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The month has flown by. The weather's clearing a little (though still cold and grey), so I'm spending more time outdoors.
Books
An Artificial Night by Seanan McGuire (reread)
Late Eclipses by Seanan McGuire (reread)
One Salt Sea by Seanan McGuire (reread)
Ashes of Honour by Seanan McGuire (reread)
Chimes at Midnight by Seanan McGuire (reread)
The Winter Long by Seanan McGuire (reread)
Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo - final volume of a trilogy I started a few months ago. While I love the concept and the characters, I was a little disappointed with the ending.
For Today I Am A Boy by Kim Fu - an impulse purchase while I was at the airport. Fascinating reading, from a cultural standpoint as well as a gender-related one. Highly recommended
Propaganda: Truth and Lies in Wartime edited by Tony Husband - interesting volume compiling examples of various propaganda posters from around the world. I would have liked more explanation of the posters though.
Bellman and Black by Diane Setterfield - I had no idea this author had published a second book; I loved "The Thirteenth Tale" and was thrilled to stumble across this. Sadly, it didn't deliver: the story is meandering and dark, with an underlying tension that is never quite resolved.
Movies
Woman in Gold (2015) - I've been following this story for years, ever since I learned about it in the documentary "The Rape of Europa". I was surprised to see Ryan Reynolds cast in it but he did an amazing job; all the actors did. My only issue was how easy the movie made it seem: with enough determination and pluck, you too can have your art restituted by foreign countries! Given the medium, I think they did a great job but I'm a little sad by how simplified it all got.
The Age of Adaline (2015) - this movie left a bitter taste in my mouth. It was pretty (I would have wanted many more scenes of her previous "lives"!) and the male lead did a great job, but Blake Lively was flat as an actress, and the story was predictable. Most of all, though, I couldn't get past the first half hour of the movie, in which the man absolutely refuses to take no for an answer: showing up at her work, getting her address from her coworkers, calling her, pressing her for dates, threatening to withhold a large donation to her workplace if she won't date him... all of it was so far onto the stalker scale that it made me cringe. How are modern movies still getting away with the thought that this is romantic behaviour? Should you give up after the first no? Maybe not. There's a case to be made there. But you should definitely give up before you reach the bribery and privacy invasion stage.
Books
An Artificial Night by Seanan McGuire (reread)
Late Eclipses by Seanan McGuire (reread)
One Salt Sea by Seanan McGuire (reread)
Ashes of Honour by Seanan McGuire (reread)
Chimes at Midnight by Seanan McGuire (reread)
The Winter Long by Seanan McGuire (reread)
Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo - final volume of a trilogy I started a few months ago. While I love the concept and the characters, I was a little disappointed with the ending.
For Today I Am A Boy by Kim Fu - an impulse purchase while I was at the airport. Fascinating reading, from a cultural standpoint as well as a gender-related one. Highly recommended
Propaganda: Truth and Lies in Wartime edited by Tony Husband - interesting volume compiling examples of various propaganda posters from around the world. I would have liked more explanation of the posters though.
Bellman and Black by Diane Setterfield - I had no idea this author had published a second book; I loved "The Thirteenth Tale" and was thrilled to stumble across this. Sadly, it didn't deliver: the story is meandering and dark, with an underlying tension that is never quite resolved.
Movies
Woman in Gold (2015) - I've been following this story for years, ever since I learned about it in the documentary "The Rape of Europa". I was surprised to see Ryan Reynolds cast in it but he did an amazing job; all the actors did. My only issue was how easy the movie made it seem: with enough determination and pluck, you too can have your art restituted by foreign countries! Given the medium, I think they did a great job but I'm a little sad by how simplified it all got.
The Age of Adaline (2015) - this movie left a bitter taste in my mouth. It was pretty (I would have wanted many more scenes of her previous "lives"!) and the male lead did a great job, but Blake Lively was flat as an actress, and the story was predictable. Most of all, though, I couldn't get past the first half hour of the movie, in which the man absolutely refuses to take no for an answer: showing up at her work, getting her address from her coworkers, calling her, pressing her for dates, threatening to withhold a large donation to her workplace if she won't date him... all of it was so far onto the stalker scale that it made me cringe. How are modern movies still getting away with the thought that this is romantic behaviour? Should you give up after the first no? Maybe not. There's a case to be made there. But you should definitely give up before you reach the bribery and privacy invasion stage.
