The books of June 2014

How is it already July?! I can not believe how fast this year is going. I know it's just now really getting to be summer, but as usual, I'm over it and ready for fall.

Crafts:
I got a few gifts I'd made to the right people for birthdays. This one was of a drawing I did in Paint...the pattern turned out a little weird, but it's still funny. Me and my BFFs for a BFF birthday:

Hmm...a little blurry, but it's the three of us, represented in stitches from a stick figure drawing.

Another of my favorite people had a birthday in June. She got some sunshine:

Good day sunshine!

And some cloud cover:

It's so angry...

I worked a little on my scarf again...it's always my go to when I feel like I need to do something crafty, but don't feel ready to start something new.

Movies:

In June, I saw three movies...not very many, but I enjoyed them all on different levels.

A Million Ways to Die in the West was pretty hilarious. Like Ted (and Family Guy...and American Dad) parts of it were slow, parts of it were ridiculous, and parts of it were offensive. But if you just listen, there are tons of things to laugh about...especially if you imagine it's Brian the dog saying it all. I'll definitely watch it again when the DVD comes out...I know I laughed over a lot of it.

Our art theater finally got Only Lovers Left Alive. Jim Jarmusch is someone who I tend to see his movies and am occasionally mystified over why I wanted to see them. Not this time. Tilda Swinton and Tom Hiddleston as a vampire couple (non-sparkley, non-teenagery) were quite good. I really liked the story, even though Kit Marlowe as a vampire has been done before...albeit in a book that came out after the movie was a concept. I don't know. I just liked a lot of the details. Some of it was truly funny and watching Tom Hiddleston for a couple of hours wasn't a bad thing either. 

Last weekend, I saw Transformers: Age of Extinction. It was just as insanely silly as the others...better than the second one, but not as good as the first or third ones. I laughed out loud way more than I probably should've, but seriously, robot/transforming dinosaurs? How can you not laugh at that? It was fun and Stanley Tucci, as usual, made it completely worth my time.

Books:

This month I read: City of Heavenly Fire (The Mortal Instruments, Book 6) by Cassandra Clare, That Summer by Lauren Willig, Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King, Lover Unbound (Black Dagger Brotherhood, Book 5) by J. R. Ward, The Whole Fromage: Adventures in the Delectable World of French Cheese by Kathe Lison, Insurgent by Veronica Roth, and Allegiant by Veronica Roth.

The last book of the Mortal Instruments was a good conclusion. As usual, Clare left a window open for continuing the stories, but the crux of this 6-book series seems to be fairly wrapped. It had been a while since I finished the fifth book, so it took me a little bit of reading to remember the storyline. I don't want to spoil anything for anyone, so if you have read the other books, read this too. I will probably read whatever's next from her about this, but I don't think I can bring myself to read the prequel books (Infernal Devices). Warning though...this one did make me cry a little. Brace yourself for a big battle...and a case of the sniffles.

That Summer was another Willig book outside of her spy series. Willig is fantastic at creating concurrent timelines for past and present in her storytelling. This was no deviation. In the present, a girl's relative passes away in England and she inherits the family house. She leaves New York and gets completely caught up in a mystery surrounding the family tree going back to the 1800s and pre-Raphaelite painters. In modern day and in the 1800s, there's the intrigue and the love triangles to keep you interested in both. I have yet to be disappointed with anything I read from Willig. If you need a nice escape that will make you laugh and want to read more about history without being overwhelmed by facts, pick up one of her books.

Mr. Mercedes was not my favorite of this new wave of Stephen King books. Maybe I wasn't prepared to be that involved in the killer's thought processes? I didn't have this problem with 1963 (possibly because it was history-based), nor did I have it with the continuation of The Shining. The killer mows down several victims in a massive, pre-meditated hit and run at a city event. They never catch him. The lead cop on the case retires, only to be dragged back into it by the killer who's trying to goad the cop into killing himself. I think if King had spent more time with some of the B-characters, I would have enjoyed it more, but it's not one I'd read again. 

Lover Unbound was more of the same formula from the Brotherhood. This time Vishous finds his mate...a human doctor. We learn more about his family...as does he. Things don't go as easily for the couple, but in the end, there's always a way to work it out...even as implausible as this one got. I'm still having fun reading these. 

The Whole Fromage is a book I've been reading a chapter here and there over the past couple of months. Basically, Lison decided she wanted to know more about French cheeses, past and present. She travelled to several small cheese farms throughout France, learning about the different techniques and what rules there are for making the cheeses. Some people who claim to be old school in their ways have succumbed to modern technology for cheese making. Others believe that science only improves the business. With cheese, it seems that there isn't truly a right or wrong, just the taste. People spend their lives perfecting their cheeses and techniques. It is an interesting craft...very labor intensive in most cases. If you like French cheese, or want to know more about it, this is a cute book to read. Lison's love of cheese definitely comes through. Make sure you have some cheese and crackers handy while reading. You will get hungry for it.

The last books I read in June were the other two in the Veronica Roth's Divergent trilogy. I enjoyed the first book and I enjoyed the movie, but I wasn't overly eager to read/see more. Several friends really enjoyed these, so I decided to give it a shot and finish the trilogy. All I can really say is, well, I'm done. The second one, Insurgent, was not something I enjoyed. I had to struggle to force myself through it. The last book, Allegiant, was better. It's also possible that I wasn't in the mood to read more of their story and was just glad to be done with it. I felt like this could've easily been two books instead of three. I don't know. People really liked this series. I was more ambivalent about it. Like the Hunger Games, I felt like it went downhill from the beginning. I think maybe I prefer my post-apocalyptic genre to include zombies, vampires, or some other mutation/super-natural twist. Somehow, I find reading about humans turning against each other over petty things really unsettling. I'd rather there be monsters than read about the human race destroying itself. It's just kind of downer, even when the sacrifices made by a few are told with such deep respect. 

July is up next. Later!

The books of May 2014

And suddenly it's not winter or spring anymore...it's summer and it's hot outside. Sigh. But, I've been working hard on craft projects, trying to crank out the rest of the birthdays, weddings, and special occasions for the rest of the year before tackling Christmas gifts. In a perfect world, I'll be done with all of them by the end of October. In the real world, it's probably going to take until Christmas Eve. But, at least I have one I can post! A friend bought a house and for her housewarming gift, I found the perfect sentiment based on an evening when she saw this happening in the restroom at a dining/drinking establishment in town:

Seriously. It's 2014 and we still need this rule.

Movies:

In May, I saw three movies I'd been anxiously awaiting: Godzilla, X-Men: Days of Future Past, and Maleficent. 

Godzilla was a remake that I'm actually happy with...so happy with that I would see a sequel to this remake! The other monsters were creepy and somewhat plausible, given the back story. I don't know...that Matthew Broderick one years ago was laughable, but this, this was just fun. If you enjoy the Godzilla movies, go see it. It doesn't destroy your childhood memories of watching the originals on the old black and white TV on Saturday afternoons, it gives you a bit of nostalgia and a fun new take on how it could go down. Also, no need to visit Japan, Hawaii, or northern California anymore...MONSTERS DESTROY! (Note: For those of you who are like, "your TV had a black and white case?!"...just no. TV wasn't always in color. And it wasn't always on the internet. You can Google it.)

X-Men: Days of Future Past fixed everything that was wrong with X-Men: The Last Stand. That should be enough to make everyone go see it. There's some stellar 70s fashions, some unexplainable parts, lots of McAvoy, lots of Fassbender, and most importantly, nekkid Wolverine. Go see it. It's awesome. Things blow up and they're all mutant and proud.

Maleficent was the downer here. It wasn't a bad movie. I would watch it again. But I think the point is, I would've preferred watching it at home...maybe while doing some crafts. It was an okay back story for how a villain becomes a villain, but really isn't a villain cause the mean boy is the villain and oh it's ok because we'll change how it all works out in the end. I don't know. I did like it, but it rated a big "meh" on the impressive scale. On the dragon scale, there was (a) not enough dragon and (b) not as cool of a dragon as even the Maleficent on Once Upon A Time...but there was still a dragon in it, luring me into the theater. Who has two thumbs and likes dragons? This girl!

Books:

Not a lot of reading this month (see craft project schedule for perfect world above), but I got through a few titles. In May I read: Lover Revealed (Black Dagger Brotherhood, Book 4) by J. R. Ward, Jason Priestly: A Memoir by Jason Priestly with Julie McCarron, The Lincoln Myth: A Novel by Steve Berry, and I accidentally re-read The Son of Sobek by Rick Riordan.

The fourth book of the Black Dagger Brotherhood is much more of the same (see The books of April 2014 for more detail on plot construction). In this story, the ex-cop gets hurt...really hurt..by the lessers and they find a way to save him and make him officially one of the Brotherhood. He also gets the girl in the end...who is the King's ex-wife (no awkwardness there at all). Seriously, I have no true explanation for reading these except I just enjoy them, there's a lot of sex, and they're a good break from non-fiction and heavier reading. If you like supernatural romance, I still recommend these.

Brandon Walsh wrote a book! And it's...well...it's...it's kind of like Brandon Walsh. All allusions and trying to be a bad boy, but ultimately just a story about a nice kid who did pretty well and had some ups and downs. I saw him talk about it on one of the nightly entertainment shows and there were mentions that he talked about who hooked up with whom on 90210. That is apparently not the reason to buy a book: let me save you some money. They all hooked up with each other at one time or another. And that's all he really says about it. This was a super quick read and if you watched 90210, you should read it for fun this summer...out by the pool...with a cold beverage. It'll make you smile, but hold out for a Kindle sale or the paperback.

Steve Berry's latest, The Lincoln Myth, was another one I couldn't put down. This time Cotton Malone gets pulled out of retirement to help Stephanie Nelle and President Danny Daniels save the Union. This book is well researched, and fact merges seamlessly with fiction to make an intriguing story of a modern day President trying to preserve Lincoln's work while the past and the present...and a few head members of a worldwide church...work against him. At the heart of the story is the right of state secession. The President believes the Union should be preserved so the chase across Europe and the US begins to keep our nation together despite violent efforts to tear it apart. I really liked this one...I've liked others of his better, but if you're interested in the civil war, Abraham Lincoln, and/or the Mormon Church and it's history, this is a really great read.

So, sometimes, Rick Riordan puts short stories at the end of his novels and I read them and then forget and buy them as a single on my Kindle. Sigh. Son of Sobek is a short story about Percy Jackson and Carter Kane working together. I had read it before. But, I don't mind having read it again, because they did release one with the girls, Annabeth and Sadie, that I will read as well. I think because this latest series involves both Roman and Greek gods, it may be that the Egyptian gods end up playing a part in the final battle. Guess I'll find out for sure in October when the last one releases.

Well, that's it for May. I've already seen a movie in June and am already into two books and several craft projects. Later!

The books of April 2014

April...I kind of remember it. It was still cold, right? Okay, yeah, I remember that...

I made a couple of cross-stitch projects, but they're gifts for in a couple of months, so I can't post the pictures.

Movies:
In April, I only went to see one movie. In my opinion, it's the only one that came out that I needed to see. Captain America: The Winter Soldier was maybe one of the best developed films I've seen. The story hooked me in, they kept the sidebars tight and brought them back to the main storyline quickly, and really, I just want more of this chain. The Winter Soldier is more than a bad guy...like Loki, he could be his own franchise in the Marvel movie universe. I was very impressed with this movie, how it connected to the other movies in the series, and where it's leading us for the future movies. Well played, Marvel. Well played.

Books:
This month, I was doing a lot of things, so while reading was still important, it wasn't the most important thing. Which is why, when I hit a wall of brain functionality, you'll see that I turned to a little bit of vampirey, trashy goodness to make it all better. In April I read the following: (finished reading) Henry VIII by Alison Weir, Revenant Moon (prerelease) by Clay Held, The Good Luck of Right Now by Matthew Quick, and from J. R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood: Dark Lover, Lover Eternal, and Lover Awakened.

Henry VIII took me a while to get through...I was reading so much English history before my trip that I had to take a break. So when I got back from my trip, I was super excited to get back to this one. The book is very detailed about what court life was like in Henry's time and it chronicled his loves and wives throughout the time period. I think my favorite part was about how much food it took to feed the court. For one outing, I read the same description twice because I couldn't believe it, but the figures didn't change (at one time Weir noted some event or day that included 800 eggs...eight-hundred eggs...the mind boggles). She also noted how Henry moved between his many homes...uprooting kitchen staff, household staff, outside staff...food, furniture, clothing, bedding, toiletries, rugs, and much more, while keeping some of his more trusted staff with him while he went to the new location. All of the items/people had to be shipped and set up before Henry arrived at the new location. So if he had breakfast at one place, there was cleaning, disassembling, packing, moving, cleaning, assembling, unpacking, and settling that all had to happen while the King progressed at a slower pace to the new house. If you like details like that, you would enjoy reading this book. Otherwise, it might get overwhelming or a little boring. It's not a story...it's just facts.

I read Clay's first book while on vacation and when I returned, I asked him about the next book and was able to get the prerelease version of book 2! YAY! So, as before, I was immediately sucked into the characters and what they were doing. I don't want to give anything away since it is a preview, so I'll be careful in my comments. When the last book ended, Simon was starting his training/learning to control his magic. He sort of had a love interest, a frenemy, and after a long while, a real family. In this book, his mentor and his not-really-girlfriend take a train (not a normal one of course, hello...magic!) to a western town that is still living up to the old west legends, Now, I am not a western girl...I mean, except for a few movies that I like despite the fact that they are classified westerns. But, this? Couldn't. Put. It. Down. Western plus magic plus entertaining characters plus a well-thought-out storyline is clearly reading gold in my mind. I know Clay is my friend and maybe I'm a little biased, but he's a really good storyteller. So not only do I still recommend Bad Apple, but now I also recommend Revenant Moon - I hear it comes out soon!

Matthew Quick has written several books, the most known at this point is probably Silver Linings Playbook. I read that last November (and saw the movie when it came out the year before that) and truly loved it. When The Good Luck of Right Now came out, I got it for my Kindle almost immediately. It was okay. It was no where near as good Silver Linings Playbook to me, but I can see where a lot of people would like this one. All of the characters are a little off, as they say, but together, they do form a nice story. The comic relief is a guy obsessed with alien abduction, cats, Cat Parliament (while looking this up for proof of reality in a fictional book, I just found out it's closed now...so sad), and dropping f-bombs as much as possible. The main character's mom passes away from brain cancer and due to some understanding and misunderstanding, he begins to write to Richard Gere as his confidant. All the chapters are letters to Richard Gere. Like I said, it was okay. And I am remembering it fondly, but there were times I wished I was just done reading it already.

In order to balance work and all the information my brain was processing from the Henry VIII book, I needed something very unrealistic to focus on. Luckily, Kindle had a sale on the Black Dagger Brotherhood books a while back and I remembered several bookstore co-workers enjoying them, so I got the first six. In April, I plowed through the first three without taking a break between them. (I actually read the Matthew Quick book after those three to realign my brain from the vampire world.) These vampires, the Black Dagger Brotherhood, are not sparkley, angsty, teenaged-looking vampires who are essentially vegetarians. These are men. The Brotherhood protects vampires against their enemies, the lessers who are essentially zombie fighting machines who can still think and function as humans, but have no hearts and don't have to deal with bodily functions. The first book focuses on the King who is also the leader of the Brotherhood, Wrath. Wrath is blind, but that in no way hampers his manliness (vampireyness?). He bonds with a half-human, half-vampire female named Beth who he promised to protect when her father died. The book brings all the major players for the next books into the storyline. And there's sex. A lot of vampire sex. The second book is about Rhage finding his mate...more of the same type of story...except Rhage is cursed and is also part monster (for some reason I imagined him as a vampire-werewolf hybrid like Scott Speedman in Underworld). His mate ends up being a human and she brings a new vampire (pre-transition to vampire) into their world as well. And her neighbor. Her neighbor, Bella, is a vampire who left her aristocratic family (glymera) and lives in a house on her own...until the stuff with Mary happens and Bella gets kidnapped by the lessers, which takes us to book three. In book three, Zadist and his twin Phury go through a lot of feeling the feels before they end up where they need to be. Zadist and Bella are the love story here. Again, books two and three? Also a lot of sex. I've already read book four, and it doesn't deviate from main plot lines, but that has to wait for the May books post.

That's it for April. Hopefully I can work on the other blog for a bit and finish it up before the end of May. You can read it at Jay Hearts London!

The books of March 2014

March has gone by way too quickly. It helps that half of it was spent in another country, but still. I finally picked up some craft projects again last week. It's been way too long. I'll be writing more about that whole other country thing, but for right now, movies and books as usual.

Movies:
This month I saw 300: Rise of an Empire, Divergent, Muppets Most Wanted, Grand Budapest Hotel, and Bad Words.

I love the original 300. I was worried when they announced a sequel/prequel thing. I was right to be worried. It was super bloody and completely unbelievable. I mean, I didn't expect Oscar worthy work, but I thought maybe it would just be better than what it was. Sad.

Divergent was another let down. It was wasn't bad. I did actually like it. But, compared to the book, it was just meh. I think it really wanted to be a new Hunger Games, but without Jennifer Lawrence, that's just not going to happen. The lead wasn't as strong as she needed to be, although, possibly she could grow into the role. If that happens, the other movies in the series (if they get made) should be even better.

Muppets Most Wanted was excellent! It was very Muppet Caper-y and I am totally fine with that. The cameos were brilliant and it was just a lot of fun.

Grand Budapest Hotel was really, really good. Wes Anderson is always a good bet. The story was great and the actors were, of course, fabulous. Always quirky, always a little heart warming. That's Wes Anderson.

Bad Words. So. Wrong. So. Hilarious. I laughed at things that I know I shouldn't have, but I couldn't help it at all. Jason Bateman is a genius. It is probably offensive to most, but if you like Jason Bateman, you'll be aware of his strengths, so, you'll like it.

Books:
This month I read: Twisted Sisters by Jen Lancaster, Divergent by Veronica Roth, Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt, The Perfume Collector by Kathleen Tessaro, Bad Apple (The Warner Grimoire) by Clay Held, The Shock of the Fall by Nathan Filer, and Rush to Glory: FORMULA 1 Racing's Greatest Rivalry by Tom Rubython.

I love Jen Lancaster. This one was still entertaining, but not my absolute favorite. It was a new, very pop culture-y twist to the essential Freaky Friday story. The main character doesn't get along with her family and has become very disconnected from reality. By switching places with her younger sister, she starts to realize how she comes off to her family and starts to doubt the very things she has based her adult life on. It's a good story, just not as laugh-out-loud awesome as Lancaster's more personal essay type books.

My friends have been telling me to read Divergent for a while, so I finally did...just before the movie came out. The book is really good. In the future, in Chicago, five factions make up society and how their world works. Your faction is your family...you are tested and choose where you belong (after the test shows you) and, in some cases, leave everyone and everything behind for a new faction. Tris, the main character, leaves behind her family and goes to Dauntless (the fearless protectors) and discovers a lot about herself, her new faction, her family, the other factions, and about her inner strength and what it means. This is a good book and I'm looking forward to reading the next two installments.

Tell the Wolves I'm Home was a coming of age story about a teen girl who becomes defined by her relationships with her uncle who passes away from AIDS in the 1980s and his partner. As she gets to know her uncle's partner, she learns more about her beloved uncle and her mom. Through the story, as she grows up, her family slowly pulls itself back together from the brink of near destruction, all through the uncle's last painting. It was odd at times, but it was a solid story.

The Perfume Collector was a really good story. It's the story of two women and their connection. The main parts take place in Oxford, Paris, and New York, with other travels denoted throughout the book to explain how characters arrived where they were by the end. Being subjugated to the whims of others her entire life, one woman was finally able to break free and establish an out for the other woman by leaving her everything in her will. The odd part was, the two women had never met. The story slowly weaves their lives together and you see how one woman's hard-earned freedom from dependencies leads her to give the other the greatest gift she can...an independent life to go with the independent spirit she had buried for her entire life. I really liked this one.

Bad Apple is a tale of magic and its hidden existence in this world, and how it lives in parallel in a world all of its own. At times Harry Potter-ish, it's a darker take on things from the beginning instead of building to the darkness. The more I read, the more I wanted more. The characters draw you in and you want to know what they think and what they're going to do next. As soon as I got back from vacation, I asked the author if I could be in his beta program. I am and the next one is waiting for me as a prerelease! As soon as I finish the two I'm reading now, I'm diving back into the world of magic. I highly recommend this one.

The Shock of the Fall was an impulse purchase while on vacation. Mainly because it was on the bestseller walls at all the bookstores in London and the cover was colorful and drew me to it. The main character is a very troubled young man reliving his past through his writing sessions during therapy while living at the institution and later on his own. He goes in and out of time periods and you never really find out why the death of his brother pushed him over the edge until the end of the book. It's a complicated take on a simple story. Definitely different from the books I usually choose. An interesting look inside a person's mental health and how it can deteriorate so quickly.

Lastly, I read Rush to Glory. I saw the movie Rush last fall and really, really liked it. Which is bizarre because after all the hours my ex made me watch it, I really held a grudge against Formula 1 racing, and really, racing in general. I enjoyed the book as well...it goes in depth into the rivalry between  Niki Lauda and James Hunt and the 1976 season. Both men were very competitive and their story is a fun one to read. If I had to make a call, I'd say watch the movie, but the book is a nice way to spend some time and I learned more about racing and now feel less antagonistic about it.

That's it for the books and movies. Now I need to get all my pictures into a blog to tell you all about London!

The books of February 2014

Once again, I've fallen behind. In my defense, I've been busy. And snowed in. Very snowed in. A lot. So much so that I only made it out for one movie.

Movie:
I went to see Pompeii. It wasn't awesome. It was trying very hard to be Gladiator...but it wasn't. The kid from Game of Thrones did his best, but he shouldn't be carrying an entire film by himself at this point. Keifer was a good bad guy, but his little lisp affectation didn't work for me. Nor did the sheriff from Grimm being bad again. I got used to him being good on the show. What was really cool was how they did the special effects to destroy the entire city. The lava, the fireballs, the waves flooding the city, and the ash. Wow. Something to watch when it hits Netflix while you fold laundry and stuff.

Books:
This month I read The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan, The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan, London Travel Guide 2014: Essential Tourist Information, Maps, and Photos by Caroline Booth, Kingmaking: Book One of the Pendragon's Banner by Helen Hollick, Waking Kate by Sarah Addison Allen (prequel to her new book, Lost Lake), The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan, After Visiting Friends: A Son's Story by Michael Hainey, and The House of Hades by Rick Riordan.

The London Travel Guide 2014 was a short citing of some of the main sites people visit when they go to London. It was on my Kindle, so the pictures were black and white and the maps were small, but I was able to use the urls to check out things that I liked. I got it the day the 2014 version went on sale, so it was free. I call that excellent timing.

Kingmaking was pretty good. It's been a while since I read an Arthur book. It starts with all the major players as children. Arthur, with Uther, visits Gwenevere's family. It follows them, on and off, through teens, a first marriage for Arthur, and up through her second pregnancy. I believe there is a sequel...possibly two sequels. I liked it, but I don't know if I'll read more. It was pretty different from the regular telling. I'm still thinking about it.

Waking Kate is a short story about a woman who is sitting at home, waiting for her husband on the first night of summer. Their daughter is staying with a friend, so she makes a nice dinner and sits down to watch some TV while waiting. She sees a familiar face on TV and later, watching people get off the bus, she realizes that man was her neighbor. She walks over to say hello and ends up chatting with him for a long time. They chat about his life and it's implied that her own choices may not have been the best, but not stated out loud. The short story came with a few pages of the new book, Lost Lake. I won't give anything away, but as always, Addison Allen writes a story with someone you can relate to in the lead and you want to know more. As soon as the price drops on the new one, I'm getting it.

After Visiting Friends is the story of a reporter who pieces together what really happened when his dad died. Hainey was 6 years old, his brother 8, when their father died in his mid-30s. Raised by their mom, no one ever discussed it. As Hainey aged, he found pieces of a puzzle that didn't add up, so once he was grown, he started researching what had really happened. This is a good book. It wasn't a grisly true crime thing (which I was kind of expecting)...the outcome was that a normal family had normal problems and things happen. It wasn't terribly exciting, but it was a good read.

The Rick Riordan books were awesome! This series (there's one more coming out this October) starts with new recruits for Camp Half-Blood...the safe space for Greek demi-gods. But Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon and the camp's recent hero, is missing. His girlfriend, Annabeth, the daughter of Athena is becoming frantic. But this first book focuses on the three new recruits, and their quest. In the next book we find Percy and the plan for the series becomes clearer. Percy's lost his memory (just as Jason has in book one) and is working with the kids at his camp...a Roman Camp...to finish their quest. The third book, The Mark of Athena, brings all the characters together and it is an epic fail. Except for the chosen seven who must go on a dangerous quest, taking them back through Greece and Rome without the Gods to help them. The next one, The House of Hades, continues the quest of the seven demi-gods. And, as the title suggests, much of the story takes place in the underworld. It's very intense. Having to wait until October to finish this up is not going to be fun.

OK. That's it for February. I've already finished one this month and am mid-way through my second. Should be more interesting for you all. Laters!

The books of January 2014

Sorry! I know I'm late writing...again. But I was in the middle of two books and I thought I should finish one of them before writing this. And then I decided I needed to watch the entire first season of Arrow before writing this. And then I decided to watch season three of Sherlock before writing this. Today I decided to write this before watching something else!

Crafts:
I think I did some? I don't know. I may have spent all of my time in front of the tv or the computer. If I find pictures later, I'll post them.

Movies:
In January, I only saw two movies in the theater. I blame the weather for that...and my laziness...and all of the drivers who think they can drive in snow and ice but repeatedly prove to me daily that they can not.

I saw The Wolf of Wall Street. I didn't read much about it going into it...I generally prefer it that way. I'm not a huge Leo fan, or Jonah fan...I could possibly be classified as a pretty big Matthew fan though. Anyway, for three hours I laughed at things I'm ashamed to have laughed at...much like I did when I saw There's Something About Mary. It also hit me mid-movie that it was based on a "true" story...I remembered the Steve Madden stuff. (Shocker that it was the shoe designer that tipped me off, right?) I did really like this movie, but it was way too long and all of the stuff that guy said he did? I just can't believe it all...his memories had been completely taken over by drugs and alcohol by the time he thought to write that book. Do I believe he remembered it that way? Yes, that I believe. Enjoyable film, but watch at home without any kids around.

Inside Llewyn Davis was the other movie I saw. It was good. Really good. Cohen brothers good, so quirky, funny, and thoughtful. It was the folk music scene in NYC before Dylan became big. I don't that I could ever bring myself to say bad things about any Cohen brothers movie though...I might be biased. Please watch it though...it's seems like a small film in a big film world. I hope lots of people like it.

Books:
I managed to squeeze in a few books (and half of another one) this past month. I read: The Fall of Anne Boleyn: A Countdown by Claire Ridgway, The Bat: A Harry Hole Novel by Jo Nesbo, Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter, The Radleys by Matt Haig, and Bellman and Black by Diane Setterfield.

The Fall of Anne Boleyn: A Countdown is a book written in diary format to follow dates and track Anne's downfall. It's non-fiction and taken from many sources: diaries, letters, ledgers, calendars, notes, and items written during and after her rise and fall. Ridgway gives the information and then states what she feels the information suggests based on non-biased sources and those who were trying to bring about the Queen's end. It was nicely laid out and I enjoyed reading it...even though I keep reading about the same topics.

The Bat is the first in the Harry Hole detective series by Jo Nesbo. Nesbo also wrote Headhunters, which was one of the best foreign films (Norwegian) I've seen in the theater in the last couple of years. The Bat is the introduction to Harry, a drunk policeman who's barely keeping it together after the murder of his sister and death of his mother (I think that's the order...it's been a while so I may be off). He's sent to Australia from Norway to coordinate with their police force on the murder of a B-celebrity from Norway. I enjoyed this quite a bit...Harry and the characters in this book are pretty interesting. Australian politics, historical aspects playing out in modern times, chasing bad guys, seedy underworld - it's all there. Harry clearly know how to enjoy a lot of things about life, despite his need to not be alive. The story in this one takes several turns, but it comes back to Harry solving the crime and plunging back into ways he's worked at forgetting. I'm looking forward to reading the other books in this series.

Beautiful Ruins was ok. I liked the story alright, but it seemed to drag. I liked the location more (Italy). In the end, I don't think I ever connected with the characters. And it had a storyline about movies in it! This book should've had everything I needed to like it, but for some reason, I just wasn't that moved by it.

The Radleys was bought on a whim...whim meaning it was on sale. The Radley family are modern day vampires, trying to lead a life of abstinence. They don't sparkle in the sun, but the teens are definitely moody. Because they don't drink blood, they do age. Basically, they could just be anyone's neighbors. One night, the teen girl accidentally does what a vampire will do and the family is caught in turmoil. Turmoil that becomes crisis when Dad calls his brother who abstains from nothing. I thought this was a fresh take on a vampire story. A funny little book that was a quick read.

Bellman & Black I bought (also on sale) because I remembered reading The Thirteenth Tale by Setterfield a while ago. What I couldn't remember was what I had liked and disliked about the first book, so I took a chance on the second one because I was certain I didn't hate the first. Anyway, when I finished this, I wasn't too sure I'd liked it. But, I've thought about it every day since. It starts with a boy killing a rook with a slingshot with his friends...an insignificant act for many young boys...that oddly shapes the character's life. He, Bellman, grows up and he takes a job at his uncle's mill. Bellman's father left his mother long, long ago. Bellman has had no contact with his father's family except for this uncle and his family. The uncle realizes his son (who was with Bellman on the day the rook was hit) has no use for the family business and so he begins working with Bellman to take over the mill. Things continue...Bellman is great at his job, he loves his job, he meets a girl and gets married and they have children...the business of aging. Then, people begin dying from the sweating sickness. Bellman loses almost everyone he has ever loved over a short period of time. He has a moment in the cemetery and changes his life. The book becomes a book about the business of funerals and grieving. It's quite well done and the time period well researched. What seems to have stayed with me were the chapters that weren't numbered, but marked only with an "&". Those were filled with information about rooks and the names that are given to flocks of them: a murder, an unkindness, and so on. The more I think about the book, the more I realize that it sticks with you and it's interesting. It doesn't matter if I liked the topic or not...well done, Setterfield.

That's it for January. Hopefully I'll get out more in February, but seeing as how we just got another sky dump of snow, maybe not. Stay warm!

The books of December 2013

Peace out, 2013!

Crafts:

I can post these since they were (finally) given as gifts. Sadly, I didn't always get a final picture where it's nice and framed, but you get the idea.

I have a friend who loves Bender, so I used part of weelittlestitches pattern from her blog to make him one and used one of Bender's many quotes:

He majored in Bending and minored in Robo-American Studies.

Next up was part of a themed gift. I found this one in kanitted's etsy shop:

 I wonder if there were Renaissance Ninjas...

One friend and I had a moment a while back discussing Bell Biv Devoe, so she ended up with this gem from stephXstitch's etsy store:

Now you know...

Another friend loves Disney. I found a retro tribute to Disney in the SatsumaStreet etsy store and made it for her:

It's a small world, after all.

Last, but definitely not least, I took a picture of a painting my friend made from her website, used a pattern creator, and made this for her:

It just makes you happy looking at it.

Movies: 

Despite making gifts and traveling home, I did manage to go see a few movies in December.

Anchorman 2 was really, really funny. It was silly, and occasionally borderline stupid, but I loved it anyway. I laughed so hard I made myself cry...twice. Definitely something I'll buy when it comes out because I will need to see the news anchor battle scene again :)

The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug was, to me, better than the first Hobbit installment. Smaug was awesome...he looked very cool and Benedict Cumberbatch's voice was perfect. I'm not sure how I felt about Legolas being there...I can't say that I remember that happening in the book, but it's been forever...and it's not like he was busy. His Elven dad, Lee Pace, was great...as usual. The story felt like it moved faster, but it was about the same length as the last one. Overall, I'd say good show.

American Hustle was fantastic. Stop reading. Go watch it. Christian Bale's stomach, combover, and glasses are insane. And Bradley Cooper's hair? OMG. Him wearing those little perm rods in it will never not make me laugh.

47 Ronin...yes, I saw it. Right now, haters are hating on this movie. I actually liked it. The story pulled me in and Keanu was Keanu, you know. He was earnest and you felt for him and he did a good job. It also had a dragon. So for me, it was a win-win. It was entertaining and I would watch it again.

Last one this month was Saving Mr. Banks. This movie is lovely and makes you cry buckets of tears. It probably doesn't need to be a big-screen see, but definitely rent it when it comes out...and keep plenty of kleenex handy!

Books:

This month I read Takedown Twenty by Janet Evanovich, Out to Lunch by Stacey Ballis, Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel, Dangerous Dream: A Beautiful Creatures Story by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, and Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell. I started the month by re-reading Dracula by Bram Stoker.

The last time I read Dracula, I was in high school. At some point between then and now, my memory of the story was only that in the Coppola movie. It very much is NOT the same as the movie. And actually, given the time in between and the current re-read, I think I like the movie better. The story in the book is extremely similar, but I felt like Mina was more just used and discarded instead of a super-integral part of Dracula's story. Also in retrospect, I think that Keanu Reeves did a better job than I originally thought...Jonathan Harker as a book character might be the most boring person in the universe. At least in the movie he had some life to him...well done, Keanu. I was surprised at how much I didn't enjoy reading this book again. 

Takedown Twenty was the usual Stephanie Plum adventure, but this time with more giraffe. There seemed to be less things blowing up this time, but maybe the giraffe distracted me. She's still torn between Morelli and Ranger, still fairly predictable, but still entertaining. A very fun read and super welcome after plodding through Dracula.

Out to Lunch is another fine tale from Stacey Ballis. I had been looking forward to this one for a while...I pre-ordered it and it appeared (MAGIC!) on my Kindle, I jumped right in to the story. It started off pretty sad, but I liked that the sad thing had to happen for the story to take place at all. The main character's growth and challenges were very fun to read about (hint: it involves food and cooking, hurrah!) and by the end, Ballis once again made me wish these people were real and that I knew them and hung out with them. 

Remember that most of my friends didn't like Wolf Hall, but I did? Well, Bring Up the Bodies is part two. One friend mentioned that she thought this one was better. I thought that the pronouns were more explained...sometimes unnecessarily so given the way the last book was written...which probably helped her enjoy it more. I really like Mantel's take on what's happening in Cromwell's brain and the world around him. Each character was written in a way that you think maybe each got what was coming to him or her...which given Anne Boleyn's end, that might be mean to say. The court that Mantel describes is terrifying at times with its level of intrigue and backstabbing. I know that there's one more book in this trilogy and I am looking forward to seeing how Cromwell takes his own ending.

Dangerous Dream was a short story from the Beautiful Creatures series. This story focused on Riley (the bad caster, cousin to Lena the good caster) and her journey to avoid her true feelings. It looks like this takes place after the last Beautiful book and is the pre-cursor to a spin-off series that will have Riley as the main character. I'm not sure if I'll read them, but it was nice to briefly revisit the characters and see what they were all up to after graduation.

The book I finished on the next to last day of the month was Rainbow Rowell's Eleanor & Park. Much like my paragraph about her Fangirl book, I'm not going to be able to do the story justice. I know that there was some hub-bub about her doing a reading of this book somewhere...protesting and all that. I get that it's a young adult novel and that some of the themes are dark and scary. But the writing covers the darkness and frights with love and caring...and comics and 80s music. The fact that Eleanor so readily felt that the Smiths were a part of her at first listen said more about her to me than 50 pages of reading...it told me how sad she was...how alone she felt...and how that first time of hearing how you feel in a song is powerful. The fact that Park could've been awful to Eleanor, but chose to share his comics...and later his life...with her is a strong testament to his character...however many times he feels shallow, deep down, he and his family represent more than nice...they represent caring and goodness...and it possibly why he feels so strongly about the X-Men, the Watchmen, and Batman...people who are flawed, protecting others like and unlike themselves at all costs. It made me laugh and it made me cry and I lost some sleep because I couldn't put it down. You might not like it, but this is a very good book.

Well, that's it. Hope everyone is ready for a good new year! Happy 2014!