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December in Review

Books Acquired:
Fool’s Assassin by Robin Hobb
Homeland by Cory Doctorow

Books Read:
Daemon by Daniel Suarez
Stephen Fry in America by Stephen Fry
The Best of Robert Service by Robert W. Service
Red Rising by Pierce Brown
The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka

Happy New Year!

I was supposed to be away visiting family for just one week over Christmas, but our plane couldn’t land the day I was supposed to leave, so I was stuck there for an extra four days. I just landed last night and am very happy to be home.

Despite the trouble leaving, I had a fun holiday this year. One of the better ones in recent memory, actually. Lots of eating and drinking, lots of gaming, and my brother and I (average age: late thirties) made a Calvin and Hobbes snowman scene.

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I mainly just did gifts with my girlfriend this year, and she knows that I need no help buying books, so I don’t really have anything book-related to share. I got a ukulele and a deep-fryer, though, both of which I’m very excited to use. With these two items, I can now achieve my dream of becoming Israel Kamakawiwoʻole. I got her a waffle maker, Death Star shaped obviously, so we’re looking forward to getting our chicken and waffles on soon. Maybe after our Hawaii trip next month…

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Movies watched:
Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) – Just awesome! Really captures the feeling of the original trilogy, and the new cast is great. Naturally funny without any comic relief characters. Very happy that we’ll have these to look forward to each year.

A Very Murray Christmas (2015) – I really enjoyed this. Bill Murray being Bill Murray with a bunch of guest stars thrown in.

Cinderella (2015) – Kenneth Branagh directed this, so we had to give it a try. He did a great job, I thought. It looked great, with impressive set and costume designs, and had a solid cast.

The Pirates! Band of Misfits (2012) – We wanted something light for New Year’s Eve. I had just landed and we decided to be old and lazy and drink wine on the couch. This was fun, and had some quite funny bits, even if the story itself was a little scattered and bland. Great voice-acting and the claymation looked fantastic.

TV watched:
BoJack Horseman: Season 2 (2015) – This keeps getting better. Really looking forward to the next season. A great mix of dark and goofy comedy.

Games played:
Tales from the Borderlands, Episode 3 & 4 (2015) (PC) – I’ll be finishing up the last episode of this soon. Really enjoying this game. It’s hilarious and has a brilliant soundtrack.

Dust: An Elysian Tail (2012) (PC) – I played this while home for the holidays, mainly because it had controller support and I was on a couch. I liked it more than I thought I would. I wasn’t expecting to finish it when I first launched it. The combat is repetitive but in a soothing, meditative way, like rearranging a bookshelf. Despite a humorous tone, the main story actually turns quite dark, which is an odd mix as the characters are anthropomorphic animals. Definitely check it out if you’re an emo furry, though.

Undertale (2015) (PC) – I loved this. It’s has the look of a classic RPG, but instead of fighting you find creative non-violent ways to finish fights. Well-written, fun music, and some really interesting ideas.

What have you been reading/watching/playing this month?

4 Comments

  • Geoff W

    I enjoyed BH season two, I’m not sure where they’ll go in three, but hopefully it’ll be great. I also agree about Star Wars! I loved that Rey and Finn had normal responses to someone being thrown into something like they were! Luke was just a little bit too cool, where were the panic and the oh shit moments!?

    Also, VERY jealous of Hawaii, it’s only been really cold here in Boston for a week and I’m done already.

    • Rob

      After the last few weeks, I am ready for some sun!

      Yeah, the new cast worked out perfectly. I thought they did great balancing the old and new, focusing on the newbies without getting lost too much in nostalgia. And you’re right, they reacted much more realistically to all the craziness.

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