Media Consumption Wednesday
Jan. 14th, 2015 07:16 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sereneThis gets super-long; hoping cuts will help. Not sure how good I'll be about this once I start work on Thursday, but I set myself a calendar notification for Tuesdays, so I hope I'll keep it up.
Reading:
Currently reading the following books:
Pride and Prejudice, which I suspect I'll like fine if I squint so I can't see the sexism/classism of the period. I'm only on chapter 5 so far.
The Poisonwood Bible, which so far is poetic and compelling, but again, I'm not very far into it (about 25%).
Backyard Farming on an Acre or Less. I have a photo in this book, but I've never read it, and now we're planning our garden, so I'm checking it out.
Forks over Knives: The cookbook. My plan was to cook through this book, one recipe a week, starting at the beginning of this year, but it's hard to get traction while not having a kitchen of my own, so I'm being kind to myself and letting the slow start just be a slow start. Lots of yummy-sounding stuff in there, though.
Notes of a Native Son: I love this book, but it's very dense, and there's a lot I want to really understand as deeply as I can, so it's fairly slow going for me. When there's a lot to think about, I will frequently read for a while, then put it down to think, and I'm doing that a bit with this one. I love Baldwin, and it actually wouldn't be a horrible thing to have this drag out for a while.
Recently finished:
Kitchen Garden Planner, a mostly-pictures book about gardens that combine herbs and decorative food plants with visual elements (both plants and structural elements)
Field of Prey, standard John Sandford serial-killer thing
Doomsday Book, Connie Willis. The casual fat-hatred bugged me, but not a lot. It is a fairly typical thing in fiction, so I mostly ignore it in anything more than a few years old. The ending gutted me. I so wanted to wish a different ending, but at the same time, it was very satisfying [spoiler] in the way that it's satisfying to me when spies on MI-5 (Spooks) get killed, because that's real. Spies are in danger all the time, and it bothers me when James Bond doesn't even get a scratch on him. [end spoiler]
Goodreads reading club; recs sought:
I have been on Goodreads forever, but haven't been active. I am reading a lot more now, though, so I started actually posting there, and tracking my books, etc. I also joined a book club that will read 52 books this year, and there's a theme every week. I am starting a little late, but I'm going to do all the books anyway; just going to do week 1 as I go along. Suggestions for your favorites are HUGELY welcome for the spots that aren't already taken.
WEEKS & TOPICS
1. a book with more than 500 pages [The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver]
2. a romance [Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen]
3. a book that became a movie [The Martian, Andy Weir]
4. a book published this year [The Big Tiny, Dee Williams]
5. a book with a number in the title
6. a book written by someone under 30
7. a book with nonhuman characters
8. a funny book [This Land Was Made for You and Me (but mostly me): Billionaires in the Wild, Bruce McCall & David Letterman]
9. a book by a female author [Cooking Green, Kate Heyhoe]
10. a mystery or thriller
11. a book with a one-word title
12. a book of short stories [Filter House, Nisi Shawl]
13. a book set in a different country [Treasure Island, Stevenson]
14. a nonfiction book [Forks Over Knives--The Cookbook, Del Sroufe]
15. a popular author's first book
16. a book from your favorite author that you haven't read yet
17. a book a friend recommended
18. a Pulitzer-prize winning book
19. a book based on a true story [Mom & Me & Mom, Maya Angelou]
20. a book at the bottom of your to read list
21. a book your mom loves
22. a book that scares you
23. a book more than 100 years old [Aesop's Fables]
24. a book based entirely on its cover
25. a book you were supposed to read in school but didn't
26. a memoir [Living with a Wild God, Barbara Ehrenreich]
27. a book you can finish in a day
28. a book with antonyms in the title
29. a book set somewhere you've always wanted to visit
30. a book that came out the year you were born
31. a book with bad reviews
32. a trilogy (the first)
33. a trilogy (the second)
34. a trilogy (the third)
35. a book from your childhood
36. a book with a love triangle
37. a book set in the future
38. a book set in high school
39. a book with a color in the title
40. a book that made/makes you cry
41. a book with magic
42. a graphic novel [Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant?, Roz Chast]
43. a book by an author you've never read before
44. a book you own but have never read
45. a book that takes place in your hometown
46. a book that was originally written in another language
47. a book set during Christmas (or similar holiday)
48. a book written by an author with your same initials
49. a play
50. a banned book
51. a book based on OR turned into a tv show
52. a book you started but never finished [Notes of a Native Son, James Baldwin]
Listening:
In the car, Brandi Carlisle, mostly. At home, Pandora, including a fun new station that James made with lots of Queen and ELO on it.
Watching:
Bought series 8 of Doctor Who and liked it fine, with some exceptions, but nothing to really complain about. It's my kind of adventuring, so I usually enjoy it even when it's not great. This is why I often feel like I'm not a hardcore fan, because I rarely have very strong feelings about the media I consume.
We're re-watching Murder, She Wrote. I don't like it much, but James does, and I usually play Plants Vs. Zombies while it's on, so I only pay attention with half a lobe.
We watched a couple episodes of Dexter's Laboratory, which we both used to like, long ago in the long-ago, and we both thought it was laughably bad.
Re-watched Nightmare Before Christmas, which is always great, but we also watched one of the extras, which was the original poem it was based on. Not surprisingly to me, Sally was an afterthought. The "love interest chick" is often an afterthought with dudebros. But I love Sally anyway.
Playing:
Mostly Plants vs. Zombies. Some Royal Envoy 2 and Two Dots, a little Euclid, but I'm probably going to need a new game soon. Suggestions welcome.
Reading:
Currently reading the following books:
Pride and Prejudice, which I suspect I'll like fine if I squint so I can't see the sexism/classism of the period. I'm only on chapter 5 so far.
The Poisonwood Bible, which so far is poetic and compelling, but again, I'm not very far into it (about 25%).
Backyard Farming on an Acre or Less. I have a photo in this book, but I've never read it, and now we're planning our garden, so I'm checking it out.
Forks over Knives: The cookbook. My plan was to cook through this book, one recipe a week, starting at the beginning of this year, but it's hard to get traction while not having a kitchen of my own, so I'm being kind to myself and letting the slow start just be a slow start. Lots of yummy-sounding stuff in there, though.
Notes of a Native Son: I love this book, but it's very dense, and there's a lot I want to really understand as deeply as I can, so it's fairly slow going for me. When there's a lot to think about, I will frequently read for a while, then put it down to think, and I'm doing that a bit with this one. I love Baldwin, and it actually wouldn't be a horrible thing to have this drag out for a while.
Recently finished:
Kitchen Garden Planner, a mostly-pictures book about gardens that combine herbs and decorative food plants with visual elements (both plants and structural elements)
Field of Prey, standard John Sandford serial-killer thing
Doomsday Book, Connie Willis. The casual fat-hatred bugged me, but not a lot. It is a fairly typical thing in fiction, so I mostly ignore it in anything more than a few years old. The ending gutted me. I so wanted to wish a different ending, but at the same time, it was very satisfying [spoiler] in the way that it's satisfying to me when spies on MI-5 (Spooks) get killed, because that's real. Spies are in danger all the time, and it bothers me when James Bond doesn't even get a scratch on him. [end spoiler]
Goodreads reading club; recs sought:
I have been on Goodreads forever, but haven't been active. I am reading a lot more now, though, so I started actually posting there, and tracking my books, etc. I also joined a book club that will read 52 books this year, and there's a theme every week. I am starting a little late, but I'm going to do all the books anyway; just going to do week 1 as I go along. Suggestions for your favorites are HUGELY welcome for the spots that aren't already taken.
WEEKS & TOPICS
1. a book with more than 500 pages [The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver]
2. a romance [Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen]
3. a book that became a movie [The Martian, Andy Weir]
4. a book published this year [The Big Tiny, Dee Williams]
5. a book with a number in the title
6. a book written by someone under 30
7. a book with nonhuman characters
8. a funny book [This Land Was Made for You and Me (but mostly me): Billionaires in the Wild, Bruce McCall & David Letterman]
9. a book by a female author [Cooking Green, Kate Heyhoe]
10. a mystery or thriller
11. a book with a one-word title
12. a book of short stories [Filter House, Nisi Shawl]
13. a book set in a different country [Treasure Island, Stevenson]
14. a nonfiction book [Forks Over Knives--The Cookbook, Del Sroufe]
15. a popular author's first book
16. a book from your favorite author that you haven't read yet
17. a book a friend recommended
18. a Pulitzer-prize winning book
19. a book based on a true story [Mom & Me & Mom, Maya Angelou]
20. a book at the bottom of your to read list
21. a book your mom loves
22. a book that scares you
23. a book more than 100 years old [Aesop's Fables]
24. a book based entirely on its cover
25. a book you were supposed to read in school but didn't
26. a memoir [Living with a Wild God, Barbara Ehrenreich]
27. a book you can finish in a day
28. a book with antonyms in the title
29. a book set somewhere you've always wanted to visit
30. a book that came out the year you were born
31. a book with bad reviews
32. a trilogy (the first)
33. a trilogy (the second)
34. a trilogy (the third)
35. a book from your childhood
36. a book with a love triangle
37. a book set in the future
38. a book set in high school
39. a book with a color in the title
40. a book that made/makes you cry
41. a book with magic
42. a graphic novel [Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant?, Roz Chast]
43. a book by an author you've never read before
44. a book you own but have never read
45. a book that takes place in your hometown
46. a book that was originally written in another language
47. a book set during Christmas (or similar holiday)
48. a book written by an author with your same initials
49. a play
50. a banned book
51. a book based on OR turned into a tv show
52. a book you started but never finished [Notes of a Native Son, James Baldwin]
Listening:
In the car, Brandi Carlisle, mostly. At home, Pandora, including a fun new station that James made with lots of Queen and ELO on it.
Watching:
Bought series 8 of Doctor Who and liked it fine, with some exceptions, but nothing to really complain about. It's my kind of adventuring, so I usually enjoy it even when it's not great. This is why I often feel like I'm not a hardcore fan, because I rarely have very strong feelings about the media I consume.
We're re-watching Murder, She Wrote. I don't like it much, but James does, and I usually play Plants Vs. Zombies while it's on, so I only pay attention with half a lobe.
We watched a couple episodes of Dexter's Laboratory, which we both used to like, long ago in the long-ago, and we both thought it was laughably bad.
Re-watched Nightmare Before Christmas, which is always great, but we also watched one of the extras, which was the original poem it was based on. Not surprisingly to me, Sally was an afterthought. The "love interest chick" is often an afterthought with dudebros. But I love Sally anyway.
Playing:
Mostly Plants vs. Zombies. Some Royal Envoy 2 and Two Dots, a little Euclid, but I'm probably going to need a new game soon. Suggestions welcome.
no subject
Date: 2015-01-14 03:37 pm (UTC)-J
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Date: 2015-01-14 03:37 pm (UTC)-J
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Date: 2015-01-14 04:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-01-14 07:14 pm (UTC)Not enough of you yesterday!!!
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Date: 2015-01-14 09:15 pm (UTC)Likewise, dearheart, even though I really enjoyed the people-watching aspect of watching you and M. and my mom being entertaining.
I knew nothing at all about the Kingsolver going into it, and have been really loving the language and the POV switches, among other things.
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Date: 2015-01-15 03:09 am (UTC)39: devil in a blue dress, Mosley.
10: Yiddish policemans Union, chabon.
7: rachel Bach, the one with pawn in the title. Or if reading about a girl and her power armor sounds like fun to you, bump this the the trilogy weeks.
41: Kate griffin- Magicals anonymous (stray souls is the first book) if you want funny, the midnight mayor (a madness of angels is the first book) if you'd like more serious.
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Date: 2015-01-15 03:31 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-01-15 05:32 am (UTC)7. nonhuman characters: the madness season, c. s. friedman
10. mystery: friday the rabbi slept late, harry kemmelman
11. one word title: hellspark, janet kagan
15. first book: the god of small things, arundhati roy
17. friend recommended: the winter queen, boris akunin
18. pulitzer prize winner: the soul of a new machine, tracy kidder
21. mom loves: 1066 and all that, sellar and yeatman (i love it too!)
27. finish in a day: joy in the morning, p. g. wodehouse
30. came out when i was born: danny, the champion of the world, roald dahl
32-34. trilogy: the johnny maxwell trilogy, terry pratchett
35. book from my childhood: the turbulent term of tyke tiler, gene kemp
37. set in the future: nova, samuel delany
39. colour in the title: red mars, kim stanley robinson
40. makes me cry: flowers for algernon, daniel keyes
41. magic: so you want to be a wizard, diane duane
43. author i've never read: lady sings the blues, billie holiday
44. own but haven't read: bad feminist, roxane gay
46. written in another language: the name of the rose, umberto eco
48. initials: off the books: the underground economy of the urban poor, sudhir venkatesh
49. a play: the great celestial cow, sue townsend
51. based on a tv show: the complete yes minister, jonathan lynn and antony jay
no subject
Date: 2015-01-15 06:11 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-01-18 06:20 am (UTC)6. a book written by someone under 30 - nonfic, Black Girl Dangerous, Mia McKenzie. Fic, Special Topics in Calamity Physics, Marisha Pessl.
7. a book with nonhuman characters - see urban fantasy list below under books with magic.
10. a mystery or thriller - I am a huge fan of local-to-me author Susan Wittig Albert. She writes/has written three mystery series I adore: the China Bayles mysteries, the Cottage Tales (about a fictionalized Beatrix Potter), and Victorian mysteries written with her husband under the pen name Robin Paige. I also really like Jacqueline Winspear’s Maisie Dobbs series.
11. a book with a one-word title - Transposes, a graphic novel by my friend Dylan Edwards about queer trans guys
15. a popular author's first book - Hmm, how popular? Albert and Winspear above are both NYT bestsellers, if not household names.
18. a Pulitzer-prize winning book - Turns out they have a handy list! My fave of the recents is the Junot Diaz.
28. a book with antonyms in the title - I had trouble thinking of something for this! But for Christie I recommended Carrie Fisher’s The Best Awful.
31. a book with bad reviews - Wouldn’t pretty much any book work here?
32. a trilogy (the first) - The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch starts a pretty fun fantasy trilogy.
36. a book with a love triangle - Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, Sister of My Heart
38. a book set in high school - I know there must be a million of these, but right now all I can think of are Harry Potter, the Vampire Academy books, and The Fault in Our Stars. Oh! Special Topics in Calamity Physics is, too!
39. a book with a color in the title - Christopher Moore, Sacre Bleu
41. a book with magic - I'm reading a lot of urban fantasy lately. Some I like: Chloe Neill's Chicagoland Vampire series, Gail Carriger's hilarious Parasol Protectorate series, Jacqueline Carey's first Kushiel series (lots of BDSM content, dunno if that'll bother you) or her Pemkowet series, Kevin Hearne's Iron Druid series. I also really liked Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus.
48. a book written by an author with your same initials - Oooh, you get Sarah Vowell!
50. a banned book - Toni Morrison gets banned a lot! Great excuse to read her.
no subject
Date: 2015-01-18 06:56 am (UTC)