In an effort to broaden my own reading scope, and to diversify my reading, I’m trying (not very hard yet but we’ll see how we go) to read more widely, and more writers of colour.

To start that effort - and my own personal challenge of making every third book a book by a non-white writer - I picked up Bad Feminist, a series of essays by Roxane Gay.

As far as non-fiction goes, this is my kind of thing. The topics of the essays range from Sweet Valley High to The Hunger Games to work and college and her own harrowing sexual assault as a girl.

Gay’s writing style is inviting and chatty, even on the harder topics, and you feel drawn in by her intelligence and her warmth - and her very human failings that I’m sure we can all relate to.

She talks about her family, and about growing up Haitian in America, and how that has shaped much of her life to date.

The essays in Bad Feminist are wide-ranging, always fascinating, and, for me - a middle-aged, middle-class white lady from New Zealand who’s trying her best to broaden her scope - an excellent way to start.

Sunday post 7

The Sunday Post is a chance to catch up - on what's been happening in the blogosphere, as well as updating others on your own life and times.

Hosted here by http://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/ if you want to play along at home. :)

Well. This is it. I had my last day on Friday and now I'm ... redundant? unemployed? Without work? Well, yes. All of those things.

My last week actually went pretty quickly, and I spent Friday doing basically no work at all. We had cheese and snacks and related paraphernalia, awkward speeches were made (mine was the MOST awkward) and then, in the grand tradition of journalists everywhere, we all decamped to the pub.

I don't drink, but it was nice to be able to say goodbye to the people I worked with in  a relatively informal session.

As for what's next? I don't know, and the question, "what are you going to do???" when people find out makes me nervous, because I DON'T know, and I get defensive and start babbling and making excuses.

Bah.

This is what I am going to do.

I am going to meet with the job search consultant - I have five sessions left.
I am going to hunt down the woman who was supposed to forward my benefit request form for my superannuation funds A MONTH AGO and politely request that she do so (luckily, those funds are separate from my redundancy payout, and I should get my redundancy payout this week, hopefully).
I am going to power through Salem, Empire and whatever else I have on my hard drive.
I am finally going to finish stitching Circe:  (I actually have more done than this,but this is the most recent photo that I have)
I am going to set up a stack of books, and work my through, including a mini-pile for RIP X, which is being hosted by the lovely ladies of The Estella Society this year: http://www.estellasociety.com/?p=1484
I am - finally - going to get my driver's licence and learn to drive a bloody car.
I am going to go to the movies more, while I have the chance.
I am going to provide cats with a warm and large place to rest.
I am going to figure out Dragon Age: Inquisition
And last - but by no means least - I'm going to hang out with spawn.

And of course, somewhere in there, hopefully, find another job.

Oh! And nano! I'm planning on doing nano this year: http://nanowrimo.org/ which I say every year, but unless something shows up before then, I'll have no excuse at all.

On the blog this week coming up, hopefully, are reviews of Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay, and also Scream - I watched it on Friday night for my weekly movie hit, in honour of the passing of Wes Craven.

I'm reading The Sunne in Splendour (still), Our Endless Numbered Days, and I picked up The Rest of Us Just Live Here, by Patrick Ness. Hopefully I'll have reviews of the latter two this week sometime.

I STILL haven't read or watched Watchmen and the graphic novel will be due back at the library soon, so I need suggestions for this Friday night's movie fare.

How's everyone doing?

What's your favourite scary movie?

The Winter Soldier - review

You know those movies, that when you watch them, you go "I wish everyone who made action/superhero movies would watch this movie and take notes!"

Well, I wish they'd watch The Winter Soldier, because that is how this is DONE.

It has everything you could ever want. Steve Rogers in inappropriately tight T-shirts, flirting with Sam Wilson, Natasha Romanov, aka, the Black Widow, being awesome IN HER OWN RIGHT and not just as an adjunct to the main dude. And the STORY. The story is great, and clever and doesn't treat the audience like moronic drones.

It's not colour-by-numbers if you see what I mean.

Anyway. The Winter Soldier is set after The Avengers, and Steve is trying to find a place for himself in the world still. He's getting better at it, and when he meets Sam - a fellow military veteran who gets at least some of what Steve's going through, he starts to open up a little bit.

THEN everything goes to hell in a Hydra-decorated handbasket, and the Winter Soldier (aka Bucky Barnes, aka Steve's lifelong bestie) wears too much eyeliner and EVERYTHING IS TERRIBLE BUT ALSO GREAT BUT ALSO TERRIBLE.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this after Captain America: The First Avenger, because that's not my favourite film in the whole Marvel/Avengers collection but The Winter Solider is absolutely A+

Then I start thinking how Natasha was treated in Age of Ultron and I get angry again but LET'S NOT GO THERE.

Let's bask.

That's beetter.

Blogger award

Greg from http://gregsbookhaven.blogspot.co.nz/ nominated me for a bloggers award - which I only just picked up on yesterday even though he did it last week - sorry Greg!

I'm just going to answer Greg's questions, because I'm doing this at work so I don't forget, but you're all great and all that jazz :)

Okay.

On to the questions!


1) Do you have a favorite book to share?

Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel is my favourite read of 2015. I've read it twice this year

2) If you could go back in time, what era would you goto?

Oh ... that's a hard one. I love the fashion and movies of the 1950s but then rampant sexims and racism .... hmmmmmm. Early 1800s, maybe. Just because of Jane Austen.

3) If you've read Divergent, which faction are you? If not, skip this one.
N/A

4) What is your favorite game?
Dragon Age: Origins. For mobile games, Midnight Castle, which is a hidden objects game.

5) What fairy tale setting would you visit if you could?
The Snow Queen. Not bloody Frozen, but the original fairytale.

6) Do you have a favorite movie?
All About Eve.

7) TV or movies?
Yes.

8) Do you share your blog with family or do you keep it on the down low?
I don't share with them as such but if they asked me about it I'd tell them. There's nothing on here that they couldn't read.

9) What is your favorite food?
Chocolate. Roast chicken. Salty, salty potato chips. Chocolate covered pretzels. Salty, salty fries.

10) If you had an all expenses paid visit to anywhere in the world, where would you go, and why?
Paris. Paris has always been my dream destination.

Sunday post 6

The Sunday Post is a chance to catch up  with blogging and with life, and with other bloggers. Hosted here at http://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/

As you can see by the back-to-back Sunday posts, I got no blogging done at all last week. But I also only just finished Bad Feminist today, and The Winter Soldier on Friday night, and chose to spend my Saturday playing Dragon Age and hanging out with spawn.

Oh, and finally starting season three of Hannibal. :)

The upshot is of course, no posts. (Also I'm very very very lazy. Have I mentioned that?)

My supervisor returned from Raratonga so my work week was far less fraught than the one before. Coming up - my very last week of work before redundancy kicks in.

I had a meeting with a job search consultant last week (aside: I had no idea that was a thing). The company is paying for six sessions and basically what they do is help you identify your strengths, update your CV and, hopefully, ultimately, get a job.

The guy I spoke to was very nice - approachable and optimistic about my chances to find another job, which is nice to hear. I have a bit of "homework" and another session on Thursday morning.

Let's see. ... what else.

Work. Tick.
Spawn. Tick.

Oh, that's the other thing. I spent yesterday morning dealing with a charming infestation of nits, which meant showers and baths and an absolute truckload of washing. *Sigh*. So by last night I was really only fit for gaming or watching TV - lol.

I finished Bad Feminist, as I said, and found it very thought-provoking. I'll do a review some time this week, but I am nowhere near as eloquent as Ms Gay, so we'll just see how that goes.

I'll also try and do a review of The Winter Solider. Well .... review/rant probably about how it's so much better than Age of Ultron and - wait, never mind.

I've been picking away at Dragon Age; Inquisition and it mostly highlights to me how absolutely terrible I am at games. But. There's a new DLC coming out on September 8 and even though I'm like, 10 minutes into Inquisition, I'm super super excited. Just. Because.

Friday is my last day - and effectively the last day for two other workmates who also took the redundancy offered, so there will probably be awkward speeches and then everyone will decamp to the pub. The pub normally isn't my thing, but I'll make an exception just this once.

Before that, on Thursday, we have spawn's school's production of Red Riding Hood, which should be hilariously entertaining.

Other than that, I'm going to keep working through Hannibal, The Sunne in Splendour, and I also started Our Endless Numbered Days, which looks like a very promising read.

How's your week looking?

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)      

         

The Duchess War - review

I have to say, usually romance novels aren't my genre. I generally find the leading man unappealing and a massive dick, which puts me off.

I realise, of course, that I'm generalising, and I'm basing my bias entirely on the Mills & Boon reading phase I had in my first year of university.

So when a friend recommended The Duchess War to me, I was somewhat apprehensive. But, as she herself said, she wouldn't steer me wrong so I thought well, what could go wrong?

Also, it was free on iBooks so obviously, it was fate.

This is a very roundabout way of saying I absolutely loved it. It's great, everything is great and I'm a heartbeat away from handing out flowers on streetcorners.

Anyway. Miss Minerva Lane lives a very quiet life with her two maiden aunts, Eliza and Caro (who are not actually related in any way, but share a deep affection, IFYOUKNOWWHATIMEAN).

Minerva, of course, has A Past, and living the sedentary life of genteel poverty that she does now, is one that she's chosen on purpose, so that she might marry a somewhat respectable man, and then quietly disappear.

Or ... not.

The night Minnie meets the Duke of Clermont, Robert Blaisdell, is the night Minnie's life changes forever. Because as try as she might, she cannot seem to escape the Duke.

Okay, gosh, I don't know. This was SO GOOD. Minnie is so great and well-rounded and Robert!! That's what won me over, I think. He's a) Not a massive dick and 2) He has such REGARD for Minnie. Like, from moment one, he just ... pays so much attention to her, but not in the hahahaaa you will love me because I'm rich and handsome way but in the GOSH KEEP TALKING I WANT TO HEAR YOU TALK FOREVER AND ALSO BANG LOTS AND HAVE BABIES kind of way.

Right from the start I wanted to know what Minnie's secret was, that she was so reluctant to tell Robert and that hint of mystery as well as the unashamed gosh-darn romance of it all, kept me invested.

Also: Ms Milan goes IN for the sex scenes and honestly you might need to loosen a stay or three.

Also also: There's a found family theme with Robert's story that made me want to pet his hair and tell him everything would be okay and maybe also give him a puppy.

Plus also also: Female friendship with Minnie and Lydia. If I wanted to see more of anything, it was that.

Plus also also also: It's the first book in a series, so I am well pleased.