I have officially finished several Christmas presents. I have also taught myself to knit with the yarn in my other hand, Continental style; I'm quite proud of that. That's why so much media recently.
Bonobo Handshake by Vanessa Woods; read by Justine Eyre. I downloaded this audiobook the other day because it was on my OverDrive list and currently available. I have no idea why I put it on my list. It isn't as compelling as I need audiobooks to be. It is easy to listen to, as there is just the narrator and so far one other person with quotes.
The reader is reading aloud with an Australian accent, but it sounds fake to me. The American accent she does for the boyfriend sounds like her normal way of speaking.
Heirs and Graces by Rhys Bowen. A mystery series I like. The main character is likeable and not a complete idiot. The level of historical detail is appropriate and seamless. Write faster, Rhys.
Doc Martin, seasons 1 through 5, with Martin Clunes. This. This is what they were trying for when the made House. (This actually started just a few months before House. It's interesting to me.) I loved almost the whole thing. Seasons 4 and 5 got bogged down a bit because Louisa turned out to be sort of an idiot. Maybe it's my tendency toward social awkwardness, but everyone should just say what they want. Both of them should quite dissembling and get on with things like regular people.
Season 5 wrapped up so nicely I forgot there was a season 6. I will be on Amazon Prime tonight, thank you.
Doc Martin (the movie), also with Martin Clunes. This was a couple years before the series, and it's interesting to watch. This main character is a much nicer guy. However, if they ran with this character, the series would be about the town instead of about the doctor. He's too nice and normal to have enough problems for a whole show.
I was a bit worried about the movie, as he's got a really goofy look on his face on the cover image. Not to worry.
Having watched both this and the series, with such different characters, makes me fairly impressed with the actor. I'm going to make a point to watch some of the other things he's been in.
Once Upon a Time, seasons 1 and 2, with Jennifer Morrison. This! This is the right role for this actress. So much better than her House character! Also, Robert Carlyle! Most excellent character, very well done.
I do have some issues with some of the writing decisions, mostly with the Emma-Regina-Henry thing. Birth moms with closed adoption agreements don't get to sue for custody. If an infertility spell is the worst, most horrid curse you can think of, you don't have much of an imagination. Not all birth moms are lovely people and reunions aren't always happy, flowery events. These are as real as the fairy tales, but they're slipped in differently. How many people notice? How many people swallow? Ok, I'm done.
Despite that, I'm dying for season 3 to appear on Amazon or Netflix, but it only started airing on TV last week, so I will likely have to wait. Sad face.
Island: How Islands Transform the World by J. Edward Chamberlin. Sounded very interesting. Presentation was boring. I kept falling asleep.
Knitting from the Center Out by Daniel Yuhas. There's a reason most patterns don't start in the middle of the circle. It's very difficult to do properly. There will be a gap. It would probably be better to start any of these patterns at the outside and work inward.
Fire Me Up by Kate MacAlister. I like these books, but they end on such a downer all the time. I like the world the author has established; she's very consistent in it and good about giving out little bits of information at the right time. I am on the waiting list for the next two.
Saga, Volume 2, by Brian K. Vaughan. I didn't like this one quite as much as volume 1; it didn't seem to progress the story very much. Instead, there were a lot of flashback, and it wasn't always clear right away that that's what was going on. I had to reread a few parts, actually, to follow everything.
Trafficked by Sophie Hayes. This is very interesting. It's a little bland, a little repetitive in parts, but it could make trafficking much more real, much more immediate, to people who see it as something that only happens far away. I read the prepub quite a while ago, but wasn't supposed to mention the book until its release (yesterday).
Heirs and Graces by Rhys Bowen. A mystery series I like. The main character is likeable and not a complete idiot. The level of historical detail is appropriate and seamless. Write faster, Rhys.
Doc Martin, seasons 1 through 5, with Martin Clunes. This. This is what they were trying for when the made House. (This actually started just a few months before House. It's interesting to me.) I loved almost the whole thing. Seasons 4 and 5 got bogged down a bit because Louisa turned out to be sort of an idiot. Maybe it's my tendency toward social awkwardness, but everyone should just say what they want. Both of them should quite dissembling and get on with things like regular people.
Season 5 wrapped up so nicely I forgot there was a season 6. I will be on Amazon Prime tonight, thank you.
Doc Martin (the movie), also with Martin Clunes. This was a couple years before the series, and it's interesting to watch. This main character is a much nicer guy. However, if they ran with this character, the series would be about the town instead of about the doctor. He's too nice and normal to have enough problems for a whole show.
I was a bit worried about the movie, as he's got a really goofy look on his face on the cover image. Not to worry.
Having watched both this and the series, with such different characters, makes me fairly impressed with the actor. I'm going to make a point to watch some of the other things he's been in.
Once Upon a Time, seasons 1 and 2, with Jennifer Morrison. This! This is the right role for this actress. So much better than her House character! Also, Robert Carlyle! Most excellent character, very well done.
I do have some issues with some of the writing decisions, mostly with the Emma-Regina-Henry thing. Birth moms with closed adoption agreements don't get to sue for custody. If an infertility spell is the worst, most horrid curse you can think of, you don't have much of an imagination. Not all birth moms are lovely people and reunions aren't always happy, flowery events. These are as real as the fairy tales, but they're slipped in differently. How many people notice? How many people swallow? Ok, I'm done.
Despite that, I'm dying for season 3 to appear on Amazon or Netflix, but it only started airing on TV last week, so I will likely have to wait. Sad face.
Island: How Islands Transform the World by J. Edward Chamberlin. Sounded very interesting. Presentation was boring. I kept falling asleep.
Knitting from the Center Out by Daniel Yuhas. There's a reason most patterns don't start in the middle of the circle. It's very difficult to do properly. There will be a gap. It would probably be better to start any of these patterns at the outside and work inward.
Fire Me Up by Kate MacAlister. I like these books, but they end on such a downer all the time. I like the world the author has established; she's very consistent in it and good about giving out little bits of information at the right time. I am on the waiting list for the next two.
Saga, Volume 2, by Brian K. Vaughan. I didn't like this one quite as much as volume 1; it didn't seem to progress the story very much. Instead, there were a lot of flashback, and it wasn't always clear right away that that's what was going on. I had to reread a few parts, actually, to follow everything.
Trafficked by Sophie Hayes. This is very interesting. It's a little bland, a little repetitive in parts, but it could make trafficking much more real, much more immediate, to people who see it as something that only happens far away. I read the prepub quite a while ago, but wasn't supposed to mention the book until its release (yesterday).
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