Hello, 2016!

After a long hiatus, I am posting again. I’m not going to lie to the internet or myself and say that it’s a New Years Resolution and I will post more. I probably won’t. But I just finished TheBloggess’ Furiously Happy and started Mindy Kaling’s Why Not Me? and it’s inspired me to write something down. It’s interesting to me that I’ve read both of these books, sophomore (as in the second) autobiographical memoirs in essay form, as that type of book is not usually in my wheelhouse. But I love them and recommend them for good times.

So, what I really want to write about is House, M.D. I am OBSESSED with this show. I was really into it when it was on but for whatever reason (graduating college), I fell out of watching it around Season 6 and just never picked it back up. Thankfully, Netflix has my back and all the episodes are available to stream. I’m about halfway through Season 6 now, so now I’m watching storylines and progressions that I’ve never seen before. It’s exciting to me. There’s something so soothing to me about this show, the way that a lot of people really like crime procedurals like CSI or Law & Order. It’s comforting because it’s formulaic and while other shows like that usually bore me, I’m all in with House. I blame it on Greg Laurie.

I posted on Twitter the other day that, despite Chase’s obvious flaws, I would totally marry him and probably wouldn’t divorce him, unlike Cameron. I still stick with that, even after having watched the President Dibala storyline. I definitely have questionable morals because what Chase did doesn’t really bother me. Of course, I’m not a doctor having taken on oath to preserve life and it’s also fiction, but I have an uncanny ability to place myself in the fictional situation and make it real for myself. It’s why I don’t enjoy horror movies. I think sometimes you have to choose the lesser of two evils, and for Chase, that meant doing evil to one person to keep that person from doing evil to many others. I’m okay with that decision.

I originally didn’t like it when the diagnostic team was changed and we lost Cameron and Chase and eventually ended up with Thirteen and Taub. But, when they both left and Cameron and Chase came back, I found that I missed them. Now I’ve gotten to the point where T&& are back on the team and it feels right. It’s interesting that the characters who are on/off the team share the same first letters of the their names (Thirteen’s real letter would be H, but that’s a technicality I will easily dismiss because logic only has a place in my life when I allow it). The only constant has been Foreman and I just don’t know if I have ever truly liked that guy.

Really, the shining star on the show is Wilson. He’s the best. Robert Sean Leonard has a special place in my heart and has since I first saw him in Dead Poet’s Society. But the fact that Wilson sticks with House, despite House being House, warms my heart. I know he does it from his own twisted psychology but I still like it. Even bastards need friends. That’s Wilson.

Some random tidbits:

• I had been hearing about Hamilton, the Broadway musical, from a couple of different places, but finally listened to the soundtrack on Spotify a few days ago. I love it and I highly recommend it!
• This afternoon I won a hard-fought battle against two stubborn blackheads which have been plaguing my cheek for a while now. That part of my skin is so smooth now, I keep touching it and will probably end up causing more. Irony.
• After hearing emilynoel83 speak the praises of the Olay Daily Facial Cleansing Cloths, I finally tried them. I was pleasantly surprised at how easily they removed my face and eye makeup and made my face feel clean without stripped. I’m a fan.
• Here’s to a great 2016! I have to get off the computer now, because my cat cannot handle himself when I’m typing and not paying attention to him. He’s currently walking past the screen, trying to get me to pet him and then patting my hand when I don’t, in case I didn’t get the hint.

Wordy Wednesday: VF May pick review

I may have already blogged about the Vaginal Fantasy Book Club, but I’m honestly too lazy to check and it deserves a second telling anyway. It’s an online bookclub, housed mostly on Goodreads, where the four hosts, Felicia Day, Kiala Kazebee, Veronica Belmont and Bonnie Burton, read a paranormal romance style book and talk about it every month. I’ve been reading and following along since the beginning and I love this stuff. Most of it is stuff I would have chosen to read on my own, but some of it is definitely not. I’m enjoying both sides of this coin.

The pick this month is Hunter’s Claim by S.E. Smith. It’s the story of a 22-year old woman with two younger sisters who are all trying to survive in the aftermath of an alien invasion, living moment to moment in a wrecked Seattle. The world was pretty interesting and the characters were pretty strong, which I always appreciate. I thought it was a little too convenient that the aliens had the same basic physiology as a human, except looked a little feline and could purr. The plot and writing itself wasn’t very strong, I felt like everything resolved too easily and cleanly, but I enjoyed the book well enough. I think the biggest point for it is how quickly I finished it. I read it in three days, and that’s days including living the rest of my life, so I enjoyed it enough to tear through it at least. I do like that Jesse was always correcting Hunter when he tried to just take charge and make decisions when she felt it was something that should be a mutual decision. I like that in a female character. She wasn’t pushy, she just understood her own worth. I did feel like the transition from scared orphan to powerful and sexual warrior was a bit too quick for her, but it did with the whole ease of the book in general. Nothing was too difficult or insurmountable in this story.

Quick Shots:

• I did not post a Makeup Monday this week, which kind of bums me out because I actually had something in mind, I just didn’t have the time or was already in bed by the time it had occurred to me to do it. I was going to write it up and post it yesterday, but the OCD in me wouldn’t be able to handle doing a Monday post on a Tuesday. So it’ll be next week for sure!
• I need to cut my cat’s nails because he is starting to poke and hurt me whenever he kneads me. Boo!
• After three times applying, I finally was offered a promotion at work which I have been waiting to do for two years now! I’m super excited because it’ll actually play to my strengths of writing and teaching, so I’m excited to have this new opportunity.

 

Wordy Wednesday: Anita Blake Series

At the gym I’ve been listening to the audiobook versions of the Anita Blake series by Laurell K Hamilton. I had initially read these books in my early 20s, so almost 10 years ago already. It’s about a woman who raises zombies and kills vampires for a living. I remember loving the character and the series and how gritty it was. Now, re-reading the series, I can’t believe how insecure and contradictory Anita is. I thought she had everything figured out and was living by her morals and wasn’t conflicted at all. Now, reading through it, she’s just an emotionally lost 20-something, which is normal, but is not all my memory of the character. I don’t know if it’s my perspective changing, or the fact that I’m listening to it this run through and not reading it myself or what, but I’m not enjoying the series nearly as much as I had in the past.

I think, strangely enough, that I’ve based some of my own behaviors on Anita, at least upon re-reading the series. I am also self-effacing and much more fragile than I let on or let others see. I definitely also think I was much more judgmental than I am now, but didn’t want anyone else to judge others. Those characteristics may have already been a part of my psyche 10 years ago, it’s hard to tell, but I think at least they were reinforced by them. Who knows, it could be a part of growing up and realizing that what you thought when you were 20 isn’t quite true at 30.

The series is definitely enjoyable, however, and I will continue to listen to it while I’m at the gym. I just find it interesting how much of a different experience I am having reading through it now. I am seeing Jean-Claude in an entirely new light and whereas I was a fan of Richard in the early books and not Jean-Claude, I see what JC is doing more clearly now than I did before. Right now, I’m in Bloody Bones, so it’s still fairly heavy on zombie-raising and police investigations, which was what initially drew me and kept me interested. Once the ardeur is introduced I feel like the series loses its major appeal and where I feel like the character Anita had been set up to be is shown to be a hollow shell. These are all my opinions of course. That’s why I’m saying Jean-Claude for the win!

Side Notes

• I’m going through the Rachel Morgan series again as well, and that experience is very similar to the one I had upon initial read through. I’m trying to catch up so that I can read the second to last one which recently came out. I just finished Black Magic Sanction in that one.
• I’m catching up on Cosmos. This show is fascinating. I never watched the original but I’d be interested in going through a few of those as well. But anyway, an interesting watch for anyone who enjoys learning and is fascinated by our world, even someone who’s not terribly science-oriented.
• I have been so tired today. I’m blaming it on the wind and the overcast sky, but who knows the real culprit. My cat is enjoying it because he loves to lie down next to me and we relax together, watching the aforementioned Cosmos.
• I haven’t made my Ulta purchase yet. I certainly don’t need to make a purchase, but that’s never stopped me before.
• I had forgotten that the Pottermore site had placed me in Slytherin but was reminded by a FB post.

On Testing Yourself

I took the Myers-Briggs Personality test for the first time in high school. I have taken it a few times since then, because I had heard over time the results may change. They have in terms of the percentage of preference of one over another but I have had the same end result since high school: ENFJ. Well, today, I took it and got INFJ, which I had been suspecting for a while now. I was always pretty even between introvert and extrovert, which I think makes me fairly well-balanced, and this time I just tipped a little on the introvert side. I think as I’m getting older I have less of a drive to insist on being the center of attention and more propensity to stay in the background. Not to say that I wouldn’t embrace it given a chance. As far as the others go, I think I’ll always be “NFJ” as I do consider myself intuitive, I am frequently at the mercy of my emotions, and yet I do like to have an ordered lifestyle. All in all, I think this fits me fairly well and I’m happy with my result. Not like my zodiac, which I have constantly felt torn about. That might be a whole other topic, as I’m a Pisces/Aries cusp and therefore a little erratic.

If you’re interested in taking the test so you can read up more on it, there’s a rudimentary test here.

In other news, I started reading (or rather, listening, as it’s my gym book of the moment since finishing the dreadful Forest of Hands and Teeth) The Great Gatsby, which I have hitherto avoided in my life. I never liked American Literature in school so always avoided it when given a chance. That’s the only way an English major can have never read that or To Kill A Mockingbird, two omissions I intend to rectify. I also missed reading classic literature lately, as there is never quite anything like the turns of phrase found in novels which have stood the test of time. Despite both my mother and my brother despising this book, I am so far enjoying The Great Gatsby.

 

The Sad (Potential) Realization

Young adult novels may be ruined for me. I finished Divergent last night and will finish the Forest of Hands and Teeth tomorrow. I kinda wanna finish it tonight but I have it on audiobook and I try to only listen to it when I’m at the gym, so it gives me something to do with my mind. I was disappointed in both of them. Neither was really terrible, they are both just very blah to me. I wonder if this is because I’m not a teenager anymore so that point of view just doesn’t connect with me anymore. Especially with Mary in the Forest of Hands and Teeth, I just see her as a selfish and self-centered girl who’s really only in love with herself and not ready or able to think of others and put them ahead of herself. And trust me, I never thought I would get out of THAT stage.

I think I would have enjoyed The Forest of Hands and Teeth if it had be geared towards women instead of teenage girls. The beginning of the story is a very interesting exploration of the idea of marriage and commitment and how important that is in a society and an individual’s life, and how love may or may not play a factor in that marriage. That world was interesting and then it almost felt like a second novel once the Breach happened and the group left. I think I figured out why I have been reading all of these societal cues wrong in this story. I think the main character is insane. I’m not interpreting the world correctly because she’s not. Maybe losing her mother broke her, but I wish I had known that from the start because I might not have continued reading it. I’m certainly not going to continue, because I’m fairly certain this book is going to end with her alone, finding the ocean and maybe another village.

I really do like reading and I’m glad I have some sort of outlet for my thoughts related to reading here, because no one I know has read this book and most people I talk to don’t want to hear me ramble on about the books. But I think the next book I’m going to seek out is going to be an adult novel, maybe I’ll finally tackle some American Literature I avoided during my academic career. Only time will tell!

The Forest of Hands and Teeth

I listen to young adult novels while at the gym, because I want to engage my mind while I’m engaging my body and I need something easy to follow and interesting. While perusing the library’s online collection, I came across this title, which captured my imagination enough to borrow it and give it a go. It’s a post apocalyptic novel in which there is an enclave of society surrounded completely by a forest teeming with zombies, which they call the Unconsecrated.

The most confounding thing about this novel is that I almost feel like I have Asperger’s when trying to read the social cues and figure out how to respond in this world. I do tend to be an immersive reader; I place myself in the world and gauge how I would react to the situation. And I don’t mean to make light of anyone on the spectrum who does deal with this issue, but from what I understand, my experience in this fictional world is similar. The main character is riddled with guilt for something which was not her fault and was the choice of an adult who should have known better. Her brother also blames her and kicks her out of the house so she has to live with the Sisterhood, this world’s equivalent of the Catholic church. She becomes a servant but runs around mostly unsupervised and straddles a boy in his bed. She is “in love” with that boy who has relatively little interaction with her and yet whom she feels a selfish need to possess, but that seems to be acceptable. She has almost no interaction with the boy’s brother whom she basically marries (it almost seems like an accident) but with whom she has yet to have a conversation with. Her best friend is bound in the same way to the boy the main character loves and seems sometimes jealous but mostly too weak to do anything either useful or dastardly. The main character vacillates between guilt and utter disregard for herself and others to the point of recklessness and I just don’t get it.

I have a sneaking suspicion that both boys like Mary, the main character. I think that Harry, the older brother whom Mary is bound to, loves Mary and because he knows that, Travis, the straddling boy, tries to stay away but finds it difficult because he’s attracted to her too. I also am pretty much on Harry’s side at this point because Travis has been mostly useless to Mary and this is worst case scenario world here. I mean, there are zombies right there, ready to eat them. There are more important things to be concerned with than holding hands. Also, the only conversation between Mary and Harry (too cutesy of a couple name so there’s no way that’ll last) convinced me that Harry truly does love Mary, because the only thing he asks her is what it will take to make her happy and then vows to do what he can to make her happy. I think that’s more like the kind of love I understand.

I had a conversation with my brother about this kind of situation. On the back cover the book asks if Mary should go with the boy she loves or the boy who loves her and I told my brother that I would definitely go with the boy who loved me. I figure that would probably increase my chance of surviving as he would be more likely to want to protect both of us, and me for sure, and I know that I’m not strong enough to keep someone safe in this situation. Like i said, there are zombies everywhere. It seems cold and unfeeling, and maybe it is, but this is worst case scenario here, I think a little thought to your own survival is warranted. Besides, the whole concept of love in this world is so skewed so maybe I have the right of it here. Who knows.

I also don’t get why a girl can’t just go out and have an adventure. Why does there always have to be a romance, and usually a love triangle involved? Sometimes I just want to go out and kick ass and struggle and emerge victorious after hardship. Shawn, my brother, says that that’s the only way you could get a girl to read the book (sexist bull) and then I said well then I must not be a girl. He said he’s been trying to tell me that for years…

Kinda skipped October there…

I’m really going to try to get better about updating this blog. No one really follows it but me so it’s not a HUGE deal, but I want to challenge myself to actually write more often. Especially since I’ve been doing so much reading (read 76 books this year according to the Goodreads challenge I set for myself). Plus, it’s not like I have nothing to say – that has never been my problem.

So, what I think I’m going to start doing is the Top Ten Tuesdays started by the folks at The Broke and the Bookish which I just stumbled onto today. Loving it! So, I will update at least once a week and then more whenever I feel like it. Also, I’m going to add my WordPress link to my bookmarks bar on Chrome where I can actually see it. Maybe it’ll inspire me to write more often.

Quick update: I still haven’t gone back to reading Interview with the Vampire. I really don’t want to but at the same time I have to follow through and finish it. Ialso started and stopped reading The Witching Hour about the Mayfair Witches which started out interesting and intriguing but then NOTHING HAPPENED. I can only read so far without plot. Maybe Anne Rice is just not for me.

Over and out!

If you’re looking for a good time…

One of my favorite nerdy celebrities, Felicia Day, started up a book club this year and I’ve been really enjoying it from the get-go. It involves one of my favorite genres: paranormal romance. Granted, the group, Vaginal Fantasy, has a really strange name that I constantly have to explain and gets REALLY misinterpreted when I tweet with it.

The premise – Felicia Day, along with fellow nerdy ladies Kiala Kazebee, Veronica Belmont and Bonnie Burton get together once a month to discuss (via Google Hangout chat broadcasted live on YouTube) the book that we’ve all read. Just like any book club, nothing new there. However, the added fun is found in the discussion of the material, which usually involves “naughty times,” and the added bonus of alcohol! It also has a Goodreads forum and a website – all easily searchable with the Vaginal Fantasy keywords. This is a blog, not a journalistic news source, do your own research!

I really enjoy the differing personalities of the ladies. I feel that at any time there are differing points of view and I bounce from lady to lady (weird visual there) as to which I might agree with regarding whatever topic. It gets a bit tangential from time to time, but what meeting of the minds doesn’t, especially when it involves friends, women and wine, amirite?

It’s a unique book club for people who are already interested in the genre or are looking to explore it. The books that have been chosen are very diverse (urban paranormal, historical romance, high fantasy, steampunk, tentacle-related erotica!!) but for the most part all share female protagonists and some element of romance.

Just putting the word out there for anyone looking for something new to read. 😛