Wordsmithing and Worldbuilding: The Week in Review (or Why I Sort of Reverted Back Into a Hermit This Week)

After a strong run of blogging, I have fallen prey to two weeks of intense work stuff and preparing (feverishly) to go to NEW YORK (screaming inside-in a good way) next week. But in between freaking out and scrambling around the store, I did find a few books to read, and some tv to watch.

I won't bore you with descriptions of all the chocolates/chocolate treats I made [for work] this week, or maybe . . . nah, I'll get distracted if I start with chocolate.

What I read/started reading (all pictures and links are from Goodreads):

The Whispering Skull (Lockwood and Co. #2) by Jonathan Stroud

I read the first one of these as an ARC, and then was bummed to find out it was a series, and that I had to wait for the next one. They are borderline MG/YA ghost hunting/paranormal mysteries that are surprisingly well written. (Why surprisingly? Look at the cover).

The first one was creepier (so far), but I love the ghost hunting team of the mysterious Lockwood, the talented ghost-sensitive Lucy, and the smart but hardly personable George.

Being Mortal by Atul Gawande

I picked this up randomly, and it is fascinating so far. As the regulars at the store where I work are mainly seniors, this book is one they have been buzzing about. Gawande tackles tough topics with wisdom and good sense, and he isn't afraid to call people out. That being said, this book isn't ranty, but gentle. He looks at both sides of the medicine debate, as well as end of life care, in an easy to follow fashion.

Expiration Day by Willam Campbell Powell

A great premise: People on earth are no longer fertile, so a tech company bio-engineered robots to act/think/look like kids to stop riots. The catch is that these robots have an "expiration day," after their eighteenth year.

I am still only about a third into this. It is a little boring for me, and skews middle grade in the characters/depth, but the plot is interesting enough to keep me going.

Link

As for these two: I just started The Darkest Minds, so all I can say is that the writing draws me in. I finished The Intergalactic Adventures of Queen Bea, but I am still digesting it, and plan on writing a full review.

In the non-reading, non-work world (small part), I managed to get ten pages of writing logged, which is really good for two weeks of crazy. My current project (post-apoc parody/adventure) is still going strong, and I have very good feelings about it. But I have to be careful, and nurse that enthusiasm to the end of the book.

Pippin is cautiously optimistic for me.

When I wasn't writing, I was finally able to catch up with/finish The Flash Season 1, which was excellent. That finale . . .

^Me, seriously impressed by the finale.

Sacrifice, emotions, courage, bad decisions, *so many emotions,* consequences Time Travel, paradoxes, black holes . . . but no spoilers here, you'll have to watch it yourself. However, I have been really impressed with Flash overall, (especially since it is on CW!), and you should definitely check it out if you're into superheroes.

In that same vein, I finally got around to watching the Legends of Tomorrow trailer (CW spinoff of both Arrow and The Flash) and it looks epic, and cheesy, and epically cheesy. AND RORY WILLIAMS IS A TIME LORD. I am not kidding (hence the all caps).

Okay, so maybe he's Rip Hunter, time traveller (but we all know what that really means). But it is still Arthur Darvill in a cool coat playing mentor to a strange group of heroes (there is time travel!). I am in. Unfortunately, it doesn't premiere until next year. But it is up there with Captain America: Civil War and Agent Carter Season 2 for me (excitement level).

You can't fool me, Rory.

I still have to catch up on Arrow S3 (more than halfway through). It has had its ups and downs, but I still am really enjoying it.

I must say that DC has thrown the gauntlet for the superhero shows. I still haven't watched MARVEL and Netflix's Daredevil (high on my to-watch list), but I have heard a lot of good things. In my opinion, MARVEL still wins in movies, but DC is ahead in television (at least for now).

So that was a fraction of my week. How about you? Did you find any interesting books? Did you start any new ones. Do you watch superhero shows, or are you 100% done with superheroes in general. If you are a Whovian, what do you think about Arthur Darvill's newest role, and will you watch Legends of Tomorrow?

I am off to BEA next week, so my blogging will probably be nil, but I'll be back after that (hopefully with pictures and adventures!) with books and thoughts to share.

Cheers!