I like big books and I cannot lie

This Christmas was unquestionably the year of the book.

D. plundered my Amazon wish list and got me a number of the fashion folios I've been drooling over for awhile. Some are HUGE: the Rick Owens and i-D monographs could actually serve as coffee tables if I stuck legs on them :P In addition there are some academic books in there - Berg Publishers owns me...

In addition, I picked up a slew of fiction and funnies for Christmas eve (book giving is traditional for my fam) including I Could Pee On This, which is funnier than it has any right to be.

These are just a few of many more; if y'all are really interested I can do up a list (opening the library!). Suffice it to say I have a lot of very good reasons to hole up in my library this winter :P

During our visit we went down to the new location of Book Nook, which is incredibly still in business and under the same management. The new layout even mirrors that which I remember as a child, when J. and I would sit in the pets/animal section while my Dad traded in sci-fi paperbacks (he kept a running tab).

Also over the holidays, we saw the Hobbit twice, once regular, once on Imax. I enjoyed it, though it's not as epic in feeling as the LOTR films I don't think it's supposed to be (I have never read the Hobbit, though I've tried twice. Yes, I know...)

Also saw Skyfall, which was fantastic. Javier Bardem's performance was breathtaking - Hannibal Lechter level creepy.

The holidays are a nice break from the everyday but always kind of disorienting, so now I'm just trying to get back into the swing of things.

man with the golden linkage

Short short:

Thorin Dreamboatshield: An Unexpected Hotness Of Dwarves - possibly the funniest review of The Hobbit I've read. Courtesy wendyzski.

Make your own trophy werewolf head. Like you do. Plenty of time 'til Halloween. Hat tip danabren.

For some reason I find my icon endlessly amusing. Made by flyingsideways.

Rococopunk is not only sillier than Steampunk, it’s also more punk - and wasn't it also called New Romantic 30 years ago (the book in the latter link is excellent, BTW, another of my Christmas haul)?