Random Thoughts for a Monday Evening

Normally I wouldn't be even slightly interested in something like A Capitol Fourth -- all that flag-waving, ugh, and I'm not American anyway -- but since That Guy (over on TWoP where he's not supposed to be mentioned except in his own thread, they've gone from calling him "You-Know-Who" to the inevitable "Voldemort" -- talk about When Fandoms Collide!) was singing, I thought I'd check out the videos.

All I can say is, whoa. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how "The Star-Spangled Banner" is sung. Heck, even that horrible piece of cheese "God Bless the USA" sounded good, given the full treatment. Clay Aiken + National Symphony Orchestra = OTP!!!!!111111one!

Ahem. ANYway...

I cannot find my copy of Caroline Stevermer's A College of Magics. This distresses me, as I was just getting to the Really Exciting Bit. I read it once before, about ten years ago, but had forgotten about 90% of the plot, so it's almost like reading it for the first time, and I'm quite enjoying it. The recent sequel, A Scholar of Magics, is delightful as well (in fact, it was reading that one that sent me back to the original). I'd recommend both books to just about anybody who enjoys fantasy, especially if you like mysteries and/or historicals as well.

Off now to hunt for the missing book...