Household Dragons

People just don't believe me. They don't believe me when I tell them about Topkapi and her bossy ways. That is, of course, Her Majesty there with her head on my covers, enjoying the warmth and softness that I get to sleep on. She must wonder why she is not allowed a pillow to rest her weary head on each night. Because you're a snake, Topkapi, that's why.
I have Barbossa here next to me while I'm typing, and he keeps flicking out his tongue at each movement my hand makes. He is also laying on my bed, but somehow he always gives the impression of not wanting to be a bother. He never wants to annoy. I guess it's from being, not mistreated per se, but ignored in his first home. I'm trying really hard to break him of all those fears and insecurities he has, and he IS better, which is great. He is naturally shyer than, say, CocoRosie, who is known for her bullying ways, but I still want him to get to the point when moving his water bowl does not send him into a panic. I have hope.

I am feeling somewhat better today, thanks for asking, so I was able to go to my acting class. Today was the last one and we all performed our monologues. I think we all did a remarkable job. No one forgot too many words, although I did see little brains in overdrive trying to ad lib after a screw up, and there wasn't too much over-acting. For a beginning acting class, I think that has merit.

I seem to be doing a lot of recommending, shows, movies, and now books, but I feel that when there is something great out there (or bad out there) that people may not be aware of, something must be said. Years ago, when I was starting my second year in high school, my sister and I made a deal. She would read the Harry Potter series (which I'd been trying to force on her for a while) if I read the Dragonlance series. I'd heard her talk about them for months, but I was skeptical. I am not a big fantasy reader, I wasn't then and I'm still not really. So I prepared myself for maybe a pleasant read but nothing else. My sister started me off with the Chronicles, specifically Dragons of Autumn Twilight (yeah I know, underlined)...and I was hooked. I mean hooked. These books are incredible, sometimes you forget that you are reading a fantasy book because the relationships, the characters are so real.
When I finished Chronicles I moved on to Legends, which is the logical order to read these books in. Then I stopped, I was too busy and did not have too much time. Sadly the next time I picked any Dragonlance book up was in the past few days. I had to kill some time before a class, and I went to the main library. I wanted to read something that would help me pass the time quickly, so I remembered that Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman (these are the authors) had recently, well, in 2006, written sort of lost adventures of the main character that happened during the Chronicle era (these are called the Lost Chronicles). I found the first one in the library and I sat down. Damn it if I wasn't hooked again from the first chapter. All the old characters came to life and it really transported me to that summer before my sophomore year.
There is no way I can really share these books with you, just go and read them. I promise you will not be disappointed. My sister did not get really hooked with Harry Potter, but who cares? I fell in love with the world of Dragonlance, and whose blog is this anyway?