This is how I am going to die

Hello folks!

When you combine NaNoWriMo, College Apps, and a college Organic Chemistry class, blogging kind of falls to the wayside.
So I'll give you a little story that I wrote about a week ago while waiting for my train. It's was rather impromptu, and I haven't even polished it up at all, so don't expect an O'Henry or something.

______________________________________________________________________

This is how I am going to die

I am sitting at the train station when it starts to snow. I am early because I overestimated my time.

"I'll be fine," I had said when my mother protested the cold. "I'll have my book, I won't mind." And I don't mind. The snow begins to fall as the sharp wind whips at my scarf. It blows it off sending it flying away through the fog.
But I don't notice.
Why would I, when there's a battle going on before me in the pages of my book?

Eventually my hat follows the path of the scarf before it and my head is bare, my hair snapping about in front of my face. I push it aside with my cold fingers and continue reading. I've forgotten my gloves, but who cares? The hero has forgotten the important missive and is in dire straits.

Snow is slowly building up on my boots and my head but I pay it no mind. It engulfs in its grayish whiteness. I start loosing feeling in the hand that is holding the book, not to mention my nose and ears and chin. As snow covers the pages of my book, I am able to keep reading through the melted hole my weak breath makes in the snow as I lean over. It is the climactic moment!!!

As darkness overwhelms me, I hear a voice say, "Hullo."
"Eh?" I say, looking up, "It's almost done. Let me finish."
"It is done," says the voice.
"No it's not," I say. "The villain is just about to be defeated. Turn the freaking lights back on."
"Oh," says the voice, "I was talking about your life. It's done."
"Oh," I say. "Just let me finish the book, ok? Turn the lights back on, please."
"Hey!" says the voice. "Are you even listening? I said your life is done! Over. You're dead. Kaput. Gone to heaven. I'M GOD, FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE."
"Ohhhh," I say. "Is it always this dark in heaven?"
"No," says God. "We're not there yet. Oh, here we are."

Suddenly we burst into light. There are glorious golden buildings with glorious golden figures walking about. It's like a book world! Suddenly I remember.

"Thanks for the light, God," I say, and look back down to the book in my hands. "I'll be right with you. Just let me finish the book. I'm almost done."


THE END

____________________________________________________________________


~Sophia

Jane Austen and Ghost Stories

I finished A Clash of Kings yesterday, and I think it's time for a little break.
The books are good, don't get me wrong, but goodness they are intense. And gruesome sometimes. And harsh.

And I really need something calm and sweet as a refresher, as a break in the series.

So, in honor of Pride and Prejudice's 200th aniversary of publication this year, I thought I'd reread all the Austen books - and read Lady Susan and Love and Friendship for the first time as well.
I have some fun posts planned for this, so stay tuned!

I thought I'd start today, but I just couldn't get into it. Not with the characters from A Clash of Kings pounding around in my head. My mind was very much in fantasy mode, and it needed something to make the transition to Regency novels.

So, at breakfast I read some stories from a "Humorous Ghost Stories Collection" that my sister had downloaded on my Kindle a while ago, and I had never read. They were the perfect thing to get me out of the land of High Fantasy - short, sweet, and funny, and a few were set in the early 1900's, which isn't exactly Regency, but was good enough.

Here are the stories I read:

"The Rival Ghosts" by Brander Matthews


"The Water Ghost of Harrowby Hall" by John Kendrick Bangs

I always love a funny ghost story. No horror for me! (Unless it's Poe)
Another good Humorous Ghost Story that I am sure is in this collection is "The Canterville Ghost" by Oscar Wilde:


My favorite ghost story of all time. Funny, but sweet, with a certain depth to it.

Anyway, tomorrow I'll begin Love and Friendship, because I've decided to read Austen's books in roughly the same order as she wrote them. But, because she would write drafts of stories, abandon them to work on other drafts, and then pick up the first ones again, it's all sort of a mix up.
Here's the order I will read them in:

Love and Friendship
Lady Susan
Sense and Sensibility
Pride and Prejudice
Northanger Abbey
Mansfield Park
Emma

You are welcome to read along with me and discuss your opinions and views of the books in the comments of this and the following posts.

(Also, if you have a "better" order to suggest than the one above, please let me know below!)

~Sophia