where spring is only a technicality
Happy first day of Spring in the northern hemisphere...
Monday's storm brought three-foot drifts across my driveway. Last year at this time we were wearing shorts.
The ISS passed over my house this morning. I waved, but I don't think they saw me among the snowdrifts.
TV I am watching right now:
(uh yeah, that's the whole list. I just don't seem to have the attention span to commit to anything new right now)
No, seriously, I've been watching Scandal in the sense that if it's on and I happen to be in the same room, I'll pay attention. Also, because I like that the characters are multi-faceted and non-stereotypical. I like that the characters are often wrong and flawed and make bad choices, and the whole point of the show is how each person lives with the fallout of their choices. Liv wants redemption by fixing things for everyone (but no necessarily be the 'good guy'), Mellie wants to be president however she can swing it, and Cyrus wants the power and status that's been denied to him because the American people aren't ready to accept a president who likes to sleep with men.
Also, I heard rumor that Fringe's Jasika Nicole will have a guest spot this season. \o/
Books I have recently read:
Just finished the entire Longmire series, plus short story collections. Now I'm going through a bit of literary withdrawal that comes with being completely immersed in a series. I think I mentioned in the last review that mysteries are not my favorite genre, but the fact that these stories are more character-driven than plot-driven. Not that the plot isn't enjoyable - it is, but the path it takes is shaped by the characters and their actions. I like Walt a lot. I like that he's fallible and he knows it. I like that his heart leads him and often leads him wrong, but he often ends up doing the right thing in the end and making things better for the people involved. I love that he's the perfect example of the unreliable narrator, and that what Walt thinks is going on with his people or the crime is only one aspect of it, and as readers, we're never given all the pieces of the mystery until Walt also has them. It's not fancy writing, but it is engaging.
I also adore the character of Vic, Walt's deputy and under sheriff. A little bit different than the tv version, but not where is counts. It's easy enough to reconcile the two as the same character. Vic says what's on her mind, doesn't pull any punches, and call Walt on his shit, but she also has a vulnerability to her and a passion for the job that humanizes her and avoids the awesome woman carries gun, is tough, doesn't need anybody stereotype. Walt respects her, and the relationship between the two develops organically over the series so that nothing feels forced or formulaic.
Walt's relationship with his best friend, Henry Standing Bear, take all the Cowboys-and-Indians stereotypes, and playfully turns them on their heads. Henry also calls Walt out, albeit in a way that speaks of their four decades or so of close friendship. Walt is a member of Henry's complex extended family, both on and off the reservation, whom he cares for and helps out in various ways, from making grocery drops, to standing up for the kids in his community. So when Henry says he 'knows a guy down in Powder Junction', its easy to believe that he actually does.
The only note I'd make, if you are looking to read this series, is not to start with the first book, A Cold Dish. Not that it's a bad novel - it does a lot to introduce the characters and frame Walt's mindset at the beginning of the series, but it really has the feel of a first novel where the author is still cutting his writing teeth. It flirts with a lot of story ideas, but feels like it can't make up it's mind which one to use (many of these themes are revisited in later novels with more surety) I actually read it last because of the similarities between some plot points in one episode of the tv series (though the book heads off along a different path), and I'm glad I didn't start with this book. Jump in with book two or three, and you shouldn't find yourself too lost.
So, in summary, I'm looking forward to June and the next novel's release. Also, looking forward to A&E airing season two of the series sometime over the summer.
Also posted at DW, where
people have commented. Comments welcome here or there.
Monday's storm brought three-foot drifts across my driveway. Last year at this time we were wearing shorts.
The ISS passed over my house this morning. I waved, but I don't think they saw me among the snowdrifts.
TV I am watching right now:
(uh yeah, that's the whole list. I just don't seem to have the attention span to commit to anything new right now)
No, seriously, I've been watching Scandal in the sense that if it's on and I happen to be in the same room, I'll pay attention. Also, because I like that the characters are multi-faceted and non-stereotypical. I like that the characters are often wrong and flawed and make bad choices, and the whole point of the show is how each person lives with the fallout of their choices. Liv wants redemption by fixing things for everyone (but no necessarily be the 'good guy'), Mellie wants to be president however she can swing it, and Cyrus wants the power and status that's been denied to him because the American people aren't ready to accept a president who likes to sleep with men.
Also, I heard rumor that Fringe's Jasika Nicole will have a guest spot this season. \o/
Books I have recently read:
Just finished the entire Longmire series, plus short story collections. Now I'm going through a bit of literary withdrawal that comes with being completely immersed in a series. I think I mentioned in the last review that mysteries are not my favorite genre, but the fact that these stories are more character-driven than plot-driven. Not that the plot isn't enjoyable - it is, but the path it takes is shaped by the characters and their actions. I like Walt a lot. I like that he's fallible and he knows it. I like that his heart leads him and often leads him wrong, but he often ends up doing the right thing in the end and making things better for the people involved. I love that he's the perfect example of the unreliable narrator, and that what Walt thinks is going on with his people or the crime is only one aspect of it, and as readers, we're never given all the pieces of the mystery until Walt also has them. It's not fancy writing, but it is engaging.
I also adore the character of Vic, Walt's deputy and under sheriff. A little bit different than the tv version, but not where is counts. It's easy enough to reconcile the two as the same character. Vic says what's on her mind, doesn't pull any punches, and call Walt on his shit, but she also has a vulnerability to her and a passion for the job that humanizes her and avoids the awesome woman carries gun, is tough, doesn't need anybody stereotype. Walt respects her, and the relationship between the two develops organically over the series so that nothing feels forced or formulaic.
Walt's relationship with his best friend, Henry Standing Bear, take all the Cowboys-and-Indians stereotypes, and playfully turns them on their heads. Henry also calls Walt out, albeit in a way that speaks of their four decades or so of close friendship. Walt is a member of Henry's complex extended family, both on and off the reservation, whom he cares for and helps out in various ways, from making grocery drops, to standing up for the kids in his community. So when Henry says he 'knows a guy down in Powder Junction', its easy to believe that he actually does.
The only note I'd make, if you are looking to read this series, is not to start with the first book, A Cold Dish. Not that it's a bad novel - it does a lot to introduce the characters and frame Walt's mindset at the beginning of the series, but it really has the feel of a first novel where the author is still cutting his writing teeth. It flirts with a lot of story ideas, but feels like it can't make up it's mind which one to use (many of these themes are revisited in later novels with more surety) I actually read it last because of the similarities between some plot points in one episode of the tv series (though the book heads off along a different path), and I'm glad I didn't start with this book. Jump in with book two or three, and you shouldn't find yourself too lost.
So, in summary, I'm looking forward to June and the next novel's release. Also, looking forward to A&E airing season two of the series sometime over the summer.
Also posted at DW, where
people have commented. Comments welcome here or there.