2017 Reading: Atomic Blonde

#30 A book with pictures

MY WIIIIIIIIFFFFFFFEEEEEEE.....

There was a little bit of German in here that I didn't understand (I understood some of it, but I'm not fluent or anything) so that threw me off. It was also set during the Cold War (which is also something that I don't know a lot about), but I could follow the logistics pretty well.

I'm interested to see how they are going to turn this into a film, especially if they plan to set it in modern day (which it looks like they did). Either way, going to see the movie because I am going to marry Charlize Theron someday.

2017 Reading: What I Hate

This book was so funny. I admit that I picked it up simply for the cover art, but I ended up really liking it.

2017 Reading: Hannibal

#45 A book about an immigrant or refugee

I love this book. I think the one thing I liked the best about it was that it was able to surprise me with the ending. I had only seen the movies before and all the other ones have been very true to the story, but this one was just a bit different. All I had ever known was the movie ending so when this one ended, it was a PLEASANT surprise.

I this makes for a much better ending for Clarice and Hannibal.

Also, I like that we get to see into some of the weakness of Hannibal in this. I know that in the prequel, we go into even more detail, but in the books before this, you get this image of Hannibal that hardly seems human because you lack a story. To know a little bit more about what makes him the way he is, what he has gone through in his life before we meet him in Red Dragon, is so interesting and just seems to whet the appetite (HAH, see what I did there?) to know even more and I think that gets everyone ready for the next book which just so happens to be his origin story.

2017 Reading: Sons of Anarchy (Collector's Edition)

#43 A book with a family-member term in the title

It's no secret that I LOVED this show. I mean, come on... It's Hamlet on motorcycles. What's not to like?

But seriously, I loved seeing inside the show and some of the thoughts of the show-makers including the creator himself. I had no idea how much minute detail went into the though-process of the show and all of the props-costumes-tattoos-etc. It boggled my mind how much prep work went in to each episode and how much the actors had input into the running of the show.

I think Kurt Sutter is brilliant. He knows what he wants form the very beginning and he gets there without compromise. He is the end-all-be-all of decisions (even the tiniest ones) and it all adds up to this gargantuan opus that will last a very long time.

Now I wanna go watch the show again.

2017 Reading: The Hobbit

#7 A book that is a story within a story

I don't get it. I honestly do not get the appeal of this book. It was short and dry, with little to no descriptions... The characters were flat and/or non-existent... How did they make 3 movies out of this?!

I am not a fantasy person, I have never claimed to be. If this were the first book I picked up in the genre (as it was for most people) I would have never picked up another fantasy book again because I got nothing out of it. I like my books to pique my imagination and paint pictures of the action in my head, but this book did nothing. And then it was over.

I've also never seen the movies (see: not into fantasy) but I have seen enough to know that they had to just make shit up for most of it because there is NOTHING to work off of in this book.

Good on you if this is your thing, but I just don't get it.

2017 Reading: The Time Machine

#22 A steampunk novel 

Steampunk and fantasy are not really my thing so I went through this as quickly as possible. I like the idea of time travel and things of that nature, but this was very dry and just not something that I would normally read. Then again, I suppose that is the purpose of the reading challenge, so all is right with the world.

Pretty sad book, but not the saddest I have ever read in the genre of time travel.

2017 Reading: The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore

A friend from the library showed me the short film that started this book and I thought it was delightful.

2017 Reading: The Woman in White

#32 A book about an interesting woman

Okay, so the thing about this book is, it's really interesting!!! Like, I was intrigued from the very start.

But...

It takes so long to get through. We're talking 569 pages of the tiniest type imaginable, and though there is really not a lot of flowery descriptions of unimportant things (this book actually does get right down to the point and doesn't talk about things it doesn't have to for the narrative), it is still in the type of language that tends to carry on and on.

Despite that, however, I enjoyed this book.