.

Wondering if I should somehow tie relics in with early Christianity and keep my interests around that period. I enjoy the literature of the early church because it still takes a lot of its influence from classical philosophy and literature- Minucius Felix's Octavius is quite obviously influenced by Cicero's On the Nature of the Gods, for example. But anyway. I'll work something out in the end....I keep meaning to contact Rick to talk about topics, but my work situation has been trumping everything lately. I will resolve to try and see him before the end of the month though.

In non-academic stuff, I've seen two movies recently: An Education and The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. I think An Education is one of the best films of the year, and I think I'll probably pick it up on dvd when it comes out. As for Imaginarium....I don't know. Terry Gilliam is obviously the king of visuals, but the plot ended up going a bit flat towards the end. The film was saved by the cast to some extent- I'll single out Heath Ledger, Johnny Depp (playing Heath's character in a different guise) and Tom Waits (well, Tom Waits is awesome regardless of what he's doing) as being particularly good. But as far as Heath's legacy goes, The Dark Knight is a better testament to his acting ability.

Nearly 8:00- time to watch the Colbert Report! Very much looking forward to the next Doctor Who special next Sunday too.

Oh, and being that it's Sesame Street's 40th anniversary this week and that I grew up on Kermit, Big Bird and Oscar, I'm sharing my favourite moment. I didn't recognise all the celebrities when I watched this as a kid, but I am pretty bowled over by Jeremy Irons' stupid dancing now.

( Cut for a YouTube video. Put down the ducky! )

I'm feeling....: discontent

David Tennant scores a tv pilot with NBC

Tennant's casting is reminiscent of the tapping of another established British TV actor with virtually no American TV experience, Hugh Laurie, as the lead on Fox's medical drama "House."

Er. Hugh Laurie may not have had experience with American television, but he at least had a visible film career (101 Dalmatians, Sense and Sensibility, Stuart Little, Flight of the Phoenix...), which Tennant does not quite have yet, despite being in a Harry Potter movie and having a prolific tv career in the UK. And Hugh Laurie was successful, but Tennant could also easily go the way of his fellow expats Damian Lewis or Kevin McKidd (yeah, I know he's in Grey's Anatomy now, but before that there was Journeyman...).

On the upside, at least it might put to sleep those stupid rumours about a Doctor Who feature film featuring Ten and Rose?

I'm feeling....: thoughtful
I'm hearing....: Vampire Weekend- A-Punk

Went to my work colleague's wedding in Noosa on the weekend. Apparently came back with the flu; I have advanced past the 'Painful sinus and fever' stage and am just about to go into the 'chest cough' stage of things, which should hopefully clear up by Friday. Pleased that I managed to stay cold-free until after both of the weddings this month and got sick in the week between that wedding and seeing my two year-old goddaughter on Saturday. Small mercies and all that.

Got today off because of aforementioned flu. Spent most of it reading Alain De Botton's 'The Pleasures of Sorrows of Work' (I just got his new one about being the writer in residence at Heathrow too- very excited about that one!) and am just about to make some soup for dinner and put on QI which I recorded last night. ABC finally have secured screening rights, so huzzah for no longer having to watch it on YouTube!

I'm feeling....: sick
I'm hearing....: Saint Saens- Danse Macabre

I've been busy immersing myself in Lustrum. Finished it about an hour ago. In conclusion?

*WIBBLE* :'(

No, it wasn't disappointing, far from it. But it ends with Cicero's exile from Rome as a result of Clodius' law targetting him- and no, I'm not putting that under a spoiler cut because it's historical fact and anyone remotely familiar with Cicero will know this. So it's a poignant ending, and a prelude to the third and final book of the trilogy, which will have an even sadder ending (I will probably cry, just so you know). I waited three years to read this, and right now I'm really hoping I won't have to wait another three years for the last book. I am thinking about giving Pompeii a go now, though any other glowing recommendations for historical novels set in ancient Rome (that are NOT Colleen McCullough) are welcomed. Bonus points if Cicero's a character.

In other reading-related matters, I saw a schoolgirl reading one of Cassie Claire's books on the bus today. It kind of made me want to weep for today's youth, particularly when last year I had to look over an English essay on the merits of Dracula and Edward bloody Cullen as Byronic heroes for a grade 12 girl, ARGH.

I'm feeling....: ):
I'm hearing....: Spicks & Specks on Aunty

....and incredibly tired, but I have survived my first foray into being a bridesmaid. Spent 2-3 odd hours having my hair pulled and my face painted, and then another few hours being photographed in various poses while making sure the train on the bride's dress didn't get too dirty or caught on anything. And I still can't dance, despite the efforts of the best man, who can dance very well and tried very hard to get me onto the floor for a few turns. A good night and a very late night.

One of the best parts of the day wasn't at the wedding, but was rather visiting the Mary Ryan's bookshop on Park road that morning (let me put it this way- going to the bookshop made the day get off to a great start)- we were staying about five minutes away and had just had breakfast. While the bride and the rest of the bridesmaids went back to the hotel, I went in for a little look around. First thing I noticed was Robert Harris' Lustrum on the shelves already!! I decided to buy it then and there and cancelled my Amazon UK order. I'll finish the book I'm currently reading (on cults of various saints) and then I'm devouring that book like a hungry beast. More (fictional) Cicero at last! Thinking about buying a copy for my friend Brendan too, since he's heading on a long overseas holiday soon and I'd previously given him Imperium as a present, which he enjoyed.

I'm feeling....: relieved
I'm hearing....: Ashes to Ashes series two just beginning!

And on the twenty-fifth day of the ninth month, Borders branched into online sales. And the Lord saw that it was good. And about damn time too, Australia is tragically lacking in online booksellers- I'll be interested to see how Fishpond will respond- hopefully the new competition will result in lower prices.

I re-read Imperium earlier this week in anticipation of Lustrum, which is coming out in two weeks- I did it in about two days flat. I really hope that Lustrum is not a disappointment, but it'd be very hard for Robert Harris to make the Catiline conspiracy boring or unreadable, not when the source material is as rich as it is.

St Kilda were beaten by 12 points by Geelong for the AFL premiership today. I sobbed like a baby, absolutely won't lie about that. It has now been 43 years since St. Kilda won its last premiership. The only solace I can take is that at least I don't support Footscray, who have not won a premiership in 55 years. Dad was down at the MCG today to support the Saints- if I'm feeling crushing disappointment right now, I can only imagine how he's feeling. :'(

One week until I'm summoned for bridesmaid duty. The hen's day (a trip to a day spa at Surfers) last Saturday went well, as did the bridal shower (a delicious high tea at the Stamford Plaza) on Sunday, but I was exhausted by the end of it all. This plus the expenses involved have led me to the conclusion that I don't want any of this fuss if I get married. The wedding should be good though, and I have the advantage of living five minutes away from both the wedding and reception venues, so while it'll be a late night, I won't have a long trek home ahead of me afterwards.

And now, I'm off to find myself a little glass of butterscotch and watch some Michael Palin on BBC Knowledge.

I'm feeling....: disappointed
I'm hearing....: Washington- Cement

Either Amazon or Fishpond, where they would go towards books. I might share the love, but I think I'd probably use most of the gift certificate on material for my thesis (ostensibly to pad out my already-overflowing bookcase too, heh). Despite working for a tertiary bookshop and being able to get books cheaper than I would if I went to the university bookshop on my campus, most books on early Christianity are actually cheaper to buy overseas than they are to order through an Australian distributor (they usually arrive here faster too, particularly if they're coming out of the UK). There's actually a debate going on here at the moment about overseas book imports versus Australian books. I'm kind of torn on it (overseas imports would put a substantial dint in the profits of the bookshop I work for), but personally it is better for my budget to go online and overseas for resources rather than locally.

Watched Law & Order: UK last week. Lord Tony and Fumier from The Scarlet Pimpernel shared a scene, and I sighed wistfully and wondered if Chauvelin would turn up in judge's robes (will anyone get that?).

I'm feeling....: thoughtful