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Reading, Watching, Playing
Jan. 14th, 2023 02:15 pmIt's been a while since I did this, so it's not going to be comprehensive.
Reading:
I rarely don't finish a book I properly start (i.e. get more than ten pages in). I did this twice in the last few months. I tried "How to Live in a Science Fiction Universe" but the experimental fiction way of telling the story just didn't work for me. I bailed about a third of the way through. Not quite as experimental, but still a non-standard storytelling technique of "found document" approach characterises Sylvain neuvel's Themis Files trilogy. The first book was interesting and relatively engaging. The second was a bit plodding and the approach got in the way, and didn't always make sense. In the third book, the approach made even less sense and the story just got tedious. Dark, depressing and not in any way interesting. I gave up about half way through. I then moved on to Neal Stephenson's Fall; or, Dodge in Hell. I hadn't realised this was a sequel to Reamde, but one doesn't need to have read the earlier book, although it has links to his Baroque trilogy which I think it helps to have read. This is a very long book and I struggled in the last half of it to finish.
( spoilers )
I'm now back to something lighter with the seventh book in Sarah Painter's Crow Investigations series, The Broken Cage. I enjoyed the first six when I found this series last year and there's another one just out or out soon.
Watching
Wednesday with $DAUGHTER was probably the standout streaming series of the last few months. I'm also now re(for me) watching His Dark Materials with $DAUGHTER. I've seen up to the second episode of season 3 but decided it was OK for her and she was interested so we started at the beginning. Almost finished season 2. I've read the books so I know the main thrust of what's to come, but from some spoilers I've seen I know they make some alterations. Enjoying this adaptation. I've also enjoyed the game-derived animated show Dragon Age: Absolution, and have started DOTA: Dragon's Blood which I'm also enjoying.
Went to the cinema for the first time in years to see Avatar: The Way of Water in 4-D. Not convinced by the 4D experience. I don't like getting hit in the back by my seat and I think these seats are designed for the average Japanese person, so I'm too tall. I was a bit sore afterwards. The movie was a visual spectacle with an even thinner plot than the first. Worth seeing in 3D, I think, but 4D not so much. The roller-coaster aspects really need different visual cinematography to be really effective, and that's not the right approach for a non-4D showing, so I think 4D is rather a waste of effort and not worth the extra money (an extra Y800 per ticket).
Playing
I've blasted through Alan Wake Remastered. Having enjoyed Control a lot I got the remaster for Switch and have really enjoyed it. I've blasted through the main game on Easy and Normal settings and am now part way through the extra chapters on Easy. I'll probably try to work through the Nightmare mode to get all the Nightmare-mode only collectibles, then on Easy again to try and find all the hidden collectibles. It really ties in well with the Control expansion linking them together. The next Alan Wake and Control 2 aren't slated for a Switch release at present, but I may give in an sort out a Linux Steam installation and a PC game controller to play one or both of these.
We've completed $DAUGHTER's Christmas present of It Takes Two, a 3D platformer requiring coop play. We're now working through it again with the other characters (the coop requires different actions much of the time from the two characters. Lots of fun and recommended for people who like coop and 3D platforming. Only gripe is that the controls for viewpoint (and control of some vehicles) can't be changed and they're inverted from the way I want to use them so very hard to control for me at times.
Reading:
I rarely don't finish a book I properly start (i.e. get more than ten pages in). I did this twice in the last few months. I tried "How to Live in a Science Fiction Universe" but the experimental fiction way of telling the story just didn't work for me. I bailed about a third of the way through. Not quite as experimental, but still a non-standard storytelling technique of "found document" approach characterises Sylvain neuvel's Themis Files trilogy. The first book was interesting and relatively engaging. The second was a bit plodding and the approach got in the way, and didn't always make sense. In the third book, the approach made even less sense and the story just got tedious. Dark, depressing and not in any way interesting. I gave up about half way through. I then moved on to Neal Stephenson's Fall; or, Dodge in Hell. I hadn't realised this was a sequel to Reamde, but one doesn't need to have read the earlier book, although it has links to his Baroque trilogy which I think it helps to have read. This is a very long book and I struggled in the last half of it to finish.
( spoilers )
I'm now back to something lighter with the seventh book in Sarah Painter's Crow Investigations series, The Broken Cage. I enjoyed the first six when I found this series last year and there's another one just out or out soon.
Watching
Wednesday with $DAUGHTER was probably the standout streaming series of the last few months. I'm also now re(for me) watching His Dark Materials with $DAUGHTER. I've seen up to the second episode of season 3 but decided it was OK for her and she was interested so we started at the beginning. Almost finished season 2. I've read the books so I know the main thrust of what's to come, but from some spoilers I've seen I know they make some alterations. Enjoying this adaptation. I've also enjoyed the game-derived animated show Dragon Age: Absolution, and have started DOTA: Dragon's Blood which I'm also enjoying.
Went to the cinema for the first time in years to see Avatar: The Way of Water in 4-D. Not convinced by the 4D experience. I don't like getting hit in the back by my seat and I think these seats are designed for the average Japanese person, so I'm too tall. I was a bit sore afterwards. The movie was a visual spectacle with an even thinner plot than the first. Worth seeing in 3D, I think, but 4D not so much. The roller-coaster aspects really need different visual cinematography to be really effective, and that's not the right approach for a non-4D showing, so I think 4D is rather a waste of effort and not worth the extra money (an extra Y800 per ticket).
Playing
I've blasted through Alan Wake Remastered. Having enjoyed Control a lot I got the remaster for Switch and have really enjoyed it. I've blasted through the main game on Easy and Normal settings and am now part way through the extra chapters on Easy. I'll probably try to work through the Nightmare mode to get all the Nightmare-mode only collectibles, then on Easy again to try and find all the hidden collectibles. It really ties in well with the Control expansion linking them together. The next Alan Wake and Control 2 aren't slated for a Switch release at present, but I may give in an sort out a Linux Steam installation and a PC game controller to play one or both of these.
We've completed $DAUGHTER's Christmas present of It Takes Two, a 3D platformer requiring coop play. We're now working through it again with the other characters (the coop requires different actions much of the time from the two characters. Lots of fun and recommended for people who like coop and 3D platforming. Only gripe is that the controls for viewpoint (and control of some vehicles) can't be changed and they're inverted from the way I want to use them so very hard to control for me at times.
