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):
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| Psst...hey! Be-at-le! |
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!
