Happy May!

And welcome to the new year…five months late. 

Sorry about the lack of posts recently. It doesn't mean I haven't been reading (I have, but not a ton) or that I haven't been watching good TV and movies (I have, including a few too many bad movies…). It just means I've been lazy with my posts and have had a few problems with bad internet. 

Let's do a quick recap of the end of 2014:

• I actually finished my goal of 50 books for the year! It got kinda dicey there at the end. I confess, I tacked on a Harry Potter book to make the count because I knew I liked it and could finish it. All in all, only 6 re-reads on the list, so I'm counting it a win. 
• I never did finish the book Alias, Hook. It was horrible writing and I finally gave myself permission to not suffer. So, I'm sorry if any of you were lead astray by my attempts to read it. 
• I discovered Liane Moriarty and fell in love. I've read three of her books, but recommend you start with her most recent, Big Little Lies. Follow that with The Husband's Secret. I'll keep you posted on her others; I have "What Alice Forgot" coming into the library soon. 
• Sarah Addison Allen and Emily Giffin will ALWAYS write the kind of chic-lit I want to read. They are romantic with a little bit of magic (and a lot of food), the kind of magic the dreamer in me wants to believe actually exists in the world. 
• I think I found a new genre: Biblical historical fiction. Ted DekKer is out with a new book, AD 30, about the beginning of Jesus' ministry and it completely made me change the way I think about things. Tosca Lee has a book out called Sheba that made me excited to read Song of Solomon. (And if that doesn't have all my Christian school friends clamoring for a bible, I don't know what will! But really guys, calm down. I'm reading it for the historical connections. Duh.)

I read more than just these books, but that hits a lot of the high points for the end of the year. If you want details on any of the books I read, feel free to check out my list on Goodreads or ask me in the comments. 

This year as been kind of slow in the book department. I've only read about 14 so far and 3 of them are re-reads. I feel like I'm cheating. I've had trouble finding that sweet spot, the place where you don't have to work for the story and where you find the characters enticing. Any and all book suggestions are welcome! 

In my last post, I mentioned that I had been watching Battlestar Galactica. Well…that is still true! I just finished the series a second time with Rachel! It is as good as I remembered it and THEN some. The thing that was different this time around was, well I guess it was my perspective. Ever since Sheba, I wanted to read more Tosca Lee. The second book of hers I picked up was called Demon. 
Wow. 
This book was incredible. It's the story of Clayton, a washed up writer, who works in a publishing house. He meets a man who claims to 1) be a demon and 2) that this author/publisher will write and publish his memoirs. The memoirs of a demon? Who is going to touch that? The demon's story is so captivating that it soon consumes Clayton (and of course, the reader) that his personal life starts to fall apart as he writes the story and waits for the next chapter. I will say this: it made me re-examine my perspective on demons. It made me look at life with a different perspective. It made me exceedingly thankful for God's gift of salvation. 
How does this connect to Battlestar Galactica? 
Call me and we will discuss the finer points over coffee, but in a nut shell it helped me understand the Cylon's thought process and their view on the world and humans. I maybe even felt sorry for them…? Probably? Anyway. I recommend the book. I HIGHLY recommend the show. (As a warning? Battlestar Galactica will probably make you cry, though. Not so much the book.) 

I'm trying to find some good books to read. I am reading Fiona & Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo. It is almost too juvenile for me, but I'm going to stick with it. A squirrel that can use a type-writer? I'm intrigued, to say the least. 
I also recently started The Intellectual World of C.S.Lewis by Alister McGrath. It is probably the first scholarly book I've picked up on Lewis in a while and I love it. It is incredibly hard to read at night when I come home from work, though, so it's been hard going. 

It's not thorough but I hope this recap catches you up with what I've been reading. Next I'll try to catch you up with some of the movies and TV shows I've been watching. I'll leave you with this teaser: Netflix and Marvel. 
Yes. 
Exactly. 

Updates Soon! (I promise. No really. I do.)

I think I'm finally hitting my stride for my book reading this year. I finished three books over the last few days, which puts me halfway through my goal for the year. It is anyone's guess if I'll be able to make it through another 25 in the next 15 weeks. (My gut says "No luck." but I'm totally ready to be wrong.)

I've also decided to (finally) watch Battlestar Galactica in my "free time" so that is one of the reasons the updates have slowed. Again. I have to be done by the end of the month, so I should be back to reading and blogging soon. Unless some other TV show catches my eye.

For those of you who started paying attention at the words "Battlestar Galactica" -- holy wow. I am LOVING this show. I just started season 4 so I'm almost done, but oh wow. I have a feeling there are still a lot of surprises in store for me. Also, be prepared for a post about the show, what it means to be human (which is kind of becoming a theme in the media I consume this year) and all of that jazz.

For the rest of you (or those who stopped listening when I started the nerdy talk), I am finally reading "If I Stay" by Gayle Forman.So far, so good. I'm only just 50 pages in but I like it already.
I am still slowly working on a book called "Alias Hook." I want it to be good but it is kind of letting me down. More on that hopefully in the next few weeks.

What have ya'll been up to? Watching anything good? Any new books (or old books!) catch your eye recently? Let me know!