October Books/Movies!
I'm doing this list a little early because I'll be busy NaNoing tomorrow.
I've been complaining that my Top Ten movies for this year was going to be bleak. A lot of good movies, just not enough I felt comfortable listing as "best." So I decided I needed to start watching better movies. And wouldn't you know it, three of the movies I watched this month? I feel totally comfortable listing them on my Best Of. One of them is, I think, a contender for Best Movie at the Academy Awards. Except I actually liked it, and historically I've hated most of the Best Pictures I've seen. So we'll see what happens. ;D
79. Sandman Slim, Richard Kadrey. (10/01-10/03) 405 pages - A nice horror-ific supernatural story. Like Dresden on acid.
80. Aurorarama, Jean-Christophe Valtat. (10/03-10/11) 434 pages - This book is like Edgar Allan Poe got high and... wait. No. But it is like a 19th century lost steampunk novel. It's about as infuriating as one of those olde-English type novels, but it has an amazing lyrical quality to it. I liked, but didn't love it. I'll recommend it if you're intrigued... it's a beautiful book for the artwork alone.
81. Live by Night, Dennis Lehane. (10/05-10/08) 403 pages - I'm starting to get worried about Dennis Lehane. The Patrick/Angie books were amazing. Shutter Island, Mystic River... I read SI in one night and then immediately re-read it. The Given Day was brilliant. But Moonlight Mile and now this... it just feels like he's floundering. You know it's bad when a writer known for how well he writes Boston randomly sends his characters to Florida for half the book. It felt like a depress Carl Hiassen had taken over the last few pages.
82. The Dead of Winter, Lee Collins. (10/09-10/10) 384 pages - I didn't know this was a NaNo book when I started it, but when I discovered the fact, it was illuminating. "So THAT'S why it felt like two plots stitched together!" Someone bulked up for the word count or hit their word count and then expanded it to full length novel. It wasn't bad. If you like Supernatural, you'll definitely find something to love.
83. The Lies of Locke Lamora, Scott Lynch. (10/11-10/16) 504 pages - Briiiiilliant. I don't even know where to begin with this book. It's epic, huge, amazing... and there are so many loose threads left that I can't wait to get the second book. But in a while. I want to savor it, and I sort of want an ETA on Book 3 before I jump into the only book left available. ~g~
84. Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn. (10/17-10/19) 415 pages - Twisted book. Really, really psychologically weird. There were moments when I wasn't sure if the husband was trapped in a web of circumstance or if the book was some sort of weird delusional confession. I didn't know what to believe, which made the resolution so much better/stranger.
85. Claire DeWitt and the City of the Dead, Sara Gran. (10/20-10/21) 273 pages - Talk about strange. On the surface this is a standard PI novel. But there's a metaphysical/supernatural bent to it that takes it a step higher. The devastation of post-Katrina New Orleans, a less-than-legal PI, past and present, good guys who may not be good at all... shades of gray are rampant in the book. It's really amazing that so much was done in such a slender book.
86. Eighty Days Yellow, Vina Jackson. (10/21-10/22) 334 pages - I know this author! She follows me on Twitter and we chat. It's like Fifty Shades of Gray, only with a talented author at the helm. Plus lots of talk about music.
87. Dog On It, Spencer Quinn. (10/23-10/24) 305 pages - A pre-NaNo prep novel. A private investigator has a dog as his sidekick, and the dog narrates the story. Which leads to my second NaNo prep novel...
88. Bitten, Kelley Armstrong. (10/25-10/27) 434 pages - A female werewolf novel! It read like Anita Blake, which was worrisome for the rest of the series, but a serviceable story nonetheless.
89. Blackberry Winter, Sarah Jio. (10/28-10/31) 310 pages - And the third NaNo prep novel is about a missing child in 1933 Seattle and a present-day reporter trying to uncover the story. Coincidences abound in this book, so be prepared for that. Otherwise, quite good! I wasn't quite sure I liked the protagonist, but hey. They can't all be winners.
43. Dark Shadows - Johnny Depp, Chloe Moretz. Better than I expected it to be! I had low hopes, but it was an entertaining hour.
44. Butter - Olivia Wilde, Jennifer Garner. Not as bad as you would think a movie about a butter-carving competition would be. Not overwhelmingly great, either, but Olivia Wilde is fantastic in it. "This is a reference to 'The Scarlet Letter.' For those of you who don't know, that's a movie starring Demi Moore."
45. Argo - Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston. Faaaaantastic. If it's not at least nominated for Best Picture, I'll kill Matt Damon. No, wait. That's an awful threat. They'd just send Tom Hanks to save him again. Oooh, I could meet Tom Hanks.
46. A Dangerous Method - Keira Knightley, Michael Fassbender. You wouldn't think a movie that can be described as "that one where Michael Fassbender spanks Keira Knightley" can also be described as dull. It was a bit aimless, meandering... I don't know. Keira was good, though. The things she did with her face were inhuman. I was actually afraid her jaw would fall off at one point. Her dentist must love her.
47. Girl Walks into a Bar - Carla Gugino, Emmanuelle Chriqui. Much better than I expected. It's available for free on the YouTubes (I think... at least in the US). It's very noir, minimalist... it's one of those movies with a bunch of characters running around "small world"ing each other. The old guy in this scene is the father of the girl in that other scene, and her brother is the guy who was in the first scene.
48. Seeking a Friend for the End of the World - Steve Carell, Keira Knightley. Really good. Steve Carell did drama, and Keira Knightley did comedy, and they both excelled. I admit I teared up at the end. It wasn't exactly a comedy, but it wasn't wholly dramatic, either. And the cameos! They had at least two incredibly surprising cameos that I didn't see coming. The truck driver and Frank are the ones I'm thinking of, if you've seen it.
I've been complaining that my Top Ten movies for this year was going to be bleak. A lot of good movies, just not enough I felt comfortable listing as "best." So I decided I needed to start watching better movies. And wouldn't you know it, three of the movies I watched this month? I feel totally comfortable listing them on my Best Of. One of them is, I think, a contender for Best Movie at the Academy Awards. Except I actually liked it, and historically I've hated most of the Best Pictures I've seen. So we'll see what happens. ;D
79. Sandman Slim, Richard Kadrey. (10/01-10/03) 405 pages - A nice horror-ific supernatural story. Like Dresden on acid.
80. Aurorarama, Jean-Christophe Valtat. (10/03-10/11) 434 pages - This book is like Edgar Allan Poe got high and... wait. No. But it is like a 19th century lost steampunk novel. It's about as infuriating as one of those olde-English type novels, but it has an amazing lyrical quality to it. I liked, but didn't love it. I'll recommend it if you're intrigued... it's a beautiful book for the artwork alone.
81. Live by Night, Dennis Lehane. (10/05-10/08) 403 pages - I'm starting to get worried about Dennis Lehane. The Patrick/Angie books were amazing. Shutter Island, Mystic River... I read SI in one night and then immediately re-read it. The Given Day was brilliant. But Moonlight Mile and now this... it just feels like he's floundering. You know it's bad when a writer known for how well he writes Boston randomly sends his characters to Florida for half the book. It felt like a depress Carl Hiassen had taken over the last few pages.
82. The Dead of Winter, Lee Collins. (10/09-10/10) 384 pages - I didn't know this was a NaNo book when I started it, but when I discovered the fact, it was illuminating. "So THAT'S why it felt like two plots stitched together!" Someone bulked up for the word count or hit their word count and then expanded it to full length novel. It wasn't bad. If you like Supernatural, you'll definitely find something to love.
83. The Lies of Locke Lamora, Scott Lynch. (10/11-10/16) 504 pages - Briiiiilliant. I don't even know where to begin with this book. It's epic, huge, amazing... and there are so many loose threads left that I can't wait to get the second book. But in a while. I want to savor it, and I sort of want an ETA on Book 3 before I jump into the only book left available. ~g~
84. Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn. (10/17-10/19) 415 pages - Twisted book. Really, really psychologically weird. There were moments when I wasn't sure if the husband was trapped in a web of circumstance or if the book was some sort of weird delusional confession. I didn't know what to believe, which made the resolution so much better/stranger.
85. Claire DeWitt and the City of the Dead, Sara Gran. (10/20-10/21) 273 pages - Talk about strange. On the surface this is a standard PI novel. But there's a metaphysical/supernatural bent to it that takes it a step higher. The devastation of post-Katrina New Orleans, a less-than-legal PI, past and present, good guys who may not be good at all... shades of gray are rampant in the book. It's really amazing that so much was done in such a slender book.
86. Eighty Days Yellow, Vina Jackson. (10/21-10/22) 334 pages - I know this author! She follows me on Twitter and we chat. It's like Fifty Shades of Gray, only with a talented author at the helm. Plus lots of talk about music.
87. Dog On It, Spencer Quinn. (10/23-10/24) 305 pages - A pre-NaNo prep novel. A private investigator has a dog as his sidekick, and the dog narrates the story. Which leads to my second NaNo prep novel...
88. Bitten, Kelley Armstrong. (10/25-10/27) 434 pages - A female werewolf novel! It read like Anita Blake, which was worrisome for the rest of the series, but a serviceable story nonetheless.
89. Blackberry Winter, Sarah Jio. (10/28-10/31) 310 pages - And the third NaNo prep novel is about a missing child in 1933 Seattle and a present-day reporter trying to uncover the story. Coincidences abound in this book, so be prepared for that. Otherwise, quite good! I wasn't quite sure I liked the protagonist, but hey. They can't all be winners.
43. Dark Shadows - Johnny Depp, Chloe Moretz. Better than I expected it to be! I had low hopes, but it was an entertaining hour.
44. Butter - Olivia Wilde, Jennifer Garner. Not as bad as you would think a movie about a butter-carving competition would be. Not overwhelmingly great, either, but Olivia Wilde is fantastic in it. "This is a reference to 'The Scarlet Letter.' For those of you who don't know, that's a movie starring Demi Moore."
45. Argo - Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston. Faaaaantastic. If it's not at least nominated for Best Picture, I'll kill Matt Damon. No, wait. That's an awful threat. They'd just send Tom Hanks to save him again. Oooh, I could meet Tom Hanks.
46. A Dangerous Method - Keira Knightley, Michael Fassbender. You wouldn't think a movie that can be described as "that one where Michael Fassbender spanks Keira Knightley" can also be described as dull. It was a bit aimless, meandering... I don't know. Keira was good, though. The things she did with her face were inhuman. I was actually afraid her jaw would fall off at one point. Her dentist must love her.
47. Girl Walks into a Bar - Carla Gugino, Emmanuelle Chriqui. Much better than I expected. It's available for free on the YouTubes (I think... at least in the US). It's very noir, minimalist... it's one of those movies with a bunch of characters running around "small world"ing each other. The old guy in this scene is the father of the girl in that other scene, and her brother is the guy who was in the first scene.
48. Seeking a Friend for the End of the World - Steve Carell, Keira Knightley. Really good. Steve Carell did drama, and Keira Knightley did comedy, and they both excelled. I admit I teared up at the end. It wasn't exactly a comedy, but it wasn't wholly dramatic, either. And the cameos! They had at least two incredibly surprising cameos that I didn't see coming. The truck driver and Frank are the ones I'm thinking of, if you've seen it.