September in Review

Books Acquired:
The Death of Bunny Munro by Nick Cave
I Was the Cat by Paul Tobin
Kaijumax, Season 1 by Zander Cannon
The Sixth Gun, Vol. 1: Cold Dead Fingers by Cullen Bunn
Something to Remember You By by Gene Wilder
Fool’s Quest by Robin Hobb
Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader by Anne Fadiman
Authority by Jeff VanderMeer
The Vegetarian by Han Kang
The Bookman’s Tale by Charlie Lovett
If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino
French Milk by Lucy Knisley
Facing Unpleasant Facts: Narrative Essays by George Orwell
On Writing by Charles Bukowski
Ballistics: Poems by Billy Collins
Laughter in the Dark by Vladimir Nabokov
The Drowned Cities by Paolo Bacigalupi
How to Read Literature by Terry Eagleton
Reading Like a Writer by Francine Prose
Exploration Fawcett: Journey to the Lost City of Z by Percy Harrison Fawcett
Saga: Volume 6 by Brian K. Vaughan

Books Read:
Off to Be the Wizard by Scott Meyer
Captain America: Winter Soldier by Ed Brubaker
The Vegetarian by Han Kang
Saga: Volume 6 by Brian K. Vaughan

Where did September go? We had a lot of fun this month, but I hate leaving summer behind. Every day we’re getting closer to freezing dog walks, and I don’t like it.

We started the month off on holiday, which is a pretty good start. The first weekend was spent in Seattle attending PAX West. For those not of the nerdy persuasion, PAX is a video game convention that spans four days and hosts over 70,000 attendees. You can view game-related panels, play new and upcoming games, both tabletop and video, and it’s generally just a fun time. We got to spend the weekend with friends we don’t see often enough, which was great, and of course we played a lot of games and bought a lot of random crap.

It’s always a good place to stock up on nerdy shirts. I also managed to pick up a few video game soundtracks (Journey, Transistor, and a limited edition Psychonauts signed by Tim Schafer) on vinyl despite not having a record player, which I think shows how loose I am with the credit card at these events. We do plan to buy one later this year, though.

The above photo is probably my favourite from the event. They took each shot five seconds apart, and the idea is to change pose each time, but we were hindered by some helmet issues. Lee-Ann is the only one who didn’t have a wardrobe malfunction, and she rocked each of her stances. Mike and I were not sure which way we were facing.

After a weekend of nerdy fun, we hopped a train over to Portland to spend the rest of the week there. It was our first time in the city, and we loved it. It was a week of great food and relaxation. We basically just wandered aimlessly around the city for most of the week, popping in and out of stores. It was interesting visiting after watching Portlandia. Not that the wackiness in the show is in any way a reality, but you really can see where some of those sketch ideas originate. And they do love to put birds on things.

I posted earlier about all of the books we bought on the trip, which accounts for the massive list above.

Lastly, we finished the month last week with a local meat and beer event, Brewery and the Beast. A local brewery hosts the event, and dozens of restaurants and farms put up stands and give away small meat dishes. The ticket also includes the beer and wine, although I’m on some medication that limits my drinking, so I was only able to have a single drink. I’ve been to this three or four times now, and it’s always a blast. We had fantastic weather this year as well. The food at the event used to be more interesting, with things like beef heart tartare, but now it’s unfortunately pretty standard fare, although very well executed in most cases. Still a fun event to attend.

Movies watched:
None

TV watched:
Chef’s Table: France (2016) – I loved this. All of the Chef’s Table series are perfectly made, and the episodes in this were some of the best. Wonderful food, interesting stories, and beautiful cinematography and music.

Very British Problems: Season 1 and 2 (2015/2016) – A bunch of comedians riffing on awkward British problems. Apparently I inherited more than a red beard and pale skin from my parents.

BoJack Horseman: Season 3 (2016) – This show just keeps getting better and better, and this season had some really cool episode concepts. I love this series.

Games played:
Destiny (2014) (PC) – I picked this up just before leaving on holiday, and I’m not sure why. The second one is out next year, and this is a weird time to jump in, but I’m loving it so far. I’ve hit the level cap, but I still have a bunch of the story to go through. I’m also enjoying the competitive multiplayer a lot more than I thought I would. I still haven’t attempted a raid yet, but that’ll happen soon I think.

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