2021 Reading and 2022 Movie Challenges
It's the beginning of the fourth quarter of 2021, and I've read 38 books which, if I keep up the pace, annualizes to 47 for the year. My goal was 50...such a nice round number!...but I'll be satisfied wherever I end up. I am currently reading Tuchman's two-volume history of WWI and its lead up, and on deck is a third history of that conflict. Those three alone will probably take me most of the quarter such that my total will be barely above 40 for the year.
I'm creeping along with my movie challenge which runs on the fiscal year. It's a much more challenging challenge for me, and I may hurt myself patting myself on the back if I watch 25 movies by 30 June 2022.
One of the problems I have with my movie challenge is tracking the movies I do watch. Books are easy. They are all either on my Kindle or sitting on a bookshelf. I've decided, in the interests of tracking movies watched, that I'll make individual posts to my LJ when I watch, then post a link here to that entry. We'll see how well that works in practice. FanSee
2021 Reading Challenge
1.) A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab.
2.) Dark Voyage by Alan Furst.
3.) Ravenwood, 4.) Zypheria's Call, and 5.) The Hermit of Lammas Wood by Nathan Lowell.
6.) A Difficult Truce by Joan Wolf.
7.) Storm Front by John Sandford.
8.) Paladin's Grace by T. Kingfisher.
9.) Paladin's Strength by T. Kingfisher.
10.) A Promised Land by Barack Obama.
11.) The Watergate Girl by Jill Wine-Banks.
12.) Margarita and the Earl by Joan Wolf.
13.) Outlawed by Anna Worth.
14.) Faro's Daughter by Georgette Heyer.
15.) A Difficult Truce by Joan Wolf.
16.) Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin.
17.) Arabella by Georgette Heyer.
18. 19. and 20.) A Darker Shade of Magic, A Gathering of Shadows, and A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab.
21.) Stolen Girls by Wolfgang Bauer.
22., 23., 24., and 25.) Broken Prey, Naked Prey, Extreme Prey, and Invisible Prey by John Sandford.
26.) The Searcher by Tana French.
27.) Landslide, The Final Days of the Trump Presidency by Michael Wolff.
28.) Isolate by L. E. Modesitt, Jr. I read "Isolate" about two months ago, and I remember the setting...a fictionalized early Victorian London...and the characters...Axel Obreduur, a governmental Minister, and the two members of his security team...but not the plot. The first team member is Avraal Ysella, an highly trained empath; the other is Steffan Dekkard, the Isolate of the title. In a civilization where being a empath is the norm, Isolates are unusual in that they are immune to the manipulations of empaths. They are, in effect, blind to empathy. To see how this set up works for Modesitt, I plan to reread "Isolate" and post my opinion before it can once again drift away. Watch this space.
29.) The Spinster and the Rake by Eva Devon. Perhaps because the plot of Devon's Regency is quite conventional, I have retained more of it. The rake of the title is Edward Stanhope, the Duke of Thornfield, and he is not pleased when he finds Georgiana Bly hiding in his study, hiding away from the ball taking place in his ballroom. Words ensue, passions flare, and Edward finds himself kissing Georgiana passionately. Edward's aunt walks in at just the wrong time...or right time, depending on your point-of-view...and declares that they are now an engaged couple. Neither are happy with the situation, but as they are forced to get to know each other.... Easy reading for that day when intellectual challenges are not on your agenda.
30.) The Quiet Gentleman by Georgette Heyer. Perhaps in reaction to the conventionality of Devon's Regency novel, I next decided it was time for a reread of "The Quiet Gentleman," previously read in 1988, 1995, and 2001. Here again we have a lovely young thing, Marianne Bolderwood, who falls from her horse practically at the feet of the (unmarried) Gervase Frant, Earl St. Erth. You know where this is going? No, you do not. You have yet to meet St. Erth's over-bearing step-mother or his step-mother's companion, Miss Drusilla Morville, not to mention his entitled younger half-brother. And there's a mystery to be solved. Altogether, an embarrassment of riches and a great deal of fun. Read...or reread...it!
31., 32., 33., 34., and 35.) All Systems Red, Artificial Condition, Rogue Protocol, Exit Strategy, and Network Effect by Martha Wells and starring...ta dah!...Murderbot! Murderbot is a Security Unit android whose corporate developers lease/rent/sell it (I'm unsure which) to human groups needing its particular skill set. However, Murderbot has hacked its control system and is now a free agent but as Murderbot admits, "'As a heartless killing machine, I was a complete failure.'" Even though its clients frequently involve it in their problems, Murderbot itself would much rather watch its collection of soap opera-ish dramas. However, besides being a T.V. junkie, Murderbok is also a interested observe of the ways of human kind and how those ways can affect an otherwise peaceful SecUnit; i.e., Murderbot. Note #1: Murderbot does not come cheap. The first four novellas plus the full length novel, "Network Effect," could cost you almost $40.00. However, you can subscribe to Kindle Unlimited ($9.99/month) or Amazon Prime ($12.99/month), then drop your subscriptions once you've finished reading. Note #2: In writing this thumbnail, I found out Wells has two short Murderbot fics out there which I'm looking forward to reading and may perhaps mention in a later post. (Could happen.)
36.) Faithless in Death by J.D. Robb is J.D. Robb's 56th book in her "In Death" series. I am usually methodical about reading series in order, but I have no idea which of the previous 55 I've read and, if I was ever reading them in order, where I gave up and started reading randomly...not that that really matters. J.D. Robb has cannily crafted her protagonist as a New York City police detective which makes it realistic that Eve Dallas never runs out of cases to solve. It's less realistic that her husband, Roarke, is a self-made billionaire whose fortune may have been acquired in ways that skirted the boundaries of legality. In addition to her husband, Eve has a web of friends and co-workers who appear in all the books so that reading a new one is like a reunion for Loyal Reader. I expected to enjoy "Faithless," and I did. There's a lot to like about 400 pages of reliable escapism.
37.) Mind Over Matter by Nora Roberts (a.k.a., J.D. Robb) is the first of two of Roberts' books reprinted in one volume, "Close to You." First published in 1987 as a one-off, "Mind Over Matter" failed to grab me. I read about 10%, set the book aside, and only came back to it after I'd read some of the Murderbot books and "Faithless." A.J. Fields is a Hollywood agent, and one of her clients is Clarissa DeBasse, a psychic. A.J. has reluctantly allowed David Brady to interview Clarissa for a segment of his T.V. series and has negotiated the terms and conditions under which the interview will be filmed. What A.J. hasn't told Brady is that Clarissa is also her mother. And we're off to the races. A.J.'s romance with Brady built nicely, and Roberts is a dependable writer, but...deep down I didn't care.
38.) Lawless by Nora Roberts. I think I had read "Lawless" before, probably years....decades?...ago, because some of the major plot points felt familiar. Sarah Conway is traveling to the Arizona Territory to rejoin her father there. When Sarah was six, her widowed father placed her in a convent in Philadelphia and went west to seek his fortune. Now, twelve years later, Sarah is old enough to join him in the four-room home he has built for her just outside of Lone Bluff, Arizona. However, when Sarah gets to Lone Bluff, she is confronted by a couple of unpleasant surprises: her father had recently died in a mining accident, and the four-room house was a one-room shack a wagon-ride away from Lone Bluff. Everyone she meets assumes she will go back to Philadelphia, but Sarah digs her heels in and says she's staying. I have to say, I wouldn't want to spend a single night alone in a shack in undeveloped Arizona in 1875, let alone try to make a life there, but Sarah is 17 and stubborn. Good read.
FY2022 Movie Challenge
1.) The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard with with Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson. I can honestly say that I enjoyed this silly little movie even though that the plot defies analysis. Oh, I understand it's general story arc: somebody is trying to kill Darius Kincaid (Jackson) who has hired Michael Bryce (Reynolds) to protect him and his wife (Gabriella Wright). This involves a lot of explosions, gun battles, and chases but I have no idea what plot point caused each encounter. However, Ryan Reynolds is indeed attractive and fun to watch, and the job the movie's make up crew has done on his injured face is phenomenal. Watching it heal over the course of the movie was fascinating.
2.and 3.) The Dig with Carey Mulligan, Ralph Fiennes, Lily James, reviewed HERE Yes, I watched it twice, once by myself, and a second time because I wanted to share it with my sister, Debbie, and her husband, Jay. It was just that good.
4.) Mank with Gary Oldman, Amanda Seyfried, and Lily Collins, reviewed HERE
5.) State of Play with Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, and Rachel McAdams, also reviewed HERE
I'm creeping along with my movie challenge which runs on the fiscal year. It's a much more challenging challenge for me, and I may hurt myself patting myself on the back if I watch 25 movies by 30 June 2022.
One of the problems I have with my movie challenge is tracking the movies I do watch. Books are easy. They are all either on my Kindle or sitting on a bookshelf. I've decided, in the interests of tracking movies watched, that I'll make individual posts to my LJ when I watch, then post a link here to that entry. We'll see how well that works in practice. FanSee
2021 Reading Challenge
1.) A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab.
2.) Dark Voyage by Alan Furst.
3.) Ravenwood, 4.) Zypheria's Call, and 5.) The Hermit of Lammas Wood by Nathan Lowell.
6.) A Difficult Truce by Joan Wolf.
7.) Storm Front by John Sandford.
8.) Paladin's Grace by T. Kingfisher.
9.) Paladin's Strength by T. Kingfisher.
10.) A Promised Land by Barack Obama.
11.) The Watergate Girl by Jill Wine-Banks.
12.) Margarita and the Earl by Joan Wolf.
13.) Outlawed by Anna Worth.
14.) Faro's Daughter by Georgette Heyer.
15.) A Difficult Truce by Joan Wolf.
16.) Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin.
17.) Arabella by Georgette Heyer.
18. 19. and 20.) A Darker Shade of Magic, A Gathering of Shadows, and A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab.
21.) Stolen Girls by Wolfgang Bauer.
22., 23., 24., and 25.) Broken Prey, Naked Prey, Extreme Prey, and Invisible Prey by John Sandford.
26.) The Searcher by Tana French.
27.) Landslide, The Final Days of the Trump Presidency by Michael Wolff.
28.) Isolate by L. E. Modesitt, Jr. I read "Isolate" about two months ago, and I remember the setting...a fictionalized early Victorian London...and the characters...Axel Obreduur, a governmental Minister, and the two members of his security team...but not the plot. The first team member is Avraal Ysella, an highly trained empath; the other is Steffan Dekkard, the Isolate of the title. In a civilization where being a empath is the norm, Isolates are unusual in that they are immune to the manipulations of empaths. They are, in effect, blind to empathy. To see how this set up works for Modesitt, I plan to reread "Isolate" and post my opinion before it can once again drift away. Watch this space.
29.) The Spinster and the Rake by Eva Devon. Perhaps because the plot of Devon's Regency is quite conventional, I have retained more of it. The rake of the title is Edward Stanhope, the Duke of Thornfield, and he is not pleased when he finds Georgiana Bly hiding in his study, hiding away from the ball taking place in his ballroom. Words ensue, passions flare, and Edward finds himself kissing Georgiana passionately. Edward's aunt walks in at just the wrong time...or right time, depending on your point-of-view...and declares that they are now an engaged couple. Neither are happy with the situation, but as they are forced to get to know each other.... Easy reading for that day when intellectual challenges are not on your agenda.
30.) The Quiet Gentleman by Georgette Heyer. Perhaps in reaction to the conventionality of Devon's Regency novel, I next decided it was time for a reread of "The Quiet Gentleman," previously read in 1988, 1995, and 2001. Here again we have a lovely young thing, Marianne Bolderwood, who falls from her horse practically at the feet of the (unmarried) Gervase Frant, Earl St. Erth. You know where this is going? No, you do not. You have yet to meet St. Erth's over-bearing step-mother or his step-mother's companion, Miss Drusilla Morville, not to mention his entitled younger half-brother. And there's a mystery to be solved. Altogether, an embarrassment of riches and a great deal of fun. Read...or reread...it!
31., 32., 33., 34., and 35.) All Systems Red, Artificial Condition, Rogue Protocol, Exit Strategy, and Network Effect by Martha Wells and starring...ta dah!...Murderbot! Murderbot is a Security Unit android whose corporate developers lease/rent/sell it (I'm unsure which) to human groups needing its particular skill set. However, Murderbot has hacked its control system and is now a free agent but as Murderbot admits, "'As a heartless killing machine, I was a complete failure.'" Even though its clients frequently involve it in their problems, Murderbot itself would much rather watch its collection of soap opera-ish dramas. However, besides being a T.V. junkie, Murderbok is also a interested observe of the ways of human kind and how those ways can affect an otherwise peaceful SecUnit; i.e., Murderbot. Note #1: Murderbot does not come cheap. The first four novellas plus the full length novel, "Network Effect," could cost you almost $40.00. However, you can subscribe to Kindle Unlimited ($9.99/month) or Amazon Prime ($12.99/month), then drop your subscriptions once you've finished reading. Note #2: In writing this thumbnail, I found out Wells has two short Murderbot fics out there which I'm looking forward to reading and may perhaps mention in a later post. (Could happen.)
36.) Faithless in Death by J.D. Robb is J.D. Robb's 56th book in her "In Death" series. I am usually methodical about reading series in order, but I have no idea which of the previous 55 I've read and, if I was ever reading them in order, where I gave up and started reading randomly...not that that really matters. J.D. Robb has cannily crafted her protagonist as a New York City police detective which makes it realistic that Eve Dallas never runs out of cases to solve. It's less realistic that her husband, Roarke, is a self-made billionaire whose fortune may have been acquired in ways that skirted the boundaries of legality. In addition to her husband, Eve has a web of friends and co-workers who appear in all the books so that reading a new one is like a reunion for Loyal Reader. I expected to enjoy "Faithless," and I did. There's a lot to like about 400 pages of reliable escapism.
37.) Mind Over Matter by Nora Roberts (a.k.a., J.D. Robb) is the first of two of Roberts' books reprinted in one volume, "Close to You." First published in 1987 as a one-off, "Mind Over Matter" failed to grab me. I read about 10%, set the book aside, and only came back to it after I'd read some of the Murderbot books and "Faithless." A.J. Fields is a Hollywood agent, and one of her clients is Clarissa DeBasse, a psychic. A.J. has reluctantly allowed David Brady to interview Clarissa for a segment of his T.V. series and has negotiated the terms and conditions under which the interview will be filmed. What A.J. hasn't told Brady is that Clarissa is also her mother. And we're off to the races. A.J.'s romance with Brady built nicely, and Roberts is a dependable writer, but...deep down I didn't care.
38.) Lawless by Nora Roberts. I think I had read "Lawless" before, probably years....decades?...ago, because some of the major plot points felt familiar. Sarah Conway is traveling to the Arizona Territory to rejoin her father there. When Sarah was six, her widowed father placed her in a convent in Philadelphia and went west to seek his fortune. Now, twelve years later, Sarah is old enough to join him in the four-room home he has built for her just outside of Lone Bluff, Arizona. However, when Sarah gets to Lone Bluff, she is confronted by a couple of unpleasant surprises: her father had recently died in a mining accident, and the four-room house was a one-room shack a wagon-ride away from Lone Bluff. Everyone she meets assumes she will go back to Philadelphia, but Sarah digs her heels in and says she's staying. I have to say, I wouldn't want to spend a single night alone in a shack in undeveloped Arizona in 1875, let alone try to make a life there, but Sarah is 17 and stubborn. Good read.
FY2022 Movie Challenge
1.) The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard with with Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson. I can honestly say that I enjoyed this silly little movie even though that the plot defies analysis. Oh, I understand it's general story arc: somebody is trying to kill Darius Kincaid (Jackson) who has hired Michael Bryce (Reynolds) to protect him and his wife (Gabriella Wright). This involves a lot of explosions, gun battles, and chases but I have no idea what plot point caused each encounter. However, Ryan Reynolds is indeed attractive and fun to watch, and the job the movie's make up crew has done on his injured face is phenomenal. Watching it heal over the course of the movie was fascinating.
2.and 3.) The Dig with Carey Mulligan, Ralph Fiennes, Lily James, reviewed HERE Yes, I watched it twice, once by myself, and a second time because I wanted to share it with my sister, Debbie, and her husband, Jay. It was just that good.
4.) Mank with Gary Oldman, Amanda Seyfried, and Lily Collins, reviewed HERE
5.) State of Play with Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, and Rachel McAdams, also reviewed HERE