Goodbye 2013, Hello 2014
I'm slowly gathering everything I think I need to pack for my trip to San Francisco on Thursday. Tomorrow The Spousal Unit and The Boy are going to Disney Quest for the day, giving me time to do all the last minute laundry and packing I need to do with minimal interruptions. I'll make spaghetti for dinner, because that will be easy to whip together.
Then the question tomorrow night is if I very likely foolishly attempt to go to bed super early, like 7 pm, to desperately try and get a few hours sleep that I probably won't get anyway. Or just stay up until I need to take my shower at 1:30 am, and get ready to head to the airport at 3 am. I'm looking forward to going to SF, but really not so much psyched about the sleep-deprived trip getting there.
I think - I hope - I've noted everything I need to set up on the dvr that will return from winter hiatus while I'm away. SUN - the second episode of Sister Wives, the premiere of Downton Abbey, and Revenge. MON - Almost Human. THURS - The Big Bang Theory and Elementary. FRI - Grimm and Dracula.
It sure would have been nice if everything I watch, or am planning to watch, could have waited another week to come back. It only gets crazier the rest of the month in terms of old favs and new series starting in January.
killabeez talked about the finale of TREME, which was interesting because I wasn't sure anyone on my flist but me was still watching this little series.
I really wanted Terry and Toni to stay together, but I could see his point that he not only had no future in New Orleans after flipping on the department, but likely not much of a life at all. In fact, I really expected him to get gunned down by the cops before he could testify after he told the chief he was set to do that the next day. I kept thinking, "Shut-up, don't say anything, just testify - they're gonna kill you!" Luckily that didn't happen, but he and Toni couldn't stay together either. *sniffle*
Annie can't sing! At all! Why did they go this route with her storyline? It made no sense to me. She could have continued to play amazing fiddle with name groups and written songs. But WTF were they thinking trying to make her some kind of front singer when she couldn't carry a tune to save her life? Plus, she always looked like she was stroking out when she tried to sing. It was painful to watch, not to mention listen to.
I'm happy Jeanette got her restaurant and her name back - though I was with the lawyer and never understood why she couldn't just use her first name. She was really ignorant about the contract she signed, and I thought she was smarter than that. But I liked that it worked out for her, and that she and Davis got back together.
I never understood why Antoine ever felt the need to cheat on Desiree. That woman was strong and all kinds of awesome, and everything he ever needed. I'm glad it worked out with the boys and his school band. I liked that he and LaDonna always maintained a good relationship post-divorce, but I think everyone did better by LaDonna's kids than she ever did, and Larry was always too good for her.
I honestly expected the series to end with the BP oil spill. Like everything was slowly and finally getting better in NO, everyone's lives were getting back on track, and then, BAM!, another disaster looms, which would have affected someone like Jeanette more than others, being in the restaurant biz. Still, I'm surprised they didn't go there at the end. Maybe they would have if HBO had given them a 10-episode final season, or another season entirely.
I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive, by Steve Earle. Ironically, I may never have picked up this book had I not been introduced to the artist via Treme.
The Bookman's Tale, by Charlie Lovett.
The City & The City, by China Mieville. I actually liked this book much better than Perdido Street Station, which was the first book of Mieville's that I read. The whole sociopolitical divide was fascinating to me.
The Beautiful Land, by Alan Averill.
The Lost City of Z, by David Grann. Fascinating story about the search for El Dorado, but one of the most interesting facts to come out of this story was seeing mentioned one of The Girl Child's anthropology professors from the University of Florida - especially when he comes in at the end for the climax. TGC said he was very wild and weird. Makes sense having spent years in the Amazon.
Meet John Trow, by Thomas Dyja.
Joyland, by Stephen King.
Talulla Rising, by Glen Duncan.
High Fidelity, by Nick Hornby.
Night Film, by Marisha Pessl. I loved her first book, Special Topics in Calamity Physics, and was thrilled to pick up this new one by her. It was good - not quite as good as Special Topics..., IMO, but I did like it, and I loved all the gorgeous graphics she included. It was laid out beautifully which really sold the mood for the story. I look forward to her next adventure.
Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M., by Sam Wasson. Enlightening peek behind the scenes of all the players responsible for the movie Breakfast at Tiffany's. Wow, George Peppard and Mel Ferrer were real assholes.
Finding Florida, by T.D. Allman. I admit I stopped this book about 2/3 the way through. I put it back in my "to read" pile, but I wish I had read some of the reviews before buying it. The biggest complaint is how clear it is that Allman hates the state of Florida, and I got that. But, truthfully, he seems to hate everything about the way this country was founded, which was messy and ugly and violent, and not the pretty way the stories and folktales like to spin it. None of his facts are at all hard to believe, and I think we understand that history is written by the victors. I'll get back to it one day, but after a while it got to be too much of a downer.
Shadows Over Innsmouth, by Stephen Jones. A collection of short stories by different writers (Neil Gaiman being one), all of which are spun off from Lovecraft's story, The Shadow Over Innsmouth.
Tales of H.P. Lovecraft, by Joyce Carol Oates. After I got done with Shadows Over Innsmouth, I pulled out this old anthology I read a long time ago and finished up a couple of the longer stories I never got around to reading at the time.
Those Across the River, by Christopher Buehlman.
W is for Wasted, by Sue Grafton. Grafton's alphabet series is one of the only long-running mystery series I've kept up with faithfully. She's always been true to the character and the time period she's kept the series set in, which is the 80's. It looks like she'll hit the 90's some time in the last three books. And that must be harder and harder to do as the decades have flown by, having to ignore all the technological progress over the years.
Helen & Troy's Epic Road Quest, by A. Lee Martinez.
Bellman & Black, by Diane Setterfield. Another second novel by an author's whose first book I liked (The Thirteenth Tale). More moody and psychologically internalized than the first book, but I liked it.
Angelology, by Danielle Trussoni. This is the book I'm reading now and I'm thoroughly hooked! I'm already anticipating picking up the second in the series, Angelopolis. I started reading this book over the weekend, and was sitting in the family room flipping channels for noise when I came across a rerun of Angels in America, Part 2 on one of the HBO channels. That really set quite the atmosphere for getting into this book.
I hope everyone has a safe and happy New Year's Eve, and that 2014 is a good one for all.
Then the question tomorrow night is if I very likely foolishly attempt to go to bed super early, like 7 pm, to desperately try and get a few hours sleep that I probably won't get anyway. Or just stay up until I need to take my shower at 1:30 am, and get ready to head to the airport at 3 am. I'm looking forward to going to SF, but really not so much psyched about the sleep-deprived trip getting there.
I think - I hope - I've noted everything I need to set up on the dvr that will return from winter hiatus while I'm away. SUN - the second episode of Sister Wives, the premiere of Downton Abbey, and Revenge. MON - Almost Human. THURS - The Big Bang Theory and Elementary. FRI - Grimm and Dracula.
It sure would have been nice if everything I watch, or am planning to watch, could have waited another week to come back. It only gets crazier the rest of the month in terms of old favs and new series starting in January.
killabeez talked about the finale of TREME, which was interesting because I wasn't sure anyone on my flist but me was still watching this little series.
I really wanted Terry and Toni to stay together, but I could see his point that he not only had no future in New Orleans after flipping on the department, but likely not much of a life at all. In fact, I really expected him to get gunned down by the cops before he could testify after he told the chief he was set to do that the next day. I kept thinking, "Shut-up, don't say anything, just testify - they're gonna kill you!" Luckily that didn't happen, but he and Toni couldn't stay together either. *sniffle*
Annie can't sing! At all! Why did they go this route with her storyline? It made no sense to me. She could have continued to play amazing fiddle with name groups and written songs. But WTF were they thinking trying to make her some kind of front singer when she couldn't carry a tune to save her life? Plus, she always looked like she was stroking out when she tried to sing. It was painful to watch, not to mention listen to.
I'm happy Jeanette got her restaurant and her name back - though I was with the lawyer and never understood why she couldn't just use her first name. She was really ignorant about the contract she signed, and I thought she was smarter than that. But I liked that it worked out for her, and that she and Davis got back together.
I never understood why Antoine ever felt the need to cheat on Desiree. That woman was strong and all kinds of awesome, and everything he ever needed. I'm glad it worked out with the boys and his school band. I liked that he and LaDonna always maintained a good relationship post-divorce, but I think everyone did better by LaDonna's kids than she ever did, and Larry was always too good for her.
I honestly expected the series to end with the BP oil spill. Like everything was slowly and finally getting better in NO, everyone's lives were getting back on track, and then, BAM!, another disaster looms, which would have affected someone like Jeanette more than others, being in the restaurant biz. Still, I'm surprised they didn't go there at the end. Maybe they would have if HBO had given them a 10-episode final season, or another season entirely.
I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive, by Steve Earle. Ironically, I may never have picked up this book had I not been introduced to the artist via Treme.
The Bookman's Tale, by Charlie Lovett.
The City & The City, by China Mieville. I actually liked this book much better than Perdido Street Station, which was the first book of Mieville's that I read. The whole sociopolitical divide was fascinating to me.
The Beautiful Land, by Alan Averill.
The Lost City of Z, by David Grann. Fascinating story about the search for El Dorado, but one of the most interesting facts to come out of this story was seeing mentioned one of The Girl Child's anthropology professors from the University of Florida - especially when he comes in at the end for the climax. TGC said he was very wild and weird. Makes sense having spent years in the Amazon.
Meet John Trow, by Thomas Dyja.
Joyland, by Stephen King.
Talulla Rising, by Glen Duncan.
High Fidelity, by Nick Hornby.
Night Film, by Marisha Pessl. I loved her first book, Special Topics in Calamity Physics, and was thrilled to pick up this new one by her. It was good - not quite as good as Special Topics..., IMO, but I did like it, and I loved all the gorgeous graphics she included. It was laid out beautifully which really sold the mood for the story. I look forward to her next adventure.
Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M., by Sam Wasson. Enlightening peek behind the scenes of all the players responsible for the movie Breakfast at Tiffany's. Wow, George Peppard and Mel Ferrer were real assholes.
Finding Florida, by T.D. Allman. I admit I stopped this book about 2/3 the way through. I put it back in my "to read" pile, but I wish I had read some of the reviews before buying it. The biggest complaint is how clear it is that Allman hates the state of Florida, and I got that. But, truthfully, he seems to hate everything about the way this country was founded, which was messy and ugly and violent, and not the pretty way the stories and folktales like to spin it. None of his facts are at all hard to believe, and I think we understand that history is written by the victors. I'll get back to it one day, but after a while it got to be too much of a downer.
Shadows Over Innsmouth, by Stephen Jones. A collection of short stories by different writers (Neil Gaiman being one), all of which are spun off from Lovecraft's story, The Shadow Over Innsmouth.
Tales of H.P. Lovecraft, by Joyce Carol Oates. After I got done with Shadows Over Innsmouth, I pulled out this old anthology I read a long time ago and finished up a couple of the longer stories I never got around to reading at the time.
Those Across the River, by Christopher Buehlman.
W is for Wasted, by Sue Grafton. Grafton's alphabet series is one of the only long-running mystery series I've kept up with faithfully. She's always been true to the character and the time period she's kept the series set in, which is the 80's. It looks like she'll hit the 90's some time in the last three books. And that must be harder and harder to do as the decades have flown by, having to ignore all the technological progress over the years.
Helen & Troy's Epic Road Quest, by A. Lee Martinez.
Bellman & Black, by Diane Setterfield. Another second novel by an author's whose first book I liked (The Thirteenth Tale). More moody and psychologically internalized than the first book, but I liked it.
Angelology, by Danielle Trussoni. This is the book I'm reading now and I'm thoroughly hooked! I'm already anticipating picking up the second in the series, Angelopolis. I started reading this book over the weekend, and was sitting in the family room flipping channels for noise when I came across a rerun of Angels in America, Part 2 on one of the HBO channels. That really set quite the atmosphere for getting into this book.
I hope everyone has a safe and happy New Year's Eve, and that 2014 is a good one for all.