Ancient rock art

I found these at my family's summer place. What are they? They're painted rocks that are supposed to look like - well, books, of course! The green one says "Satuja" (Fairy tales) and the red one is "Hamlet". I can't quite remember when I made these, but it must have been over 20 years ago! I do remember elaborate plans to make many more (all my favourite books, of course), but if I did make any, I can no longer find them. Perhaps it was too much of a challenge to find rocks of a suitable shape. Still, I like the idea, and it was interesting to see that my love for books was such a big influence all those years ago already.

Cover Art for Elite: Tales from the Frontier

Yesterday, Fantastic Books Publishing released the cover art for Elite: Tales from the Frontier. This anthology will feature 15 stories set in the Elite: Dangerous universe, and one of those stories is my 'Blood is Thicker'. I'm very excited to have my story published in such a beautiful book. :) Here, this is what it will look like:

I'd love to show you the rest of the covers in the FBP's Elite set, but my skills in any sort of... hmm, I don't even know what it's called... the sort of wizardry that allows one to post pictures and organise them so they won't leap randomly all over the place... aren't up to such a challenge. I think the complete set will look stunning, but if you refuse to take my word for it, you can view them all here.

Review: Milk chocolate with blueberry yoghurt crisps

This has nothing to do with words, but rather one of my other passions... chocolate. This is just a very short review of something I hadn't tried before: milk chocolate with blueberry yoghurt crisps. The chocolate is the familiar Fazer quality (very well known to every Finn). The blueberry crisps are a refreshing addition, and their slight tartness forms a nice contrast to the smooth sweetness of the chocolate. There could have been more crisps, though, and I didn't quite taste the yoghurt. Still, definitely delicious. :)

Relationships with books

Today, I came across an amusing article which describes four different types of people on the basis of their relationships with books: surfacey relationship people, serial monogamists, committed people and commitment phobic people.

I'd describe myself as a loyal adventuress. I have a type. I have my favourite authors. I have my favourite genre. When I fall in love with a book, I think about it, I dream about it, I want to talk about it (and I hardly ever want to talk about anything). It gives me comfort. It is a love that never dies.

I used to be clingy with books: once I started reading, I was determined to finish. Even if I knew it wasn't a good match. These days, I have no time for an unsatisfying fling. If a book doesn't engage me, I break up with it.

But I confess: my loyalty has its limits. Unless the book I'm reading is a keeper, a real catch, I have affairs on the side. I have threesomes. I read two books at the same time. Usually three. Or four. Or...

The adventurer part of me enjoys novel experiences and craves change. It is that side which makes me sample new authors, try genres I've never tried before or pick up books I don't normally read. To keep a relationship fresh and the romance hot, you need to break the routines, try something new.

That's why, when I go to a library, I get all giddy: all these different books! Any one of them is a potential treasure, a portal to new experiences, a start of a beautiful friendship. Or a love affair. Sometimes I go on my expedition with a plan, with a mission: a list of books I want to read. But I enjoy those adventures more when I don't have a map. Just browsing the shelves, randomly picking up books... you never know, you might find the one!