Less than a month now to Lisbon and my (*gulp*) 20-minute talk. A talk that I still haven't really started preparing for. I can't even conceive of getting up in front of people and talking for 20 minutes! Perhaps I can take the 10 minute talk I prepared last year and speak at half-speed?

On a related note, approximately 4 months to Barcelona and my 30-minute talk. Seriously, people. It's hard to get properly excited about travel when there's public speaking and potential humiliation to worry about.

In the meantime, there's plenty of administration stuff to sort out. For example, does anyone want to be my substitute TA for the first LING 200 conference? I'm going to be out of the country. Which seems to be turning into my default excuse. (Yes, yes, I realize that's a very douchebaggy thing to say. I must've been spending too much time reading Tweeting too Hard.)

50 book challenge? What was that, again? Oy.

At this point, it's highly unlikely that I'll reach 50. With the infernal hell that was Winter semester, and the time spent travelling this summer, I've just barely cracked the 15 books milestone, if that is indeed a milestone. I already posted books 1 through 5 - sans review, naturally - so here's the rest of what I managed to read so far.

Book #6
Old Man's War
John Scalzi
Via Amazon
311 pp.

Book #7
Sailing to Sarantium
Guy Gavriel Kay
Via the Book Market (crappy West Island used bookstore)
559 pp.

Book #8
Eifelheim
Michael Flynn
Via Amazon
320 pp.

Book #9
The Man in the High Castle
Philip K. Dick
Via Amazon
259 pp.

Book #10
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
Seth Graeme-Smith & Jane Austen
Via Amazon (gift from Jimmy)
317 pp.

Book #11
House of Leaves
Mark Z. Danielewski
Via Amazon
662 pp.

Book #12
If On a Winter's Night a Traveller
Italo Calvino
Via Amazon
254 pp.

Book #13
The Lions of Al-Rassan
Guy Gavriel Kay
Via the Book Market
582 pp.

Book #14
The Lord of Emperors
Guy Gavriel Kay
Via Chapters
653 pp.

Book #15
Smilla's Sense of Snow
Peter Hoeg
Via Moti & Francis (birthday gift)

Book #16
The Last Samurai
Helen DeWitt
Via Moti
481 pp.

Well, I may not have managed to read a great number of books, but most of those were fairly hefty in the page count, at least. I'm currently reading Kushie's Scion, the fourth book in the "Kushiel" series by Jacqueline Carey and the first of the "Imriel Trilogy." I'm pleasantly surprised to find that it's just as engaging as the first trilogy. We'll see if that continues.

And with that, I can cross another long overdue task off my list.

Just testing this livejournal iPhone app out. Thought it might motivate me to post more often, but typing anything of a significant length on this thing is a pain in the ass. Can't it just read my mind and dictate my thoughts? It's supposed to be magic, right? Anyway, now my battery's almost dead, so I'm just going to play a couple levels of Bejeweled 2. Cheers.

Posted via LiveJournal.app.

...because, really, it's too much to keep in my head.

June 10: YUL > CDG > TUN (Air France)
June 24: TUN > CDG > YUL (Air France)
June 26: YUL > YEG (Westjet)
July 2: YEG > YUL > IAD (Air Canada)
July 7: DCA > PHL > YUL (US Airways)

So that's, um, 2 weeks in Tunisia, a day of rest at home in Montreal, 6 days in Edmonton with my parents, sister and nieces, immediately followed by 5 and a half days in Washington, D.C.

I think I'm going to hold off on booking my flight to Lisbon, for reasons of sanity.

Update: I'm actually flying out of Reagan, not Dulles. Man, I am so going to get lost somewhere along the way.

Dear Weather Gods,

Please please please let my plane get out of here tomorrow. Preferably on time. Please stop snowing on us. Please let thy humble and lazy servants, a.k.a. the snow removal workers of Montreal, do their stuff in a timely fashion.

I really, really need this vacation.

Fervently hoping,
Will

Urgh... January came and went and I didn't manage to get any book posts up? Which means I'm now - let me check - five books behind. Swell. Okay, then, let's just get this out of the way now. And thanks, capfox, for reminding me.

Book #1:
What I Talk About When I Talk About Running
Haruki Murakami
Xmas gift from Andy
180 pp.

Book #2:
After Dark
Haruki Murakami
Xmas gift from Moti
244 pp.

Book #3:
Kushiel's Avatar
Jacqueline Carey
Via Chapters/Indigo
750 pp.

Book #4:
Accelerando
Charles Stross
Via Amazon
415 pp.

Book #5:
Procrastination: Why You Do It, What to Do About it Now
Jane Burka & Lenora Yuen
Via Amazon
276 pp.

---

Off to a good start then, I think. I have plenty of potentially good titles in my "to read" pile to keep me going for a while, and I'm sure I'll be bringing back at least a few good finds from the Bay Area bookstores recommended to me by georgeodowd.

Currently reading: Old Man's War by John Scalzi

At the exact moment that I tried to add Jacqueline Carey to my list of favourite authors on LibraryThing (by clicking a link on the author's page), the entire LibraryThing database crashed. Er... oops?

This'll definitely be the last one for 2008:

Kushiel's Chosen
Jacqueline Carey
Via BookMooch
678 pp.

I've said it before and I'll say it again - I ♥ Jacqueline Carey. Her stories are truly captivating in the way that only the best stories can be. Brava.

Currently reading: What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami

Better get this one up now, before the year ends. Finished this one about a week ago.

The Android's Dream
John Scalzi
Via Chapters/Indigo
394 pp.

I bought this as a bargain book and, to tell you the truth, I pretty much just picked it up for the snazzy cover. So I was pleasantly surprised when it turned out to be the one of the most fun sci-fi books I've ever read. Great story, quirky main character, fast-paced, lots of plot twists. One of the better books this year, I think. Nice one to finish on.

Currently reading: Kushiel's Chosen by Jacqueline Carey which, so far, is living up to its predecessor.

Third annual 50 Book Challenge starts in 3 days!

On the day same day that I find myself making (surprising) tentative plans for a Reading Week getaway to Las Vegas, they're having a freak snowstorm. Perhaps this is a sign?