It's January!

Happy New Year! This is my second day back in the real world. I took time off with the family. I have to take the time while the children are still young, when they actually want to spend time with me. I dread the day when they’re too cool for me.

Since I’m back in the world, I wanted to share what I’ve been reading and watching. I’m halfway through The Hacienda by Isabel Canas. It came in from the eLibrary the other day and I’m loving it. The story is amazing; the characters are so real and Canas writes beautifully. I feel like I’ve picked out 100 amazing sentences already!

Before that, I read Crumbs, by Danie Stirling. It is the CUTEST. I loved it so much.

Before that, I was swimming in holiday tales, including The Girl Who Saved Christmas, by Matt Haig. Not only was it sweet, but real, it reminded me that I needed to read The Radleys.

I also just finished watching The Ways of the Househusband, an anime of Netflix. I needed something fun during the craziness of the holidays. I’ve watched a few cute animes on Netflix in recent months. Romantic Killer and Blue Period, to name a couple more.

What’s next in my reading/watching life? Probably Lumberjanes #10 or Love on the Brain. Maybe Wednesday.

What's Been Happening - Summer 2021

The summer was busy. Maybe busier than I was prepared for, since 2020 was a COVID summer.

This year, I did a couple really good things that I wanted to share.

I participated in Culture Days. The WCYR (the writing community I volunteer with) put together a recording of 10 writers reading from their work. I was excited to be included. I was also quite nervous. You can check out me and the other participants here. You can learn more about Culture Days here.

I think one of the most important things I did was post "Where Are You From?" in June. The title seems innocuous, but it is not an innocuous question when the person asking refuses to take your first answer at face value. I was nervous. I hope no one can tell. I haven't actually watched myself yet. BUT - Check out the post for some of my feelings on that.

I received an evaluation on a manuscript I've been working on. I'm going to rewrite about half of it. Good times.

The best books I read were probably Barack Obama's, A Promised Land, and Kelley Armstrong's Lost Souls. Two very different books. I thoroughly enjoyed them both. I couldn't recommend them enough. A Promised Land also cemented for me that non-fiction is my preference for audio books. Lost Souls reminded me that I am enamoured by Gabriel Walsh and I need to finish the Cainsville series.

Movies - I watched Black Widow. What else? It's escaping me. The Half of It on Netflix. I thought it was going to be cute - and it was - but I also cried a little.

Television - Hmm... I watched Godzilla: Singular Point, an anime. I thought the two main characters were adorable. Also anime, Dota: Dragon's Blood. Have you watched The Dragon Prince (I'm waiting on the next season)? Dota is The Dragon Pince for grownups. I've also been obsessively re-watching Avatar: The Last Airbender. I still love that show. My daughter loves as well. We're always looking for shows we can watch together.

Like, Loki. We're all in on Loki. Forever. Let's smash the sacred timeline.

The Dota: Dragon's Blood trailor:

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We're Halfway Through April, Aren't We?

It's been about a month. I've been consuming a lot of media. What else is there to do? I'm trying not to let my disappointment and frustration with the vaccine rollout in Canada keep me down. It's hard though.

I also wrote a piece for the Diversity and Inclusion group at my day job. I know that based on what the word count limits are for communications, it's going to get cut down. I also tried to temper the emotional aspects of the piece. However, I have my very own blog. I'm going to give it a little edit and post it here later this week, I think.

What have I consumed and enjoyed in the last month-ish?

I read...

Mexican Gothic. Yes. So good. Read it. I'm really feeling the gothic genre right now. Gothic in 1950 Mexico!

Luck of the Draw and I cried. A lot. It was so sad, though maybe I was releasing some other emotions too. Because it's a romance, I was happy at the end.

Artificial Condition, the second installment in the The Murderbot Diaries. I still love Murderbot. I want to know where their adventure is going to take them next!

Immortal In Death, the third In Death book. I definitely have heart eyes for Eve Dallas and Roarke I wonder if when JD Robb wrote about Eve's engagement, she imagined there would be 50 more books after. 

I watched...

WandaVision <3

Falcon and the Winter Soldier. I <3 Bucky.

Zack Snyder's Justice League. I think my heart fluttered a little when Barry saved Iris.

Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra. I'd seen both already, but my daughter was in the mood, so we watched all of Korra again and a few favourite episodes of Avatar. I love those series.

History of Swear Words on Netflix. It's really good. Interesting in a way I didn't expect. 

Dota: Dragon's Blood. My friend recommended it. It's like a cross between The Dragon Prince and Castlevania. At least that's what I thought as I watched. She called it "The Dragon Prince for grownups." 

Star Trek: Lower Decks. I really needed that show.

I submitted a couple short stories. Got a rejection. Good times.

I ate some Popeye's and it was SO GOOD. I'm really appreciating Skip the Dishes lately. 

How has your spring been so far?

Let's Reflect

In my last post, I was reflecting on interracial romances where neither of the main characters are white. I totally forgot about Alyssa Cole's Can't Escape Love, part of her Reluctant Royals series. I haven't read it yet, but since finishing Take a Hint, Dani Brown, I think it might be my next romance. Luckily it's available at my local eLibrary.

I also read The Prince and the Dressmaker. It is sweet, interesting, loving and just tugged at my heartstrings. Frances and Sebastian are so cute. I highly recommend it. I want my children to read it too.

Egyptian Steampunk also might be my new favourite genre. At least one I need to explore more. I read the short story/novella A Dead Djinn in Cairo, and it was so good. I love, LOVE, Fatma el-Sha'arawi. I checked, and P. Djèli Clark has two more stories set in this world. It seems like the second one doesn't have Agent Fatma as the main character, but I'm fine with that. She's back by the third (yet to be published) story.

I watched some good TV/movies too. After seeing Regé-Jean Page on Saturday Night Live, I decided it was time to watch Bridgerton. Since it's so popular, I didn't expect it to be bad, but I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did. I will admit that I watched is all in one day. Also, I could listen to Julie Andrews' voice all day long.... wait, I practically did that. 

I also decided it was time to watch the things languishing in my Netflix queue. I scrolled with my eyes closed and watched what my finger landed on. The first was Warrior Nun. With a title like that, I knew I had to at least try it out. I thoroughly enjoyed Ada and Mary. I also really want to know what happens and if there will be another season.

Next, I landed on Howl's Moving Castle, an anime movie from 2004. I liked the idea of the girl turning into an old woman and getting to know Howl from that perspective. I don't know how I feel about her befriending the witch who cursed her though. I'm three episodes into Dragon's Dogma, an anime series. I think I'm liking the random choices on Netflix. I know there have been two animes in the last week, but the stories are very different. Howl's Moving Castle has a sweetness to it. Dragon's Dogma is messed up.

This post is definitely not as deep as the last one. Maybe it's less "thinking about books" and more "Netflix queue", but sometimes, that's what you need.

What I Watched Last Week #3

For your viewing pleasure...

Have you been watching Patrick Stewart's sonnets? So good.

Alicia Keys has also been pretty awesome. She put her on spin on Flo Rida's "My House." 

Samuel L. Jackson also read from the book, Stay the F*ck at Home, and it was a treat. 

I just started a new anime series, InuYasha. Last week, I read Wasted Words and the InuYasha manga was mentioned. The books series is a television series on Netflix. I'm so bad at deciding what to watch next on streaming services, that my inspiration comes from the most random places.

I'm continuing to watch all my favourite late night hosts. Those guys make me happy.