This is a blog you can read.

I was poking around on the computer today at work, and stumbled across my predecessor’s predecessor’s old Livejournal account. She blogged a fair amount about working here at Preston Publications, and it was somewhat amusing to read someone talking about having very similar experiences to mine. Also, I now understand why there are 5 periodic tables on the wall. Also, I’m not going to (ever) write a post about how I am bored sitting at work and deciding to blog about it. Even if Julie did say she wouldn’t look at my blog again now that I work here, I still work here. I’ll wait to blog about it until I’m at home, thanks.

That’s not to say that I have tons of bad things I’m holding back. If I did, I probably wouldn’t mention work at all (and go rant in my own personal Livejournal). My job’s not particularly exciting, but it’s better suited to me than anything else I’ve ever done (except at the RP, which I don’t really think counts considering it was a college job and won’t really cover any bills). It might be slightly boring and monotonous, but let’s face it. So am I.

I’m an editorial assistant for two scientific journals. My job is mostly formatting and copy editing scientific papers in preparation for publication. I also do some receptionist-type work (answering phones, mailing out complimentary copies, etc.). The editing can be a bit mind numbing at times, but all in all, it’s more than I expected from a entry-level job.

The best thing about this job is not the minimal amount of drama I’ve been subjected too, the fact that it offers insurance, or even that I’ve got my own (windowless) office. The best thing is that once I know what I’m supposed to do, I’m allowed to go off and work on it until it’s done. The deadlines are generally spelled out far in advance (at least for major things), and if formatting seems more fun than editing at a given moment, I can do that. I also can listen to music and podcasts while I work. I remember thinking to myself a long time ago: “All I want from a post-graduation job is the ability to wear headphones.” I was totally right.

Speaking of music, I’ll leave you with the song that’s been stuck in my head all day:

(You can get it for free at blackcardsmusic.com. Oh oh oh yippee oh oh ay.)

• My life has been really busy, especially with spending 4 hours commuting every day.
• Most of the things I think about are obscure (Circuses in the Victorian Era/Gilded age), annoying (Christine O’Donnell), I talk about too much anyway (My Chemical Romance’s new album), or things no one wants to hear about (the Rachel Maddow joke in this week’s 30 Rock).
• Although I have a lot to say, much of it is personal.
• I’m lazy.

I do want to make a post about my name change, though. Although I’m changing my name, I don’t think I’ll be changing my domain for a while.

My name has bothered me for quite a long time. For most of my life, I thought I couldn’t do much to change it, other than go by nicknames. The idea to change my name has been with me for quite a while, and I’ve decided to go with it.

I chose Alexis because it’s a name I have liked for years. Literally. When I was a kid, any boy doll/animal/what have you was named Jonathan and all the girls were named Alexis/Alexandria. I’d often said I’d name my kid Renee Alexis to keep the whole “Name your daughter your middle name” alive, until I discovered how much my middle name does not fit me either. And I know most of the people who know me now will continue to call me Lee/LeAnne, but I would like to be able to introduce myself as Alex. And I appreciate everyone who’s being cool with this, and trying to accept it.

Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys.

by J.R.R. Tolkien (5/5)

I have a hard time distinguishing between my love for this book and the nostalgia it engenders in me. This was one of my favorite books as a kid, and it remains so to this day.

One of the first things I like about this book is that Bilbo is fully grown when his adventure began. So many fantasy stories have kids and teenagers realizing they have some sort of special power. Bilbo is an adult, and he doesn’t just have powers. He grows throughout the course of the book and learns to deal with situations in a proactive way.

Another thing I like about this book is that it is purely easy to read. The action is regular, and the story moves much faster than The Lord of the Rings.

The only problem I had with the book on this re-read was not even Tolkien’s fault. I had to skip all the poetry, because whenever I read them I still hear the songs from Bakshi’s animated version of the film. Those songs are earworms.

I unabashedly love this book, and look forward to reading this to my own kids some day.

by Rosalind Miles (2/5)

Simply put, this book did not float my boat. Generally, I am a fan of historical fiction, especially anything relating to the Tudor era. But this book nearly took away my will to live.

To me, the joy of historical fiction is the chance to visit (or revisit) previous events and get them with an interesting look from the view of the narrator or protagonist. Despite other shortcomings, Philippa Gregory does this well, especially in The Other Boleyn Girl. Miles, however, managed to write a book that somehow moves too quickly, drags tediously, is confusing, disorienting and repetitive.

Elizabeth is not presented as an interesting character. Instead she is whiny, bitchy, and downright annoying.

I found a review on Goodreads that summed up my issue with her character perfectly:

If Elizabeth I was as portrayed in this book, she wasn’t just a queen of England, she was a drama queen. As portrayed by Miles, Elizabeth is a whiny, histrionic little brat with absolutely no strength whatsoever. She never commands her people; she “sobbed,” she “wept,” she “screeched,” she “howled,” she “screamed,” she “told them tearfully,” and “wept afresh.” As far as I can tell, she spent about 50 years alternately sobbing, screaming and screeching.

She seems to spend the majority of the book either in crisis, in horribly unfulfillable love or worrying about her age. And speaking of her age, the pacing does not flow well at all. She seems to skip years, bemoaning her age in decades.

This book is long, too. More than 600 pages of Elizabeth writing about her life. It takes the form of an autobiography, a self-narrated tale in which Elizabeth wants to set forth the circumstances of her life. But instead of just maintaining a straightforward path, there are also long stretches of italicized sections which are Elizabeth’s later thoughts on previous events. These sections, especially with their forced foreshadowing, made the book even harder to read because they kept pulling me out of the narrative flow.

I didn’t give up on this book because I thought at some point, events would get interesting. But they never did. It took me almost a month to get through this book because I dreaded picking it up.

So, while not the worst book I have ever read, I don’t feel better for completing it. I don’t want to give it a 1, just because it is historical fiction, and somehow that gives it an extra point. I’m just glad to have it out of the way so I can start on the rest of my summer reading.