Reading, Watching, Playing
Jul. 4th, 2022 10:55 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
a_cubedSo, I posted a tweet about some reading which seems well-received on there, so I should probably also mention it here (see bottom of Reading section).
Reading:
Finished V. E. Schwab's Shades of Magic series (A Darker Shade of Magic, A Gathering of Shadows, A Conjuring of Light). Unfortunately, it went downhill the further I got into it. The first book is really fun, interesting and somewhat different. Book two starts out with an unwieldy third/half of the book about a magic tournament which seemed mostly pointless, though it served a purpose in bringing some new characters in for book 3. Other ways would have worked without this tedious magic Pokemon battle (without the Pokemon). The third book dragged a lot. It left a major plot thread hanging at the end. There's a resolution there that could easily have been woven in but it was left flapping in the wind. There's a prequel graphic novel. Not sure I'll bother.
Started Oddjobs by Heide Goody and Iain M. Grant. This reminded me quite a bit ofautopope 's Laundry Series and (slightly less so) Richard Kadrey's Coop Heists. There's a sequel waiting as well. Starts well. I like the characters. Actually reminds me a bit of the recent cartoon Inside Job in the characterisations (see watching).
Watching:
Watching our way through "Once Upon a Time" with $DAUGHTER. We've tried this before but she was a bit young for some of the complexities of the plot. She knows the Grimm (and other) backgrounds a bit more now, though not all of the source material they're playing with. The first two seasons is actually a third watch for me. I started when it came out but gave up around season 2, preferring the Grimm TV show's take on the concept. Now up to Season 3 (of 7) featuring a large Neverland plot. More enjoyable to watch it with $DAUGHTER and explain the background and disuss the plotlines.
On my own I'm most of the way through a re-watch of "The Magicians", one of my favourite shows. One of the few where the TV adaptation is better than the novels. I like the novels but they've always felt a bit thin to me. Too much tell, not enough show, and too eager to get to the major plot developments and not enough time spent on the characters. In particular, as many have pointed out, the books are ALL about Quentin, and most of the other characters are shown only from his point of view. The show is much more of an ensemble.
I watched Inside Job, an adult animation. Lot of fun. All the conspiracy theories in the world coming into play at a world-dominating company. office politics, extremely fun characters, mind-bending conspiracy stuff and a great voice cast. Definitely recommended.
With the family, finished Naomi's only season (it got canned). Not bad, though a weak-ish ending. Pity they didn't get a second season. We tried Obi-Wan kenobi and Ms Marvel as a family but neither $DAUGHTER nor $WIFE were taken with them. $DAUGHTER really didn't like the parents' attitudes in Ms Marvel and that was too upsetting for her to enjoy the fantasy aspect of it. Obi-Wan Kenobi was just too slow and we've never watched the prequel trilogy, and it's been a while since we watched the original trilogy. Watched the "Girl who Jumped Through Time" anime movie at the weekend. OK, but not as good as its reputation, I think. Your Name is better. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. II rewatch as well.
Started Stranger Things Season 4 part 2. One more episode to go. Suffers from the cast being split up into four so far, and I'm not sure about some of the character developments, but good overall. One movie-length finale to go.
Playing
Still only Control. I finished the first iteration of the side quests and moved on to the harder level (there're three levels but they just seem to be harder versions not different quests). I also finished one of the boss battles. Two boss battles left, from the two expansion packs that came bundled with my late purchase of a complete game. A remake of a related earlier game is due in the autumn for the Switch which I'll probably get. I'd like to get this game mostly finished by then. I've found almost all of the easter egg stuff, sometimes with a bit of cheating, looking for advice online, though most of them I got by just exploring myself.
Too frustrated to go back to Little Nightmares.
Watched $DAUGHTER enjoying Pokemon: Legends of Arceus. Much more quest-type action in this game than in the Pokemon: Sword and Shield she played through previously, which was about 90% Pokemon-battle oriented.
Reading:
Finished V. E. Schwab's Shades of Magic series (A Darker Shade of Magic, A Gathering of Shadows, A Conjuring of Light). Unfortunately, it went downhill the further I got into it. The first book is really fun, interesting and somewhat different. Book two starts out with an unwieldy third/half of the book about a magic tournament which seemed mostly pointless, though it served a purpose in bringing some new characters in for book 3. Other ways would have worked without this tedious magic Pokemon battle (without the Pokemon). The third book dragged a lot. It left a major plot thread hanging at the end. There's a resolution there that could easily have been woven in but it was left flapping in the wind. There's a prequel graphic novel. Not sure I'll bother.
Started Oddjobs by Heide Goody and Iain M. Grant. This reminded me quite a bit of
autopope 's Laundry Series and (slightly less so) Richard Kadrey's Coop Heists. There's a sequel waiting as well. Starts well. I like the characters. Actually reminds me a bit of the recent cartoon Inside Job in the characterisations (see watching).Watching:
Watching our way through "Once Upon a Time" with $DAUGHTER. We've tried this before but she was a bit young for some of the complexities of the plot. She knows the Grimm (and other) backgrounds a bit more now, though not all of the source material they're playing with. The first two seasons is actually a third watch for me. I started when it came out but gave up around season 2, preferring the Grimm TV show's take on the concept. Now up to Season 3 (of 7) featuring a large Neverland plot. More enjoyable to watch it with $DAUGHTER and explain the background and disuss the plotlines.
On my own I'm most of the way through a re-watch of "The Magicians", one of my favourite shows. One of the few where the TV adaptation is better than the novels. I like the novels but they've always felt a bit thin to me. Too much tell, not enough show, and too eager to get to the major plot developments and not enough time spent on the characters. In particular, as many have pointed out, the books are ALL about Quentin, and most of the other characters are shown only from his point of view. The show is much more of an ensemble.
I watched Inside Job, an adult animation. Lot of fun. All the conspiracy theories in the world coming into play at a world-dominating company. office politics, extremely fun characters, mind-bending conspiracy stuff and a great voice cast. Definitely recommended.
With the family, finished Naomi's only season (it got canned). Not bad, though a weak-ish ending. Pity they didn't get a second season. We tried Obi-Wan kenobi and Ms Marvel as a family but neither $DAUGHTER nor $WIFE were taken with them. $DAUGHTER really didn't like the parents' attitudes in Ms Marvel and that was too upsetting for her to enjoy the fantasy aspect of it. Obi-Wan Kenobi was just too slow and we've never watched the prequel trilogy, and it's been a while since we watched the original trilogy. Watched the "Girl who Jumped Through Time" anime movie at the weekend. OK, but not as good as its reputation, I think. Your Name is better. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. II rewatch as well.
Started Stranger Things Season 4 part 2. One more episode to go. Suffers from the cast being split up into four so far, and I'm not sure about some of the character developments, but good overall. One movie-length finale to go.
Playing
Still only Control. I finished the first iteration of the side quests and moved on to the harder level (there're three levels but they just seem to be harder versions not different quests). I also finished one of the boss battles. Two boss battles left, from the two expansion packs that came bundled with my late purchase of a complete game. A remake of a related earlier game is due in the autumn for the Switch which I'll probably get. I'd like to get this game mostly finished by then. I've found almost all of the easter egg stuff, sometimes with a bit of cheating, looking for advice online, though most of them I got by just exploring myself.
Too frustrated to go back to Little Nightmares.
Watched $DAUGHTER enjoying Pokemon: Legends of Arceus. Much more quest-type action in this game than in the Pokemon: Sword and Shield she played through previously, which was about 90% Pokemon-battle oriented.
