wednesday reads n' things
In general reads news, the 2020 SYNC Audiobooks for Teens lineup has been announced. The first downloads will become available April 30th. This year, however, they're using a new app called Sora, rather than Overdrive, and honestly I'm not sure I'm going to do it because I've got enough damn apps for books and audiobooks, and I don't like proprietary formats (previously one would download the mp3 files), and there aren't any books this year that I'm super interested in. Still dithering on this.
What I'm currently reading:
Yes, I'm reading something other than news! But still not an actual book, though as I downloaded it as epub and am reading on my phone, there's not much of a distinction: The Westerosi by
Mal3, a novel-length A Song of Ice and Fire fanfic that is a sort of crossover with Star Trek (in that the protagonist is an original character who is a Starfleet Ranger, and there is mention of some concepts from Star Trek and of Winona Kirk) with a few references to The Martian (though it's not a crossover in that way, or even really a fusion, just an homage). This was recommended by
vaznetti, and I am about halfway through and enjoying it so far. It's basically the events of A Game of Thrones as observed by a Starfleet Ranger who crash-landed near Winterfell shortly before King Robert's visit, and of course you can't observe without altering, so it's much more than a simple retelling. My favorite thing about it is the worldbuilding: it's basically a fanwank (in the old-school sense) of the ASoIaF worldbuilding from the POV of a member of a technological society reverse-engineering the apparent magical aspects of an unusual planet, with science-fictional explanations for weirwoods and greenseers and the cockamamie seasonal cycle.
What I've recently finished watching:
We're caught up with Peaky Blinders! I really like the confluence of the fictional Shelby family and the real history and historical figures of the 1920s and 1930s, it's like a Michener novel. The cast is pretty amazing and the cinematography is breathtaking.
What I'm currently watching:
Continuing the historical theme, we've started in on the current season of Outlander. Also I finished S2 of Castlevania and am several eps into S3, though this is going to be slow going because now that the weather is decent I'm not spending time on the stationary bike, which is how I have been watching it.
What I've recently finished playing:
I completed the Jaws of Hakkon DLC for Dragon Age: Inquisition, hooray! Ugh, I hate fighting dragons. Now I'm taking a break before hitting Trespasser, which is The Real End, I guess.
What I'm playing now:
A few days ago started playing Myst (or, as the version I have is called, "realMyst: Masterpiece Edition") and...I started getting nauseated again. I think I'll try the point-and-click setting instead of the free-roam setting, but if that doesn't help, I'll have to tap out.
Last night I wanted to play something, though, so I fired up one of the other GOG.com games I bought with my Dishonored refund: TSIOQUE, which is pronounced "Chock", and is the name of the character you play, an angry little princess who has been imprisoned in her castle by the Evil Wizard. It's a point-and-click adventure, beautifully drawn and animated, a bit dark, a bit funny. There's a friendly tentacle! There's a helpful spider! So far most of the puzzles have been easy enough to get with the aid of the glow that surrounds important objects/people if you don't immediately figure it out, though I did look at a hint page for one bit of information. Anyway, I'm enjoying it.
Crossposted from isis at Dreamwidth where there are
comments. | Comment at Dreamwidth
What I'm currently reading:
Yes, I'm reading something other than news! But still not an actual book, though as I downloaded it as epub and am reading on my phone, there's not much of a distinction: The Westerosi by
Mal3, a novel-length A Song of Ice and Fire fanfic that is a sort of crossover with Star Trek (in that the protagonist is an original character who is a Starfleet Ranger, and there is mention of some concepts from Star Trek and of Winona Kirk) with a few references to The Martian (though it's not a crossover in that way, or even really a fusion, just an homage). This was recommended by
vaznetti, and I am about halfway through and enjoying it so far. It's basically the events of A Game of Thrones as observed by a Starfleet Ranger who crash-landed near Winterfell shortly before King Robert's visit, and of course you can't observe without altering, so it's much more than a simple retelling. My favorite thing about it is the worldbuilding: it's basically a fanwank (in the old-school sense) of the ASoIaF worldbuilding from the POV of a member of a technological society reverse-engineering the apparent magical aspects of an unusual planet, with science-fictional explanations for weirwoods and greenseers and the cockamamie seasonal cycle.
What I've recently finished watching:
We're caught up with Peaky Blinders! I really like the confluence of the fictional Shelby family and the real history and historical figures of the 1920s and 1930s, it's like a Michener novel. The cast is pretty amazing and the cinematography is breathtaking.
What I'm currently watching:
Continuing the historical theme, we've started in on the current season of Outlander. Also I finished S2 of Castlevania and am several eps into S3, though this is going to be slow going because now that the weather is decent I'm not spending time on the stationary bike, which is how I have been watching it.
What I've recently finished playing:
I completed the Jaws of Hakkon DLC for Dragon Age: Inquisition, hooray! Ugh, I hate fighting dragons. Now I'm taking a break before hitting Trespasser, which is The Real End, I guess.
What I'm playing now:
A few days ago started playing Myst (or, as the version I have is called, "realMyst: Masterpiece Edition") and...I started getting nauseated again. I think I'll try the point-and-click setting instead of the free-roam setting, but if that doesn't help, I'll have to tap out.
Last night I wanted to play something, though, so I fired up one of the other GOG.com games I bought with my Dishonored refund: TSIOQUE, which is pronounced "Chock", and is the name of the character you play, an angry little princess who has been imprisoned in her castle by the Evil Wizard. It's a point-and-click adventure, beautifully drawn and animated, a bit dark, a bit funny. There's a friendly tentacle! There's a helpful spider! So far most of the puzzles have been easy enough to get with the aid of the glow that surrounds important objects/people if you don't immediately figure it out, though I did look at a hint page for one bit of information. Anyway, I'm enjoying it.
Crossposted from isis at Dreamwidth where there are
comments. | Comment at Dreamwidth