yoga, books, movies, tv & too many crime procedurals – not necesarily in that order
I finished Feed (Mira Grant) last night. If it gives you any indication how I liked the book, I stayed up two hours after I went to bed so I could get through it. I get up at 4 am, so I know from lost sleep.
It was spectacular. To be honest, when I first picked it up it was slow for the first few pages and I put it down. I picked it back up the other day and started over and once I got past those first few pages, the grab hit. The narrative digs in and doesn’t let go and builds to – I kid you not – an actual heart-pounding climax. THAT doesn’t happen with every book I read.
One of the ‘twists’ wasn’t much of a twist given the foreshadowing but it didn’t matter a whit to the story or how into it I was. The parallels which can be drawn between the crushing failure of the media in the book and the crushing failure of the media before the current war are, I’m sure, not accidental. It’s a great horror/urban fantasy read with just the right amount of “right now” in it to make you think about the media, politics and the atmosphere of fear you can feel going into the midterm elections.
Read it.
OR… My Phone is Fucking Awesome, part 462.
Yesterday I had a schedule gap before meeting up with the spouse and, for whatever reason, made the boneheaded mistake of leaving my Kindle at home. I’ll spare you the ad nauseum of how much I love the Kindle but I guess I just forgot to put it in my bag. I was looking at about an hour to kill so I decided to finally download the Kindle app for my Droid Eris.
Within about a minute, I was logged in and reading Feed (by Devon Monk). Dude. FUCKING AWESOME. 1. Do I love tinyscreen? No. Changeable fonts help but I don’t really love the backlight. 2. Nope. That pretty much covers it.
I spent the hour soaking up zombie-hunting goodness and then read some more on the Eris at work today during my lunch break. The best part is that when I got home tonight, I turned on my Kindle and syched it and then picked up EXACTLY where I’d left off on my phone.
In short, I love technology. The Kindle is still my favorite reading option but the Droid app is wicked handy in a pinch. Very nice option.
Related, Feed is ENGROSSING. It started a little slow but within a couple of pages I was hooked. I’m about halfway through it now and can’t wait to read the rest. Though there will be a break for a new ep of The Closer.
They suck.
My plan was to go to a book club meeting tonight (The Magicians by Lev Grossman) but unless I’m feeling SERIOUSLY better that won’t happen. The book itself was interesting and borrowed pretty heavily from the Narnia mystique. Imagine if Narnia were a Real place – a place where four bumbling kids don’t manage to do everything more or less right and the inhabitants aren’t all thrilled by their presence. Imagine it had real rules with real consequences. Unfortunately the book relies pretty much on the story of the protag who’s not all that interesting (especially when compared to that original premise) and has a LOT of time devoted to him “growing up” before taking a sharp left back to the original premise (with predictably dire results). It also suffered a bit from dwelling in some minutae of this alternate fairytale-ish world such that I kind of skimmed sections. All told an enjoyable book despite an unlikeable protag.
We watched Capitalism: A Love Story yesterday. Generally speaking I’m not a fan of Michael Moore. His Sicko didn’t accurately represent the experience of MANY Canadians I knew who came over the border to Michigan to get health care they couldn’t in their country. If you want me to take you seriously, you’ve got to point out the good WITH the bad rather than glossing over the bad – which makes me feel like you’re blowing smoke up my ass. I’ve got politicians to do that so I don’t need documentarians.
In point of fact, I think he’d have been better served to make Capitalism BEFORE Sicko. Capitalism is pretty fantastic and does an excellent job of explaining how 1) we don’t actually HAVE capitalism and 2) why we don’t want it. THIS film points out all the things that are currently broken with our system and actually talks about what some people are doing to fight it. THIS is a great film. That doesn’t mean I agree with everything he says. When you’re talking about subprime mortgages, the “subprime” refers to the borrower. Some of the borrowers knew full well that they didn’t have the money to do what they were doing and did it anyhow. I don’t think that’s robbery. I also think that the consumer has to put some consideration into their actions – it’s not like these companies were out FLEECING everyone. You signed a contract – a contract which if you didn’t read, I’ve got limited sympathy.
We also watched The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo on Netflix streaming. My second viewing, Spouse’s first. You know it’s a good film when you’re still riveted after 1) reading the book and 2) having seen it once already. I fucking love Salandar. That is all.
I’m considering making this for lunch/dinner today as I picked up a lovely mango from the store yesterday. It will depend whether or not the local grocer has some fresh mint but I might just compromise.
Today is about more Netflix streaming and more Kindle books. Oh, and quality time with my Neti pot. Fuck. I hate being sick.
And then someone you know (albeit not well) gets murdered. What the fucking fuck.
Best thoughts and wishes to the Flores family. Vonnie was a ray of sunshine and deserved better.
To spend Friday night recovering from your week? Because DAMN.
On the bright side, I got most of the heavy lifting done this week. All that’s left is purging the files and fixing the paperwork. Heh. ALL.
As for now, I’m enjoying a nice cold beer, awaiting some company and contemplating which book I’ll be reading next.
As a public service announcement: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is out on DVD. If you’ve been on the fence, rent it.
