Hi. It’s been a while since my last post, I know. Life has been…interesting, huh?
Here’s a wrap up of my March, including some mini reviews.
Personal
If you’re anything like me, you’ve felt low key anxiety/worry with a bit of boredom thrown in as you self-isolate wherever you are in the world.
My March began with a post-elopement party for family and friends at our home; it was a lot of fun, and I was really glad when it was over. After that, the husband and I recovered, binged the new season of Altered Carbon on Netflix (more on that below), and kept up with the news as things quickly escalated re: the epidemic that became a pandemic.
Once the husband and our housemate had to switch to working from home and doing school from home, respectively, I had to rearrange furniture and relinquish my home office. Now my work space is downstairs in an open area. (It would be cool to have a door I can close again, but at least we have enough room that I could make this space for myself.)
Restlessness and boredom haven’t left us untouched, as you might expect, but we’ve been lucky. Although my husband’s job has laid off some employees and implemented shorter work weeks with a pay reduction, I consider us privileged, and I’m really grateful for what we have.
Speaking of gratitude, I have so much for friends right now. Two of them, after hearing about the difficulties the husband is going through at his job, dropped off a few beers at our door this morning and invited us to join them in their Minecraft Realm tonight.
Their Realm has an inn with a bar in it. It’s the next closest thing to going out to eat and drink together. I’m looking forward to virtually hanging out with them tonight!
TV and Games I Enjoyed
- Season 2 of Netflix’s Altered Carbon: Such a great season, possibly even better than the first.
- Netflix’s The Stranger: A twisty turny suspenseful crime series based on a book by Harlan Coben. It kept me watching late into the night.
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons: Do I need to say anything to hype this Nintendo Switch game? I haven’t played every single day since it came out, unlike many, so I feel a bit behind. It’s a game you can really jump into at any time though, kind of like Stardew Valley.
- Assassin’s Creed Odyssey: My first time playing an Assassin’s Creed game! Boy did it suck me in, despite how grindy it can be. I couldn’t get enough of the gorgeous graphics, and the ancient Greek setting fascinates the history nerd in me.
Books I Read
I wish I could say I gave this 4 stars, but, alas, I would be lying. It was, at best, a 3 star read for me. The reason? The discriminatory manner in which the main character Kay Scarpetta treats a trans character is never questioned or later undermined at any point in the book. In fact, at least one other character who appears regularly in the series uses offensive language about the trans character–who, by the way, is brutally murdered.
I’m all for separating the artist from the art; however, in an effort to give the Kay Scarpetta series and its author the benefit of the doubt, I continued to the next book in the series and again was disappointed when Kay expresses racist and sexist views about a person who works for her within the first 50 pages. At that point, I put the book down and haven’t picked it up again.
Dust was published in 2013 and its follow up in 2014. They don’t have the flimsy excuse of oldey times to justify their transphobia, sexism, and racism.
Dust was a compelling read that kept me wanting to know what would happen next–and whodunnit–even through the scenes that involve the use of scientific jargon that can tend to bog down a narrative. That’s why I’m giving the book a generous 3 stars.
Will I read more in the series? Probably not. Too many books exist in the world.
Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld was a fun, somewhat distracting, and quirky read. I’d give it 3.5 stars.
It’s a modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice that involves a Bachelor-like reality TV series, a crumbling mansion, and a cast of perpetually self-centered characters. The pace lost a bit of steam for me in the latter half, which is why the 3.5 stars.
What a ride this book was! Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou is the culmination of Carreyrou’s investigative journalism about the biotech startup Theranos.
It’s got everything one could want in a compelling thriller, yet it’s nonfiction. Carreyrou tells the story that well.
Now that the book’s been out for a while, there are podcasts and at least one documentary that delves into what happened and the person(s) behind the fraud, but I highly recommend adding this to your TBR anyway. You can’t go wrong with it.
Aaand finally, the end of this update!
What have you been reading, watching, and/or playing?
How are you holding up during this difficult time? Letting yourself feel whatever it is you need to feel and utilize whatever (healthy) distractions you have access to when you need, I hope.
Until next time, friends. ❤
Always Bring Books 