22 April 2016

First Quarter Check In!

I got this email today and realized that it has been a little while since Ive updated the blog:

Wow! Such a nice surprise, especially since the last time I checked I was too busy singing In the Heights music to get any real reading done!

I got three more Ken Bruen books read. I usually hate series (as we all know) but there is something about the Jack Taylor novels that I can't quite put down. I think some of it might be to see just how much crap Jack can go through and still come out on the other side. He keeps winning, even at great personal cost. I love that he doesn't give up completely, even though he stumbles and loses his way. They keep getting darker, though, and I'm reaching a limit to my threshold for darkness. 

The Nightingale has been on my list for awhile and I finally got my hands on a copy. It was wonderfully written and deeply engrossing. I found myself gross sobbing at the end of it though and have since decided that World War II fiction is not something I can read any more. (Though it did talk about the Vel' d'Hiv round up, which is what Sara's Key was all about, and that small knowledge helped with my understanding of a part of the novel.) I still recommend this book with a whole heart, but I wanted to give you fair warning that you might need a box of tissues. 

I have gotten into some comic books this year, prompted mostly by Nimona. A fabulous tale written and illustrated by Noelle Stevenson, it tells the story of Nimona, a shape shifting wanna-be-side-kick to the villain Lord Ballister Blackheart. Yes I read it in about one evening, but I totally fell in love with the characters and the story. I hope to see more from her! She (with some other lovely people) also wrote Lumberjanes, about an all girl summer camp. I honestly enjoyed Nimona much more, but there are some pretty fabulous characters in Lumberjanes, too. 

I went from light and hilarious to dark and twisty on the comic front. I finally picked up Sandman. Wow. Oh wow. I love it and am terrified of it all at the same time. It isn't so frightening that I can't read it before bed, but all the same I take it in small doses. I've picked up the Absolute edition so it is a giant hulking volume, but then I have about 20 issues on hand so I don't have to constantly be ordering the next issue and numbering and all that. It does however weigh a  solid 6 pounds so it isn't exactly a purse book. That would be the only downfall of the volume. Otherwise, A+ would recommend. Especially if you like being scared out of your mind into the possibility of never being able to sleep again. Good times. 

I've been letting myself watch some TV, even in all of this reading, and have found two shows that I absolutely love. I happened on the ITV Marple and instantly fell in love. It was a show that was both entertaining and engrossing and allowed me to knit if I wanted to. Ideal, I tell you. Of course after watching 3 seasons worth of it, I was itching for the real thing. Luckily, I have a few "collected works" volumes and started with Body in the Library. Agatha Christie was clearly a writer of her time and is evidenced by the phrases and mindsets of her characters. Though maybe not politically correct, her characters are colorful and don't seem to take the fact that they are embroiled in a murder investigation too seriously. And that, I believe, is the golden thread that holds every Agatha Christie murder together. 

And while I'm on TV, guys. GUYS. Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries. GO WATCH IT.
This delightful series is about Miss Phryne Fisher, lady detective, who solves crime in 1920s Austrailia. She keeps a mother of pearl lock pick in her garter (or tucked in her bra) and a small gold revolver in her handbag. I'm not sure I can convey to you just how much I love this show, but I really do. It was an excellent way to spend part of my birthday week and I highly recommend it. (As a side note, I'm reading the books that the TV show is based on. So far so good. I'll keep you posted.) 

Whew. I'm making a lot of progress on some of my personal reading goals, but I still seem to have so many at home that I don't have time to get to! And, of course, the more I try to read the ones I already have, the more books I see at the library and NEED to check out. The never ending cycle continues. 

How goes your year? Reading, watching, or listening to anything awesome? Let me know!