March in Review

Books Acquired:
The Tragedy of Mister Morn by Vladimir Nabokov

Books Read:
The Last Colony (Old Man’s War #3) by John Scalzi
Golden Son (Red Rising #2) by Pierce Brown
The Sculptor by Scott McCloud
Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher

I really enjoyed everything I read in March. Two were sequels to novels I love, so those aren’t too much of a surprise. The third is a graphic novel that got a lot of buzz last year and came highly recommended from a number of people I trust, so also not a huge surprise. The fourth was Carrie Fisher’s first autobiography, which I picked up on a complete whim and honestly had no idea what to expect. She’s hilarious in interviews, so I took a chance, and it turned out to be a complete riot.

This wasn’t just a good reading month, but a good gaming month as well, as you’ll see below. Unfortunately, this was partly due to having some routine medical procedures a few weeks ago, and I dumped a bunch of time into gaming to distract myself from all that, but nevertheless it resulted in some great games being played. I have a feeling I’ll be playing The Division for at least a few months more.

Also in book-related news, my girlfriend read her first Terry Pratchett novel, which is very exciting. I had a hard time recommending where to start, as the first few novels, while I love them, aren’t necessarily the best representation of his work. I ended up on The Wee Free Men. It’s fairly separate from most of the reoccurring characters, it’s the beginning of a mini-series, and I knew she’d get a kick out of the Nac Mac Feegles. Those are the most recent Discworld books I’ve read as well, so they were fresh in my mind I suppose. She just started A Hat Full of Sky, so that’s a good sign!

Movies watched:
The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2015) – We really loved the first movie, and this sequel was a fun revisit, but not quite on the same level.

TV watched:
Cooked: Season 1 (2016) – Netflix turned Michael Pollan’s book of the same name into a four-episode documentary series, and we really enjoyed it. I haven’t read any of his books yet, so maybe I’ll seek one out soon. My girlfriend started making bread from scratch after watching this, so yay Michael Pollan.

Games played:
Tom Clancy’s The Division – (2016) (PC) – I’m having a lot of fun with this. The story is a bit anemic, but the gameplay is quite good, and playing with friends is a blast. There’s a player versus player element to this which can be quite exciting.

The Beginner’s Guide – (2015) (PC) – A short game that uses an analysis of game development to tell a cool story. Starts off slow, but I loved it by the very end. There’s a lot of stand-out moments in this.

Dreamfall Chapters: book 4 – (2015) (PC) – Book 4 was much better than the last couple of installments, thankfully. Still quite an average game and really only recommended if you’re a huge fan of The Longest Journey series.

Emerald City Confidential – (2009) (PC) – This is an early game from a favourite developer of mine, Wadjet Eye Games, maker of the Blackwell series. This starts off very slow, and doesn’t really get interesting until the last quarter. Enjoyable overall, but a bit basic. It did make me want to read the Oz books, though.

Clash Royale – (2016) (iOS) – This is a multiplayer strategy mobile game. Each match is only a few minutes, so it’s fun to squeeze a few in throughout the day. It seems simple at first, but the gameplay has surprising depth. It does have those free-to-play hooks in it, unfortunately. You can have a lot of fun playing it without paying, though, which I’ve still managed to do.

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