Thursday, April 30, 2015

Books and theater Feb-April 2015

Okay, I read a ton in the first 2 months, lets see what happens next as the weather gets nicer....
(turns out I did okay not as much as Jan/Feb, but no schlub either)



Goats!  They are trimming the grass at the Sunnyvale landfill.  When a plane takes off from nearby Moffet Field they run for a few years....and then go back to eating.

by Laurie R. King
-God of the Hive: this is a re-read
-Shadow of Garments: these are from the series where Sherlock Holmes meets Mary Russell, a younger woman who is as much a detective as he is.  They marry and have adventures. I love these, missed the one in between these two-note to self, go back and read that one.
-Pirate King:  went to the library and got that one I missed :)

by Steve Hockensmith
-The Black Dove:  Another Holmes rewrite-I love all the reboots!!  This series is a pair of cowboy brothers, one wants to be like Holmes so the other becomes his Watson.
-The World's Great Slueths-big fun at the Chicago World's Fair.

by Dr. Jan Pol with David Fisher
-Never Turn Your Back on an Angus Cow:  Dutch vet in Michigan farm country.  He has a show on Nat Geo Wild and has great stories.  It is a little repetitive, but that makes it homey and is a fast read.  I had to skim some of the 'and then the intestines fell out' bits :)

Got to see Ken Watanabe in The King and I and then Wolf Hall and Bringing up the Bodies-even better than I thought they would be.

By Piper Kerman
-Orange is the new Black: I have been watching the show and love it.  Then I got to see Piper talk in person-very warm and engaging.  So I finally read the book-great idea.  It is different enough from the show that it is worthwhile.

by Jeffery Eugenides
-Middlesex:  I've had this on my shelf for a while, but picked it up for the reading challenge.  Pretty good-definitely interesting story line/topic and I like the back and forth time frames.  Good enough that I will try another.

by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
-A Candle for D'Artagnan: One of the first books I've been reading on the phone, probably only in e-book format.  I picked it up because I love The Three Musketeers....turns out D'Artagnan is only a small part.  And the writing, though clean, felt like a bit more editing could help.

TableTop Day April 2015
I love TableTop game day!  It is a chance to get in those games that are too long for game night, or ones for lots of people.

Oh Galaxy Trucker-the expansion pack was deadly!  In two rounds less than half the ships made it to the end.  

Current favorite, Legendary

Quirkle-a game of the year I can play over and over.

Villa Paleti-a trickier version of Jenga

We got a full 10-player Pit!

good ole Sandwich game-good for a short game.

Modern Art-haven't played this in years, a pure auction game...Gotta gitta, gotta gitta, gotta gitta Gitter!


by Neil Gaiman
-Trigger Warning: Short Fiction:  Will read anything by Gaiman....good set of shorts, reminds me of something you should read around Halloween.  Love the re-telling of the Sleeping Beauty story.

by Cheryl Strayed
-Wild:  Had to read this as my friend Amy goes off on her cross-country bike trip. As a big-time planner, I kind of hated her for going on this trip unprepared. I got over that because the writing is fantastic and I love her Dear Sugar advice column.

LotR with symphony-OMG this might be the best thing I do all year.  3 nights to show all the movies

complete with live orchestra and 3 choirs.  It was sooooooo good I went through so much kleenex.  Okay, I have to admit there is something about live music.  Only problem is that is was the theatrical release....and now I want to re-watch the directors cut!

by Erin Morganstern
-The Night Circus:  This was on my hold list from the library-got it and devoured it.  A magical and dreamy book, best use of color in the descriptions.

Sunnyvale Community Players, The Mystery of Edwin Drood:  I've always wanted to see this-unfinished story by Charles Dickens...turned into a musical with multiple ending.  Tons of fun!  Our first visit to the Sunnyvale Community Players but they had a lot of talent, so we will be back!