Female Authors in SFF

Soapbox time.  You've been warned.

First, some relevant links:
VIDA: a look at statistics involving women authors, reviewers, and reviews.  (Lots of graphics for the not-statistically-minded.)
Strange Horizons: a look at the same in the science fiction and fantasy genre.
Author Keri Sperring on "Why I Started #womentoread": in which a sff author asks for recommendations of female sff authors to give to people who may be missing them because of a lack of marketing promotion.

Now that you're up to date, I hope we can all agree that there is a discrepancy in that data, namely that women are under-represented in reviews relative to the number of books they publish.  From my experience as a bookseller, there are two types of books: frontlist titles (i.e. those on display, usually easy to spot because you see the cover instead of the spine) and backlist titles (i.e. on the shelves).  In a brick & mortar store, frontlist titles are the overwhelming majority of sales.  A former manager of mine once quoted frontlist as 70% or more of the sales for the store; in the children's department I ran, that was definitely true (we were required to keep weekly sales logs, so I had the data to prove this).  So, if your books are only in backlist, your sales will be commensurately lower.  I know from 5 years' experience that simply putting a book or series on a display does increase its volume sold, regardless of price.

The internet and social media can be a powerful tool for equalizing the playing field between traditional marketing and deserving authors.  Marketing is all about an information disadvantage: the marketers or retailers know what you've been buying, how much an item actually costs to produce, and whether you can get it elsewhere.  They set their prices and displays to encourage you to think you need it right here, right now.  The internet can let you know that you do have a choice.  Your expenditures in retail are tracked and stores respond!

I don't have a twitter account, so here's my contribution to Sperring's #womentoread request.  I have read and enjoyed every one of these authors immensely.

Mary Robinette Kowal: Alternate history fantasy novels set in Regency-era England; her portrayal of that society and the characters within it are really exquisite.

Anne Bishop: dark fantasy, particularly known for her powerful characters.

Kate Elliott: epic fantasy, fantastic characters, and a serious look at the societal forces that shape a person.

Robin Hobb: epic fantasy, complex characters who change realistically with events.

Kate Forsyth: Celtic fantasy, sword & sorcery, great page turners.

Jacqueline Carey: alternate history/mythology fantasy, set in Europe (mostly...).  Great spy & intrigue novels.

Trudi Canavan: high fantasy, lots of magic, easy reading that really pulls you along.

Madeleine L'Engle: probably the first female sff author I ever read.  Mostly children's/YA work, magic-within-our-world plots.  A great entry point for younger readers.

Karen Traviss: I've only read her Star Wars work (although her own novels are on my to-read list) but, even by non-SW Expanded Universe standards, her books are excellent.  She fabricated a whole culture and populated with realistic characters who react and grow into it.

C. S. Friedman: Epic, high, dark fantasy; mind stretching sci-fi.  I cannot recommend her highly enough to fans of "traditional" sff.

These are just the ones I read and liked.  There are so many others that may speak to you!  Browse those bookshelves or use a dedicated reading site like Goodreads to find a recommendation!

Liebster Questions

My very good friend Jennifer over at Mouse and Home (she's a huge Disney fan) added me to a blog linking set up called the Liebster Award.  It's eleven questions from her and then eleven random facts about me.  I'm usually not big on chain-mail via the internet but her questions were really awesome, like her, so I thought I'd give it a go:

1. If you could meet any person, living or dead, who would it be and what would you ask them?

This is a tough one for me.  I admire many people but have a horrible problem thinking up something to say when I meet them.  (I admit freely, me meeting Fred Haise was all fan-girlish.  We won't even discuss the couple of author signings I've been to.)  There's an Austen quote that describes me well: "We are each of an unsocial, taciturn disposition, unwilling to speak, unless we expect to say something that will amaze the whole room, and be handed down to posterity with all the eclat of a proverb.”

So, since I have to choose: Elizabeth I.  I'd like to know if she ran her court and created her mystique on purpose or partly by accident.

2. What is the last book you read that you couldn't put down?

Mary Robinette Kowal's Without a Summer (my review).  It's third in a series and, while the first was good, they get better as they go.  The book is just so well done in every aspect that you can tell a clever, exacting mind put it together.  Actually, I'd like to meet her, too.

I'm half way through Robin Hobb's Ship of Destiny.  It's also fantastic, although "can't put down" is a hard description for an 800 page book!  It's the third in a trilogy and it's been two years since I read the first two... yet it's so memorable I picked it right back up without missing a beat.  Another author I'd like to meet; I got to participate in an online Q&A with her recently, which was awesome!

3. Name someplace you never want to visit.

Anywhere without air conditioning.  It's in my top 5 inventions of mankind for a reason!  Seriously, though, I've been to Jamaica once and have no inclination to return.  I had fun but feel like I did everything I was interested in.

4. Do you have any hobbies? What are they?

Loads.  Sewing, tea drinking/history, cross-stitching, I'm a beginning quilter... and reading, reading, reading, which is more a lifestyle.  I'm also learning to scrapbook digitally but I'm not very good at it yet.

5. Is there a song that would be your "theme song"? 

Five for Fighting's Superman and/or Nickel Creek's Reasons Why

6. If you had a day all to yourself, what would you do?

Oh my, I thought those went out the window with motherhood... read, take myself out for breakfast, tea, and dinner (this was unlimited money, too, right?  Right?),  maybe do something crafty or visit somewhere I can't easily go with my "zoo".

7. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would that be, and why?

I actually really like Florida.  But honestly, I'm enjoying living all over the country as a military spouse.  I'm really hoping that one day a place feels like home for both of us!

8. Are you OCD or ADD when it comes to housework?

You could just stop after the first three words of that question: yes.  I have to be careful what I commit to because I get it done right.

9. Who is your favorite Doctor?  (If you don't watch Doctor Who, feel free to simply respond with Doctor WHO?)

Yikes, hard call, and I've only watched 3 of them!  I hope to go back to the originals one day.  Definitely 9 or 10... 9 had so much potential left but 10 just loved the role so much and was terribly witty.

10. What is your favorite TV show?

TED Talks on Netflix. ;-)  For a reader, I watch way too much TV.  Currently, probably Downton Abbey or Doctor Who or How I Met Your Mother.  Of all time... Deep Space Nine?  Scrubs?  Gilmore Girls?  Battlestar Galactica?  I'm not sure... I enjoy anything that makes me laugh and think.

11. What is the best and worst jobs you've held?

The best is a toss up between my engineering job (because, hey, I got to design space stuff) and my book seller job (because, duh, book discount and talking about books with people).  Worst job was one I only held 2 weeks... the manager never set my schedule more than 2 days in advance and I wasn't allowed to do anything except clean the display cases and ring up sales.  It was boring and annoying all at once.

11 Random Facts About Me:
1. I got married much earlier than I expected to in life.
2. I enjoy entertaining but only small parties of people I know.
3. I have never dyed my hair (yet...).
4. I have donated my hair once before and will do it again very soon.
5. I have tracked how many pages I read each week since August 2006.
6. I LOVE dessert... the richer, the better.
7. I'm currently on a no-dairy, no-eggs, no-peanuts diet.
8. Weight lifting is my preferred form of exercise (followed closely by zumba!).
9. I think I'm bad at the give and take of conversation.
10. The older I get, the more awed I am by the philosophy of science.
11.  I am torn between owning all the books I've read and only having really excellent books on my shelves.

If anyone is interested in participating, I will write up 11 questions for you!  Hope you had fun and learned something about me in the process.

Resolutions

I've been thinking a lot about projects lately.  I don't know about you but I feel like I'm in the middle of dozens of never-ending projects!

Today I was also considering my New Year's resolutions.  I make one every year and deliberately don't publish it.  This isn't true for everyone but if I'm talking about it, I'm not doing it.  Two years ago I made some life resolutions, namely some financial goals (made those) and some career goals (a new degree, which was accomplished a little late... having a baby does these things).

This year, I resolved to work on specific gratitude.  As I get older, I'm starting to understand the "it takes a village" mentality.  I work very hard on my own projects and taking care of my family but we wouldn't be where we are today without many other people's contributions.  I feel like I say "thank you" to a lot of people without truly letting them know what they mean to me.  This was especially true after kid1 was born.  No one expects a new mother to do much more than take care of her baby but once I got that (vaguely) under control, I tried to let people know how much I appreciated their support of our family.

For instance, I caught up on all my thank you cards, no matter how late.  All the baby showers, all the gifts, all the meals, all the people who just lent an ear or some advice while I was pregnant.  It was a good feeling to get that done.  I've also tried to send friends a little note once in awhile when I use and particularly appreciate something they gave me, whether it was a piece of furniture or some advice.  This in particular has opened my introverted eyes to the role of friends in my life.  I met some great people at our last base whose friendship is still positively influencing my life today.

But what about next year?  I hope that specific gratitude is becoming a character trait instead of a project and I need a new resolution.  I'm seriously considering starting a 52 projects challenge, one for each week of 2013, and tracking it here.  52 Projects would involved tackling some long overdue emotional weight (e.g. rolling over those orphan 401k's; reading some long-owned, never-opened books) as well as some projects I'd just like to try (finishing a quilt).  This is a departure for me, since it would commit me to regular posts.  It would also be challenging, maybe too challenging, as we are scheduled to move again next summer and I am hoping to earn a job at our next assignment.

Is it a good idea?  If I commit to doing it, would you read and comment on it?  Would anyone like to join me?

Re-orienting

I've recently been motivated to start sewing again, a hobby which took a serious down turn correlating with kid1's mommy-time-intensive first year.  It's hard to know how to pick up a project you've let go for awhile.

Sometimes the results are good.  I recently moved my sewing machine downstairs so I could sew when kid1 naps and sleep.  Clothing repairs got tackled first.  I thought there was monster pile that would take hours to fix but, once I got started, I was done with everything except replacing buttons in 30 minutes.  Now I have an almost-new pair of PJ pants, a sweater, and 4 shirts!  It was great to actually finish something (feeding the family and dishes and laundry and cleaning house don't count... they always need to be done again!).

Sometimes, the results are ambivalent.  In the same sewing spree, I finished piecing together the rows for kid1's quilt.  Now, the pieces are in the right order because I pinned them all at the same time.  And the rows are in the right order (I think...).  But are they turned right?  I have no idea which way I was folding them months ago and which side is left or right.  So while I've definitely made progress, I have some more work to do to really get going with this project.

*Note: This is a great example of why it's important to document your long term projects with things like, I dunno, pictures and diagrams.  Whoops.*

And sometimes, picking up a project in the middle is just a no-go.  The memory game I'm working on was this way.  After the quilt, I tried to move ahead with sewing the patterned fabric into the felt frames, only to discover the reason I stopped months ago: no matching thread.

I'm happy to report that one trip to Hobby Lobby later, that part of the project is finished.  Now, of course, comes the part I hate: ironing seams and interfacing.  Can I outsource this somewhere?  ;-)

Do you have lapsed projects that you're having difficulty re-starting?  How do you get going again?

New Year

The holidays have flown by in a rush for us.  LO's first Christmas was lots of fun; both grandmothers and two aunts were here to celebrate with us!  This was our first Christmas at home (seriously).  Being a military family, we live away from our extended family and, from the time we were engaged, have traveled for the holidays every year.  As much as we love traveling and seeing family, it was great to have our Christmas and start (or continue) some holiday traditions of our own.

With all that behind us, it's time to look ahead to a new year.  2011 was, in my mind, the year of baby.  I spent 9 months pregnant and 2.5 months adjusting to our new family routines.  We rearranged furniture & schedules, did lots of medical appointment, traveled for baby showers, bought and received tons of new baby stuff,  and generally got ready to be parents.  Speaking of which, if you're a parent (or have ever encountered a young child), you have to check out this blog post about an 11-Step Program for those considering parenthood!  Lessons 3 & 5 had me laughing so hard that I was in tears!

2012 will still be pretty baby-centric but my major goal this year is to find time for my interests.  January starts off with a bang - I go back to school next week.  With just two more classes to go, I can see the proverbial light but I'll admit to being apprehensive about finding enough time to do the work required.  Despite that, DH and I are both on schedule to graduate in March and that means, because we are in online classes and won't "walk", a graduation party this spring!

Some goals for this year:

Finishing my M.S. Systems Engineering degree.

Taking a quilting class

Finishing my existing, short-term sewing/cross-stitching/crafting projects by June (I made some good headway on this in 2011).

Organizing our Stuff (more about this in a later post)

Reducing debt and expenses & financial planning (we accomplished all of our financial goals for 2011!)

Losing the baby weight (8ish pounds from now)

Being healthier: Getting back to my fit weight (8 pounds below pre-baby weight), exercising a couple times a week, eating more veggies

Of course, the humdinger in all this is July 2012: the military move month.  Moving will wipe an entire month (or two) from the calendar.  It seems simple... pack your stuff in one place, unpack it in another... but it is simply not that easy.  Added to that, I'm hoping to earn a job at our new location.

It's going to be a busy year!  What plans and goals do you have for 2012?

Pre-Baby Thoughts

Being out of school and (temporarily) physically limited leaves me a lot of time to sit around and think during the day.  My brain is pretty good at quickly bouncing around on many ideas.  Lately, I've been thinking about a lot of family-centric topics: baby's impending arrival and the changes it will bring, finances, fitness, the holidays, food, housework, craft projects... the list goes on.  I started this blog to help me explore some of these wanderings in a more coherent way and so far, it's been very useful to me in that regard.  As a bonus, it's also garnered some great feedback from friends.  So here's some glimpses of my latest brain-musings... let me know what you think.

• How DH and I have changed over the years: We've been married for just over 5 years and together for 7.  5 years ago we were way over our heads in debt, with very different views of housework & daily living; neither one of us was good with credit cards and we definitely weren't ready for kids.  Today we've got a handle on our financial situation (which is steadily improving) with a more open communication about daily life and our expectations.  Along the way, we've found a lot of common ground and compromise (e.g. having friends over for dinner satisfies my introverted needs and his extraverted ones at the same time).  I don't know if we're truly ready for kids (is anyone?) but we're definitely ready to take on the challenge in a way we couldn't have 5 years ago.  I'm grateful that we've learned and grown together.
• Recommitting to our financial goals: We haven't strayed off our plan too far this year; we're even ahead a bit in some regards.  However, we've been very lax about a few areas and somewhat indulgent of convenience over savings as the pregnancy has progressed.  I'm hoping that post-pregnancy I'll have a little better self-control and that when we do our financial review in January, we'll find a few ways to speed up our debt repayment.  Baby will probably affect this in both directions: more motivation to do better but also less available cash.
• Our health: Maybe it's having a child that's pushing this issue but DH and I have talked a lot about improving our physical fitness recently.  Besides eating well, I can't do much in that department for a few more weeks, so I'm starting to mentally plan out my "return to fitness", beginning in November.  So far, it mostly includes daily weigh ins on the Wii Fit, more home cooking and less convenience foods, walks with the whole family (including the dogs), working up to working out on the Wii Fit at home, and trying to restart Zumba classes after the holidays.
• Housecleaning: Yup, nesting and OCD combine to create a mental image of a house that desperately needs some TLC.  We're steadily working on this.  Baby's room is 95% done (and 100% clean) and I cleaned the desk (i.e. major disaster area) last week.  DH even cleaned the whole kitchen, stove included, over the weekend... with no prompting from me (this may be the most amazing moment ever in our domicile-maintaining relationship).  There's still plenty to be done though, including the dreaded bathrooms.  What perk of working do I miss most?  Paying someone else to clean my house.

That's enough thinking for now, off to take care of dinner.  What's percolating through your brain lately?

Today's Change of Plans

I am taking an unexpected break today, courtesy of a dog that decided that 5:30 in the morning was a great time to throw up.  Bending over while you're pregnant is never a fun experience but quickly hauling 20 lbs of dog into the bathroom at 0530 can really set your day back.

I've been working like crazy these last two weeks to accomplish some fairly nebulous goals: catching up to all the things that were neglected while we were traveling, getting ready for baby's arrival, and just generally trying to put some order back into my life.  I've actually gotten a lot done (i.e. baby clothes/blankets/bedding is 90% washed and put away) but I still have a long list of things that need to be accomplished (i.e. renewing a car title).

Being unemployed for nearly two years has required a lot of mental effort on my part, mostly to stay busy and feel like I am contributing to our family.  I'm guilty of reminding my husband a little too often that he doesn't understand "how much I do around here" but the last few months have shown me that maybe I don't know how much I do.  During my first trimester, it was a good day if the dishes got cleaned and my homework was done; grocery shopping was a great day.  For my second trimester, while I was feeling better, I was at least able to keep up with the housework and homework, even if I didn't ever get ahead (although it didn't help that we were gone so much during the last month of that energy boost).  I'm still continuing that slow down effect in my third trimester, with naps looking more appealing every day.  My to-do list shows me that I can accomplish 4-5 tasks each day, generally a mix of errands, housework tasks, and a craft project.

I'm learning to modify my plans when I need to.  For instance, today I was supposed to run some errands to Target and a couple other places but my back muscles and slightly swollen ankles are telling me that long periods of walking are not an option.  My errands can wait a couple of days, so instead, today I will do projects that can be done while sitting at home.  I remind myself that it's still progress, just on different goals.

First up: rearranging my to-do list into a more realistic timeline.  Listing always makes me feel better.  :-)

How do you know when you're doing too much?

August Readings & Thoughts

It has been awhile since I spammed my blog with interesting links.  While traveling last month, it was nice to be able to keep up on my reading through Google Reader, but I didn't have much to say about what I read.  Since I've been back home, it's been easier to focus and think.  Here's what I've been thinking about:

• Grocery Shopping: When I did my weekly grocery shopping last Thursday, a gallon of 2% milk had gone up to $3.13 from $2.86 just a week before.  That doesn't sound like much, but if 9.4% is indicative of rising grocery prices, no wonder my food budget has been creeping up a bit lately!  Get Rich Slowly (GRS) recently did an update to their ongoing "how much do you spend on food?" post.  It's garnered over 300 comments and reading through them is fascinating... everything from families of 8 living on $300/month to singles or couples spending $1500/month!  
• Comparative Statistics: Most of the comments on that article include info about urban/suburban/rural location and how picky people are about food choices.  This is a data goldmine that I really want to sink into.  For two suburban, non-organic eaters, we spend about $300/month on groceries and another $200/month on eating out; groceries includes entertaining an average of once a month.  Surprisingly, while our eating out amount varies, it never affects our grocery bill much.  As an added bonus, one of the comments introduced me to Bundle where you can compare how much you spend in certain categories relative to others in your age, family, income, and geographic groups.  Fascinating info!  This is one place where I don't mind being below average!
• Food & Science: Hmm, I'm starting to see a trend.  This article on biofortification of foods is why I love both the Freakonomics books and their blog.  This one is a guest post (which happens frequently) and, in addition to providing good data on a relevant social topic, gives a strong case for why waiting for the perfect solution is often a bad idea.  This is essentially why I'm an engineer and not a researcher; perfect theories blow up in the real world and you need to know how to adapt new knowledge to existing problems.  The article also brings up a favorite soapbox topic of mine: that engineered foods have, on the whole, been a Good Thing for the human race.
• Economic Circumstances: GRS had an entry last week about what part of your personal financial situation is your responsibility/fault and what is not.  This is a fascinating discussion and, interesting as the comments are, they don't begin to scratch the surface of how complex this topic truly is.  There's a lot of personal philosophy and experience revealed in how you feel about this subject.  We all know people who complain and yet do nothing to help themselves; equally, we know people who did "everything right" and still ended up broke (hopefully, we also know lots of people who did most things right and came out okay!).  Hindsight is 20/20 and articles like this remind me of two favorite quotes: "Chance favors a prepared mind" and "Statistics mean nothing to the individual".

That's enough thinking for me today... after all, I have homework to do.  ;-)

What's been on your mind lately?  How are issues like this affecting you?

The Beginnings of Quilt 1.2

I finally uploaded the pictures of the new quilt I'm making to the computer last night... sharing time!

First, I'm using the "orange quilt" pattern on Cluck Cluck Sew as my template.  I love the white and orange look; I originally meant to make a quilt with solid tan blocks (for the teddy bear decor in the future nursery) and different colored patterns.  But, after finding some good deals ($1 fat quarters!) at a local quilting shop, I'm going with something a little different.  Instead, I'm using three different solid colors (red, green, & blue) and tan patterned pieces.  Here are some pictures, including gratuitous shots of my new (50% off!) self-healing cutting mat:

This is the selection of solid colors (the red one has a nice little texture pattern to it).  The teddy bear & ducks design is a cross-stitch pattern that I'm buying soon to stitch and hang in the baby's room.

 Four of the six patterns I picked out.  I wanted to make an 8x12 pattern and counted total squares in the store, not a per pattern amount.  Didn't realize I'd need six till I recounted at home (whoops!).

A close up.  My favorite is the paisley!

 The pieces of future blocks in order and pinned for sewing.  I used the recommended stack 'n' whack method to cut them all out and it was much quicker than measuring and scissors!

A close up.  You can see some of the color combinations here.  This is only 4 of the 6 tan patterns.

The center squares and flaps are sewn and ironed.  The pattern on the right is the missing fifth pattern and has some cute stars and swirls.

And, in this picture, the pattern on the right is #6.  It's darker than the others, but I'm planning on a dark brown backing (I think!  You know how these things go.)

Next step is pinning the strips onto either side of the center strips and sewing and ironing them.  Then they'll be ready to finish piecing!  After cutting out most of the blocks, I discovered that by using the stack 'n' whack page, I had cut blocks that will finish at about 1" too small to make an 8x12 quilt approximately twin size.  So instead, I got to return to the quilt shop and buy not only 2 new brown/tan patterns but border fabric!  The fabric I picked was one a friend pointed out to me on an earlier trip and it is super cute... tan with solid color letters everywhere.  I forgot to take pictures of that but will add them soon.  I also have two new teddy bear fabrics (Hancock Fabrics was running some great deals!) that I will post projects for in the near future.

So far the quilt has gone together easily, although I'm slowly remembering why quilting is so expensive both in time and money.  I'm excited to see the finished blocks and to play with the arrangement for the front!  What do you think?

Internet Brain Food

If the internet has one overwhelmingly awesome feature, it's definitely the ability to bring me other people's thoughts and research with such ease.  I use Google Reader for this and it continually surprises me with what it reveals.

Take this for instance: a two-part post on Get Rich Slowly about how money does buy happiness.  It sums up a study that discovered that if money isn't buying you happiness, you're spending the wrong way.  Read the posts for tips on better ways to spend; my favorites are "buy experiences not stuff" and "delay consumption" and I was most surprised by "beware comparison shopping".  This falls very neatly in with my personal theory that money is a tool like any other.  The good or bad it does is related to how it's used, not any innate qualities.  (A favorite quote of mine: "Whoever said money can't buy happiness forgot about puppies!")

Does information like that change how you approach your finances?  Over the last year, DH and I have been trying to concentrate more on experiences than Stuff and it has definitely been good for us!  In digging through the last couple of weeks of posts at Get Rich Slowly, I also found a link to an interesting article that lists things we really could do without.  Some I agree strongly with (GPS, tanning beds) and others (microwaves, debit cards) I think provide a greater benefit than cost, especially in regards to time.

In addition to personal finance, I also get blogs and articles about a variety of science topics.  Yesterday, the Freakonomics blog posted about education versus expertise.  While I could use this to rail against the education system, instead it made me wonder about something psychological.  What the blog and the study it references seems to say (to me at least) is that people who spend time introverting a problem progress better than people who extravert it.  Now, there is definitely some personal bias coming through that interpretation, but the study supports the idea that mentally handling a problem (i.e. thinking about it) produces better comprehension than physically handling it (i.e. repeating a procedure over and over).  Coupled with Myers-Briggs typology (especially the I/E and N/S spectrums), there are all sorts of fun implications for that, but I think the salient point is that education should focus more on teaching people how to approach a problem, how to consider, rather than how to do.

What does the internet bring you?

Tea and Penguins

After my last huge post, here's some fun:

• Penguin Tickling!  Yes, you read that right.  This 22 second video is much more hilarious than it should be.  Mild warning: this made my dog sit up and look for the noise, so if your animal(s) is irritated by weird noises, well, be prepared.
• English Tea History.  I found this in my quest to decide on a Jane Austen menu for book club.  It's a great site for all things Jane Austen or Regency, but that particular page gives a great, accurate history of tea drinking.  I was surprised to find some particulars on the how tea was served during the Regency/Georgian era versus Victorian and Edwardian eras.
• American & English tea history.  This website is harder to read, but worthwhile if you're interested in the differences between early tea service, tea as a separate event, and tea in America.

After all this talk about tea and penguins, I sort of want to pull out a copy of Mr. Popper's Penguins to read.

And best of all, my dad is now a published author!  His book, Spann's Guide to Gibson: 1902 to 1941, is available for pre-order through Amazon and other major distributors.  My father is a historian, genealogist, and musician, so the information in this book is a showcase of both his talents and his interests.  How cool is that!?

Unexpected Book Review

Today I finished a book that I wasn't sure I wanted to read, although I devoured it in less than 24 hours.  It's the (probably) last book in one of my all time favorite series and it was just published a week ago.  This is a series that I enjoy so much that I've only ever recommended it once.  If you don't like this series, then you don't like me, and I wouldn't want to find that out after months or years of friendship with someone!  It's the only book series I've ever kept to myself that way and I always eagerly await new installments.

Regardless, it was hard to open this book, knowing that it was the end of characters I admired and enjoyed.  Knowing that there were a lot of negative reviews already circulating.  Knowing that a bad book, especially a poor ending, would forever color the good ones.  Nonetheless, I started it yesterday.  And finished it this afternoon.  And you know what?

It was amazing.  I mean, it was absolutely what I would expect from this author, who I already thought was highly underrated in the fantasy community.  The book was actually a collection of four short stories that got better as they went.  The last story in the book was the reason for all the early negative reviews.  You see, the author killed off a main character, but I could not have asked for a better story or a more realistic treatment of the characters (who are the best part, in my opinion).

So in short, I'm glad I took a chance and read it, because otherwise I would have missed some great storytelling from a favorite author.  My full review is here on Goodreads and it's the only 5-star review I've given this year.

Ever taken a chance on a book and been rewarded?  Do you have a book or series that speaks to you and only you?

Crafty Wishes

I'm feeling the urge to be crafty.  I had to put off joining a quilting class that I really wanted to attend for extraneous reasons and I feel the need to make up for that!  I'm actually working on two cross-stitch pieces for two different friends, plus one for myself, but I really want to sew today.  Cross-stitch is great for relaxing or having something to do on long car trips, but today I want to make something.

However, I don't really have any projects going at the moment, other than the monstrous pile of repair work that I should do.  I love this platypus that my friend Amy made in just one day!

So how about it crafty friends?  Any cute, quick projects to suggest?

Or any websites or stores where you get great bargains on quilting supplies?

Women's Health: Anemia

I'm fascinated by information on women's health.  Well, really, medical science in general, but especially the medical science that applies to me.  I've recently added a few new blogs to my Reader subscriptions that are science blogs by women, a group previously unrepresented in my reading.

And, unsurprisingly, that addition has unleashed a goldmine of good articles.  My favorite one so far is this one about women and iron-deficiency.  It discusses medical bias in the treatment of anemia in female patients in a (mostly) non-medical-scientist-friendly way.  The article is about how medical practitioners assume that anemia is caused by women's menstrual bleeding when studies show that this is not the case.

Information like this is always fascinating to me.  Does it really indicate an anti-female bias in medicine?  Or is this one of those common misconceptions (like that stress causes ulcers... it's actually a bacterial infection) and doctors just don't question their assumptions?  I could make a case either way.  Ultimately, this just reconfirms for me that everyone should take an active role in their health care.  If you think something is wrong, insist on testing, not opinions.

What do you think?  Ever been on the wrong side of a diagnosis or treatment because of your age or gender?*

*Side note: It drives me nuts that every time I go to the doctor with any symptoms, they insist on a pregnancy test, regardless of my cycle timing.  Just because I am female and of a certain age, not all my symptoms are related to reproduction!

Financial Summary

I was attempting to write out a multi-post series on the story of our financial journey, but I ran into a problem: it's a very long tale.  It's really only about 6 years of story, but there have been a lot of ups and downs that I think are relevant to where we are now and how we approach all things personal finance.  So instead of putting up the multi-part post right away, I'm going to summarize a bit and end with a question.

Here is where we started just after we were married:

• ~$125,000 in student loans
• ~$35,000 in credit card debt
• A home mortgage in Las Vegas (go ahead, laugh...)
• A 3 month emergency fund
• 2 cars with no car payments
• 2 incomes (with health insurance; one "real" job and I worked retail for another year)

Here are some bad things we've done:

• Slipped up with the budget.  (Repeatedly.)
• Waited months to hire a property management company for our house.
• Paid for very expensive financial classes that were informative, but not immediately useful
• Waited months to adjust our spending after we moved

Here are some good things we've done:

• Adopted 2 dogs and are proactive about their health care
• Paid ahead on our mortgages
• Paid 50% of our student loans in 4 years (20% of the time allotted)
• Paid off some student loans, rather than extra payments to all of them
• Paid off all our credit cards but one (currently our pay-off focus)
• Started retirement accounts
• Increased our emergency fund
• Controlled our expenses
• Increased our income
• Used our spare income to pay off debt
• Negotiated with our credit card and mortgage companies (successfully!)
• Planned ahead for our military move (on 8 weeks notice!  But this alone has paid huge dividends)

Here is where we are today:

• ~$70,000 in student debt (we added ~$9k for me to go back to school)
• ~$8,500 in credit card debt (the plan is for this to be gone by the end of the year)
• A rented out house in Vegas
• A 5 month emergency fund (which could stretch a lot further)
• 1 car with no car payments (and half the insurance payment!)
• 1 income (which roughly equals our 1 income + retail job income from 4 years ago)

So here's my question: what would you like to know more about?  How we cut expenses?  What order we paid off debt?  Where we are now?

Or, since I love swapping advice stories, what have you done in your situation?

Tea and Science

I have a better post to do in the next couple of days about our financial journey and our goals for this year, but for now, a little post to hold you over.

First, I love tea... its history, drinking it, the many ceremonies involving tea... it's all very fascinating to me.  I've come to realize that tea, like wine, can be very intimidating to the uninitiated.  The great thing about both drinks is that you don't have to know a lot about them to enjoy them or to find something you like.  However, "preparing" wine is mostly a matter of having white or red wine glasses and knowing to serve white wine chilled (and having a corkscrew on hand, but that's also a story for a different day).  Tea is a little more complicated, but still not hard.

Instead of going through it myself, January happens to be Hot Tea Month, which has yielded some good basic tea preparation info in the last couple of weeks.  Specifically, this blog entry from The Tea Maestro, which details six simple steps to better tea.  It's mostly a matter of clean water at the right temperature, but that article breaks it down in a very user-friendly way.

In a not completely related area of interest, I thought this Sense About Science review was particularly funny. It talks about celebrity science claims (diets, "resonating" bracelets, detoxing, etc.) and then talks to expert scientists.  The result?  That you shouldn't listen to celebrities.  About anything, really, but especially about science topics.

New Years Resolutions

Wow, has it ever been a busy holiday season!  Without my calendar in front of me to confirm, I would still guess that I averaged an event per day.  Fortunately, I managed to do well enough on my homework to make an A in my latest class.  Yay!

Since then I've caught up on some reading and articles.  Of all those I read, the one I want to point out is this one: Women and Money.  The first financial book I read was Smart Women Finish Rich by David Bach, which I feel is better than most books on female finances, but could certainly be improved with the information that the article's author suggests.

On the topic of scheduling, this is the point where I need to admit that I did too much in the last six weeks.  I'm working on that with my New Year's resolutions.  It's a mistake to make too many, though; I read a great article today about ways to help you keep your resolutions.  So here are my goals for 2011:

• Financial Improvement: paying down debt, increasing income, reducing expenses.  My husband and I are doing our annual financial update next month, so I'm likely to blog about this a lot in the near future. I also intend to write a post soon about our financial journey.
• Physical Improvement: I lost 16 pounds last year, but have gained back around 6.  Planning to drop that 6 again and then finish with the last 7 I was originally planning to be rid of.
• Personal Improvement: Less agreeing/volunteering to do things, more reading, sewing, cross-stitching, and personal time, and no guilt about it.  Also, more having friends over and less going out (conveniently helping with the financial goals).

Is there something you're working on in the new year?  Do we have complementary goals or are you working on something uniquely yours?

Impossible Things are Happening Every Day

It's a big, wide, interesting world.  Every day, my RSS feed on Google Reader brings me something strange and fun... often, several things that are strange and fun.  I have a huge backlog of TEDTalks to watch, but in the mean time I've been reading up on all sorts of other interesting topics.

These articles are all about how the world is improving:

• A History of Violence: All about the changing realities of mortality in every day life and how violence has decreased in the last hundred years.  Yes, with two world wars, decreased.  Fascinating stuff by an author whose books are rising on my "to read" list.
• Genetic tests for fetuses: A new, safer method that uses very sensitive maternal blood tests to check for genetic factors.  This article gives me serious Gattaca flashbacks, but modern medical science still amazes me.  I also feel obligated to point out that the writer does a very responsible job of explaining the time needed for commercial viability and the systematic drawbacks to diagnostics that reveal so much information.
• MRI of baby being born: The title sort of speaks for itself, but the image is amazing.  It apparently required a whole new set up for an MRI scanner, but this sort of imaging can provide a wealth of information never previously available.
• History of Life Expectancy and Wealth: I've seen this graph in a TEDTalk previously, but the 5 minute video and mini-lecture is a better explanation of the data itself.  A cool look at how life really is getting better for most people, dramatically so in the last 150 years.
• Recognizing Women in Science: A long article that I'm still working through, but so far it's fascinating and well worth the time.  The Royal Society of Britain is celebrating its 350th birthday this year, but women were not allowed to join until 1945.  The article takes a look at what the RS and other scientific societies lost by excluding women (who were already winning international prizes for their work!).

And these articles are about things we could be doing better:

• Creative Groups: A short list of things to do with groups of people to inspire creativity.  I think his points about group size are incredibly important.  And of course, it all runs back to my devout wish to run a 21st century Parisian salon or British coffee house...
• Building Your Own Personal Finance Manual: A cool idea, which would never have occurred to me because I'm innately horrified of writing in books.  I would use Smart Couples Finish Rich, if I were to do this.  What would you use?
• Terry Pratchett on Alzheimer's: An article that reminds us that there are still demons to slay.  If there were ever a reason to encourage your children to become thinkers and researchers and scientists, this is it.
• Science in the Public's View: I don't necessarily endorse everything this article says, but the overall point is a great one, as shown by the pathetic coverage of NASA's newly discovered arsenic-using life form.  The second bullet point in the article is the scariest to me: 44% of people surveyed could not name a scientist role model; the top three choices of the remainder were not scientists (Bill Gates & Al Gore) or not alive (Albert Einstein).  Stephen Hawking, anyone?  Neil deGrasse Tyson?  Brian Cox?  Brian Greene?  All of whom are regularly featured on news programs and TV specials.  And those are just physicists, for crying out loud...

And last but not least, for sheet entertainment value, this clip about a family dinner date (complete with the man who would go on to play Ward Cleaver), with commentary brought to you by Mystery Science Theater 3000.  Not for the easily offended (i.e. those without a working definition of sarcasm), but very funny for the rest of us.

What about you?  Discovered anything lately that just amazes you beyond words?

Holiday Resources

With December starting tomorrow (eep!) and Christmas just around the corner, it's time that I came through on my promise of a bargain shopping post.  George and I love shopping for Christmas gifts.  He likes to buy something just right (i.e. expensive) and I like to buy for everyone... you can see how this would quickly become a problem.  One of the hardest parts of our financial journey has been to convince ourselves that good gifts should be thoughtful, not perfect.

The last two years we have successfully given ourselves a per-person spending limit.  We decide together who we're buying for (8 people this year, excluding ourselves), what our total budget is, and divide, leaving a little margin for error.  Since we're a military family, the rest of our families live hundreds of miles away, so that limit includes everything: the item, taxes, & shipping.  You don't pay taxes and shipping with Monopoly money!

I'm still choosing gifts for everyone this year, but while I'm doing that, I'm using some basic techniques and tricks to stretch our budget as far as possible.  Here's what I've come up:

• Shop Online - In my world, online beats in line any day.  Internet sites can be a great way to compare prices, look at reviews, and avoid buying related to social pressure ("I came in so I should buy something to make the trip worth it...").  I recently posted about how I saved 66% on some books that I ordered; 2/3 of that discount came just from shopping online instead of in stores.  Some people enjoy the "thrill" of shopping in a store, but I always feel stressed when I shop.  Thus, the lack of instant gratification is great for me (i.e. I can't buy to make myself feel better because I don't feel bad in the first place).  I can sit back, make a calm decision, and either buy (cheaply!) or walk away with no problem.  *See my note at the bottom for info about paying online.
• Comparison Shop - This is the #1 rule of bargain hunting (#2 is probably Never Pay Sticker Price).  Search for the lowest price, keeping in mind extraneous costs like shipping.  This is about an information imbalance: if only the seller knows the cost, you lose.  If you comparison shop, you are correcting that imbalance in your favor.
• Coupons - Coupons aren't just for grocery shopping!  They can save you hundreds when used properly.  Sign up for your favorite stores' emails (see the email section below) and you'll get coupon codes for online shopping as well as in-store discounts.  There are a number of sites that collect coupon codes (my favorite is RetailMeNot and there are others), but you can just Google "(store name) coupon" to find them, as well.  There are also online sites that have deep discounts advertised for local activities or one day deals: Groupon is the most famous, but again, sites like this are growing in number.
• Cash Back Programs - This is as close to free money as you're going to get.  There are two ways to get cash back on purchases and yes, they can be used together!  The first method is the "old fashioned" way - that is, rewards cards, which can be used in stores or online.  Every credit or debit card we have is linked to some type of rewards program.  (As a personal note, I think if your bank or card company doesn't offer a rewards program for free, it's time to swap banks... yours isn't working enough for you!)  Some of these give you a percentage back, either on your statement or in the form of a check, and some earn you points towards gift cards.  The second method takes advantage of the advertising arrangements between online retailers.  It involves signing up on a website (generally with just an email address and name) and then using that website to link to wherever you're shopping online.  My preferred site is Ebates but there are several other reputable sites out there (and again, it pays to compare!).  This article from Living with Less has a great overview of available sites and how to use them.
• Discounted Gift Cards - Still going to the store to buy gift cards?  Think again.  Sites like Plastic Jungle buy gift cards that people don't want at a discount from the face value (another money source if you have these laying around) and then sells them to people for a slightly lower discount. There are many sites like that, so I use Gift Card Granny to find them.  This can be a great way to save big right up front.  Standard discounts generally run from 5-15%, but I have seen much bigger numbers.  You can use this two ways: to get gift cards as gifts for others at a discount or for yourself to use to purchase gifts.  Combined with a coupon, this can add up to a very big discount.

I would be remiss if, along with those methods listed above, I didn't mention a couple of things that I do to make my very busy life a little less stressful.

• Email Address for Advertisements & Orders - I have a separate email address for all websites.  Every coupon site, every store, every newsletter goes to that address.  It's easy to get a free email address these days; I recommend gmail because of their phenomenal spam detection and organizational tools.  I opened that address thinking that stores were selling my email address and I didn't want to wade through spam or advertisements not targeted at me.  In fact, it has been a great organizational tool because all of my coupons and ads go to that account and all of my online order info is there as well.  And I have to say, having had the address for the better part of a year, not a single spam item has been found... not by the spam filter and not by me in the inbox.  Which should tell you something about those forwards your friends and family send you...
• Security when Buying Online - Shopping online is easier and more secure than ever.  Most companies have shipping date guarantees and tracking numbers; the information that you enter is fairly standardized (name, address, card #, etc.) so you can detect anomalies easily; you can use a payment service (like Paypal, although there are others) instead of your credit card if you prefer; and your Visa or MC is protected from fraud liability as long as you report it.  Major credit card companies also offer an option to use a "dummy number" that they generate for your online purchases, which you can get through their websites when you log in to your account, as an extra layer of security.  While you should be careful when shopping online, using a major credit card, looking for the https:// instead of http://, and being heads up about what information a company actually needs are good ways to ensure your information is being properly used.

I should quickly point out that I recommend doing all of this in addition to having a solid financial plan.  If you can't afford it in the first place, no discount is going to make your situation better.

It's been a long post, but I know most of my friends are as bargain minded as I am, so I hope you found it interesting.  There are lots of opportunities to spend less.  Is there anything you do that gets you more for your money?  Tips or techniques to use in combination with these?

In Which I Gloat About Cheap Books

I'm slowly learning that everything can be had for a bargain.  Paying sticker price is rarely either a good idea or your only option.  There are some days that this goes better than others.  For instance, I shoot for an average 10% coupon rate at the grocery store, but that means that I range anywhere from about 4% to my all time high of 17%.

Today, though, I'm pretty sure I got one of my best deals ever on books.  I purchased three books (not all for me) which were list prices of $29.99, $15.00, and $15.00, or $59.99 total.  At least, that's what they would have been in the bookstore...

I do a lot of my shopping online; it makes it easier to compare prices, make calmer decisions, and to walk away from an item I'm not 100% sold on.  Knowing that I wanted to purchase these books, I turned to online retailers to see what kind of a deal I could get.  I settled on Barnes & Noble because I had a gift card and because I almost always have a coupon.  Amazon rarely sends out coupons and Barnes & Noble has been on a successful push to narrow the online price gap (the difference in totals came out to a few cents and I don't remember in whose favor).

Just for shopping online, the prices of the books are $16.43, $8.72, and $10.59, or $35.74 total.  That's already a 40% discount, just for clicking the mouse instead of wasting gas money!  The other great thing about internet shopping is how savvy people have thought of so many smart ways to use the web.  So even though the most recent email coupon I had from Barnes & Noble was expired, I just Googled "Barnes & Noble coupon", and voila, coupon codes!  In this case from Retail Me Not, which had a 25% off one item code.  After putting that in, my final total was $31.63, a  47% discount.  Could it get better?  Oh yeah.

The piece de resistance is that I had a $11.14 gift card from returning a book I purchased a few months ago and decided I would never get around to reading in my recent book elimination efforts (new post on that coming soon!).  Because I made a smart choice in trading in a book I wouldn't read, I paid $11.14 less than the discounted price for books I will read.  It hardly seems worth mentioning that the credit card I used to finish the transaction gives me 5% back on book purchases (I will, of course, pay off the balance just as soon as the transaction clears and my books arrive).

Even after factoring in taxes, and we all know lower sales price means less sales tax, I paid $21.56 for what should have been a $64.19 purchase.  I saved myself 66% off the sticker price.  Not too shabby, if I do say so myself!

Could I have done better?  Believe it or not, yes!  If I had a Barnes & Noble Membership I could have saved another 10% off the discounted price (saving about another $3, or 5% overall).  I could also have purchased a discounted gift card to use on the purchase.  I could have gotten my purchase price below $15 if I had really wanted to, and honestly, I'm kicking myself a little bit that I didn't.  But not too hard.  Because you have to admit, 66% off is a pretty awesome discount.