Wednesday 24 September 2014

Non-Book Review: Sherlock Season 3

Confession time: I fell behind on my self-imposed reading schedule for a few days.

Why, do you ask?

I got the BBC's Sherlock Season 3 at the library!!!!! I was responsible enough not to watch all three episodes in a 4.5 hour marathon but I did use my pre-sleep reading time to watch them three days in row.

Spectacular show; this season marks a departure from previous years because they didn't modernize the traditional cases but forged ahead into new ones. And things were a little darker in the last episode but just as wonderful as I'd come to expect.

Also, the finale had one of the most romantic declarations I've ever heard... any guesses on what you think it is?

Photo: Confession time:  I fell behind on my self-imposed reading schedule for a few days.

Why, do you ask?

I got the BBC's Sherlock Season 3 at the library!!!!!  I was responsible enough not to watch all three episodes in a 4.5 hour marathon but I did use my pre-sleep reading time to watch them three days in row.

Spectacular show; this season marks a departure from previous years because they didn't modernize the traditional cases but forged ahead into new ones.  And things were a little darker in the last episode but just as wonderful as I'd come to expect.

Also, the finale had one of the most romantic declarations I've ever heard... any guesses on what you think it is?

Monday 22 September 2014

Book Review--Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

The first I heard of this book was from my sister who said she got it on her Nook and really enjoyed it, even though it was not her normal genre.  That is a pretty good endorsement to me--if someone enjoys a book despite it being out of their comfort zone.  Then I saw the cover… I know, I know, you’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover. Have you seen it? 


A little odd.  Now, I don’t mind a bit of suspense, a good mystery, fantasy, sci-fi, romance but at first glance this seemed creepy/horror bound.

However, I read the summary and thought interesting.  Then I heard the premise behind how the author developed the story.  Gathering vintage photographs that have no easy explanation (no happy family pictures here… or even awkward family photos) Riggs connected these random images with a story.  Cool, I thought, I make elaborate stories out of just seeing scenes of people at the airport.  So, I tried it.

WONDERFUL!  This does have suspense, mystery and fantasy.  It just skirts the concept of creepy and flirts with horror but never really crosses the line.  The story is solid and the details are vivid and the vintage photos that illustrate the text blend together well.  The only problem is… the next one is checked out and I have to wait!  I’m putting Hollow City: The second novel of Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children on hold so I can revisit The Bird and all of her special crew.

Tuesday 9 September 2014

Book Review--The Disappearing Spoon

The Disappearing Spoon:  and other true tales of madness, love, and the history of the world from the periodic table of the elements by Sam Kean

           

Ever have to slog through a book to get to the end?  I did recently with The Disappearing Spoon by Sam Kean.  The premise seemed promising—a trek through historical events using the periodic table of the elements as touchstones.  I like science and I’m always looking for ways to peak my interest in history (not my favorite subject) so it seemed like a win-win.  Yeah, not so much.  I really had to force myself through the first half of the book; Kean went into great detail about the initial cosmic distribution of the elements and then into structural analysis of atoms and electrons.  Yes, necessary information to understanding the elements but did it really have to take half the book?  I’m not convinced.

 

Now, the second half of the book started to get interesting when Kean brought the elements into play during times of war and the great scientific races between countries to discover new elements and classify them in an understandable manner.  But I found it difficult to keep the strings of what he was discussing together because he jumped around from time to country and from scientist to principle with not a lot of tie-in between.  I did find interesting tidbits and the information matches up with what I know about chemistry and physics (more than average but definitely not an expert) but the muddled format was off-putting.

 


However; I finished, I felt good about it when I was done and now I’m rewarding myself with eye candy… the fun photographic collection of Underwater Dogs by Seth Casteel.  Seeing these canine faces stretched into grins just makes me smile J