One of my favorite diarists on Open Diary, Princess Ella (no link, because her diary is locked to non-ODers) has this knack of recommending books that are exactly the kind of reading material I need at any given moment. I think this has a lot to do with the fact that she's a violist, and therefore amazingly cool. Or maybe we just have similar taste in books. After all, she knew The Eight, and most people don't.

In any case, I just finished The Red Tent, which kept me enthralled the whole time I read it. It's the story of Dinah, daughter of Jacob, and is told in first person. And it's not all Biblical or anything, either. One of the reviews on the back cover says something to the effect that if the Bible had been written by women, it would seem like this, and I have to agree.

The author of that book, Anita Diamant, also wrote Good Harbor which was among my stack of books over the last week as well. It's set in a small coastal village in Massachusetts, and takes place in modern times, and I quite enjoyed it, but the other was much better.

I'm now half-way through Blackberry Wine by Joanne Harris, who wrote Chocolat. Princess Ella actually recommended another of her works, but both of my trips to B&N were fruitless, and this title intrigued me.

Waiting at the bottom of the stack is the final P.E. recommendation, Stones from the River, by Ursula Hegi. It's been a while since I've read so much non-fantasy, and I'm enjoying the time just drowning in the written word.

Thanks, Princess, for a great week of reading!

I wasn't going to do this. I was going to write a real post, but the incompetence of the people at Providian has me seething, and surveys relax me….

MU* Roleplay Survey
1. What was the first MU* you ever joined? I visited PernMUSH in 11/93, but didn't stay. All 'first' questions will be based on the first character I kept. First character I kept was on ShardsMUSH, April, 1994.
2. How long ago was that? Almost exactly eight years.
3. What was the name of your first MU* character? Zenobia
4. Their sex? Female
5. Their species? Human
6. Their personality? Mildly impish healer turned quintessential greenrider
7. Do you still have that character? No
8. If not, which of your current MU* characters have you had the longest? Chaia
9. Which of your characters – past or present – is your favourite? Zeni
10. Why? Isn't the first always the most special? I was so innocent, so not involved in politics…
11. Which of your current characters do you RP the most? A tossup between Chaia and Zaidra
12. Which MU* do you have the most characters on? PernMUSH
13. Do you prefer MUDs, MUCKs, MUSHes, MOOs or something else? MUSHes
14. Do you draw any of your characters yourself? I tend to avoid pictures of my alts, whether by myself or anyone else. Anyway, I can't draw.
15. If so, which character do you draw most often? N/A
16. Which of your characters is most like you in real life? The original Zeni was.
17. How many MU*s do you currently have characters on? 3 public, one private
18. Which MU* is your favourite? PernMUSH is home.
19. Why? It just is. This answer is, however, subject to change.
20. Do you RP sex? Sometimes.
21. Do you RP extreme violence? No.
22. Do you prefer long or short poses? Medium. With some shorter and longer as needed.
23. Do you prefer long or short descs? Medium. If it scrolls off the screen it's too long.
24. Do you have more male or female characters? Female.
25. Do you find it harder to play characters of the opposite sex? I find it incredibly difficult to play a male /dragon/, and the times I've had male alts have been comically bad.
26. Do you prefer to plan your characters in full detail before you start RPing them or let them develope naturally? They evolve, usually. The ones that don't generally get idled out.
27. Do you ever get characters on a whim and then never RP with them? Never on a whim. Sometimes on request.
28. Do you log RP? Compulsively, now. But I have /nothing/ of my Shards days, and I wish I did.
29. If so, do you sometimes go back a read them later? As needed for references, or to get back to basics.
30. Finally, how many MU* characters do you currently have in total? 8