(no subject)
Gosh. It’s been a while. I’m not even sure I can remember what movies we’ve seen recently, other than The Expendables 2.
Books:
A Discovery of Witches, by Deborah Harkness. I had been hesitant to pick this one up, more because of vampire fatigue as well as a wariness of things that popular culture seizes upon. I finally borrowed a copy from a friend, and I’m glad I did. I’ve put my name on the library waiting list for the 2nd book. I almost want to go out and buy it, just because I’m that interested in the next phase of the characters’ adventure. You have a witch who isn’t actively practicing witchcraft, who gets involved with a vampire, and who is apparently the only witch to call up a particular book in a library for hundreds of years. After she’s done so, all hell breaks loose. Witches, vampires, and daemons are suddenly VERY interested in her…but she doesn’t understand why. The rest of the book details the why. There’s a love story, of course, and history, science, revenge, vengeance, etc.etc.etc. Good stuff, and I’m looking forward to more. The nice thing is also - I never wanted to edit the materials. HA!
Dog On It and Thereby Hangs a Tail by Spencer Quinn are noir-style (almost) mysteries narrated by a dog whose breed is yet to be truly described. He’s large, with mismatched ears, and he went to K9 school but didn’t graduate (something about a cat). And Quinn doesn’t make the dog brilliant, or anything like that. He’s a dog. In the doggiest sense of the word, is he a dog. Easily distracted, motivated by food, not always aware that his tail is connected, etc. Some of the funniest bits are when Chet’s growling and his human, who is the private investigator, calls him on it, he’s like “Whoa. Was that sound coming from me?”
The Lost Prophecies and Hill of Bones, by The Medieval Murderers, are collections of short stories by a number of different historical fiction/mystery authors, writing as a collective. Some feature characters that have their own series, and some seem to be stand-alone stories. There are several books by these folks, and each has a central theme that appears in each story as they move from the distant past to the present, and in one case, the future. Hill of Bones has to do with a hill where supposedly Arthur killed 900 opponents (Battle of Badon type event). Odd things continue to happen on the hill in question. And The Lost Prophecies features a book of prophecies written by a 6th or 7th century Irish monk who supposedly went mad, and was released back into the wilderness in the same way he was found as a child (since the ecclesiastical superiors wouldn’t ACTUALLY kill him). Each prophecy in the book seems to come true…or has help…and people start doing nasty things to try and find, possess, and utilize the book.
Movies:
Recently, I’ve seen Magic Mike (good dance numbers, decent story line, otherwise, “eh.”) and The Expendables 2, which was a hilariously messy mashup of an action movie with a bunch of guys who could draw Social Security pensions. The body count is ridiculously high, and people die very explosively and with many splatters of blood, and there are many many large guns. Many large guns. Many large, NOISY guns. It’s hilarious, and the really fun part was watching for who would show up next, as well as seeing guys like Willis & Schwarzenneger trade their own classic lines. There’s also a really good bit with Chuck Norris. This will be in the “what to watch when ridiculous violence is called for.” I laughed through almost the whole movie.
Books:
A Discovery of Witches, by Deborah Harkness. I had been hesitant to pick this one up, more because of vampire fatigue as well as a wariness of things that popular culture seizes upon. I finally borrowed a copy from a friend, and I’m glad I did. I’ve put my name on the library waiting list for the 2nd book. I almost want to go out and buy it, just because I’m that interested in the next phase of the characters’ adventure. You have a witch who isn’t actively practicing witchcraft, who gets involved with a vampire, and who is apparently the only witch to call up a particular book in a library for hundreds of years. After she’s done so, all hell breaks loose. Witches, vampires, and daemons are suddenly VERY interested in her…but she doesn’t understand why. The rest of the book details the why. There’s a love story, of course, and history, science, revenge, vengeance, etc.etc.etc. Good stuff, and I’m looking forward to more. The nice thing is also - I never wanted to edit the materials. HA!
Dog On It and Thereby Hangs a Tail by Spencer Quinn are noir-style (almost) mysteries narrated by a dog whose breed is yet to be truly described. He’s large, with mismatched ears, and he went to K9 school but didn’t graduate (something about a cat). And Quinn doesn’t make the dog brilliant, or anything like that. He’s a dog. In the doggiest sense of the word, is he a dog. Easily distracted, motivated by food, not always aware that his tail is connected, etc. Some of the funniest bits are when Chet’s growling and his human, who is the private investigator, calls him on it, he’s like “Whoa. Was that sound coming from me?”
The Lost Prophecies and Hill of Bones, by The Medieval Murderers, are collections of short stories by a number of different historical fiction/mystery authors, writing as a collective. Some feature characters that have their own series, and some seem to be stand-alone stories. There are several books by these folks, and each has a central theme that appears in each story as they move from the distant past to the present, and in one case, the future. Hill of Bones has to do with a hill where supposedly Arthur killed 900 opponents (Battle of Badon type event). Odd things continue to happen on the hill in question. And The Lost Prophecies features a book of prophecies written by a 6th or 7th century Irish monk who supposedly went mad, and was released back into the wilderness in the same way he was found as a child (since the ecclesiastical superiors wouldn’t ACTUALLY kill him). Each prophecy in the book seems to come true…or has help…and people start doing nasty things to try and find, possess, and utilize the book.
Movies:
Recently, I’ve seen Magic Mike (good dance numbers, decent story line, otherwise, “eh.”) and The Expendables 2, which was a hilariously messy mashup of an action movie with a bunch of guys who could draw Social Security pensions. The body count is ridiculously high, and people die very explosively and with many splatters of blood, and there are many many large guns. Many large guns. Many large, NOISY guns. It’s hilarious, and the really fun part was watching for who would show up next, as well as seeing guys like Willis & Schwarzenneger trade their own classic lines. There’s also a really good bit with Chuck Norris. This will be in the “what to watch when ridiculous violence is called for.” I laughed through almost the whole movie.