I know I'm in my own world... it's okay, they know me here

Today I logged onto my email and thought I must have been majorly spammed, because I had so many emails, but it was people wishing me happy birthday! Thank you everyone! I got all the stuff I asked for, which is neat. It was a weird kind of birthday because it didn't feel much like one really due to the fact I had all the normal day stuff to do. But now I am older! And also now I have the second set of Merlin DVDs, so I'm pretty happy all-in-all :D

My dissertation first draft was handed in last Friday, and already my tutor is getting back to me about it - I'm meeting her tomorrow. Which leaves me with - 10? - days to complete the editing and hand in the final version. Plenty of time! (I hope!)

Last week my brain threw a tantrum about doing so much concentrating, so I gave in and went off to read the Twilight books, since I've heard bad things about them but wanted to see what all the fuss was about.

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I read all four of them last week. The first book was by far the best, and I really quite enjoyed it - Iona was shocked, and I have to say I was surprised after all I'd heard about it, but it hit some of my real fiction kinks, and I liked Meyer's style and use of description. However, for the rest of the series, she suffered from a sophomore slump that continued on a downward slope.

Similarly to HP7, I enjoyed books two through four for the most part while I was reading them, but once i had finished was a little unsatisfied. In the first book, Edward is more mysterious and we have to guess at his feelings through his behaviour (which is properly masculine), whereas in the later books, and increasingly so, he starts talking about his feelings far too much and too openly. Even girls don't do that.

The second and third books I still like, but in a general sort of way, with some bits I really thought were good and other parts were kind of meh. But the fourth book, while it had some very good sections, also had large sections where it just read like badfic. There is a loose plot, but mostly it's 'they got married then they had a baby then everything was yay oops need a plot DANGER! yay!' Some individual sections were good, but as a whole it lacked sophistication. It's a shame, because i liked the first one a lot. I've never been a big fan of love triangles, which didn't help; I liked the forbidden romance / they can't touch! edge to the first one. The first book's story has really stuck with me in a big way, my brain is still turning it over and enjoying thinking about it, but the later ones it seems to ignore.



That's what I've been doing lately - working and having brain tantrums! What about you, flist? What are your opinions on Twilight? What have you been up to?

My Aunt came to visit Friday through to today (she's gone now), so yesterday we went to see Windsor Castle, walking around and seeing all the beautiful things. (She lives in Yorkshire, so she'd never been to anything like that, as far as I know.) It's amazing to hear the history of all the things - what I refer to as 'the stuff we nicked' - because it comes from all over the place, a lot of it from countries we conquered. Like an enormous, life-size tiger head made of gold with rock crystal eyes and fangs that we took from some Indian ruler, I think. They even have the bullet that killed Lord Nelson. Even the parts they've restored are really breathtaking. That's what the Americans can't do, though they try to copy the pomp and splendour of our traditions - they can't make it imposing but not overgaudy, or plain silly. Our traditions are hundreds of years old, they've grown by themselves. You can't make that stuff up overnight.

You should all be receiving an email inviting you to my birthday party. btw :)

Did some writing!

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