June in Review

Books Acquired:
The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry
The Lady In The Van by Alan Bennett
Saga, Volume 7 by Brian K. Vaughan
The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle
The Year of Reading Dangerously by Andy Miller

Books Read:
The Prisoner of Zenda by Anthony Hope
Authority by Jeff VanderMeer
Saga, Volume 7 by Brian K. Vaughan
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

This was a nice, relaxing month. I probably shouldn’t have bought any books, considering the used book sale last month, but I have no regrets!

The Essex Serpent is a novel that I have been hearing quite a bit about from UK bloggers and booktubers, so when I saw it was released here I figured I’d pick it up. I haven’t read it yet, and honestly don’t know all that much about it other than people seem to love it, but it’s sure a nice package. Great cover and nice thick pages.

We watched the The Lady in the Van film adaptation last month and really enjoyed it, so when I saw it on sale, I grabbed it. I’d like to read a bit more Alan Bennett, although I do still have Smut waiting to be read.

Spectacular sunset last night.

A post shared by Rob McMillan (@mcmillan) on Jun 26, 2017 at 9:25pm PDT

The Last Unicorn is a book I’ve been meaning to read for ages. I loved the animated movie when I was a kid and only discovered a few years ago that it was based on a beloved novel from the late sixties. I’ve started it already, and it’s been a real nostalgia trip so far.

Loving this hot weather.

A post shared by Rob McMillan (@mcmillan) on Jun 24, 2017 at 6:56pm PDT

Lastly, The Year of Reading Dangerously has been on my to-read list for quite a long time now too. I love books on books, and this sounds like a great one, but I was holding off due to the potential spoilers. I haven’t read a lot of the novels he lists, so that was a worry, but I figured I’d just grab it and see how it goes. I listen to his podcast, Backlisted, so I’m already a bit of a fan.

We’ve spent the weekend out in the sun, celebrating Canada’s 150th birthday, so July is already off to a good (albeit slightly burnt) start. Hope you all had a good June.

Movies watched:
Alien: Covenant (2017) – As with every Ridley Scott movie lately, this looked beautiful and had a silly story littered with plot holes and characters doing stupid things. Enjoyable, but a bit frustrating when you think about what it could have been.

TV watched:
Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Season 4 (2016) – This show has been consistently amusing from the start. On one hand, I hesitate to recommend it, because it feels like an average gag-of-the-week sitcom, but I’m always surprised by how much I enjoy it.

The Layover: Season 1 (2011) – We always have to have some food television on the go, and Anthony Bourdain is currently filling the spot. He spends a couple of days in a city (he calls them layovers, but there would have to be some sort of apocalypse to justify a 48 hour layover), and spends the time eating and drinking as much as humanly possible. As someone with Crohn’s, I would never eat and drink like that before getting on a plane, so it’s a nice little fantasy.

Games played:
Little Nightmares (2017) (PC) – I loved the art and atmosphere in this short game. Creepy and charming all at once. The puzzles are simple, but it still manages to be satisfying to play through.

The Sexy Brutale (2017) (PC) – This is a really clever little mystery/puzzle game. Essentially you’re in a mansion party where guests are getting murdered left and right, and in order to figure out how to prevent these murders, you need to spy on conversations and trail the guests and staff. You’re then able to keep restarting the day in an attempt to intervene. It has a very cool art style and fantastic music.

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