tonight we had the dean's list dinner, which was SUCH an improvement over the honors' breakfasts of yore! i never really counted it as an honor to have to arrive at school extra early, eat bad breakfast food and listen to an annoying speaker, PLUS miss my first period free. we had speakers who are up for fulbright scholarships--I WANT ONE OF THOSE. they give you money to go do research or intern abroad for a year. guess where michelle wants to go, children? god if i could get an internship at an art museum in spain i'd be in fucking heaven.

we just had a floor meeting to discuss the admissions process, as our RA is interning up at Bellarmine. it was really good, and felt nice to have a sort of round-table discussion with the girls on my floor, most of whom i don't talk to a lot of the time, and hear their perspectives on things. we have a new girl, emily, who moved in with carla today. she transferred from NC State this semester and until today was living in jogues with a very promiscuous roommate. she's very cute-- she has RINGLETS---and she seems really nice, so i'm excited!

my new book "the well of lost plots" arrived today!! in the interest of turning more people on to this marvelous series, here is the book jacket description of "the eyre affair", the first novel starring Ms. Thursday Next:

In Jasper Fforde's Great Britain, circa 1985, time travel is routine, cloning is a reality (dodos are the resurrected pet of choice), and literature is taken very, very seriously. England is a virtual police state where an aunt can get lost (literally) in a Wordsworth poem and forging Byronic verse is a punishable offense. All this is business as usual for Thursday Next, renowned Special Operative in literary detection. But when someone begins kidnapping characters from works of literature and plucks Jane Eyre from the pages of Brontë's novel, Thursday is faced with the challenge of her career. Fforde's ingenious fantasy-enhanced by a Web site that re-creates the world of the novel--unites intrigue with English literature in a delightfully witty mix.

and here is an editorial review off amazon:
When I first heard the premise of this unique mystery, I doubted that a first-time author could pull off a complicated caper involving so many assumptions, not the least of which is a complete suspension of disbelief. Jasper Fforde is not only up to the task, he exceeds all expectations.
Imagine this. Great Britain in 1985 is close to being a police state. The Crimean War has dragged on for more than 130 years and Wales is self-governing. The only recognizable thing about this England is her citizens' enduring love of literature. And the Third Most Wanted criminal, Acheron Hades, is stealing characters from England's cherished literary heritage and holding them for ransom.

Bibliophiles will be enchanted, but not surprised, to learn that stealing a character from a book only changes that one book, but Hades has escalated his thievery. He has begun attacking the original manuscripts, thus changing all copies in print and enraging the reading public. That's why Special Operations Network has a Literary Division, and it is why one of its operatives, Thursday Next, is on the case.

Thursday is utterly delightful. She is vulnerable, smart, and, above all, literate. She has been trying to trace Hades ever since he stole Mr. Quaverley from the original manuscript of Martin Chuzzlewit and killed him. You will only remember Mr. Quaverley if you read Martin Chuzzlewit prior to 1985. But now Hades has set his sights on one of the plums of literature, Jane Eyre, and he must be stopped.

How Thursday achieves this and manages to preserve one of the great books of the Western canon makes for delightfully hilarious reading. You do not have to be an English major to be pulled into this story. You'll be rooting for Thursday, Jane, Mr. Rochester--and a familiar ending. --Otto Penzler --

the books are great, but it's true what they say--complete suspend your incredulity and believe anything is possible. in this series, books are ALIVE. (which i love, naturally, since i love books!) anyway i hope i've encouraged someone to try these books. even if you haven't completely read up on english literature (i'd never read jane eyre or even HEARD of martin chuzzlewit) there are so many little treats thrown in. shakespeare lovers especially will adore this kind of world!