The slow reading slog continues but I finally (almost) finished a few books!
Honestly, the first half covered so much familiar ground if you've read any of his earlier books or Michelle's Becoming - so I wish I had just skimmed over that and jumped to the point of his election and presidency.
Once I did things picked up and got more interesting, if not depressing. Most of this biography, which covers his first term up to the Bin Laden death, shows how politics were changing (although always a messy, dirty affair) and how powerful yet ineffective any presidency can be. There's just so much going on in the world at any given time, the weight of choices being made is heavy and any given policy, however well meaning, has to make it through the gauntlet of congress and the media talking heads.
It was enlightening, sobering at times and depressing. Yay!! lol
Liv and Jory's parents mysteriously vanish on the day or Liv's emancipation hearing, sending her and and Jory and Twilight one style road trip.
This is a great book for October and all things spooky. I'll do a full review after but I'm loving the idea of a sister/brother relationship, not having any idea what's going on or where it will lead.
Source: *hides head in shame* an arc from 2019
Squid Games ~ Netflix - Maybe you live in a cave and haven't heard of this yet lol This South Korean series is extremely gruesome and definitely not for the squeamish. Basically, various people with financial and legal problems at the end of their rope, come together to play the Squid Games - games from their childhood, with a very violent twist (although the kids games were violent too!), for the chance to win a huge pot of money.
At first, the participants try to band together to beat the games but soon realize only one person is allowed to live and win.
Because it's a series, and not a movie, the characters are allowed to develop and the consequences carry more weight as they play out, making some of the twists and shocks more emotional. It's better than most it's you or me gore fests but I can't say I thought it was like the best thing ever like so many others thought.
Black widow ~ Disney - I'm going to be honest. I do nt like ScarJo or Black Widow so I can't say I was all that interested in seeing this but I have Disney+ so...It was good! Really weird kind of story and family dynamic. We thought it was a lot of fun.
Doom Patrol ~ HBO Max This series is on S3 and I had no idea it ever existed lol Brandon Fraser and Mat Bomer are two of it's stars but it has a really solid cast of actors who portray a rag tag group of misfit super heroes that are still figuring out there "gifts" - obtained against their will.
There are strong themes of trauma and PTSD and found family.
Doom Patrol, while funny, gets really dark at times and often very raunchy but it's fun.
Afterlife of the Party ~ Netflix This was my weekly, virtual movie date pick and it was a fun one. Sort of a modern-ish Hallmark vibe. Nothing groundbreaking but cute movie about a shallow girl who dies and gets a chance to right her wrongs before passing on. Multiple cute romances and nice message.
Y: The Last Man ~ FX on Hulu - Based on a comic book, this is a post-apocalyptic world where every mammal with the Y chromosome dies except for one man and his pet monkey.
We've only watched the first 2 eps so far but it's very interesting and kind of eerie watching every man just die all at once. Except for this one, sort of slacker type guy and his monkey lol
I just heard it got cancelled so I'm unsure whether I'll continue and potentially get left hanging, but I'm curious.
Halloween Kills ~ Free on the Peacock Network Glad this was free lol We thought it was baaaaad. bad script, bad acting. I don't see the point of this. TBH, I'm not a huge horror/slasher movie fan but this was just not good and completely unnecessary.
No shame in reading an old ARC. I largely ignore my old unread ARCs. Even the piles of physical ones (circa 2017 and earlier) staring me in the face.
ReplyDeleteThis is the physical TBR pile that made the trip from Florida. There's under 50 left and then I'm DONE.
DeleteI thought for sure I was going to read them all during quarantine but, of course, I don't feel like reading then lol
I tried the dead girl one, but gave up, but mean to get back one day
ReplyDeleteI have not tried Squid game, might be the only one
It is what is... sort if cheesy, not great but we both thought it got better as it went on lol. A good friend date movie.
DeleteGood for you reading an old ARC....I just got caught up on mine so I feel you on that. They can be so easy to forget about.
ReplyDeleteI am currently binging on a rewatch of Blue Bloods
I have about 50 left from the BEA/ALA days. Not too bad I guess.
DeleteOh My Gosh I am so glad I am not the only one who thought Halloween Kills was bad...the acting was TERRIBLE. I also do not like how they disreguarded all of the previous movies except the original one and the 2018 version...That just kinda didnt sit well with me LOL
ReplyDeleteHavent watched squid games yet, but everyone I know has watched it
I just don't even get the purpose of it.
DeleteThey just cut from scene to scene, threw random people in and then just killed them. Jamie Lee Curtis's roll was almost embarrassing.
It was a true, no brainer, low budget slasher film but it shouldn't have been? If you know what I mean.
Yeah who would want to be president? Seems like the downsides outweigh the benefits haha.
ReplyDeleteI am SO curious about Squid Game. Like, what even? I liked Black Widow too. More than I thought I might.
It's like you hear all the hope and positivity drain out of him over the 4 years lol It's really a thankless job and so much goes on behind the scenes that we don't know.
DeleteSo Squid Games...I really like dhow it explored certain issues like class and how the series format allowed the twists to have more impact. Having said that - it's kind of a generic gore fest lol But a better than average gore fest.
I think people new to that kind of thing might be shocked but if you've watched stuff like that in the past it's fun but not groundbreaking.
If you watch it let me know! I had some strong emotions about certain things lol
I'm so happy you were able to stick with What We Buried (I wasn't sure it would be your thing) and I'm looking forward to your review!
ReplyDeleteReading in general is slow for me right now but I am enjoying it.
DeleteI'm in a reading "not my thing" book phase lol
I just started watching the first episode of Squid Games and am definitely intrigued (I didn't get very far since it was late and I knew I needed to go to sleep). I think I'll check it out further. And Afterlife sounds really cute. Sometimes a movie like that hits the spot when you just want something a bit mindless and fun. :-)
ReplyDeleteNicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
Afterlife was not the best quality movie but yeah - fun!
DeleteSquid Games was an interesting one. Very, very gorey but an interesting look at humanity.
Love the Halloween banner. Too cute. :) Wow, had no idea Obama's book was 29 hours long. Sheesh. No wonder it took three check-outs. I've been seeing references to Squid Game all over and only realized a couple days ago that it's a TV show. I thought it was an actual game, like an app. Yeah, can you tell I'm out of touch?
ReplyDeleteYou don't want to play that game in real life lol
DeleteI have Squid Games on my radar, but I'm a bit worried I'll have nightmares from the gore, so I need to watch during the day. Maybe Christmas vacation!
ReplyDeleteIt's VERY graphic. And cruel. So if that's not your thing...
Delete3 loans to get through one book? That is crazy, but understandable when you consider the number of hours in that audiobook. Sorry it covered familiar stuff at first but it sounds like it got better when you get to hear about his first term in office. Squid Game was awesome, but I know why you're saying you might not view it as the greatest thing ever as hype might suggest. I just really enjoyed it, watched in just a couple of days and as with any korean drama, it had my full attention whilst watching which I think made me enjoy it more. I couldn't get distracted otherwise I didn't know what was happening.
ReplyDeleteI'm soooooo slow with audiobooks lol Then make it a 29 hour book and eeek
DeleteI liked it a lot but I think a lot of people who were drawn to it from the hype and never watched gore like that are shocked but there are so many similar movies. What I think it did better though was being able to develop the characters and relationships so you were invested in their outcome.
I prob won't watch Squid Game cuz of my head problem (no audio description), so it's kinda nice to see someone say it wasn't the best thing ever lol. It does seem kinda itneresting though. Wow, 23 weeks is a long time to wait! Sounds like maybe worth it though.
ReplyDeleteLol I liked the concept and how it explored humanity when put against each other. I think it did that better than most movies I've seen. Mostly because of the series format you have more time.
DeleteAnd I think it handled class issues in an interesting way.
But yeah, ultimately it's a genetic horror kind of thing. Lots of blood shed lol
I was going to watch Squid Games at some point, but maybe I won't. Thanks for the heads up. The olderI get the less I can handle violence. 😛
ReplyDeleteIt is really brutal.
DeleteI've been hearing a lot about the Squid Games, but I don't know if I can handle all the gore. LOL Glad it made a pretty good series though. And I'm not a big ScarJo fan myself, so I haven't seen Black Widow.
ReplyDeleteLauren
www.shootingstarsmag.net
Black Widow is worth the watch because of the family dynamics and humor. They all play pretty big rolls so it's not just about BW.
Delete