The books of November 2014

November went way too quick, didn't it? And it's already a week into December. Seriously, time is whooshing by us! I got to go home for Thanksgiving and see family, so that was very nice. Otherwise...I didn't do too much.

Crafts:
I forgot one from October...for my friend who like kitties (pattern found on etsy):

Stretchy kitty

The next one was for a friend who's hooked on Supernatural (pattern also from etsy):

I'm still weirded out that he was Sami's twin on Days of Our Lives

Movies:
I only made it to one movie this month: Hunger Games: Mocking Jay, Part 1. It. Was. Awesome. I didn't really love the book...I remember thinking it was kind of boring. Luckily, the movie was really good and makes me excited to see Part 2...which seems like it's a billion years away, but given how fast time is going, shouldn't be that long of a wait at all.

Books:
Much of November was spent making crafts to give away as gifts in December, so I didn't get a lot of reading done. But I managed to get through the following: Top Secret Twenty-One by Janet Evanovich, The Illusionists by Rosie Thomas, and Written in My Heart's Own Blood by Diana Gabaldon. I also started Prince Lestat by Anne Rice, but I haven't finished it yet...so far, so good.

Janet Evanovich has her formula for the Stephanie Plum books down pat. Car explosions, near death experiences, same two men vying for her attentions...it's all there. There's not really a point in talking about these anymore...I read them; they're funny; I'm going to keep reading them even though it's pretty much the same every time. If you like the series and haven't read this one yet, get to it.

I took a chance on The Illusionists. It wasn't my best pick. About halfway through, I realized I still didn't like the characters and didn't care what happened to them. I don't know...it seemed like a good idea, but I just never truly got into it enough to enjoy it. The main trio of characters were interesting solo...and their act of illusions were interesting...but just something never gelled as I read. Probably stress from reading instead of doing crafts.

So the EIGHTH Diana Gabaldon Outlander book was more of the same. She left the tiniest of windows open to write book nine...which makes me sad. All the major players are currently safe and together in the post-Revolution America. Seems like a fabulous time to let it lie, but she won't. There are still people in the 1980s who are out to get the gold from Brianna and Roger...and to find out more about the time traveling. There is one man in America who wants to take the French lands from Fergus. The story picks up where the last book left: Jamie has taken John; Claire is trying to recover from the shock that Jamie's alive; Brianna and Roger are trying to find Jem...same old perils, different time periods, different players. Some things were nicely done in this book...both of Roger's poignant moments at the rocks in the 1700s come to mind. I'm still not overly sure of why they brought the witch into it again. I actually enjoyed reading this one a little bit...which is saying something since the last four have been like dental surgery on the enjoyment level for me. I just want them to catch a break and have as normal as a life that they can have...and that's kind of what this was...I mean, you know, except for the battles of the American Revolution.

So next month will have more books (hopefully) and more movies...I know of three I want to see as soon as they come out. Hope everyone's having a good holiday season!

The books of October 2014

It's November! Time for even more pumpkin things, my birthday, and Thanksgiving. I'm definitely ready for all of those things. I was slightly less prepared for the 20 degree drop in temperatures, but that's what winter accessories are for, right?

Crafts:
I was able to send one gift out to a friend for her birthday. Her recently found affinity for the Beatles made her gift easy: the movie Help! and this little gem (pattern from etsy, work by me):

Psst...hey! Be-at-le!

Movies:

I saw two movies in October. The first one, Dracula Untold, was a whole new take on the Dracula origin story and I liked it a whole lot. They made it make sense. And the special effects (and Luke Evans's torso) were awesome! If you like the regular Dracula story, but want something a little different, you'll probably like this. The best part is how they bring it into modern times instead of Victorian England for what will hopefully end up being an intro to the sequel (always a possibility).

The other movie was John Wick. I have a very large soft spot for Keanu Reeves. For a 50 year old, he took quite a lot of beatings in this film. The character goes through a horrible loss and through some random coincidences, ends up being targeted by a mob boss's son. The son then makes the mistake of stealing his car and, I'll phrase this like the trailer, "messing with his dog". I don't know how many bullets were used...it wasn't a wasteful use like in the building lobby in the Matrix...this was calculated with each bullet having a purpose. Turns out, John Wick wasn't just another schmoe with a nice car...they totally picked on the wrong guy. It was extremely entertaining.

Books:

This month I read the following: After Dead by Charlaine Harris, The King's Grave: The Discovery of Richard III's Lost Burial Place and the Clues It Holds by Philippa Langley and Michael Jones, The Blood of Olympus: The Heroes of Olympus Book Five by Rick Riordan, While Beauty Slept by Elizabeth Blackwell, and The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith.

After Dead was the follow up of characters from the Sookie Stackhouse books. It was really short (maybe a couple of paragraphs at most for less known characters) and, well, kind of boring. Two strong B-characters got a shout out, hinting that there may be more later, which makes me think they'll get their own books. But yeah, I'm not really sure why she bothered writing this.

The King's Grave is the book version that goes with the documentary (currently available on Netflix). I just wanted to read more about how they found his grave in a parking lot. The book actually supplied a lot of history on Richard III as well as going over the recent findings of the grave site. I wasn't overly moved by Langley's part in the video, but the book is a bit more informative. I like history and this is one of the more interesting historical finds in the past few years, so I felt it worth my time. She's not a scholar, so you don't plow through loads of complicated footnotes or anything like that. She just lays out her involvement with the project, how she felt as it progressed and the discovery was complete, and the history of Richard's last days interspersed as they grow nearer the end of the project. Interesting...not something I needed to own though...thanks local library!

The Blood of Olympus I totally own though! It was fantastic! I realize the Rick Riordan series are aimed at kids and young adults, but I don't care. They are too much fun. This was the last of the Greeks vs. Romans. The demigods battle horrible demons and monsters to save the world...again. I don't want to give anything away for those who haven't read this yet and want to, but you won't really want to put it down. And! AND! The next series? Norse gods! Can. Not. Wait.

While Beauty Slept was a book I took a chance on because I usually like retellings of fairy tales. Blackwell isn't nearly as entertaining as Mercedes Lackey in this genre, but it was an interesting twist. Told from a maid's (to Queen's attendant, to lady-in-waiting) point of view, the story covers a little time before the Princess Rose was born up through her marriage. It's not the same story...fairies are real people; true love sometimes waits; 100 years sleep would've been a blessing considering; and princes can be what you make of them. The different take on the story took away the fairy tale atmosphere of it all. It was good, but not the best.

Another Jennifer E. Smith book finished in just about four hours. Her books are like my crack. I can not read them fast enough. The main characters in The Geography of You and Me live in the same building in NYC but are worlds apart financially. They spend a day together when the city is in a blackout and they get trapped in the elevator. From elevator, to apartment, to rooftop, to a city that's turned into a party, the two misfits bond. Then the girl and her parents go to London and then move to Scotland while the boy and his dad take off west, stopping at several cities along the way. They keep in touch via postcards and occasional emails. After more traveling on both sides, they are able to see each other in San Francisco. They think the bond is shattered, and they part upset. But they can't stop thinking about each other. Eventually they meet up again where they started and the story starts again. Smith is a GREAT storyteller. I love it when a new book of hers comes out because I know for a few hours, I'm going to be somewhere unexpected with characters who are complex and simple at the same time. 

Ok. Back to cooking and baking. Less than two months until Christmas...that seems unreal!

The books of September 2014

It's hit that portion of the year where time truly flies. I'm spending a lot more time making gifts and trying to get all the holiday shopping done, but still finding time to read, see a random movie, and cook. I also started a new exercise class that works the core...and all the other things. So much. It's not as entertaining as the belly dancing class was, but I'm not hating it as I had suspected I might.

Crafts:
People had some birthdays and stuff, so I can post a few things. Part of my BFF's gift this year was this pattern by Alessandra Adelaide called Gallo:

Knock, knock! (Click here if you don't know why this is funny.)

The same day as BFF's birthday, another friend got married. It was a very pretty wedding. When I was looking for something pretty to make, I returned to Alessandra Adelaide's patterns and found this one with kitties:

Look at the kitties' tails! Twue wuv!

Next up, my friend who I tend to give unicorn themed items. This year was no exception. I figure if you want to express your opinion without feeling bad later, simply pointing to this unicorn (I found the pattern on etsy) can help express your feelings:

Umhmmm...yeah...I hear you... (points at cross-stitch)

Movies:

This month I only felt the need to see two movies and they were completely worth my time and money. First up, I saw David Lynch's Duran Duran Unstaged concert movie. The music was fantastic...the David Lynch was interesting with moments of crazy. Mostly, they were still some good looking British men singing songs I still love. There were a few guest singers and they were actually good...but it's hard to watch Kelis and NOT want to hear Milkshake.

The other movie I saw was This Is Where I Leave You. If memory serves, I enjoyed the book immensely. The movie was no different. It's rare that I book I liked hits awesome on the meter. But whoever cast this thing was a GENIUS! Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Timothy Olyphant (Olyfantastic for those who know), Jane Fonda...the list goes on. It was just hysterically funny and I will definitely watch it again when it comes out in rental form.

Books:

This month I read: The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen, The King's Curse by Philippa Gregory, Viking Tales by Jennie Hall, Winter of the World: Book Two of the Century Trilogy by Ken Follett, and The Fortune Hunter by Daisy Goodwin.

The Queen of the Tearling kept showing up my feeds as something that I might like. The feeds, they did not lie. It was a little slow going, but once I got into it, I did really enjoy it. Utopian world goes to crap and the rightful queen, who has been hidden away since birth, must come back to the Tearling to prove herself worthy of the task and rule her people. Of course, in no way does that go smoothly. She manages to get wounded more than once, nearly die, be captured by a master thief, develop feelings for that same kidnapping thief by the end of this first book, oust her corrupt uncle from the throne, defend against the evil queen of another territory, set free and defend hundreds of people, and finds out that the necklace her mother gave her might actually be the best weapon she has. It was a good read and I'm looking forward to more.

The King's Curse is the billionth(?) book in the Cousins' War series. Like all of the books in this series, and those by Gregory in general, I held my breath before diving in because I didn't know if this would be one of the good reads or one of the duds. I was pleasantly surprised to find it to be an interesting tale about the oldest woman to be beheaded by Henry VIII (not a wife). Margaret Pole was the daughter of George, Duke of Clarence. She had a legitimate claim to the throne, but after watching many family members be killed (including her father) for the crown, she said silent and survived. The story follows her from trusted friend to Henry VIII's mother, Prince Arthur's governess (essentially), lady-in-waiting to Katherine (Arthur's and then Henry's wife), devoted friend and caregiver to Lady Mary, and eventually, declared an enemy to the throne. This was a really good story about a player in the game who isn't often brought to the forefront of the Tudor stories. I enjoyed this one a lot. Almost as much as the two in the series that were mostly about the Woodevilles.

I'd been reading Viking Tales on and off for a while. Just short stories from Viking life...mainly about King Haraald. Not too bad. Nice way to fill time between huge, historical, fictional tomes.

Winter of the World picks up in Germany before WWII begins. (The first book left off after WWI is over.) Again, the intertwined families are spread through eastern North America, England, Wales, Germany, France, Spain, and Russia. The main characters who were alive at the end of book one are now the parents of the emerging main characters in book two. WWII is not my favorite topic to read about, so it felt like this book took forever to read. It wasn't quite 1,000 pages, but it was close. By the time I'd gotten halfway through, I'd hit my stride though. I will need a fairly big break before reading the next book, Edge of Eternity. It's a lot of characters and side stories to remember...and Follett doesn't really go back and recap anything, so if you haven't read the first one, do not read the second. I will say that while it all seems a bit formulaic after reading two, I still enjoy the way Follett tells the story well enough to continue reading about them all.

The Fortune Hunter was kind of an outlier. I have American Heiress by the same author, but every time I've tried to start it, I put it down. I forced myself to read it in big chunks so it would be over a little quicker. At least it managed to keep my attention. I think what threw me was that all of it was loosely based on real events and people, but so much of it was made up. I don't know. I liked it, but I'm not sure I recommend it.

Since it's already getting close to double-digits, date-wise in October, I've already read a couple of things, but I'll talk about them in the next post. Looking forward to books, movies, crafts, and Halloween. Enjoy the awesome fall weather people!

The books of August 2014

Summer finally showed up toward the end of August...that hot, humid, icky kind of summer that makes me want to stay in the air conditioning 24/7. That will go away soon right? Like, really soon? Ugh. I've been working through a lot of craft projects for birthdays and stuff, but I can't post them until I've given them away, so nothing this month.

Movies:
This month, there was only one movie I wanted to see, so I saw it twice...once even in IMAX 3D! Guardians of the Galaxy is awesome. If you've not seen it yet, stop reading and go right now. It's got everything: lots of action, lots of funny moments, lots of classic music, and most importantly, lots of Groot. It has 100% more Groot than other movies this year :) I don't want to give anything away on this one, but it's just really, really, really fun. I just loved it...both times. Go sit in some nice air conditioning and enjoy yourself for a couple of hours. It's totally worth it!

Books:
This month, I did manage to read a few books, despite the crafting and the heat making me want to do nothing for a couple of weeks. I read: Love Avenged (Black Dagger Brotherhood, Book 7) by J. R. Ward, The Mark of the Midnight Manzanilla by Lauren Willig, The Magician's Land by Lev Grossman, Landline by Rainbow Rowell, and The House of the Four Winds: Book One of One Dozen Daughters by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory.

I think I'm finally tired of the BDB books...which is unfortunate as there are still about five left to read. This one was about the Sympath-Vampire hybrid, Rehvenge. He owns the club where most of the Brotherhood go. He deals in drugs, prostitution, gambling...whatever makes money. He's the brother of Bella, married to Zadist. In this book, he falls in love with a nurse at Haver's clinic, loses his mother, has his secrets revealed to those who matter most to him, breaks up with the nurse, fakes his own death, and gives himself up to the sympath community. That's when things get interesting. Seriously. It took more than 2/3 of the book before I was like ok, this is something I want to read. But it also kind of wasn't because spiders and scorpions aren't something I like to picture in my head, so I may have skimmed some of this ending. Anyway, like the other books, things work out as they should and the Brotherhood triumphs, despite evil still being evil and trying to win. They set up the next book pretty well, but I needed a break.

Lauren Willig's new Pink Carnation book, The Mark of the Midnight Manzanilla, was just as fun as all the others! This one was about Turnip's sister, Sally. On a dare, Sally went into the local vampire's yard, Duke Lucien Belliston, only to run into the man himself...and see that the rumors of vampirism were very much just that...rumor...and she decides she will help him, whether he wants it or not. After some comical moments of Sally forcing her company on the Duke, they come across a dead woman. As they investigate who would murder and try to pin it on the Duke, old secrets come out and it turns out that Sally is needed more than she could know. The spy story isn't as strong in this one as the others, Miss Gwen is still there, as is a spy backstory involving the Duke's parents, but this is mostly just a good story of how two people found each other, despite the obstacles in their way.

I've waited a while for the third book of Lev Grossman's Magicians trilogy. I remember thinking the first one was ok and that the second one was better. The third one. The Magician's Land, was on par with the second one. This time, Fillory is dying and they need to save it. There are spells, adventures, gaps are filled in by story characters...it's just a good read. If you've not read the first two, reading this one will do you no good though. It's no Harry Potter, but what is, you know? It's more grown up and less good triumphs over bad. Overall, I enjoyed the trilogy as a whole, but you can not go into it thinking it's going to be like the Harry Potter books, because it isn't. They're darker in the human world and in the magical world.

Landline was a nice change for Rowell. This book was about a married couple who were having problems with their schedules and making time for one another. We join them at the breaking point. As they separate for Christmas, the wife ends up staying at her mom's house and calling her husband on her old landline princess phone...and the phone, once plugged in, works as it did the last time it was used...the week the husband broke up with her in the past and then drove hours on end to surprise her with a proposal. This is actually a pretty interesting study of therapy without an actual therapist. The phone is where they talk through their issues, only with the husband as a young adult and the wife as she is in the current day. I liked it.

Lastly, I read the new Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory book. I love Lackey's 500 Kingdoms books, like the Elemental Masters series, and like the one-off fairy tale books. So I thought I'd give this one a chance. In a small kingdom, the royal family has 12 daughters and 1 son. The son, by law, will inherit, but there's not enough to provide for all the daughters. They are brought up learning trades so they may make their own fortunes when they leave home on their 18th birthdays. Clarice is the oldest and this is her book. She learned swordplay, so she goes out to be a hired swordsman and then maybe a teacher. She books passage on a ship that turns out to be under a pirate scheme. She falls for the navigator, but she's pretending to be a male, so her Facebook status would say "it's complicated". There's punishments, fighting, mutiny, hard work, more pirates, lots of magic, and lots of treasure. As fantasy books go, it was ok. As pirate books go, it was also just ok. I don't know that I'll read more of the series like I did with some of the other series. It wasn't bad...just not immediately awesome.

Alright, me finishing this hopefully means summer is done and now it's fall...

Later!

The books of July 2014

Another month has zoomed past. I didn't read that much. I didn't craft that much. I'm not really sure what I did. Oh well! It's over. Moving on :)

Movies:
In July, I saw some movies I truly enjoyed. Starting with Edge of Tomorrow. I've stated my views on Tom Cruise before and they still stand. But man, watching him get conscripted and then killed off over and over and over and over and over and over again was very good entertainment. I really liked the storyline to this one. Just when you think they've made it, it reboots. A very good sci-fi film,

Next up was Snowpiercer. This was also very good. I think some may find it strange, but the storyline was tight and given the theories and philosophies behind it, I really liked it and continued to think about it long after I left the theater. Captain America plays the anti-hero quite well...and with a lot less spangley outfits as in other movies. (Points if you see what I did there.) The plot all lies within the confines of a continually moving train that goes around the planet in a year's time. The politics and philosophies are flawed but very interesting and well thought out for this story.

Then I saw Lucy. And I love Jean Reno all over again. Lucy is another sci-fi piece, this time with a very flawed and originally reluctant heroine. ScarJo was quite believable as the clueless student turned smartest person in the world. There was more philosophy underlying this one that also kept me thinking (and occasionally comes back to me now, weeks later). I loved how this story worked. And I loved that it made me watch The Fifth Element and The Professional (Leon) again...I never get tired of those two...and once Lucy is out on DVD, I won't get tired of it either.

The last movie in July (yes, August 1 was another movie, but you have to wait a whole month to hear about it) was Hercules. The one with The Rock. The Rock is someone who I support whole heartedly in his movie endeavors. I've watched him through utterly horrible cgi, bad dialog, and really bad haircuts...and that's just in The Mummy Returns. If you've seen Be Cool (sequel to Get Shorty), then you know why I continue to watch. He is completely hilarious. Pain and Gain and GI Joe Retaliation were more examples of awful, but the Fast and Furious series with him is not half bad (and yes, I also see Vin Diesel movies...and yes, again, wait til the August movie review). Most of us know the tales of Hercules and this movie didn't really deviate. He was ginormous to play this part...which he kind of needed to be...I mean, come on...HE PICKED UP A HORSE AND THREW IT. I laughed a lot at this movie...and while I don't think I was meant to do so, I'm super glad that I did. Every time I got a little bored, it got funny. Plus, with seasoned actors like John Hurt and Rufus Sewell (and Joseph Finnes with some weird blond Joe Dirt mullet going on), it had some quite good moments. So, overall, not a great film, but still, fine fun with a lot of unintentional laughs.

Books:
In July I read: The Paradise by Émile Zola, Lover Enshrined (Black Dagger Brotherhood, Book 6) by J. R. Ward, The Staff of Serapis by Rick Riordan, The Book of Life (Book 3 of the All Souls Trilogy) by Deborah Harkness, and City of Lost Dreams by Magnus Flyte.

So, actually, maybe that's what I did with July. I watched season one of the BBC's The Paradise more than once. It is maybe the most charming show I've ever seen and I never want it to be over. There's another season out there and once it shows up on Netflix, I may go MIA for a few weeks, watching the entire thing straight through over and over. I was super happy when I saw it was a book, so I got it. The people who envisioned this show from that book? Brilliant. The book itself was a complete and utter downer. The characters, except for the main girl, Denise, were all horrible to themselves and to each other for the entire book. Not one redeeming characteristic between the lot of them. In the book Denise had brothers who were her dependents and the family in town was more than just her uncle. Everyone was just mean and it made me quite grumpy to read. I stuck with it because at the midway point, I wanted to see if even the ending was different. It was and it wasn't. I don't know. This time, the TV show was a BILLION times better than the book.

Lover Enshrined was another formulaic vampire book. This one was about Phury and how he gets his life back on track. Gets female vampire - check. Overcomes problems - check. Brings about change to an old regime in a new way - check. Happy ending - check. Again, I'm not reading these for their insights on humanity...it is what it is...and I'm still going to read all of them.

The Staff of Serapis was another in between stories from Rick Riordan, combining Sadie from the Egyptian series and Annabeth from the Greek series. The two girl battle an Egyptian lesser deity and become fast friends. I'm guessing that between this and the one with Carter and Percy, the Egyptians might come into play in the last of the Greek/Roman gods and demigods book that's due out in October? That would be really cool. I don't know what I'll do when this Roman series is over. I really like all of the mythology series Riordan has put out there.

The Book of Life was decent. I think I let myself get too excited about it since I had over a year to build it up in my head. It seemed to go on a bit...and do some unnecessary torture. Kind of like the Outlander series...eventually you just want those two time-traveling, crazy kids to catch a break. The story line from this one picks back up in modern times. The witch and the vampire have come back from the past to find her aunt murdered by her enemy. And then it's traveling all over the world to solve the riddle of the book and put it back together and save the vampire's life before his deranged son kills him. Oh...and do it all while she's pregnant and gives birth to twins. It was a reach, but the trilogy is done and I'm glad I read it. Maybe if I'd just randomly picked up all three of them and plowed through at once, I'd feel differently because I loved the first one so much (A Discovery of Witches). I wasn't bored...and I didn't put it down and pick up something else...I just didn't always feel like diving back into it when I got home from work.

Lastly, I gave Magnus Flyte another shot. A while back, I read City of Dark Magic. My main complaint with it was that after all the books where writers research and visit places they write about it, that book felt very much like it was written while holding a travel guide of Prague in one hand. Otherwise, I enjoyed it...it had a supernatural vibe, but not a vampire one. City of Lost Dreams is the sequel I didn't know was coming. The main character returns to Prague to help her dying pianist friend with the help of her ex-boyfriend and the centuries old dwarf. This time there's travel to Vienna and it felt less tour guide driven, which was nice. The story was well planned this time with the return of old characters and a sprinkling of new...a whole new cast of geniuses past to meet...and a whole new world of shady bad guys to conquer. It was a fun one for ending my reading for the month.

I'm already excited about August. The movies! The books! Hopefully no duds this time. Later...

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!