Two reviews

Agatha Christie: A Very Elusive Woman by Lucy Worsley

If you have been here for some time you will know that Agatha Christie is one of my favourite authors, so when I saw this biography in the library, I grabbed it to read.

I don’t read a lot of non-fiction as a rule, but I do like a good biography. And I did enjoy this one.

It goes into Dame Agatha Christie’s personal and professional life and places everything in a historical context – her marriages, her books, and her disappearance in 1926.

It’s written in a very readable and conversational style which I enjoyed.

Also, I need to re-read pretty much every single Agatha Christie book I own.

 

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

This one was actually recommended to me by a workmate. So when I saw it was in at the library a few weeks ago, I took it as a sign.

And I’m so very glad I did, because it was so much fun to read. Galaxy (Alex) Stern has a particular gift – she can see dead people. This brings her to the attention of Lethe House at Yale, a type of oversight committee for the Ancient Eight Houses of the school who all specialize in different kinds of magic.

Alex has come to Yale carrying a dark past and an even darker secret, but she takes the chance to start over. However, when her mentor Darlington vanishes, she finds that she’s a bit more over her head than she realised.

It’s fast-paced, readable and honestly Alex is one of my most favourite fictional characters.

So much fun.

Two reviews

 

It's 1983, and Susan Arkshaw has just turned 18. She moves to London, intending to start art college, and look for her father.

However, Susan's life takes a very different turn when she meets Merlin - a left-handed bookseller. From the moment Susan meets Merlin her life goes down a very different - and very magical path.

I can't be articulate about this book. I loved it so much. There's something cosy about it somehow? There's magic, and there's myth and a little bit of romance, and some really excellent worldbuilding. 

It is honestly pure fantasy escapism in the best way.

Twenty year after his sister Tara has disappeared, Peter receives a phone call from his parents. Tara has turned up. The trouble is - she looks exactly the same as she did when she vanished 20 years ago, and she's come back with a wild tale of where she has been.

For Tara, it's only been six months, and she's been living in a very strange kind of fairyland. 

The book weaves together the past, the present and Tara's story of her time in the other land to create a kind of modern myth, almost. There's the mundane of Peter's life with his family, and the wild of Tara's story, and the in-between as well. 

It's an extremely readable book that does make you think "What if?"

Reviews - Survive the Night by Riley Sager; The Sandman Volume 2

 

Survive the Night by Riley Sager. OR: Bad Decisions to Drive the Plot.

*Sigh* First, I do have to say, it's well-written, and it's a fast read, so I did finish it.

OTHER THAN THAT.

Survive the Night is based on a deeply flawed premise. Which is that a young woman would agree to rideshare across country with a man she has never met. 

At night. 

Anyway. Charlie - a film major who sees "movies in her mind" (hallucinations) is set to drop out of university two months after her best friend is murdered by a serial killer. Charlie's last interaction with her best friend - a Manic Pixie Dream Girl character - was an argument, and Charlie feels guilty.

So she puts  a sign up on the university's rideshare board, and ends up agreeing to share the ride with Josh - an older and slightly ~mysterious man. He then says they need to leave at 9pm and instead of saying ABSOLUTELY NOT, Charlie agrees.

And so. It begins. Josh gets caught out in certain lies, and messes with Charlie's perception of time, thanks to her telling him about her hallucinations. It's not long before Charlie begins to suspect that Josh is the Campus Killer - the serial killer that took the life of her best friend.

I just. The book is based on SUCH a flawed premise. Which is that a young woman would be WILLING TO GET INTO  A STRANGER'S CAR, then DRIVE ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

Anyway. Like I said, I finished it because the writing style was decent, and the action kept the stupid plot moving along. 

I picked the first "twist" fairly early on, and as for the second one .... the payoff was not worth it.

The Sandman Volume 2: The Doll's House by Neil Gaiman. 

It's been a while since I read Preludes and Nocturnes, but it didn't really matter. The Doll's House focuses in more on Rose - the Dream Vortex who has the ability to change the dreamscape.

(I may conflate this with the Sandman TV series which I watched first).

Rose and her mother travel to England to meet Unity Kincaid, who they find out is Rose's grandmother. Rose then travels to the United States to try and find her younger brother, Jed who is trapped in an abusive foster home, and is also being tormented in his dreams.

Meanwhile the serial killer and escaped nightmare The Corinthian happens upon a "Cereal Killer" convention.

I really enjoyed this one - moreso than Preludes. This feels more like escapism in its truest sense, as Dream navigates both the Endless and the mortal world and tries to work out what to do about Rose. It feels like the universe is building on itself with each book, and I'm looking forward to reading the next one.

Area woman reads several books but doesn't blog - you won't believe what happens next!

Sex, scandal and village politics converge in J K Rowling's first post-Harry Potter novel. I can imagine there was a fair amount of head-scratching over this one, as it's about as far from Harry Potter as you can get, but I really enjoyed it.

I worked as a communities copy-editor for a few years and so I  felt right at home with Pagford and all of the little scandals of the village. My only complaint is that there is rather a large cast of characters and sometimes the point of view switches were too quick, but other than that, I really enjoyed it.

.

Melanie is a very special little girl. Every morning, she waits to be collected from her cell so she can attend class with all of the other special children on her block.

Melanie's favourite person in the world is her teacher, Ms Justineau, and it's that bond that is the catalyst for what comes next. I don't want to say too much, because The Girl With All the Gifts is one of those books you're better going into knowing as little as possible. Apart from a speedy ending, I liked it a lot, and felt deeply for Melanie's struggle to find her place in a strange world.






The All for the Game trilogy by Nora Sakavic is, I will admit up front, not for everyone. I am not one of those everyones - I devoured the trilogy in three days. There is a heavy focus on sportsball - Exy, to be precise, a kind of cross between hockey, lacrosse and volleyball as far as I can make out - that Sakavic created for the series.

Neil Josten has been on the run for most of his life. His criminal father is in jail, and his mother is dead. Neil's plan is to get through the rest of high school unscathed, and disappear. However, his plans are scuppered when a college Exy team comes to his school to scout him.

Boys! Feelings! Sportsball! It's all right here! There's a lot of heavy-going stuff in these books, but I got suckered in to Neil's story and his budding (and slow-burning, there's nearly nothing in book one) relationship with hissing snake-hedgehog boy Andrew.

This reminded me of Glitterland by Alexis Hall, a little bit. Men from very different walks of life - Cambridge University professor Larry Morton and muscly Al Fletcher - meet in a dark alley one night. Larry thinks he's about to be attacked, Al is thinking "better get this pretty, pretty man home before someone hurts him."

And so the relationship starts. It's very much opposites attract, and worlds colliding but Al especially is a great character with an A+ narrative voice.

Marius and Tessa, on Leiliana's orders are about to undertake a nearly impossible mission for the Inquisition, as the Inquisitor readies themselves to face Corypheus in the final battle.

Tessa and Charter have a couple of sweet moments, and I'm looking forward to the next issue - it feels like a nice way to expand on the Inquisition's back story, in a way.

And, of course, it ends on a cliffhanger. Again.

Tom Worthington is trying to keep a low profile at college after his father is arrested for a ponzi scheme and his assets frozen. Tom is determined to Make His Own Way  by gypsy cabbing at weekends and keeping his head down.

HOWEVER, Tom has reckoned without his room-mate, out-and-proud Reese, who is not happy at having to share his off-campus housing.

Can these unlikely room-mates come to some kind of understanding, despite their traumatic pasts?

I liked this one, rather than LOVED it, but it was readable enough.

This one straddles an interesting line between procedural crime drama and science fiction. I'm not entirely sure it was completely successful - not for me, anyway. I kept getting caught up in the science fiction part and confused by the crime drama part.

However, it's deftly written, and the main character is a compelling and interesting narrator. The premise of Lock In is great, I just. I don't know. I got confused by something somewhere along the line, and somehow couldn't get into it properly after that.

Short reviews

I've got a bit behind, so here's a short reviews post - aka: Me, catching up with myself.

Strong Signal by Megan Erickson and Santino Hassell

Garrett is marking time as a mechanic in the army; waiting till his last tour of duty is finished so he can head home, find a job, start a life. Kai is a gamer with severe social anxiety - he makes a living streaming games on Twitch. Kai and Garrett meet when Kai kills Garrett's character in a game they both play.

They start talking, and one thing leads to another IFYOUKNOWWHATIMEAN

I really enjoyed Strong Signal - both men are damaged in different ways but find a way to work with their issues in order to be together. Also, uh, nakedness. IFYOUKNOWWHATIMEAN (youknowwhatimean)

Rotten Beast (novella) by Mary Pearson

Rotten Beast is set in the same universe as the Jenna Fox trilogy. It's a standalone - well, short story really, about Ally who is opposed to the  way scientists interfere with the natural progression of life. Then, one day, she wakes up to find her parents have gone against her wishes and turned her into the very thing she hates most. Ally must learn to come to terms with her new reality.

I loved the first book in this series - The Adoration of Jenna Fox, and enjoyed the subsequent two books. Rotten Beast is a nice addition, though I wish it was a bit longer.

Scrap Metal by Harper Fox

A year ago, Nichol was living his dream - he'd escaped the small Scottish island of Arran to study at university, leaving the family farm in the hands of his mother, brother and taciturn uncle. But then fate tapdances, and Nichol finds himself back on Arran, grieving for his mother and brother and trying to get along with his uncle. Then, one night, a fugitive called Cam breaks into oneof the farm sheds ....

This was so good. Like. So many feelings. And Nichol and Cam are great together and even taciturn old uncle Harry is a fully realised character. Once again, warning for the naked touching. :)

Dragon Age: Magekiller #4 by Greg Rucka, Carmen Carnero and Michael Aityeh

Dorian!!!!!!!! Dorian!!!!!!!!!!! I mean. Um. DORIAN!!!! Wait, no. Marius and Tessa have joined the Inquisition and have been sent to the Hissing Wastes to investigate pockets of Venatori. Between the sand, sand and more sand, Tessa flirts with Charter, and we meet - DORIAN. DORIAN IS IN THIS ONE - and Bull's Chargers, and Rocky blows up a thing and DORIAN. There's another cliffhanger, and also, Dorian. :D

The Drawing of the Three by Stephen King

I fully believe, when Mr King is on hisgame, there are few who can even claim to strike the match to light the candle to match him. And this is Mr King at the top of his storytelling game.

Book 2 of The Dark Tower finds Roland losing some fingers to charming creatures called lobstrosities, and also calling the Three to him. And the way the Three are called is some peak Stephen King, let me tell you. The Tower is no closer, but the people, ah, it's the people that make the journey memorable....

 Eye of the Labyrinth by Jennifer Fallon

This is book 2 of the Second Sons trilogy and it's a good'n. I read the whole book in about two days, something I don't do very often these days.

Dirk Provin sets off to the ancient temple of Omaxin in the company of Tia, a girl who seems to actively hate him (until, of course, she doesn't IFYOUKNOWWHATIMEAN) to see if he can figure out the secret of the labyrinth that will predict the next Age of Shadows. Meanwhile, the Lion of Senet - basically the guy in charge of everyone - is trying to find Dirk in order to make him over in his own image. Which Dirk doesn't want. He just wants to live his life and solve maths problems.

Intrigue, romance, villains, heroes ... heroes forced to make what could be seen as villianous choices ... it's all right here.(I'd warn for the naked, but they kind of draw a tent flap over that, so no need).

My fave non-match 3 app games

I'm trying to blog more, which means trying to come up with topics - lol. I have a few in mind, and then I thought "hey, why don't I babble about some of my favourite app games?"

So. Here we are. At first, I just had three, but realised I couldn't leave out Midnight Castle from Big Fish games, a hidden-object mystery game and to be honest, the only hidden-object game I actually like. Here's the trailer: Midnight Castle

I like it because the quests aren't timed, and you can just kind of cruise through all of the different things if you just want to gather coins; or you can work through Prof. Pinfeather's tasks if you want to advance your game.

I tried Secret Passages, but found it annoying as the actual hidden objects parts were timed, and there seemed to be no logical progression to it? Maybe I was doing it wrong, but overall I prefer Midnight Castle. I can just sit down and bip through a bunch of them and not worry.

Next up, is Monument Valley from Ustwo Games and oh my gosh. Monument Valley is just gorgeous. Look at this trailer: Monument Valley

It's like ... physics via an M C Escher picture. It's full of puzzles and optical illusions. Ida - the Silent Princess - has to navigate through various obstacles to get to where she needs to go.

There's 10 levels in the original game, and eight in Forgotten Shores. There's also a one-off called Ida's Birthday, which I haven't played through all the way yet; though I've played through the rest of Monument Valley at least three times. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Third on this most random list, is Regency Love, by Tea For Three studios. This game is just so adorable, look at this trailer Regency Love

It's basically a Jane Austen novel. You play through as a young woman who's just out of mourning for her father, and there are different romance options (though it's VERY HARD not to romance the Mr Darcy character, though for myself, I preferred Mr Bookworm) and you gather points from motivation, which you can apply to the skills appropriate for a young lady of the time. There are pop quizzes (though some of the questions do repeat) and games of hangman as you go along, which help add to your motivation points.

It's beautifully rendered and honestly I spent nearly all of one Sunday playing through the whole thing.

Last, but by no means least, is Lifeline, from 3 Minute Games. Here's the trailer:
Lifeline

So basically, Taylor is lost on a planet, the last survivor of a crash. They reach out to you, and the choices you get Taylor to make, affect the outcome. (First time I played Taylor froze to death on the first night *ahem*). The goal is to get them to safety so they can be rescued.

It's a text-based game and every decision you - and Taylor - make affect what happens next. I'm about halfway through my third playthrough of this - lol. There's a direct sequel as well, called Silent Night, and also a Lifeline 2, which I haven't played yet but from what I can see is a totally different story. Trailer for 2: Lifeline 2

Happy playing!

Short reviews

So far for 2016, I've read five books. Rather than let them pile up into a force of unknown strength and then collapse on top of me. I see you coming, books. I have your number.

First up, The Gunslinger, book one of The Dark Tower series by Stephen King. I am Determined to read this series this year. De-ter-mined. It will happen.

I read the first three many years ago; I have vague memories of heartbroken me after my first marriage broke up lounging on the couch and reading The Gunslinger. (I also read Dune at that time.)

The upshot is I remembered almost nothing, so it was just like starting over. And. So far so good? I found it a bit of a slog, to be honest, especially for such a short book, but. This is my quest. My 2016 journey. I will do it. I will take the Ring to Mordor. *clenches fist*.

Next up was The Distance Between Us by L A Witt. Ethan and Rhett are splitsville after 10 years, but they own a house together and selling it wouldn't make the money they need. Enter Kieran, to help speed the process up (aside: Kieran is my brother's name. It was VERY STRANGE reading about someone called Kieran being banged six ways to Sunday.)

So. Anyway. Kieran moves in and he's like, super-hot and both Rhett and Ethan start banging him (of course) then someone has the idea of sharesies! And so threesomes happen and ... uhm.

I enjoyed it, I did, it's a fast read, uncomfortable associations aside, but I thought Rhett and Ethan needed a better emotional payoff for a reunion than "let's bang the hot room-mate until inconvenient feelings resurface."

(I'm reading book 2 now; there's five total in the series, each one focusing on different characters. Book 2 focuses on Kieran. Good times, good times.)

Then we're on to Dragon Age: Magekiller 2, written by Greg Rucka and illustrated by Carmen Carnero. In book two of this five-book graphic novel series, mercenaries Marius and Tessa - who have made it their life mission to eradicate blood mages - have been tricked by the Archon of the Tevinter Imperium into doing a job for him, involving a cult called the Venatori.

It's all very fast-paced and kind of chasey-chasey and it's set juuuuuust before Inquisition - actually, the end of book #2 lines up with the start of Inquisition, and I'm excited for issue #3. I like it a lot - especially Tessa, who's narrating the story, and catching glimpses of the Imperium is super-cool. (Especially given the distinct possibility DA4 may be set there.)

Fourth for this year, is Lion of Senet by Jennifer Fallon, book one of the Second Sons trilogy. Oooh, I liked this. I liked this very much of a lot. Intrigue! Magic! SCIENCE! Dodgy cults! Dodgy cultists! Likeable characters! Unlikeable villians! I'm a simple girl, and I like it when fantasy does what it says it's going to on the tin. (Don't get me wrong, I also like it when fantasy looks at the tin, says "I LAUGH AT YOUR TIN" and then goes and builds a new tin .. I'm getting off track). Lion of Senet is about the second sons of, well, the Lion of Senet (VILLAIN) and the second son of the Duke (GOOD GUY BUT NOT ACTUALLY THIS PARTICULAR SECOND SON'S FATHER /SCANDAL/) who become friends, and there's a king in hiding (who IS the other second son's father ... DUN DUN DUN) and a madman who's also a genius and clever people and the Age of Shadows is coming ... and this is not very coherent but I liked it a lot.

Fifth, so far, and very much NOT the least of them, is Shadowshaper, by Daniel Jose Older.

Sierra is your typical 16-year-old - she hangs out with her friends, she paints giant murals on abandoned buildings ... at least, until one of the murals starts crying. Then, Sierra discovers a whole world out there she knew nothing about, despite it being steeped far in her family history.

If anyone reads this post and  you read one book from this list, read this one. It's so, so good. Sierra is a fully realised character and watching her come into her own shadowshaping power is an amazing thing. It's visually stunning (I mean, for a book? You know what I mean) and the story is solid and the cover is beautiful, and look. Just do yourself a favour. Read it.

Shorts - Umbrella Academy #0 and We Were Liars

We Were Liars is set the summer Cady is 17. She's back on the island her family owns, looking forward to hanging out with her beloved Liars - especially Gat, who she has not seen in about two years.

Nothing, of course, is at it seems or as simple as Cady wishes it was.

Two years ago - what Cady refers to as summer fifteen - something terrible happened. Cady has a form of amnesia, which doesn't let her remember what happened then. When she does start to remember exactly what happened, it's far worse than Cady could have imagined.

I really, really enjoyed We Were Liars. There's a twist, that I've seen other people say was a bit ... weak? But honestly  it took me entirely by surprise and added a real emotional depth to a novel that - on the surface - is about privileged youth.

Gerard Way is best known as the front man  for My Chemical Romance, but he's a bit of a renaissance man as far as I know. I have to admit, I've never really listened to MCR, but I somehow follow Mr Way on twitter. I don't know how that happened, but he's kind of delightful.

The Umbrella Academy is his graphic novel series. I picked up #O free on Dark Horse when I downloaded the app to get Dragon Age: Magekiller, and I'm glad I did. The Umbrella Academy are a ragtag group of heroes, trying to muddle through and save the world.

I wasn't entirely sure of everything that was going on, but I really enjoyed the premise and the threads of story that I could pick up.

Two short reviews

It's 1904, and Archie Curtis - two years out of the war, angry and without purpose, finds himself driving to an isolated country house.

He's determined to get to the bottom of what he believes is sabotage - a rifle misfiring during the war took most of the fingers from his right hand, and the lives of many of his men.

Following a lead, Curtis heads for Peakholme House, a pile built in the middle of nowhere with all of the mod cons, where he believes he will find the answer to the sabotage.

What he finds, however, is much more, in the figure of Daniel da Silva - described in the goodreads blurb as "Effete, decadent, foreign, and all-too-obviously queer, the sophisticated poet is everything the straightforward British officer fears and distrusts."

However, when sexual attraction smacks Curtis over the head, things start going a bit, er, south. *Cough*

Daniel is of course, not entirely what he seems on the surface, and soon both men are embroiled in blackmail, billiards and of course, pantslessness.

Think of England is a relatively short book, but I did enjoy it a lot. Especially Curtis' evolution, which was handled very nicely.

I may have mentioned Dragon Age once or twice. Possibly. Maybe. Anyway. Dark Horse has launched a new graphic novel series set in the Tevinter Imperium (which excites me GREATLY because of the speculation that the next game might be set there) and it follows a pair of mercenaries who are pledged to tracking down and eliminating blood mages.

They're offered a job, and are, of course wary. The whole thing screams IT'S A TRAP but they've also been told hey, there's a magister who's sacrificing children. It's up to you but ... so they take it and hey, IT'S A TRAP.

And THEN the bloody thing ended! I tapped the "keep reading" button like an idiot, but of course the first issue only came out yesterday so I'll just have to wait.

It's off to a solid start, though, and I'm excited to dig in and learn more about the protagonists - and the Imperium.

Mockingjay Part 1 and The Golden Compass - reviews

I've just re-read Northern Lights (aka The Golden Compass) and remembered how much I enjoy that book. Gosh darn, it's a good book.

I had always avoided the movie because I'd heard it wasn't good, but a friend said eh, it's not BAD, it's WATCHABLE ... so I went in.

And she's right.

There's a lot of Big Ideas in the book that don't make it into the movie which is fine as far as it goes, but it means the story in the movie isn't really served and it all feels a bit rushed and muddled.

It's well-cast, though, especially Nicole Kidman as the very chilling Mrs Coulter. Though I do think that Daniel Craig is a bit mis-cast as Lord Asriel - I feel like he's not imposing enough. Dakota Blue Richards is great as Lyra, too.

But the story ... I do have high hopes for the upcoming TV series.

As for Mockingjay Part 1 ... I think it suffered from the same issue. The story isn't served - this time by splitting the last book into two movies. Mockingjay Part 1 feels like a lot of unnecessary standing about waiting for things to happen. Presumably those Things will Happen in Mockingjay Part 2 (which I haven't seen yet.)

Mockingjay Part 1 was fine, but it felt a bit like filler, which is a shame after Catching Fire was so good.

On to the next, though!

Short reviews

Dragon Age: Asunder by David Gaider.

This one takes place between the end of Dragon Age 2 and the beginning of Inquisition. Someone is killing mages at the White Spire in Val Royeaux, and the mages - bending and nearly breaking under increasing pressure from the templars - are ready to start a revolution.

Rhys - a spirit mage - finds himself under scrutiny for the murders, and goes on a journey to the far reaches of Thedas to prove his innocence.

Meanwhile, the White Spire has its own ghost that so far, only Rhys can see.

I actually enjoyed Asunder a lot. It filled in the backstory for one of the companions in Inquisition (Cole) and also a lot of the details of the ongoing mage-templar conflict. It’s readable and fast-paced, and fills in a lot of questions about the game itself.

Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine

I really, really loved the premise for this one. The library of Alexandria was never destroyed - but knowledge and books are something that are doled out very carefully. The Great Library controls all knowledge and in a world where owning books is forbidden, is the one power that no one can gainsay.

Jess Brightwell comes from a family of book smugglers. When he’s granted a place at the Great Library for study, he finds out exactly what it controls - and how.

There are very cool steampunk elements to it, and also bits and pieces of ephemera that describe different things - for example one of them describes how Guttenberg’s press was never allowed to see the light of day, which all add to the overall richness of the book.

I read this in a couple of sittings, I think, and really enjoyed all of it. Jess himself was well-rounded and fun to read, the central romance wasn’t cheesy and frustrating, and the supporting players were also really well rounded. I’m excited for book 2.

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

In Fangirl, Rowell created Cather, a writer of fan-fiction who’s favourite series is about a young mage called Simon Snow. Now, Simon Snow and his adversarial room-mate Baz, have their own story told in Carry On.

I enjoyed Fangirl but Carry On. My gosh. Carry On is just a basket of kittens, honestly. It’s so cute that I kind of want to bare my teeth at it and hiss a little bit. It’s Simon and Baz’s last year at school, as Simon’s supposed destiny as the Chosen One who will fight the Humdrum is about to come to a head … (I just made a DUN DUN DUN noise in my head).

Carry On is feather-light, kitten-cute and so much fun to read, I almost wish there was a whole series.

Short reviews

I have three books backed up to write reviews for, so I’m just going to bundle them all together in a short reviews post.

First up is

The Lola Quartet, by Emily St John Mandel.

Anyone who knows me will know that one of my favourite books ever is Station Eleven, by the same author. STATION ELEVEN (sorry.)

The Lola Quartet was recommended to me by Nymeth from http://www.thingsmeanalot.com/ and good golly what a ride. It’s a mystery, wrapped up in a series of character studies, presented with a bow of human errors and failings. When reporter Gavin Sasaki finds out  that he might have a daughter by his high school girlfriend Anna - who disappeared years ago - he’s determined to find out the truth.

What he finds out is what kind of life-changing errors people are capable of making and how one bad decision can lead to years of them, and what choices are open to him now.

That’s … pale and feeble but I don’t want to give too much away because The Lola Quartet is one of those books that - even as it goes back and forth in time - it unfolds, and in the unfolding is where the true story lies.

Next

Our Endless Numbered Days by Claire Fuller.

This one was … difficult. Not to read, it actually reads pretty easily but THE THING that’s at the very heart of it  - that’s difficult.

When Peggy is eight years old, she’s taken away by her survivalist father, to an isolated cabin in the woods in the middle of …. Germany? I think? He tells her that the rest of the world is gone, and that there’s just the two of them.

Eight years later, Peggy is back home with her mother, trying to come to terms with the past eight years and THE THING. The story goes back and forth in time, as the story picks apart what happened to Peggy, and how she ended up back home again.

I did find the characters annoying, I have to say. Especially Peggy but for a large part of the book she is a young girl, and eight-year-olds ARE annoying (I know, I have one) so there is that to consider.

And LAST BUT NOT LEAST

The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness

Oh, Patrick Ness. Despite the THING in Knife of Never Letting Go, I do love you so. I love you to the moon and back again.

Um. Anyway.

The Rest of Us Just Live Here focuses on the story of everyday teen Mikey and his core group of friends, as they go about finishing high school, figuring out their lives, and hoping the school doesn’t blow up. Again.

Meanwhile, the indie kids in the background are dealing with being the chosen ones and trying to stop the school from blowing up. Again.

It’s a story-within-a-story that took me a few pages to get my head around, but once I did, I was in. I was invested.

What DO normal people do anyway, when the chosen one is saving the world?

Sunday post 5

Is it just me or is Sunday coming around faster?

Anyway. The Sunday post is a chance to share the week that was - both blogging and real life - and share what's coming up. Your inimitable host is Kimberley at http://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/

Also, I'm typing this with a large black and white cat between me and the keyboard. She's watching my fingers with dubious fascination. Cats.

Anyway. I actually managed to get a couple of reviews done last week, for My Cousin Rachel: http://lifetheuniverseandcats.blogspot.co.nz/2015/08/my-cousin-rachel-review.html

and for The Duchess War: http://lifetheuniverseandcats.blogspot.co.nz/2015/08/the-duchess-wars-review.html

So I'm Quite Pleased about that.

I finally made it to page 100 in The Sunne in Splendour, which feels like a proper achievement, given the size of the book. I'm really enjoying it - it's so .... immersive.

Also on the go, I have Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay, a series of essays. I'm about half way through and it's a clever, well-observed collection.

(The cat is now digging her claws into the back of my hand. Ow. Ow. Ow.)

I just need to choose my next iBook for lunchtime at work, while I still have a lunchtime at work, which is for about another two weeks.

What else. I killed the Archdemon in Origins and started my second playthrough of the Awakenings DLC which I like a lot. I like the companions and there's lots of banter. I love banter.

(Look, cat, this is the battlefield you chose.  Either stop digging your claws in and flicking your tail, or find somewhere else to repose. Honestly.)

The work week was marginally more annoying because my immediate supervisor was on holiday in Raratonga (the jammy bastard) so I was working with someone who only fills in occasionally. It was frustrating but we got there as always.

My brother and sister in law travelled to the bustling metrop for a friend's birthday on Saturday and so - apart from my oldest sister who was working - we had a family reunion of sorts. We all don't see much of each other; not for any particular reason, we're not estranged or anything. We're just fractured and lazy about keeping in touch.'

Spawn loved it because two of his cousins - one of whom is only a year or so older than him - were there, so he had a blast.

Here is a photo of my siblings and I, a couple of years ago, I think, when we all went "gosh, we should have a get together or something". I'm the short one in the blue shirt and grey hair in the middle. ;)

(Cat!! Seriously, I love you but this is NONSENSE!)

Anyway, it was good to catch up again, and we made vague Christmas mutterings, but who knows really?

For this week coming up, I'm hoping to finish Bad Feminist, and then I have the Watchmen graphic novel waiting for me. The movie is on netflix and I haven't seen it, but I want to read the graphic novel first.

I started watching (re-watching) The Winter Soldier on Friday night but it got a bit late to finish, so if I finish that this week, I'll write a review. Which will mostly consist of STEEEEEEEEEVE and SAMMMM and THIS IS SO MUCH BETTER THAN AGE OF ULTRON WE COULD HAVE HAD IT ALL WHYYYYY so, you know, look out for that.

How's your week looking?

(Here is the cat:)  As you can see, she's very used to using her looks to get what she wants. I tried to get a picture of her now, but I can't find my camera. :(
(Her name is Sophie. Or, when she's being particularly diva-ish, Sophia Loren)      

         

Real Steel - review

I have to admit, my expectations weren't all that high for Real Steel. I'd recorded it out of a sense of mild curiousity, and with Movie Night Sunday upon me, I decided to run it up the flagpole.

I have to say, I ended up ... not hating it. It won't be a favourite and to be honest, it was kind of forgettable, but it was watchable.

In the near future, human boxers have been replaced by giant and elaborate robots who face off in the ring.

Jackman is down-on-his-luck former boxer Charlie, who's looking for the next big score to set himself up.

He gains a top of the line robot, and is looking forward to putting it through its paces, but there's a wrinkle - Charlie's 11 year old son Max, who's mother has just died, comes into Charlie's life.

There's  a nice balance in Real Steel between sentiment and set pieces and enough of a building relationship between Charlie  and Max to keep you engaged.

There's just .... something missing. Like someone's put a really nice meal in front of you, but they've forgotten to season it.

That's it. It's nice, but it lacks seasoning.

You may be wondering ...

... what I'm doing all the way over here. And by "all the way over here", I mean in a shiny new blog.

It's something I've been thinking about doing on and off for a while. I started http://justaddbooks.blogspot.co.nz/ in 2007, and it's been great, but I'm starting to feel a bit ... bogged down? If that even makes sense, when I'm starting a shiny new blog.

Lately, when I've thought about writing a post, the thought of adding another one to the rather crowded pile, made me kind of tired.

But that's silly, I thought to myself. Just ... spruce it up a bit. New background. She'll be right!

So, I tried that. And ... nope. I don't want to give up blogging - even though more often than not I'm shouting down the void to myself and only hearing an echo - but it's time to move the blog itself on.

Shiny new home. Fresh paint job. All the trimmings. For whatever reason, it feels like the right thing to do, at the right time.

I'm not going to be doing anything particularly innovative or new, I don't think. I want to start writing book reviews again; and add movie reviews to that list. I want to be more consistent with it, and starting over is one way that I know (hope) will work for me.