Periodic ponderings: Week 35 edition

(New growth on a Callistemon 'Little John')

What are you doing/thinking/wondering/making/reading/etc. that you don't normally post about? It has been a while since I have done one of these and I thought it would be a good way to post about non-holiday stuff

Doing: I recently acquired six boxes of second-hand books from an acquaintance who was otherwise going to throw them away. Such books would normally be donated to the local crisis-counselling telephone service for their bi-annual fundraising book fair. However, my acquaintance tells me they're no longer accepting paperbacks. I'll be seeking to confirm this once my friends, family and writing groups have had a chance to pick through them. My sweetheart very kindly waded his way through the boxes to my computer and spent a morning helping me to catalogue what was there. My acquaintance is threatening to send another four boxes. I don't mind rescuing the books but I didn't properly consider the imposition on my time, energy and space this would take.

Watching: While down with a cold late last month, I started rewatching the TV show Castle featuring Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic. It has long been comfort viewing for me. I've also got the fifth of "Richard Castle's" Nikki Heat books to read and so I have been rereading the series in conjunction with rewatching the show. I've just finished Season 3 and have therefore just started on the third book.

Thinking: I'm still processing my thoughts on the return of Doctor Who but it left me prickly. I'm not entirely sure the new doctor was behaving any differently from the last two doctors but the way it came across definitely had resonances of dementia (at least to begin with). Considering how ham-handed they were with Clara (and with Madam Vastra) I'm not sure I can bring myself to think it clever.

Reading: As mentioned above, I just started reading the third of the Nikki Heat books, Heat Rises. I had a review to write for the second book, but have managed to misplace my notes. Suffice to say it doesn't hang together well as a series, since they seem to use a different ghostwriter for each book. I find that makes it hard to settle into the story to start with.

Wondering: September is known around here as "cake month" thanks to all the birthdays. It is truly a month of madness for me and the most stressful part of my year. A couple of years ago I began the practice of not accepting any social engagements other than birthday parties during September. I'll admit that I'm not always very good at sticking to that. I also tend to turn down any editing jobs taking place in September. This year, I'm wondering if there are any other self-care practices I should be engaging in to help make my life a bit easier. I suspect making sure I get enough sleep should be on there. I've not been getting quite enough lately and as a consequence am not quite at my sharpest.

Writing: Still working on Heartwood. Slow and steady wins the race, right? But only if you really are working steadily.

Drinking: I'm currently drinking the Jane Austen blend from Gillards of Bath. A very thoughtful friend brought it back from England as a gift several months ago and it is quite possibly the nicest tea I've ever had the pleasure of drinking.

Linkspam

Recently, I mentioned being interviewed for the 2014 Australian Speculative Fiction Snapshot. All of the interviews have now been indexed. There are almost 200 interviews with writers, editors, illustrators, publishers, reviewers and judges.

Author and editor Jodi Cleghorn offers a practical guide to beta reading.

Author Peter Ball shares six things writers can learn from the Highlander movie. It is part of his Trashy Movie Tuesday Writing School, a series I've been enjoying immensely.