Het Big Bang

Given that I have a ton of schoolwork on my plate, it's the perfect time to update my journal.

I have not read Hilary Clinton's book yet, but all the one sentence one star reviews on Amazon are hilarious. Most of them are one sentence long reviews clearly written by people that just want to air their opinions on Hilary and have no intention of reading a single page of the item in question. I would really like to read "What Happened," but I generally don't buy books until they've hit the bargain bin and the library's reserve list is probably a mile long. Also, my self-imposed book-buying ban starts on my next birthday, which is exactly 31 days from now.

I'm not happy about the cancellation of Dark Matter. What am I going to do without Two in my life? (Note to self: get a Two icon or make one.) Because of Syfy's habit of constantly retooling its image, I've never seen a non-reality TV show that lasted more than five seasons on that channel. Killjoys got renewed and I guess that's good? I never made it past the pilot because Syfy no longer streams its shows on Hulu.

What are you currently reading?

The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2015. (Yeah, I'm a little late.) So far it's the most delightful thing I've read all year. I encountered my first Seanan McGuire story and she certainly lives up to the hype.

Anansi Boys - Not as good as I expected. The characters are a little too flat for my taste.

What did you just finish reading

The Prince of Medicine: Galen in the Roman Empire by Susan P. Mattern - I gave it three stars on Goodreads because it is well researched and the author does a good job of remaining objective. However, I found the book's subject utterly unlikeable and the accounts of public dissections made my blood chill. I don't recommend it for anyone who isn't a diehard fan of ancient medical history.

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood - Excellent, but definitely not an easy read. I feel Atwood chose the book's uneven narrative style to bring readers even further out of their comfort zone. There's also a spoilery explanation for it at the end. I'm not sure if I'm up for watching the TV show.

What do you think you'll read next?

Lately, my books have either been fantasy or non-fiction. I should tackle some of the unfinished series I have around my apartment, which consist of:

Kushiel's Legacy - There's sadly only one more Phedre book to go, then it's on to Imriel.

Dune - Given that I've read Dune three times over the past twenty years, I really should move on to the rest of the series.

Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars Trilogy - Meh, it looks like JMS isn't turning it into a miniseries after all. However, I still bought the whole trilogy and should finish it...someday. The world-building is mildly interesting, but I find most of the characters to be utterly unlikable, with the exception of Nadia and Arkady.

Lord of the Rings - *winces* I like the Hobbit, (possibly because it's geared towards a younger age group), but LOTR makes me want to tear my hair out. Does Tolkein really need five pages to describe a rock? I just have The Return of the King and The Silmarillion left, but I'm on the fence about finishing this series. This is one case where the movies are better.

Harry Potter - Still haven't finished book 5. I might bump this up on the list for comfort reading.

I'm technically watching Underground, Sense8, Orphan Black and Doctor Who right now, but school takes up most of my free time. It looks like I'm going to be dropping/Netflixing some shows.

Keeping
Jane the Virgin
The Flash
Izombie
Agents of Shield
Legends of Tomorrow

On the Fence
Supergirl
Gotham
How to Get Away With Murder
Vikings

Summer Shows
American Gods
Game of Thrones


I'm not a fan of the traditional broadcast way of airing shows episode by episode. I like to have entire seasons dumped on the internet, available for me to watch when I have the time. For example, I've been wanting to see The Americans for some time, but I know there are four seasons on Amazon patiently waiting for me.