Max > Recent Status Updates

Sadly did not update when i started and as I progressed. Those fascinated by chef culture and food culture will find it a bit slow to start on that aspect and may get bored with the discussions of her marriage and feelings that it is concentrating on where I am now. Me, I am hooked.

Sometimes journeys drag as much on the readers of them as those that take it. The long trek of Rand and Mat as they try to reunite with the group in Caemlyn is one such. This being my second read thru makes it that much more tedious. It is one part I'm glad was left out in the series adaptation.

Started this because of the Prime Video series. I'm trying to read the books first in any series I watch. Did see the first episode though. Did not prepare for the clear reactionary right wing bent of the Author. Characters are rather cartoonish. Everyone's strong and good, weak, or evil. Mr. Carr also needs to learn one needn't be so specific. Sometimes the specific gun, car, phone, or app is essential. Usually not.

More is being revealed, but a great deal is still in reserve. As usual with books and movies of this sort, I am frustrated by the stubborn refusal of characters to acknowledge and adapt to their new reality. Or are at least slow to (p.208 psychological warfare). When younger I considered this unrealistic. Now I am saddened to acknowledge it is not.

I've read Phantoms and maybe something else I didn't know was his. So when I saw this in a local Little Free Library, it seemed a good bet. The set up is intriguing and the protagonists are engaging. One disappointment so far though is a strain of climate change denial. The book even posits the experts don't believe in it, so unless this turns out to be an alternate universe, it's a hard pill to swallow.

I actually picked this up a week ago for both nostalgia and personal reasons. First time since I was a child. It all is familiar, but I had forgotten so much. I can truly appreciate now how great Le Guin's writing is. In the few short pages at the start she paints a clearer picture and grabs you more truly than the chapters long intros of other fantasy epics.

More examples are given for the value of exercise to boost self-esteem and even deal with trauma. It both conflicts and coincides with othe trauma therapy I've heard of that isn't physical (but they both involve flipping the script). I like the emphasis on the natural movement trend. Makes exercise more fun for sure. Reminds me I've been meaning to sign up for a local mud run.

Jack is a more likeable guy in the book. It's not just that it's written in the first person. He's just a bit more open. He and Roscoe dance with joy at finding a certain clue. Won't see him doing that in the series. I miss some of the action sequences they put into the series, but not too much.

Topical, well written police procedural is still a police procedural.

The heron blade sword is revealed and trollocs have come. In a first reading I was captivated. Now I wish I could read faster.

The premise is that movement is essential to mental, as well as physical, health. So far its largely preaching to the choir, as I've long felt that way and seen some of the research that supports this.

Some of the claims regarding the evolution of this nature seems a bit of a stretch. I'd have to dig into the literature to be completely convinced.

Still, want to look into getting me some osteocalcin.

Started a few days ago. Hard to get a copy thanks to the series, which is admittedly why I started. Already noticed a few differences. The dog side story seems an invention of the series. The two Latin Americans sent after Reacher don't have the warm-up fisticuffs we see in the series. There are no dramatic town-hall type gatherings in the book. Still, the series seems very true so far.

One hundred forty nine pages of foreshadowing and foreboding.

It's a little maddening. All those clues about the third amplifier and they didn't even notice the oddities. And she should know she gets some boost just from its presence, even without killing. Yet when she could use that boost trying to help Nicholai, it doesn't even occur to her.

Moving into the police procedural portion and it's getting less interesting.

This is actually a reread. I read all the Jordan books many years back, but didn't finish where Sanderson picked up. My e-version has the count at over 1300 pages, rather than 750, so I'm going by percentages, rather than page number.

I recalled that the series started of slow, as these kind of epics tend to. I forgot how slow.

Either Leigh made a personal breakthrough in her writing in the last 1 or 2 hundred pages or I'm smitten with the dark turn of things. The landscapes have also become more fantastic. We readers of the genre like to think we're not swayed by such, but why pretend. There's a reason the Grand Canyon is one of the most visited places on Earth.

Got a head start in the teaser from book 2. About 20%, which is how long it takes for Nikolas to return. I think I felt more relief than our heroes.

While it is all still great fun, I have noticed it's a bit harder to enjoy the individual characters when there are more of them.

I had thought this was a murder mystery. Not my usual genre and if it's a continued character I like to start at the beginning. But the blurb grabbed me. The professor Abigail Robinson seems to me inspired by Jordan Peterson, but with a much more extreme twist. The writing feels a little clunky in spots, but not too bad.

I think Mr Baum was really beginning to get into this world. The introduction of the Highly Magnified Woggle Bug (Thoroughly Educated) is a delight. For some it will be despite, and others because of the profuse number of puns to be had.

The second book is decidedly improved with the introduction of the Sturmhond character. I'm not sure I could finish the series without him. I understand that characters cannot be perfect and that love makes us do foolish things. But every time Mal and Alina get into another argument simply by keeping a secret or some simple misunderstanding, I wish upon them both the spankings they deserve.

Actually reading the E version through Libby, with a slightly different ISBN. Tip has just met general Jinjur. Feels a bit like a parody of the women's rights movement. We shall see how it pans out.

Just when I get caught up in everything, I have to return it. So, a pause.

Reading the e-book through Libby after having already seen the series. The "hard sci-fi" appeal is increased. One understands the changes that needed to be made in the show. But it's nice to not have to deal with the compromise.