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Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Late to the Party

So I got into "Orange is the New Black" at the behest of EVERYONE, and I loved it.  I plowed through season one and then anxiously awaited season 2, which I then roared through.  Fantastic show.

Similar thing has been happening with "House of Cards".  I've had this show recommended to me so many times with such great enthusiasm, and I *finally* watched an episode last night.  It was insanely compelling, and Kevin Spacey is brilliant as always.  Can't wait to watch more, and I love knowing that I have two seasons to watch!

I would have watched more House of Cards yesterday, but it was a crazy busy and productive day.  I got my oil changed and my emissions test done so I can renew my car registration.  I had a chiro appt., had dinner and dessert with a girlfriend and went to the gym, capping off the night with a home manicure and a relaxing bath.  Good times!

Today I randomly checked out the Bleachers album, Strange Desire, and I am crushing on it fiercely.  It's got a good sound and it's like pleasing ear candy to me.  I'm excited to be listening to it in its entirety after buying it on Amazon this afternoon.

I'm reading books like crazy lately, though the last couple have been sort of meh.  Good, but nothing amazing.  I read Rainbow Rowell's latest book, "Landline".  Like I said, good, but definitely my least favorite of her books.  I guess I just feel like I've read 3-4 books with a somewhat similar time traveling plotline recently, and I liked the others better!  For the record, those were "Class of '98" by A.L. Player, "Here I Go Again" by Jen Lancaster and "Your Perfect Life" by Liz Fenton.  I really loved "Your Perfect Life" and enjoyed it a lot.

Beyond that, I also read "The Geography of You and Me" by Jennifer E. Smith.  It was okay.  Not great, just ok.  Before these books I read "Before I Fall" by Lauren Oliver.  I really, really enjoyed this book. It's another SORT of time traveling book, but more closely a YA Groundhog Day.  For whatever reason, I really liked it and I enjoyed the writing and the message and everything.  It was well written, thoughtful YA.

My current read is one I'm pretty much madly in love with.  It's called "After I Do" by Taylor Jenkins Reid. It's about a marriage that isn't working anymore wherein the couple decides to take a year break from each other to see if they either want to come back together or go their own way.  The book is so strange and wonderful so far, in that it's made me laugh out loud and made my eyes tear up in different moments.  It is brutal and honest and real.  The characters are flawed and unsympathetic at times, and at other times I can identify so much with both of them that it throws me back to my marriage falling apart, and subsequent relationships going to crap.  I'm halfway through and it's one of those books I cannot wait to get on the train to read again tonight.  I wouldn't be surprised if I finish it tonight.

So many books...some mediocre, some awful, some beautiful.  I've loved reading so many of them lately!

Good books, good music, good TV shows.....love it!


10 comments:

  1. That "After I Do" sounds interesting!! I haven't picked up anything new since I finished "This is Where I Leave You", but I have "The Silent Wife" waiting on my Kindle for me. Maybe I'll start that tonight.

    I watched the first episode of House of Cards, but it didn't catch me. I know its a good show, but its so involved, so I want to wait to watch it. OITNB is a great show, except the intro is super annoying, everything else is great!

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    1. I tried to read "This is Where I Leave You" a couple years back and couldn't get into it. I hear raves about it, so I may have to try again eventually.

      Definitely loving "After I Do", though. Had zero time to read last night, though. :-/

      I TOTALLY agree about OITNB. I hate the opening credits and that god awful song.

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  2. I love finding good tv shows and books. I haven't seen 'House of Cards' yet, but it's on my list 'to watch'.
    I've just finished reading 'All my friends are superheroes', it's a short novel but it made me laugh, so I would definitely recommend it!

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    1. I'll go check that one out on amazon.com right now! Haven't heard of it. :-)

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  3. Oh, thank you . . . I needed a "good reads (or maybe not)" update!

    The first couple episodes of OITNB just irritated me. Does it get better? Should I give it another go? I've been watching a lot of British shows lately . . . could have just been the change of scenery!

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    1. You know, I'm not sure what to tell you about OITNB. :-/ I wish I could tell you for sure you'd like it if you tried it again, and I certainly think you should like it, LOL.

      I know the characters drive some people crazy, but I loved the whole thing of it, even the ones I didn't like. I don't remember the first couple of episodes being remarkably different than the rest of the series aside from the obvious acclimation of Piper to her new surroundings. It's a different tone than most things I've watched, but it's just a show I loved for whatever reason! :-)

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  4. I've been reading tearing through a lot of online reading material lately, but hoping to read something longer, that could keep my attention for a while... Duh! I forgot about real books! I've been reading a bunch on the Kindle app on my phone lately now, so thank you so much for the book recommendations - I definitely need them. I think I will check out "After I Do."

    Love OITNB - season 3, I'm ready for you! I'm contemplating starting House of Cards or Game of Thrones next. Yay for Netflix and books =)

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    1. I finished After I Do the other day and remain firmly in the "I loved it" camp. It just rang so true to me in so many ways.

      I don't think I'm a GoT person, much to the sadness of many around me, but I'm determined to set aside some time for House of Cards! So far I've still only watched the pilot...

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  5. Off topic... I nominated you for a Liebster Award. Details here: http://goo.gl/ioIIfk

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    1. Thank you! I will definitely check it out today. :-)

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