A Curious Statistical Anomaly

It has been a heck of a chaotic, and hectic, and every other descriptive word you can think of, month. Holidays, conventions, and family issues have taken up more time that one would think since there’s always 24 hours in a day and 7 days in a week and the usual number of days in the month.

So where does the time go? I’ve been reading and writing like crazy all month and now it’s a matter of getting all the database records proofed and their status changed, getting them ready to go live tomorrow night at midnight (or rather midnight where our servers are). The new issues will definitely be available online December 1st.

Meanwhile, it’s back to work.

I really don’t know what’s got into me lately. It seems like I’m just dragging through the days in a fog. I’m sleeping a lot but never feel rested. I’d have thought by this time now that my Capclave was over, I’d begin feeling rested and revving up on all the things I had to put on hold for the past couple of months. Guess it will take a bit longer.

Meanwhile, I spent nearly a week entering all the books that came in between two days before Capclave and when we got back from World Fantasy in Columbus, Ohio. We had a great time at WFC. It’s fast becoming one of my favorite conventions along with Readercon, Balticon, and our local convention, Capclave. I also enjoy Worldcon but haven’t been able to go recently since they’ve been out of the country (USA) this past year. Other conventions, as much as I’ve enjoyed them, are just a bit difficult to get to because of the economy and my husband’s lack of vacation/sick time (he’s a contractor and gets set back to 0 when the contract changes companies — sigh).

I’ve been trying to catch up on some knitting. During the foggy brain days of gearing up for Capclave, I stuck to my plain vanilla sock knitting and got 1 and 1/2 socks done. Less brain fog and I’d have expected to finish 3 pair in that time. I’ve finally got the first sock of the first package for the sock club I joined at the beginning of the year. It’s been sitting on the tray near my chair since then because — well, I sort of think I want to make the other pattern instead. I feel really bad about that because I ended up unraveling this sock at least 4-5 times trying to get myself to not over-think the pattern or go off without reading the pattern. I guess I picked this one because it seemed more challenging and it was. But, now that I look at the finished one — it’s not really the type of sock I’d wear and the other pattern is. So, as soon as I get my courage up, it’s the frog pond for this sock and starting the other pattern. I’ll take a photo before I pull it apart and try to post that soon (check back).

Meanwhile, just watched the second season of Fringe. There’s a lot to be said for watching an entire season over a week. The long term story arcs really jump out at you when doing that. I’ll post a review to SFRevu soon and let you know where to find it when I get it up. I’d like to hear what you thought of it also. Feel free to post comments.

Time to take a break and go read for a while. Have a good evening.

I found this quote on reference desk:

“But this Veterans Day, I believe we should do more than sing the praises of the bravery and patriotism that our veterans have embodied in the past. We should take this opportunity to re-evaluate how we are treating our veterans in the present. ” – Nick Lampson

It got me to thinking how much we ask of our people in uniform and how little they get in return. Years ago, when I was in college, veterans got practically all of their expenses covered as they worked on their degree — the only requirement was that they attend their classes and get the grades to continue. Now full veterans benefits barely cover anything leaving much of the cost of a college education to be covered by other means.

Even the veterans medical benefits are not as inclusive as they once were. My uncle had quite a bit of difficulty getting coverage for his cancer and related treatments before he died. The Veterans Administration was very helpful in helping navigate the twisted ways of the paperwork to patch together some help for his medical care.

We ask these men and women to step forward and possibly give their lives for us — the ultimate sacrifice that they may be required to give. Yet, consistently our Congress has been reducing the benefits that these people can expect from “a thankful government and people”. I know our candidates talk a good game, but talk is cheap — it’s actual actions that speak to the real priorities.

So, today and throughout the year, remember our veterans and those serving in our undeclared wars — honor them by bringing them home. Their lives shouldn’t be put on the line for less than the safety of the nation — not the safety and convenience of the corporations that sponsor Congress.

NOTE: These are my personal opinions and as such are valid for me. Your own mileage may vary.

A Darcy Christmas: A Holiday Tribute to Jane Austen. Stories by Amanda Grange, Sharon Lathan, and Carolyn Eberhart. Soucebooks Landmark. ISBN: 978-1-4022-4339-4, pages 304. Trade Paperback. October 2010. (Price $14.99 / Amazon: $10.19 / Kindle: $9.68)

A Darcy Christmas is a collection of three novellas featuring characters from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. The stories are: Mr. Darcy’s Christmas Carol by Carolyn Eberhart; Christmas Present by Amanda Grange; and A Darcy Christmas by Sharon Lathan. All in all, a nice book to cuddle up with on a cold holiday evening.

First we have “Mr. Darcy’s Christmas Carol by Carolyn Eberhart. As you might guess from the title, this story is loosely based on Dicken’s “A Christmas Carol”. In this version, Darcy has been greedy with his feelings. The ghosts in order of appearance are his father to warn him of the coming ghosts and then past, present and future are his mother, Lady Anne; his sister, Georgiana; and his aunt, Lady Catherine. Following the original story lines but with the change of feelings rather than money, Eberhart manages to pull the story together making it and interesting and apt variation.

The second story is “Christmas Present” by Amanda Grange. Jane and Bingley have a newborn son. Darcy and Elizabeth expect their child to be born in the new year. Elizabeth is not about to let pregnancy keep her and Darcy from spending the holidays with the family at Jane’s new home. But it seems Mrs. Bennet invited Lady Catherine and Mr. Collins to stay at Jane and Bingley’s manor also. You can imagine the holidays with all the Bennets, Bingleys, Darcys, Hursts, Lady Catherine and Mr. Collins all in the same house. Grange manages to balance all the characters and keep us entertained.

Ending the book, is “A Darcy Christmas” by Sharon Lathan. Note so much a story as vingnettes – each centered around the Christmas holidays. Each piece shows the reader an incident from the life of Darcy and Elizabeth. We get to see them grow as a couple, have children, face the loss of loved ones, watch their children grow and have their own families — the gathering for the holidays increases as the generations continue to meet at Pemberley. This was a nice capstone piece to the book.

In the stores now, you can pick it up to read during the holidays when you want to remember what they’re all about as the chaos and stress rise. Christmas is for family, friends, and loved ones to gather and share the love and concern for each other. A Darcy Christmas is all about love and family.

In the Arms of Mr. Darcy by Sharon Lathan. Sourcebooks landmark, Trade Paperback, October 2010, ISBN: 978-1-4022-3699-0. Pages: 384. List Price: $14.99. (Amazon: $10.19 / Kindle: $9.68).

In the Arms of Mr. Darcy by Sharon Lathan is a follow-on to Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Elizabeth and Darcy have been married for a year. Elizabeth is settling into her role as mistress of Pemberly, and they now have a child, Alexander.

The Bennet family and other friends and relatives are gathering at Pemberly for the holiday season. Naturally, with the new child and a houseful of family and friends there is a lot of grist for the plot mill. Lathan manages to squeeze a story of married bliss, new romance, thwarted love, a mystery, a betrayal, and a couple of presentations at court into one book.

What is achieved is an interesting look into the life of the landed gentry at the time of Pride and Prejudice. Then there is the continuing romance between Darcy and Elizabeth. As a married couple, they do their best to see that all those they love become as happy as they are. Darcy is more than the standoffish aristocrat of the original story and is shown to have depth of feeling and good sense.

However, the fact that the book has so many subplots, makes it seem unfocused. The mystery subplot has potential, as did several of the other subplots, to be fleshed out and become a stand-alone novel. Instead these interesting sub-stories are set up, minimally touched on, and dropped or solved to get back to the main story of the married live of the Darcys.

That’s not to say the book isn’t worth reading, after all, it’s well written and continues to allow readers to see the Darcys after their marriage. They manage to have a full life that, as with all newlyweds, is rife with the compromises needed to live together in harmony, as well as the usual minor dramas involved in daily living on a large estate with the responsibility for many other depending on their ability to stay solvent as society changes about them.

In the Arms of Mr. Darcy will not leave you wishing you hadn’t read it, but instead will leave you wondering what is going to happen to the people in the subplots that weave in and out of the main story. Will there be another book filling us in on those characters and incidents, particularly those that involve friends and family or business relations of the Darcys’? We can but hope.

Meanwhile, In the Arms of Mr. Darcy is now in bookstores and available so you don’t need to wait to find it and see for yourself if you agree or disagree with my assessment.