February in Review
Books Acquired:
None.
Books Read:
Saga, Vol. 8 by Brian K. Vaughan
Candide by Voltaire
Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
Sex Criminals, Vol. 4: Fourgy! by Matt Fraction
Pirate Hunters: Treasure, Obsession, and the Search for a Legendary Pirate Ship by Robert Kurson
February! My least favourite month! I should remember every year to just lock myself indoors with a glass of whisky and a good book.
That is basically what I attempted this month, but I think I was more into the whisky than the books. This was a good audiobook month and a slow physical book month. I’ve been reading the latest Robin Hobb since the end of January, and while it is great, I haven’t been making enough time to sit and read during the day. I think I will need to correct that if I’m ever going to get through this mammoth of a book, as reading ten pages before falling asleep in bed isn’t cutting it.
Movies watched:
Ella Brennan: Commanding the Table (2016) – A biographical documentary on Ella Brennan, the New Orleans restaurateur, founder of Commander’s Palace, and mentor to a number of chefs, the most famous of which is Emeril Lagasse. This was less like Chef’s Table and more like a Food Network television special, back when they showed anything other than game shows, but it was interesting. I especially enjoyed seeing the love for New Orleans and how the community came together after Hurricane Katrina.
The Intouchables (2011) – This was very clichéd, almost offensively so, but I did grow to enjoy it by the end. I’m a sucker for that whole life-affirming mismatched buddy movie thing.
TV watched:
Somebody Feed Phil: Season 1 – I really thought I would hate this. It felt like Phil would be a picky eater, fumbling around the world while being forced to try new things, but it isn’t like that at all. He’s incredibly enthusiastic about food, and I found myself loving this. They also did a great job of bringing in the people and the personality of each city they visited.
Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee: Season 3 – 4 (2011-2017) – This was a re-watch for me, a first for Lee-Ann, and we just love this show. It looks like he’s working on another season this year.
Games played:
Monster Hunter World (2018) (PS4) – This was a great game, but I think I’ve grown a bit bored with it. Haven’t picked it up much this month, so I have a feeling I might be done. Was a blast for a while, though.
Alto’s Adventure (2015) (Android) – The sequel to this just came out on iOS, but I only just found the original. It’s a relaxing and beautiful game, and perfect for just a short bit of playing here and there.
What have you been reading/watching/playing this month?
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19 Comments
Silvia
Please, do tell, how did you like Candide?
Rob
I thought it was fantastic! Very funny, and I didn’t realize it would be quite so outrageous and such a whirlwind of an adventure across the globe. Thanks for recommending it!
Silvia
I’m so glad you loved it. I too was so surprised by it. I love when books turn out to be different than what I thought, specially different for the better, -grin. It’s very provocative, reactionary, perfect hyperbole, satire, it packs so much punch in so few pages.
I told you at my post on DQ, that if you loved Candide, you’d appreciate DQ, (maybe more than Mansfield Park. I mean, you may like it, but I warn you, it’s very “domestic”, ha ha ha. I know guys who are Jane Austen big fans, and, as I say, as we read into her universe, her books complement each other and give us a bigger picture. But DQ, that’s a romp, it’s Monty Python-like, actually, in the podcast they said how Monty Python’s Holy Grail is quixotesc in its humor. And there’s also depth, as in Candide, over a luxurious page count. (I wish there were an audio I could recommend, it’s perfect to listen to.)
Silvia
But it’s also a commitment, like a vacation, it needs a bit of consideration.
Rob
I think in some ways I read Jane Austen for that historical perspective, hah. I would say I’m lukewarm on her overall.
Don Quixote sounds right up my alley, though! I’ll have to find a good time to dedicate myself to it.
Silvia
We coincide. I have respect for Jane Austen, but she doesn’t wow me. There’s temperament and cultural distance, maybe existential distance that I can’t breach. I don’t have that distance between Voltaire or Cervantes and myself, my being answers to their call, that’s where all my senses get engaged. Lukewarm is also the word that describes my view of JA. But there’s some satisfaction in reading her with a sense of duty, I like paying her my respects.
Rob
I think what spurs me to keep trying with her is that, while I’m not in love with her stories as a whole, there are paragraphs and sentences throughout that I just love. She was a very good writer.
Silvia
Yes!, she can make a novel out of not much, and her characters are so well written, that they are like real people you meet, so original. I never regret reading her books, and talking about them is always interesting.
bookheathen
Me — February, not much – this month, nothing so far!
Rob
That’s definitely how it goes sometimes!
Silvia
I found it, http://amzn.to/2oI5Lpq, I hope your library has it. I have (and like), Edith Grossman’s translation, and the audible sample’s narrator sounds perfect!
Rob
Oh perfect, Audible actually has this edition, same narrator and translator. I’ve added it to my wishlist! Thanks!
theorangutanlibrarian
hehe I sympathise about February 😉 Whiskey and books sounds like a good way to go 😉 Hope you liked Peter pan! And I really need to get to Saga!
Rob
I thoroughly enjoyed Peter Pan! It was both darker and funnier than I thought it would be.
Silvia
I read it to the girls years ago and I went, woah, this is dark, and soooo gooood.
theorangutanlibrarian
Brilliant! It is!
Silvia
There it is, funny. Dark humor. I loved it.
Geoff W
Alto’s Adventure made me think of an action packed Monument Valley! I agree with you though I’m glad February is gone too wet and too dark.
Rob
Yeah, it has a very similar style. Sort of made me think of a side-scrolling version of the sliding level in Journey, if you ever played that. Very relaxing.