In the midst of this sea and on the edge of this desert.

I'm at my mum's house, in the sunshine, quietly contemplating applying for new jobs. Nice, nice.

I finished Mirror Dance in the early hours of Saturday. I can't express how much I loved it. The series really paid back every moment invested in it with this one. I would never expect anything gratuitous from Bujold but considering how dark this one got, how painful, I still tensed for that sense of the writer getting carried away with the subject matter without true developmental purpose but that just never happened, every tight, torturous sentence served the characters and the purpose. I'm reeling with the integrity of an author flaying her characters open, testing them from so many angles, and still keeping it all bent to her strict storytelling purpose. ( Spoilery ) Hoorah!

I also finished David Grossman's Writing in the Dark this week which is one of the best collection of essays I've ever come across. Grossman's an extraordinary writer and to read his thoughts and approach to writing, rather than being formidable and leading me to question why I would write myself, is instead utterly motivating and affirming.

I've now seen Iron Man 3, Star Trek and The Great Gatsby! ( Cut again for not that spoilery thoughts )