The fun we had: Fall 2018
December 26, 2018
What I read
Daniel José Older
Half-Resurrection Blues
Midnight Taxi Tango
MANY thumbs up. Annoyed with myself for not requesting that the library buy all three in the Bone Street Rumba series because I didn’t realize #3 (Battle Hill Bolero) was out! I have fixed that mistake but still waiting on the library to actually buy it.
Seanan McGuire
Discount Armageddon
Midnight Blue-Light Special
Half–Off Ragnarok
Pocket Apocalypse
MANY thumbs up. I want more. I keep thinking over how to fund cryptozoologists so they can do the crypto part of their job without having to work a day job. Passive income FTW!
Tomi Adeyemi, Children of Blood and Bone
MANY thumbs up. I knew this was going to be good. It was EXCELLENT.
Rin Chupeco, The Bone Witch
MANY thumbs up. Stunningly good. I can’t wait to read the Heart Forger.
Sabaa Tabir, A Torch Against the Night (Ember in the Ashes Series, Book 2)
A Reaper at the Gates (Ember in the Ashes Series, Book 3)
So gripping! I have now learned, after three attempts, I can never start a Sabaa Tahir book and expect to put it down before the end.
Gary Paulsen
The Winter Room
Road Trip
Hatchet
Mary Hoffman, City of Masks, Stravaganza Series, Book 1
City of Stars, Stravaganza Series, Book 2
City of Flowers, Stravaganza Series, Book 3
City of Secrets, Stravaganza Series, Book 4
City of Ships, Stravaganza Series, Book 5
City of Swords, Stravaganza Series, Book 6
Gregory Harris, The Bellingham Bloodbath
Interesting enough I’d like to read more of the series.
Imogen Hermes Gowar, The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock
Not my usual genre but very engaging and well written. I was mildly stressed hoping the characters would make good decisions. It was solid but I didn’t really enjoy the experience so wouldn’t read it again.
Danette Haworth, A Whole Lot of Lucky
A totally random middle school pick from the library because none of my books were available. It was about a poor kid whose family wins the lottery and I was reasonably impressed with how the parents dealt with the windfall. Less so with the kid but I’ve always struggled to relate to normal kids so this isn’t a surprise. Overall, pretty well written.
Ilona Andrews, Magic Bites (Kate Daniels Series, Book 1)
Magic Burns (Kate Daniels Series, Book 2)
Magic Strikes (Kate Daniels Series, Book 3)
Clean Sweep (Innkeeper Chronicles, Book 1)
Sweep in Peace (Innkeeper Chronicles Series, Book 2)
One Fell Sweep (Innkeeper Chronicles, Book 3)
Burn for Me (Hidden Legacy Series, Book 1)
Wildfire (Hidden Legacy Series, Book 3)
My first Kate Daniels books! I’ve heard about this series before but never picked one up. I need our library to get ALL of them. I LOVED the Innkeeper Chronicles, I reread them four times. Hidden Legacy is also interesting and fun. I’m ready to say anything Ilona Andrews is a sure bet for me.
Amanda Bouchet, A Promise of Fire (The Kingmaker Chronicles Series, Book 1)
Breath of Fire (The Kingmaker Chronicles Series, Book 2)
Heart on Fire (The Kingmaker Chronicles Series, Book 3)
Beverly Cleary, Ramona and Her Mother (Ramona Quimby Series, Book 5)
A little trip down memory lane.
Kelly Barnhill, The Witch’s Boy
The Girl Who Drank the Moon
Both of these were really well written and I would definitely recommend them.
Mercedes Lackey, Blood Red (Elemental Masters Series, Book 10)
Bastion (Valdemar: The Collegium Chronicles, Book 5)
Hunter (Hunter Series, Book 1)
I’ve always enjoyed this series and really particularly liked this take on Little Red Riding Hood. I don’t love the Valdemar books anymore after thinking about the Companions and kidnapping to impress citizens into the service of the government buuuut I needed a book to read.
Where we went
We finally made it down to Monterey for a short weekend trip and tried a new place in Pacific Grove, escaping a little bit from the fires and visiting a friend.
The Deer Haven Inn was a very basic but nice enough place to hang out for a night and day while we escaped the massive fires and the toxic air from up North. We loved our little fireplace and had take out on the beds which we never ever do. I had hoped to see some deer hanging out near the inn but instead we were startled by them wandering around the roads in the pitch dark! It was pure luck that we didn’t hit any. Be careful what you wish for and all that. Unfortunately our usual fantastic Mexican food place that we eat at almost every time we’re in Monterey really didn’t come through. Everything we had was dry, or oversauced, and disappointing. Darn.
What I watched
The Good Place. I’d seen advertisements for this show all over the place at SDCC but since there are only about a billion things vying for our attention, I didn’t think twice about it. I do like Kristen Bell a lot so that should have been a warning flag that I’d like it but I randomly found it on Netflix one day and it is fantastic.
Grimm. I’d enjoyed Grimm the first time around but didn’t watch it all way through when it was still live. This has an entire cast of supporting characters I loved. The main character was fine but my favorites were the supporting characters: Munroe, Rosalie, Sergeant Wu, Hank, I loved. Juliette and the Captain, I liked. Adalind I had trouble liking both times around, but for different reasons.
What I did
I picked up needle and thread for fun this fall and while my stitches are laughably uneven, I’ve really enjoyed it as a hobby. Inspired by Kristine at Frugasaurus, I’ve been making drawstring bags. It’s very weird to have a hobby that costs money but it’s also oddly soothing. Is this what they call relaxing?
:: What are you enjoying right now?
Show-wise my husband and I just finished watching Killing Eve (BBC, Sandra Oh, cat-and-mouse spy caper) and it was pretty amazing. Otherwise I’ve just been reading lots of books related to my job, so less amazing.
Ooh I thought I’d heard she starred in a great show – thanks for the reminder.
The Good Place is so, so good, and they’ve managed to do interesting things in every season I’ve watched so far. (I’ve seen the seasons that are on Netflix and skipped ahead to the episodes that were still on Hulu.) I haven’t loved that many of the other shows I watched this year. (HBO’s Sharp Objects is only okay, great actresses, but the pacing feels really off; the newest Narcos is a bit dull compared to the original season one, even with some great actors; etc. etc.) Two that I did like that are kind of obscure are Aggretsuko on Netflix (really fun and quick to watch, feels surprisingly relevant to some things about being a working woman in the US, even though it’s set in Japan) and The Exorcist season one that was on Fox (but was cancelled because it never got much of an audience, after a less good season 2).
You made me want to double check whether a third season of The Good Place was already available 😀 I usually stick to old shows throughout the year so I can just half listen to them but this one was a delight.
I’m looking for a crafty hobby for 2019, so I’ll look into the drawstring bags!
They’re very useful! I might branch out into trying to make pajama pants next year if I can find a really good sale on fleece fabric.