Books I Read in May, and Movies
Just what it says on the tin. Books. Movies. Let's go! :D
29. Victim Six, Gregg Olsen. (4/30-5/3) 406 pages. This was a pretty good book. Set in the Pacific Northwest, it seemed more realistic than most thrillers. The bad guy was a very bad guy, but the police weren't supercops. It was really organic, I think. I'm looking forward to reading the next book I have by this author.
30. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, Suzanne Clarke. (5/4-5/15) 846 pages. A reread, but I didn't really appreciate it the first time around (five years ago). This is a really amazing novel. Impressive for what it managed to do, and to do so in such an accessible way.
31. Heresy, SJ Parris. (5/17-5/22) 435 pages. This book. ~sighs~ A monk investigates a murder in 16th century Oxford. The beginning was so, so slow. But it picked up in the middle. And the ending just felt like a muddled rush. There are too many plots going on... the main character is going to Oxford for Reason A, but he's really going because of Reason B, but his SECRET reason is Reason C. One character also existed solely as a sort of escape hatch in the final scenes, but he was dragged around through the entire book for no reason just to set up his presence. I ended up really disliking this book. It goes to show you: if touching the cover makes you grimace (it was rough and weird. I didn't like it), you might want to avoid reading it.
32. 61 Hours, Lee Child. (5/23-5/25) 383 pages. This book seemed different from all the other Reacher novels. Maybe it was the countdown, I don't know. But it just felt... off. Not in a bad way! I don't know. It felt sort of like... it felt like someone taking over. Using all the same moves and tricks and information to write a Reacher novel. Maybe Lee Child hired ghostwriters. ~g~ It's still really good, and has one of the most uncomfortable-to-read scenes ever (mainly because I was picturing myself in the physical position Reacher had to be in, and that was harsh. He's over six feet tall, and he was crab-walking through a space with a five-and-a-half foot clearing. It was just PAINFUL to read :D).
33. Death of a Charming Man, MC Beaton. (5/25-5/27) 215 pages. I watched an episode of "Hamish Macbeth" at briarwood's urging (polite urging :D), and I enjoyed it so much I decided to check out the books. Not... a huge fan of the books. It took over 100 pages for the murder to actually occur, and even then it took a while for them to confirm it WAS murder. I would have loved that on a TV show. Not so much in a novel. The character of Hamish is a good one, though. I may have to check out other novels to see if I just started with a dud. ;-)
34. The Surgeon, Tess Gerritsen. (5/28-5/30) 350 pages. Speaking of starting with a dud... I got this because of the "Rizzoli & Isles" TV show coming up. Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander? Yes, pls. Anyway, if you want to do the same, skip this damned book. One, Isles is not even in this book. Not even a cameo. Two, Rizzoli is a terrible character. She whines, she pouts, she's angry at everything and everyone, and the author wants to make absolutely certain that you know she's ugly. She's really ugly. She's hard to look at. Seriously, you don't want to like her, so stop trying! But the male character is actually referred to as Saint Thomas. ~rolls eyes~ I really, really did not like this book. Taken just as a thriller, it's your typical boilerplate "cops chase bad guy serial killer" novel. Nothing spectacular to see here except for boringly-detailed ER scenes that slap you in the face for wanting to keep the plot moving. "No! You have to know the author is A Doctor And Knows What She's Talking About, so you get five pages of emergency room surgery. And if that didn't convince you, she'll do it again later in the book. You're welcome." I'm going to try a book of hers that actually involves Isles, but I don't know. I'm still going to give the series a shot, because the clip I saw is adorable and slashable.
20. Kick Ass - Aaron Johnson, Nicolas Cage. Eh. Not a bad movie. But it seemed way more interested in violence and bloodshed than anything else. I like the idea, but the execution was just kind of... meh.
21. Iron Man 2 - Robert Downey Jr, Gwyneth Paltrow. Iron Man, whoooo. Maybe not as fun as the first, but what sequel is? Okay, Spider-Man 2. But they made up for it with double-suckage in Spider-Man 3, so it doesn't count. I stilllll want to write Pepper/Natasha. :D
22. In Bruges - Colin Farrell, Ralph Fiennes. A rewatch. This movie is just beautiful. If you don't like cursing, just mute it and watch the pretty view. Or better yet, get the DVD and watch the five minute boat tour through Bruges. Better yet, watch it here.
23. The Brothers Bloom - Rachel Weisz, Adrien Brody. I really enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would! As evidenced by the story I wrote and the icons. ~g~ It's a really beautiful movie.
24. The Losers - Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Zoe Saldana. This movie is great for what it is. If you want to see it, you won't be disappointed. ~g~
25. Mystery Team - Donald Glover (from Community!), Aubrey Plaza. This felt like an SNL skit turned movie. Which is basically was, only not SNL. It was good. Funny. A little too much gross-out stuff, but they could have gone worse I guess. A fun little diversion. Plus, there was someone from every Thursday night NBC comedy: Erin from The Office, Troy from Community, Dot-Com from 30 Rock, and Aubrey Plaza from Parks and Recreation. :D
26. GalaxyQuest - Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver. Another rewatch. Seriously, how have I not seen this movie in so long? Never give up, never surrender!
29. Victim Six, Gregg Olsen. (4/30-5/3) 406 pages. This was a pretty good book. Set in the Pacific Northwest, it seemed more realistic than most thrillers. The bad guy was a very bad guy, but the police weren't supercops. It was really organic, I think. I'm looking forward to reading the next book I have by this author.
30. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, Suzanne Clarke. (5/4-5/15) 846 pages. A reread, but I didn't really appreciate it the first time around (five years ago). This is a really amazing novel. Impressive for what it managed to do, and to do so in such an accessible way.
31. Heresy, SJ Parris. (5/17-5/22) 435 pages. This book. ~sighs~ A monk investigates a murder in 16th century Oxford. The beginning was so, so slow. But it picked up in the middle. And the ending just felt like a muddled rush. There are too many plots going on... the main character is going to Oxford for Reason A, but he's really going because of Reason B, but his SECRET reason is Reason C. One character also existed solely as a sort of escape hatch in the final scenes, but he was dragged around through the entire book for no reason just to set up his presence. I ended up really disliking this book. It goes to show you: if touching the cover makes you grimace (it was rough and weird. I didn't like it), you might want to avoid reading it.
32. 61 Hours, Lee Child. (5/23-5/25) 383 pages. This book seemed different from all the other Reacher novels. Maybe it was the countdown, I don't know. But it just felt... off. Not in a bad way! I don't know. It felt sort of like... it felt like someone taking over. Using all the same moves and tricks and information to write a Reacher novel. Maybe Lee Child hired ghostwriters. ~g~ It's still really good, and has one of the most uncomfortable-to-read scenes ever (mainly because I was picturing myself in the physical position Reacher had to be in, and that was harsh. He's over six feet tall, and he was crab-walking through a space with a five-and-a-half foot clearing. It was just PAINFUL to read :D).
33. Death of a Charming Man, MC Beaton. (5/25-5/27) 215 pages. I watched an episode of "Hamish Macbeth" at briarwood's urging (polite urging :D), and I enjoyed it so much I decided to check out the books. Not... a huge fan of the books. It took over 100 pages for the murder to actually occur, and even then it took a while for them to confirm it WAS murder. I would have loved that on a TV show. Not so much in a novel. The character of Hamish is a good one, though. I may have to check out other novels to see if I just started with a dud. ;-)
34. The Surgeon, Tess Gerritsen. (5/28-5/30) 350 pages. Speaking of starting with a dud... I got this because of the "Rizzoli & Isles" TV show coming up. Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander? Yes, pls. Anyway, if you want to do the same, skip this damned book. One, Isles is not even in this book. Not even a cameo. Two, Rizzoli is a terrible character. She whines, she pouts, she's angry at everything and everyone, and the author wants to make absolutely certain that you know she's ugly. She's really ugly. She's hard to look at. Seriously, you don't want to like her, so stop trying! But the male character is actually referred to as Saint Thomas. ~rolls eyes~ I really, really did not like this book. Taken just as a thriller, it's your typical boilerplate "cops chase bad guy serial killer" novel. Nothing spectacular to see here except for boringly-detailed ER scenes that slap you in the face for wanting to keep the plot moving. "No! You have to know the author is A Doctor And Knows What She's Talking About, so you get five pages of emergency room surgery. And if that didn't convince you, she'll do it again later in the book. You're welcome." I'm going to try a book of hers that actually involves Isles, but I don't know. I'm still going to give the series a shot, because the clip I saw is adorable and slashable.
20. Kick Ass - Aaron Johnson, Nicolas Cage. Eh. Not a bad movie. But it seemed way more interested in violence and bloodshed than anything else. I like the idea, but the execution was just kind of... meh.
21. Iron Man 2 - Robert Downey Jr, Gwyneth Paltrow. Iron Man, whoooo. Maybe not as fun as the first, but what sequel is? Okay, Spider-Man 2. But they made up for it with double-suckage in Spider-Man 3, so it doesn't count. I stilllll want to write Pepper/Natasha. :D
22. In Bruges - Colin Farrell, Ralph Fiennes. A rewatch. This movie is just beautiful. If you don't like cursing, just mute it and watch the pretty view. Or better yet, get the DVD and watch the five minute boat tour through Bruges. Better yet, watch it here.
23. The Brothers Bloom - Rachel Weisz, Adrien Brody. I really enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would! As evidenced by the story I wrote and the icons. ~g~ It's a really beautiful movie.
24. The Losers - Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Zoe Saldana. This movie is great for what it is. If you want to see it, you won't be disappointed. ~g~
25. Mystery Team - Donald Glover (from Community!), Aubrey Plaza. This felt like an SNL skit turned movie. Which is basically was, only not SNL. It was good. Funny. A little too much gross-out stuff, but they could have gone worse I guess. A fun little diversion. Plus, there was someone from every Thursday night NBC comedy: Erin from The Office, Troy from Community, Dot-Com from 30 Rock, and Aubrey Plaza from Parks and Recreation. :D
26. GalaxyQuest - Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver. Another rewatch. Seriously, how have I not seen this movie in so long? Never give up, never surrender!