cymry | (no subject) (Reply)

I've gone incommunicado. I've been fighting off minor illness for months now, one thing after another, and it's not letting up. All my spoons are accounted for and there are quite a few missing. The move back to Ottawa was difficult, the follow-up equally so. Holding pattern, meet an endless procession of doctors.

Books
Six-Gun Snow White by Catherynne M. Valente - as usual, I bow down before the brilliance of Cat Valente. Beautifully written, thoughtful, and quirky.
The Black Russian by Vladimir Alexandrov - I picked this up randomly in the bargain section and was intrigued enough to buy it. A biography of the son of southern US slaves who manages to travel from the deep South, make a name for himself in the north, then travel across to Europe and finally to Russia, where he owned and managed an extremely successful string of theatres and variety shows. Fascinating for the incongruousness of the story as well as for the time period.
Shifting Shadows by Patricia Briggs (reread)
The Immortal Crown by Richelle Mead - a surprisingly good urban fantasy series about the return of the gods to a post-apocalyptic world that has chosen to do away with religion entirely. Very enjoyable.
Mr. Penumbra's 24-hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan - a fun, quirky book with an interesting cast of characters, a bit of wild imagination, and a bit of an odd pace. Oh, what I wouldn't give for the world-wide museum register!
A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson - the companion to "Life After Life", which I loved, this one falls a little short. It uses a similar non-linear storyline: everything is jumbled up, past and future, old and young... which is interesting at times (you start to think you see a progression in the story, a working towards the most difficult moments of his life, the ones he's trying to avoid) and frustrating at others. The characters are well-rounded and real. My only real issue is with the end because I absolutely hate when authors pull things like that. It always feels like a cop-out.

Movies
Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015) - enjoyable, as Star Wars movies go. J.J. Abrams definitely did a lot of things right. Still not a huge Star Wars fan though.
Far From the Madding Crowd (2015) - I went into this blind, never having read the book, and enjoyed it at first... but less and less as the story progressed. Characters began to do stupid things, stories fell apart, and I was left a bit disappointed.
The Hundred-Foot Journey (2014) - an interesting story with some fun characters and a good look at life for immigrants in a small town, but the ending was predictable and cliché.
Joy (2015) - the previews made this look like quite a different movie. Still, Jennifer Lawrence was amazing, as usual, and it was a fun movie.
Selma (2014) - vivid, intense, and thought-provoking. A must-see movie.