January in Review
Books Acquired:
Assassin’s Fate by Robin Hobb
Stoner by John Williams
Shakespeare’s Sonnets: The Complete Illustrated Edition by William Shakespeare
Saga, Vol. 8 by Brian K. Vaughan
Sex Criminals, Vol. 4 by Matt Fraction
Books Read:
Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl
Acceptance by Jeff VanderMeer
Akira, Vol. 1 by Katsuhiro Otomo
American War by Omar El Akkad
I spent my bookstore gift certificates from Christmas at the beginning of the month, which always makes for a good start to the year. I picked up Assassin’s Fate, the last in the Fitz and the Fool trilogy. Loving it so far, sad to see their journey potentially nearing its end, but I do still have the connected Liveship Traders and The Rain Wild Chronicles books to read through, as I skipped those on the way to this series.
I’ve heard a lot of good things about Stoner, despite not really knowing anything about the plot, so I decided to pick that up as well. All I know is that it’s a 60’s campus novel about a man who loves literature and that it’s not nearly as dull as the cover suggests, so we’ll see how it goes.
I also picked up a nice copy of Shakespeare’s Sonnets, as I’ve been meaning to read through those, and a couple of comic books. Saga and Sex Criminals are the only ongoing series I’m following right now, and despite both having some ups and downs in terms of quality, I’m excited to get to them. At this point, I’ll be following Saga through to the end (unless it goes on until the end of time, The Walking Dead style), but if Sex Criminals doesn’t continue to pick up I might drop that.
Movies watched:
Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) – Really enjoyed this. Some odd decisions in the plot, I thought, and I can see why some fanatical fans may not like that, but overall it was still good fun.
TV watched:
Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee: Season 1 – 2 – I’ve seen all of these before, from when they were just online, but I’m happily watching them again with Lee-Ann. I love listening to comedians discuss comedy, and I’ve always loved Jerry Seinfeld’s blunt humour. Very much recommended if you’re interested in comedians or even just enjoy listening to funny casual conversations.
Games played:
Divinity: Original Sin 2 (2017) (PC) – I only played a bit of this, but I’m still enjoying it. It’s a long one, and I tend to lose steam with longer games these days, but I plan to get back into it soon.
Monster Hunter World (2018) (PS4) – I wasn’t planning to buy this, but I was talked into it, and I’m having a blast so far. It’s a laid back game with frantic moments, so it can fit any mood really. Also I’m attacking giant monsters with bagpipes, which has always been a dream of mine.
What have you been reading/watching/playing this month?
3 Comments
Ruthiella
I’ll bet he got that treat!
What did you think of Acceptance? Did you like the way the trilogy wrapped up?
I am still reading Hobb’s first Realm of the Elderilngs trilogy but my library recently purchased Assassin’s Quest on ebook which will hopefully help me get to it this year. I have a mass market copy but I find for super long books, I actually prefer the electronic format.
Rob
I thought Acceptance was a good end to the series. Things were vague and open-ended, but there were some answers, and I think if he tried to wrap everything up nicely it wouldn’t have worked very well. Part of me definitely craves more information, but I was still satisfied.
I hope you’re enjoying the Elderlings trilogy! I just love her writing, except maybe The Soldier’s Son trilogy, which I just couldn’t bring myself to finish after reading the first two. It’s not part of the Elderlings world, though.
Geoff W
I’m glad you mentioned that about The Last Jedi, I agree there were some odd turning points but overall I enjoyed it and though there were some great scenes as well as the odd ones!