this is me throwing pebbles
Hello, dolls! It is time again for a list of things I love!
Reading
I read Matched by Ally Condie this week, the first novel in another dystopian YA trilogy. In this world, people are paired up with their ideal genetic and personality match in arranged marriages. Our protagonist, Cassia, is matched with her childhood best friend, an all but unheard of occurence. But when she views the information she's given after their match is made, she sees another boy's face - another boy that she grew up with. Cue doubts about her society's system, etc., etc. This is one of the less-compelling YA dystopias that I've read in the last few years. Of course, essentially everything pales in comparison to The Hunger Games, but Marie Lu's Legend (of which I've only read the first book) and Lauren Oliver's Delirium are far more successful for me. It wasn't bad, but I probably won't go to the trouble of finishing the trilogy if the books don't fall into my lap.
I also read Words With Wings by Nikki Grimes, a children's novel written in verse (like Ellen Hopkins YA novels but without all of the terrifying drugs; that's right, drugs freak me the hell out). It's about a little girl who has a problem focusing in school, getting caught up in her daydreams. It was super-quick (I was reading it during commercials while watching the New Girl and The Mindy Project finales) but delightful.
And then I fell down a rabbit hole of A Song of Ice and Fire theories. It is a deep, sprawling rabbit hole and I may never come out. Send coffee. (For those interested, I started here. I'm particularly impressed with what's called the Grand Northern Conspiracy because it just makes so much damn sense. And while I'm generally not a big fan of reddit, this subreddit has far less trolling and obnoxious bullshit than a lot of other places on the internet, at least in the threads that I've been reading through.)
This week I also bought Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige and The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton (which is one of the prettiest books I've laid my hands on in a while) and picked up A Dog's Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron and The Probability of Miracles by Wendy Wunder at the library. My stack of books to read is close to out of control, but I've just started a couple of weeks of vacation. I read ten books during my last two-week vacation, so I think I can whittle things down a bit.
Watching
Orphan Black! Oh man, this show. I love it so. Kira's dad! Dead clone autopsy! Felix and Sarah, my cries! Alison walks off the stage! HELENA! (But really, where did all of these Helena feelings come from? Sheesh.) Basically, I just have a lot of incoherent love for this show and everything it chooses to be. Carry on, show.
The second half of this season of Once Upon a Time has been golden. I'm enjoying the show and looking forward to new episodes like I did back at the beginning of the first season, I think because Rumplestiltskin as a villain has lost some of its appeal for me, like maybe I'm just over him? IDK, but I've loved Regina's arc this season, and having her use light magic to defeat Zelena and then fully trust Belle with the dagger was excellent, particularly given her past treatment of Belle. (And okay, it blew up in their faces, but that wasn't Regina's goal this time, nor was it her fault.) I am VERY MUCH looking forward to the finale tomorrow.
The last episode of Game of Thrones was my favorite so far this season. I've said it before, but the Sansa-in-the-Eyrie stuff is some of my favorite of the whole series. I really think the actress playing Lysa is killing it with the mood swings, Petyr remains appropriately creepy (how much do I love that Sophie Turner is actually taller than him? so much, I cannot even), Sophie Turner is a DOLL, and I'm not sure if it's more or less creepy that Robin Arryn is so much older now, but either way it works for me. I want all of this and more. Arya and the Hound were more enjoyable to me than usual, because I love that he's actually a little freaked out by her - because he should be. And Margaery and Cersei! And Jon's reunion with Ghost! And Dany's finally wearing a new dress!
Other things: The finale of The Mindy Project was really lovely and sweet and very much in the spirit of the romantic comedy genre that the show emulates. I liked it very much. The Howling Commandos-era spycraft on Agents of SHIELD was great, and made better by Coulson and May playing Fitz and Simmons and the file transfer by window. Ward continues to be more interesting as a villain than a good guy, but if I was supposed to be moved to sympathy by his backstory, the show failed. Stefan died on The Vampire Diaries. I laughed, which was probably not what I was supposed to do, but does anyone actually think he's going to stay dead? It's hard to be emotional about something you know won't stick. I'm also still enjoying Reign. Catherine and Mary trying to kill Henry? Yes, please. Bash bringing the kid who watched him kill a man into his own house because Kenna is the only person that the kid trusts? Yes, please. It looks like Henry might receive his fatal wound next week (this is not a spoiler, kittens, it's history), which I'm eager to see play out in this 'verse.
Little Bits
"Say Something" ♥ FINALLY finishing an outline for my matriarchal fic; once I climb out of the theoretical rabbit hole I intend to get to work on this in earnest, and to finish it in a reasonable amount of time since it's significantly less expansive and ambitious than my last (as yet unfinished) project ♥ this theory about just what is in the crypts in Winterfell ♥ slushes ♥ tiny kittens ♥ thunderstorms ♥ blooming iris ♥ Mean Girls - it came up on the guide about five minutes after it started this morning, so of course I had to watch ♥ new notebooks ♥ excellent salads ♥ rhodonite ♥ hazelnut macchiatos ♥ finding a box of my favorite "every day" coffee on clearance at Target ♥ fishtail and four-strand braids ♥ all-over sticky Post-Its ♥ the promise of Agent Carter (it's being run by two women, yay!) ♥ Sansa Stark ♥ dogs who bark in their sleep ♥ this ♥ air conditioning, without which I would be a miserable cunt for six months out of the year ♥ vacation - I'm not going anywhere, but being away from work is enough for me
Tell me, loves, what's making your life better this week? Additionally, a meme, taken from waltzmatildah
[1] Make a list of fifteen characters first, and keep it to yourself for the moment.
[2] Ask your f-list to post questions in the comments. For example: "One, nine, and fifteen are chosen by a prophecy to save the world from four. Do they succeed?", "Under what circumstances might five and fourteen fall in love?", "Which character on the list would you most want on your side in a zombie invasion?"
[3] After your f-list has stopped asking questions, round them up and answer them using the fifteen characters you selected beforehand, then post them.