11 questions campaign game!

ETA (03/09/2012): Yeah, I got tagged again (by Brenna at Blissfully Brenna), but didn't realize it until now. Oops. If you're interested, the new questions and answers are near the end of the post.

ETA (02/17/2012): Okay, so I've been tagged by two more people (Jenna at Finding the Write Way and W. Chaser). This has officially become the 11 Questions Master Post of Doom. That is all.

So, there's been this 11 questions campaign game floating around, and I was tagged by the lovely Patricia Marques over at Swimming in Words. It's a pretty cool meme, especially considering that the questions change each time you get tagged by a different person, so it's not the same thing over and over.

So here are my 11 answers to Patricia's 11 questions:

1. What was your first ever story about?
   It was a picture book entitled The Adventures of Nikki and Noel and was about a cat and a dog who, err, went on adventures? It was basically Milo and Otis in book form. :)
2. What's your favorite writing place?
   My bed. Or the couch. I prefer comfy places where I can chill in my pajama pants and huddle beneath a layer of blankets
3. What's your favorite character archetype?
   I usually like the smart, funny one. Or the tragic, anti-hero one. It's even better when you can combine the two?
4. Cats or dogs?
   Cats. Cats by faaaaaar.
5. If you could time travel, what year would you travel to?
   Ugh, I seriously have no idea. 
6. What type of scenes do you find hardest to write?
   Those little montage scenes where someone walked for a couple hours etc. It's only a paragraph to a page's worth of writing . . . but I hate it!
7. What's your favorite children's movie?
   The Lion King. I own the blu-ray, I know the names of all of then charatcers (hello, Sarabi) I can sing to all of the songs and quote half of the movie, and I pray for the opportunity to see the musical.
8. Name a book that made you cry (or came close to getting you there).
   Honestly, there isn't much that can start me crying, but Markus Zusak's The Book Thief had me bawling. BAWLING.
9. What's your favorite fictional hero?
   Ahhh . . . these are hard! I don't think I have an absolute favorite. :(
10. If you could get some advice from any writer, past or present, who would it be?
    Uhh, good question. There are so many writers posting their advice online now . . . so I guess I'd rather talk to someone from the past. I guess Jane Austen would be interesting to talk to. *shrug*
11. What's your Chinese Zodiac?
    I'm a dragon! Raar!

And now 11 more answers to the lovely Jenna's 11 questions:

1. Redvines or Twizzlers?
   Redvines!
2. With your iPod/MP3 on shuffle, what's the first song that comes up?
   "A Man's Gotta Do" from Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. :D
3. What's your least favorite book you ever had to read for school?
   Ugh, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. I can't really remember what was so terrible about it . . . but it was terrible.
4. You're the producer for turning any one book into a movie, which do you choose to do?Ooo, this is a tough one. Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke & Bone would be fun.
5. What's your favorite YouTube video?
   Uhh, my favorite? Jeeze. Umm. I don't really have a favorite, but let's go with the mewling baby cheetah. Because, uhh, cats own the internet and cheetahs CHIRP.
6. Who did you look up to when you were thirteen years old?
   I was kind of a strange child . . . I didn't have any role models. Seriously.
7. Which food do you wish you could rid the planet of?
   IKURA. Ikura is salmon roe sushi. Just envision a cup of seaweed full of rice and jiggly, orange eggs the size of kitten eyeballs. *twitch*
8. Why did you decide to start blogging?
   A couple reasons: 1) I figured it was time to start building up a writing platform, 2) it provided me a soapbox to ran on, and 3) I wanted to meet new people and such.
9. Do you cry over books/movies/TV shows?
   Not often, but there are exceptions to this rule. *cough*The Book Thief*cough*
10. What's one thing you believe in with all your heart?
    People should stop focusing on the negative. Seriously. We'd all be a lot happier if we stopped focusing on things we hate.
11. Flowers or chocolate?
    Flowers as long as they're interesting flowers instead of, you know, just roses. Variety is key! Of course, Boyfriend got me chocolates for Valentine's Day, so maybe I should go with that.

And last, but definitely not least, 11 more answers to W. Chaser's 11 fabulous questions:

1. If you could be any fictional baddie who would you be and why?
   Magento. Sure, his childhood sucked, but he's a badass. His magnetic powers pretty much allow him to do anything and his set pieces always pwn everyone else's. I mean, if I'm going to be evil, I might as well be awesome.
2. If you could go back in time and stop someone being born who would it be?
   Well, the easiest response would be Hitler, but I'll go with Joseph Mengele. Not only did he support Hitler's ideals, but he liked torturing and experimenting on people. Which is just horrific.
3. When do you get your most inspirational ideas?
   In the shower . . . or right before I'm about to fall asleep . . . or while driving. Basically anytime that I can't write it down.
4. If you had to live without either books or music, which would it be?
   Books. Don't get me wrong, I love books . . . but they're just stories. And stories can exist without books. Music, on the other hand, can't really exists without itself.
5. Who provides the most encouragement for your writing?
   Brenna. Mah boyfriend. Kirstin. Pretty much my entire NaNoWriMo writing group.
6. If you could have one wish, what would it be?
   Uhh. Maybe to be a little more lucky. That'd be nice. I'd like to be lucky.
7. Do you remember your dreams and do they influence your writing?
   I do remember my dreams . . . they often involve tornados. *nods* My current WIP is actually based off a dream I had . . . though none of those original ideas really exist anymore.
8. What word do you frequently misspell?
   Worshipers. In my current WIP gave it double p's EVERY SINGLE TIME. Also, I tend to interchange lose and loose.
9. How much influence in your writing do you take from other people’s opinions?
   It really depends on how valid I think that opinion is. I think some of the best critique partners point out things that you already know are wrong with your story, so I definitely let those opinons influence me. On the other hand, I tend to ignore people when they tell me that my story shouldn't have something in it because it's stupid or inappropriate.
10. If there is one book you wish you’d written, what is it?
    Ahhhhh, just one?! Liar by Justine Larbalestier.
11. Starter or desert?
    Creme brûlée.

Okay, and now the REAL final set of 11 questions and answers for Brenna:

1. Coffee or tea?
   Tea. I'm a big fan of black teas and chai.
2. What was the first story you can remember writing?
   Uhh, I remember illustrating The Adventures of Nikki and Noel, but the first story I actually remember writing? I wrote this fabulous story about kids in the army (it was a horrific mashup of pretty much every tv show I liked at the time) when I was 12.
3. What TV show, video game, movie would you recommend to other writers?
   1) Avatar: The Last Airbender because the world building is to die for and the story isn't too shabby on top of that.
   2) The World Ends With You because it throws so many awesome ideas together and makes it work.
   3) Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog because I can't watch it without feeling inspired by the end.
4. What time of day are you most productive?
   Ehh, after dinner to somewhere around one in the morning. What can I say? I'm a night owl.
5. Green or black olives?
   Green, green, a thousand times green.
6. What was your first car?
   A dark red GMC Sierra. Wish I could tell you the year, but I don't actually know . . . probably 90's something?
7. What is your guilty pleasure?
   Right now? My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, and Young Justice. So, uhh, I guess American children's animated television?
8. Are you a fan of footie pajamas?
   I've never worn footie pajamas . . . but that seems like way too much fabric to be sleeping in.
9. What's something you didn't think you'd like that you did/do?
   Crochet. My mother is big on the whole spinning/weaving/fiberarts circuit, so I've been subjected to sheep and fiber fairs my whole life. Never really expected to find any of that stuff interesting . . . but she doesn't crochet, so maybe I've found a loophole?
10. Favorite salad dressing?
    Blue cheese. *nomnomnom*
11. What is your most embarrassing nickname? (Or, just any nickname. You don't have to give an embarrassing one.)
    Uhh . . . Sarah-bear-a?

Wasn't that thrilling? Anyway, now for some unlucky victims. I'm tagging the following campaigners:

1. Susan Rocan at My Withershins
2. Diane D. Gillette at Happy Writing!
3. Jenna Cooper at Finding the Write Way
4. Jolene Stockman at Everything is Possible!
5. Sara Biren at Crow River Writer

And here are my 11 questions:

1. What do you like to eat for breakfast?
2. Shakespeare: yay or nay?
3. Do you have any guilty pleasures?
4. What is your favorite thing to write about?
5. Choice of the century: cake or pie?
6. Got any non-writing hobbies?
7. If you had a theme song, what would it be?
8. What's your favorite writing snack?
9. Do you have any pets?
10. If you could live anywhere, where would it be?
11. Got any book recommendations?

Woo, that was kind of intensive! And a surprising number of my questions have to do with food. Hmm. Anyway, looking forward to everyone's answers . . . and hey, if I didn't tag you, feel free to tell me about yourself in the comments anyway! :)

A particularly kreativ and versatile post

Something exciting happened to me last Friday. I got nominated for two different blog awards from two different people! Woo!

So thanks to two fabulous ladies: Krista over at I Take the Pen for the Kreativ Blogger Award and Julia at Life As it Is, Dreams As I Make Them for The Versatile Blogger Award! Take a moment to go check out both of their blogs, as Krista runs some fantastic flash fiction challenges and Julia is archiving her adventures with dreadlocks. :)

As per being nominated, I have to do a couple things:

1. Thank and link to the peep that nominated me.
2. Share ten (kreative)/seven (versatile) random facts about myself.
3. Award some other nifty bloggers.

Like last time, I'm going to combine these and give you ten facts instead of seventeen, okay? So voila:

1. I'm pretty musically inept. Looking at sheet music makes my eyes cross. I played the piano for about three months, and the only reason I survived is because I memorized the songs.
2. I'm one of those people who likes cleaning if it involves organizing something. Packing boxes seriously appeased my inner Tetris queen.
3. Speaking of Tetris, I love it. A lot. Playing helps clear my mind.
4. I'm madly in love with superhero cartoons. They're a nice combination of action and ridiculousness. Some favorites would be Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, Justice League Unlimited, Teen Titans, and Young Justice. But the list goes on.
5. I also enjoy superhero movies (maybe I should just say that I love superheroes in general?). A recent favorite was Thor because it was essentially a movie about sparkly space vikings. It can't get better than that.
6. I have long fingers and slender hands. When I was a little kid, my parents' friends who own sheep used to tell me that I had good hands for helping sheep with difficult births. I was, understandably, horrified.
7. After much deliberation, I've decided that peanut butter M&Ms are the best writing snack ever. Cheez-its and homemade Crispix mix are a close second.
8. I've officially gotten to that point in my crocheting career where I can completely wing a project or alter a pattern and it'll still turn out decent.
9. After using Spotify for a couple months, I would have to say it's one of my essential computer programs. I love how easy it makes finding new music.
10. I'm a big fan of card games, if only because a single deck of cards can equate to so many different things. Favorites include pinochle, euchre, oh hell, and cribbage (though you need a board for that).

Wasn't that thrilling? Anyway, time for some award nominees:

1. Brenna at Blissfully Brenna - For once, I actually get to nominate her first! She's one of my fabulous CPs and you should all annoy her until she updates more. >:D
2. Daniel at Daniel Todd Noyes - One of my IF writing buddies. He knows his stuff and has got a great sense of humor, which shows its face on his blog.
3. Jessie at Little Bonobo's Book Cafe - All of her posts are interesting and she magically says everything I feel . . . also, she writes about magical binturongs.
4. Kirstin at SqueezeBoxPharm - Because now that she's actually updating, we've been regaled with exciting accordion videos! On a semi-regular basis!
5. Thea at Thea's Writing Asylum - She's all about zombies. Writing about zombies, reviewing about zombies, crocheting zombies. Just go visit her. 
6. Kate at The Queen of Creativity - You know me. I've always gotta pimp my mother when it comes to blog awards. Plus, she does pretty art.

Alrighty, that's all from me for now. But here, because I know you were all waiting for it, my standard "I know award posts are boring" video to entertain you guys:

10 things I did instead of blogging

Sometimes, we have the best intentions for our blogs. Like a post about YA literature and frustration. And sometimes things come up that prevent us from fulfilling those best intentions. So today I'm gonna talk about some stuff I've done over the last few days instead of blogging:

1. Ate lemon jello. This was not as exciting as it sounds.
2. Finished Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke & Bone. It is beautiful and brilliant and beyond words, so you should definitely go pick up a copy.
3. Got a $5 off coupon for the new Lion King blu-ray that's coming out next Tuesday. I've never really expressed my love for that movie on this blog, but let's just say that this is a BIG DEAL.
4. Finally got my hands on a copy of Scott Westerfeld's Goliath. Ridiculously excited for steampunk goodness.
5. Got my last Pottermore email! I'm FlameAsh111 and in Ravenclaw--you should friend me!
   
   
6. Vomited. This was actually a bit more exciting than it sounds.
7. Snazzed up the yellow, crochet birdy mentioned in this post with a bow tie and top hat. He is now the cutest bird that has ever lived. Err, not lived.
8. Painted my fingernails.
9. Fine-tuned what could be a marvelous drinking game for Food Network's Chopped. It's a cooking competition show and seriously, there are so many fantastic opportunities for dunken madness. Which, of course, you should only indulge in if you're legally allowed to drink.
10. Downloaded the anniversary edition of Legend of Zelda: Four Swords for free. Which I think is pretty snazzy. And full of swords and adventure.

So, what are some things that you've done recently that you wouldn't normally mention on your blog? Eat any jello? Or something that tastes better? Tell me in the comments!

A particularly versatile and lovely post

ETA (12/04/11): Woo! Krista at I Take the Pen gave me another "One Lovely Blog Award." Thank you~! *hugs her to death*

So, last Friday Brenna over at Blissfully Brenna tagged about a billion different people with some blogging awards and I was one of the bunch. Woo! Thanks so much! Anyway, check it:

As per being nominated, now I have to do stuff. Sigh.

1. Thank and link to the peep that nominated me.
2. Share seven random facts about myself.
3. Award some other nifty bloggers.

So. Seven things about me:

1. I was a Girl Scout for a long time. Yeah, I rocked that from elementary school through high school, baby.
2. I do not like tomatoes. In any form. Yeah, no ketchup, no BLTs, no spaghetti sauce. Nothing. Actually, that's only 99% true. I love salsa. But it's gotta be spicy and chunky salsa makes me shudder.
3. Speaking of this whole tomato thing, I'm a picky eater. Or rather, I do not like some very specific things that seem to show up in EVERYTHING. Like tomatoes. And mayonaise. And coffee.
4. I am obsessed with Lady Gaga's Bad Romance. It's a fantastic song. I mean, even the covers rock (go check the On the Rocks and Halestorm versions).
5. There are few things I despise more than going to the dentist.
6. I am rather particular about, well, a lot of things. Organization is rather important to me . . . be it the files on my computer, the food in my refrigerator, or the books on my shelves.
7. I don't get excited about upcoming events unless they're right about to happen. Seriously. Oh, were're going to Oregon in a year/month/week? Eh, whatever. Oh, we're going tomorrow? I'M SO PSYCHED.

Did all of these thrilling tidbits sate anyone's curiosity? If not, well, too bad. Anyway, my nominees:

1. Jessie at Little Bonobo's Book Cafe - she doesn't update all that often, but her posts are always honest and interesting
2. Kirstin over at SqueezeBoxPharm - because she's been trying to build up the motivation to blog more often, and maybe shiny awards will help.
3. Kat over at That Flighty Temptress - because she always makes sure to keep things lively and fun.
4. Jackie from Books & Tea - she reviews books and types of tea, which is a rather fantastic combination.
5. Kate, or rather, The Queen of Creativity - she's my mother, and families should shamelessly lavish attention upon each other.

Yeah, I know, the original rules asked for 15 people, but that's kind of ridiculous. And it's not like these blog awards haven't been circling the blogosphere for the last forever. *shrug* Anyway, because today's post is kind of boring, I bring you what could be one of the best movie moments EVER. Oh, and just a heads up, there's a swear near the end.

Writing research is weird

I'm a bit of a research dork.

My inner scientist is obsessed with things in my story sounding and being logical. So, if I run into a detail that just doesn't make sense, my brain freezes. There's no way for me to move on with the story unless I get everything to work perfectly.

Which has led to some interesting research sessions. What have I looked up lately?

• The marrow capacity of a human femur
• Burrowing frogs that live in Australia
• Fulgurite . . . aka: fossilized lightning
• Wick and lamp oil burn times
• The Kebira meteor creator in Libya desert

Yeah, it's an interesting collection. Won't deny it. Besides,

Or, I'll keep telling myself that.

So how do you guys feel about writing research? Love it or hate it? And what's the weirdest thing you've ever found yourself looking up? Give me some details in the comments!

10 things I did this weekend

A lot of people will tell you that the best thing a writer can do is write. And read. And repeat. And then maybe do some social networking. This is somewhat true, but it's also important to step away from that cycle and live a little. So here are ten things I did this weekend instead of writing up a blog post:

1. Went to the Montana Folk Festival and fell in love with Vishten.
2. Ate a lemondairy. It's basically ice cream and lemon slushie. Together. How was it? Well, it was pretty lemon . . . wait for it . . . dairy!
3. Watched Boyfriend play the Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood online multiplayer. Not so terribly interesting, but the costumes were super pretty. Lots of ruffly sleeves and corsets and jackets with lacy bits.
4. Played pinochle. Lost miserably.
5. Had a horrible migraine that lasted for about six hours. That was delightful. I also slept a lot and strapped an ice pack to my head. It was stylish.
6. Got tan. Or rather, freckled. This is coming from a white girl who doesn't really change color. Ever. So it's relatively eventful. And I even managed to avoid getting a sunburn. Win!
7. Went to Walmart three times in an attempt to get cash back. Forgot every single time.
8. Saw a bunny rabbit!
9. Ate a bunch of other festival food. You guys don't really know this about me, but I'm a bit of a secret foodie. Because food is delicious. I'll resist subjecting you to the list, though there was a gyro to die for.
10. Had a decent idea for the revisions on my WIP. Because it's impossible to keep my mind off it for long.

So there you go. I did some stuff. What exciting things did you guys do during the weekend? Did you get some writing done, or did you soak up life like I did? Tell me in the comments!

30 Sarah-steps to editing

So, I've been doing a bunch of editing lately. It's had it's own, unique ups and downs, but I've settled into a relatively stable schedule . . . which I thought I'd share. Yay! So here we go, how I go about editing a chapter of my manuscript:

1. Sit down at desk to start paper edits. This is a very serious process.
2. Check email, Twitter, and RSS aggregator.
3. Turn on appropriate music. Loudly.
4. Doodle flowers in red pen on scrap paper.
5. Make notes on manuscript in same red pen.
6. Write out extended bits of dialogue on a post-it note.
7. Highlight passive verbs because they suck.
8. Chew on red pen while reading.
9. Laugh hysterically and exclaim, "Now you're a horrible sentence!"
10. Repeat steps 3-9 until paper edits are completed.
11. Cheer.
12. Move computer to bed because it's comfy.
13. Look at email, Twitter, and RSS aggregator.
14. Work through chapter and start implementing paper edit notes.
15. Re-write some sentences.
16. Delete giant chunks of unnecessary wordage.
17. Glare at cranky paragraphs.
18. Eat some Lifesavers.
19. Re-work cranky paragraphs. Pages worth of cranky paragraphs.
20. Exclaim to manuscript, "I hate you!"
21. Look at Twitter.
22. Look at manuscript for two minutes.
23. Look at Twitter again. No one has said anything.
24. Look at sleeping cat and exclaim, "You're so adorable!"
25. Manhandle cat for several minutes.
26. Sigh.
27. Option 1: Have a meltdown and call critique partner for help.
28. Option 2: Break for food or something mindless.
29. Option 3: Suck it up and repeat steps 14-20 until chapter is done.
30. Cheer.

And that's it! A lot of procrastination, yes, I know. But I still get stuff done in the end, which is totally all that matters. But now I'm curious about the rest of you. What is your editing process? Do you lock yourself away in a study, or are you at the kitchen table with everyone else in the family? Do you need silence? Can you edit and watch TV at the same time? Tell me in the comments.

Sailor Moon is the reason I write

Everyone has an origin story. A while ago I promised that I would tell you mine. And excitingly enough, it actually involved super heroes. What super heroes, you ask? These ones:

Sailor Mars and Jupiter were totally my favorites, btw.

Yes, Sailor Moon is what did me in. Teenage girls with short skirts, super powers, and the responsibility of keeping the world safe from evil.

Let me explain.

First of all, you need to understand that Sailor Moon was my First Great Obsession. A lot of things in my life can be attributed to Sailor Moon. Yes, I loved the Power Rangers to previously described extremes, but Sailor Moon was different. Sailor Moon changed my life.

Yeah, this sounds a little pathetic, but it's true. Sailor Moon has the honor of being the first animated series I'd seen with an over-arcing plot, and that made my young, pre-teen mind explode.

I became interested in computers because I could go to Sailor Moon fansites. I then learned HTML and made my own semi-popular Sailor Moon fansite. I began to read comic books (starting with Sailor Moon and branching outward) and then I fell down the slippery slope to anime geekdom. Drawing became an official hobby, and I filled sketchbooks with horrible Sailor Moon doodles. I started to realize that a lot of stuff from Asia is really cool, which eventually led to friendships and expanded horizons and all sorts of nifty stuff. The most important thing though, is that my obsession with Sailor Moon turned to fanfiction.

I wanted to write fanfiction. And I did. It was melodramatic, it was overwrought, and thankfully it never saw the light of day. The reason it lives in a cold, abandoned corner on my harddrive, is that I realized something: why write fanfiction for Sailor Moon when I could write something entirely of my own?

That thought was the beginning. That thought spurned a dozen stories and thousands of words. Even though I kept writing fanfiction, I started to cultivate my own ideas, and eventually it got me here. Now I'm working on writing for a living. And I can blame it all on Sailor Moon.

So, tell me, why do you write? Can you chase your origins down to a classic, children's television show? Or is your reasoning something a little more respectable? Have you always known you wanted to write? Tell me in the comments!

Follower Love Giveaway Hop winner!

Today is Valentine's Day. The Day of Lurve. As promised, this is also the day of contest winner announcement goodness. Which contest? This one:

Because I still love all of you. To death.

Unfortunately, if you haven't entered by now, you're out of luck. Sorry! Maybe next time? Either way, I've had a really fun time talking with all of you, so thanks for participating. I hope some of you decide to stick around when I'm not flaunting a contest in your face. Either way, I still love and adore you all. In fact, this is how I feel about you:

Right. Enough squishiness. It's winner announcing time!

Congratulations to Marian! You've been chosen by random.org to win a $10 book from The Book Depository. Woo! You have 48 hours to respond to my email or I'll be drawing a new winner, okay?

Well, that's all for today, but because it would be terribly inappropriate to post on Valentine's Day without a shout out to my honey bunches:

Dear Boyfriend,
I heart you a lot.
You are magical like rainbows and butterflies.
Let's go eat chocolate together.
Love,
Sarah

We are chocolate warriors, yo.

A particularly stylish post (UPDATED!)

According to the lovely Brenna over at Writing and Reading, I'm apparently awesome. Or well, stylish at least. Thanks so much! Anyway, check it:

Pretty nifty, yeah?

As per being nominated, now I have to do stuff. Sigh.

1. Thank and link to the peep that nominated me.
2. Share seven things about myself.
3. Award some other cool bloggerly people.
4. Contact said bloggerly people and tell them that they're awesome.

So. Seven things about me.

1. I am a cat person. They're smart, they're fluffy, and they can take care of themselves.
2. Breakfast is my favorite meal and eggs are my favorite food. I love them in all forms except scrambled.
3. I'm a video game geek. I own a Playstation 3, Nintendo DSi, Playstation 2, Nintendo 64, Gameboy Color, and a Super Nintendo. On top of that, I have semi-regular access to an XBox 360 and a Wii.
4. I am one half of a Pictionary god.
5. The thing that really got me writing was Sailor Moon. There will probably be a post on this. I'm not sure why there isn't already.
6. At one point in my life I was going to study astrophysics. Now my science of choice is marine biology.
7. I tell people to "suck it up" a lot. Understandably I do not have the best bedside manner. Good thing I'm not a doctor . . . oh you just got out of surgery? Suck it up.

Phew, now that's enough about me. Now for a pair of cool bloggerly ladies that deserve to be called stylish:

1. Kirstin over at SqueezeBoxPharm because she tells entertaining life stories, but doesn't update nearly enough. Maybe being called stylish will be encouraging.
2. Kate, or rather, The Queen of Creativity. It's an art journaling blog, but the focus is on creativity in general. Kate is also my mother, and families should shamelessly promote each other.

Normal writerly post back up on Wednesday! Look forward to a titillating post on the joys and wonders of hardbacks, paperbacks, and e-books. And because today's post was lacking in the entertainment, a video for all of you: