Lirael.

My throat feels dry. 

When we were asked to yell our hearts out, heads turned in our direction, thinking there was some manslaughter over a ping-pong ball at Menglait. Manslaughter or no manslaughter, man, it felt so good. Best five seconds of the day.

It's fun to be as loud as possible without anybody complaining. I need to get myself a soundproof room and my subwoofer back in action. Then, I'll be alive once more.

Not that I'm not right now, but it's just... awesome. 

Then there's all that talk about ear damage. "Don't constantly expose yourself to loud noises." Yes, I know about all that. It's good advice, take it.

To me, the ability to hear is one of the most important of all. I can't imagine a life without music. 

If all goes well, I'll be at the St. Andrew's funfair tomorrow afternoon. That should be interesting. 

I borrowed a book from the Reading Room for the first time in two years. It's brand new, straight outta the box it came in. Ms Anne was taping it up when I saw the beautifully blue cover with Charter marks on it. Lirael. I love it already.

I want to read Sabriel though. And I want to own Abhorsen. Three books by Garth Nix. Should do a lot to add to my collection.

Book addict. I love bookstores, but don't like to borrow books from libraries. 

Own, not borrow. OWN.

I've got this strange thing going on. When I have one book of a good series, I must have the rest. It's a huge waste of money, I know, but I've got mental problems, so it's excused. 

I admit, I have OCD. Slight OCD, but OCD all the same.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder. 

So when I'm sued for anything, I can plead mental or something.

Back on topic, there are so many kinds of magic you can read about in books.

There's Harry Potter magic, where you get the typical wand-waving spell uttering and potions.

Eragon magic, where it's found inside a person and consumes energy, like Shades or the Argetlam (Dragon Riders) or their dragons, and the elves singing (somehow it's magical, don't ask me). 

Lord of The Rings magic, where urm... where there are runes, rings, and all that jazz with magical items. 

The Bartimaeus Trilogy magic, where magicians summon magical creatures such as jinn to do their work for them.

The magic in the Pure Dead Series, where Disposable Wands are used with a whole lot of funny junk. (Ectoplasm, anyone? It's free.)

And now there's Garth Nix's books. There's Charter magic (the use of Charter marks), and Free Magic (necromancy!). 

Plus a whole lot more.

And then there's the collection of words to go with them...

Spells, charms, jinxes, runes, potions, illusions, protection, seal, guard, cast, heal, familiar, transform, etc.