Sunday, September 9, 2012

Monday Round-Up: What I'm Reading/Watching -- I've Sold My Soul to BBC and Steven Moffat



It's Monday, What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.



The new school year hit fast and hard -- it kind of blindsided me. In addition to my other work, I have a new roster of high-school aged writing students and I'm teaching at my younger daughter's school. It's a small private democratic school, inspired by the Sudbury model. Plus my teens and I need to get back to focusing on their home education.

My older teen's primary goal is to teach herself to be a screenwriter. My younger teen's secondary goal is to prepare for a career as a programmer and video game designer. Mainly by playing a plethora of video games, plus he tries to squeeze in a bit of reading, writing, math, and stuff here and there. :-P This is secondary only to his overriding life purpose which, as we all know, is to prepare for the inevitable Zombie Apocalypse. Coincidentally, this also involves video gaming. Strategic training.

Been Watching:

I haven't watched any movies this week. I know, I deserve to be banned from the world of movie buffs. :-P I've been wrapped up in television shows, a few books, and y'know ... life and stuff.


Woo-hoo! We blew our whole budget on Daleks!

I went nuts over the premiere of Season 7 of the awesomeness that is Doctor Who (and don't you dare tell me I'm too old to be a Doctor Who geek -- I will track your ass down and kill you in your sleep).

C'mon, Rory, don't be a putz! DON'T POKE THE DALEKS!

Sadly, cable T.V. isn't in our budget right now, but I was able to track down a link to see the first episode, Asylum of the Daleks.

Rory tells it like it is.

I'm sad that this season is the swan song for my favorite actor & character in the series: Arthur Darville/Rory Williams. Even if the writers sometimes have Rory act like a total goofball.  My son and I almost spontaneously combusted when he went around playing with all the sleeping Daleks.  How would guy who did stuff like that survive Anywhere In Time and Space, let alone become The Last Centurion? I'm just sayin'.

I missed Dinosaurs on a Spaceship, which I hear is not quite as good. But hey, it's dinosaurs on a spaceship! Much cooler than snakes on a plane. The only thing that could make it cooler is if BBC had wrangled a cameo by Samuel L. Jackson.

Enough is enough! I have had it with these motherfucking dinosaurs.


Get your terminology right!

I also finished the first season of Sherlock and started the second. I received the second season DVD, from my wonderful daughters, for my birthday. Sarah calls the title character "an unholy cross between The Doctor and Sheldon Cooper." Sounds about right.


My older daughter and I also started Breaking Bad -- I've only seen a few episodes, so I'm not sure how I feel about the series yet. Is it meant to be a drama? A very black comedy? Is it going to turn into a tragedy? Do I want to see the whole series? I don't know yet.

For when I finish Sherlock, I have Luther at the top of my Instant Watch Queue. Lady Sati recently called this to my attention, reminding me how much I like British crime and detective shows and pointing out the insane hotness of Idris Elba.


Oddly, until recently -- with a few exceptions -- I didn't like T.V. When I was young, television was almost invariably stupid and mind-numbingly boring. I'm amazed at how much smarter and more entertaining so many programs are these days. Thank God T.V. sucked when I was young. Otherwise, who knows? I might never have become a hardcore book lover.

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Been Reading:


Crazy School (Madeline Dare mystery series #2) by Cornelia Read (Review Coming Soon) 
From Goodreads: Madeline Dare has finally escaped rust-belt Syracuse, New York, for the lush Berkshire Mountains in Massachusetts. After her husband's job offer falls through, Maddie signs on as a teacher at the Santangelo Academy, a boarding school for disturbed teenagers. Behind the academy's ornate gates, she discovers a disturbing realm where students and teachers alike must submit to the founder's bizarre therapeutic regimen.

Blue Asylum by Kathy Hepistall (Review Coming Soon) 
from Goodreads:  Amid the mayhem of the Civil War, Virginia plantation wife Iris Dunleavy is put on trial and convicted of madness. It is the only reasonable explanation the court can see for her willful behavior, so she is sent away to Sanibel Asylum to be restored to a good, compliant woman. Iris knows, though, that her husband is the true criminal; she is no lunatic, only guilty of disagreeing with him on notions of justice, cruelty, and property.

The Cradle Robbers (Mommy Track Mystery Series) by Ayelet Waldman (Review of this Series Coming Soon)
from Goodreads (B&N Review): In The Cradle Robbers, the sixth Mommy-Track mystery featuring a lovable defense attorney turned stay-at-home mom and part-time detective, Juliet Applebaum is faced with her most heartrending case yet: a mother whose newborn baby has been stolen.

28 comments:

  1. I was here for the books - but the tv - clearly I'm missing out on British tv ... except for Sherlock - savor season 2 because season 3 isn't coming for MONThS - grrrr!!! And Luthur - how have they not done any more episodes of this - LOVED it!!!

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    1. British T.V. is generally the best. :)

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  2. I've not had a chance to watch the current episodes of Doctor Who but I plan to.

    My favorite book this week was Ghouls Just Haunt to Have Fun by Victoria Laurie. Please come see what I'm reading now.

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  3. I was very unsure about Breaking Bad to start with too. It's all far too sad to be anything but a drama to begin with but Walt just becomes more and more fascinating as it continues. I just finished season 3 recently and I can't wait for the rest!

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    1. Thanks, Pete. I'll stick with Breaking Bad, since it sounds like it will get better. Right now, it's pretty depressing.

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  4. How wise of your son to prepare for the Zombie Apocalypse. If it involves a lot of gaming, so be it! :-)

    You'll hate me for saying this, but while Doctor Who was on, I was playing with my laptop - on my lap, so I saw some of it, but didn't take special attention. I know, I know!

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    1. When I had a laptop, I used to do the same thing. :)

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  5. How lucky you are!
    I have just finished davd tennant's episode...it's still a long journey to reach Asylum of the daleks

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    1. It was so sad when David Tennant left. "I don't want to go!"

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  6. I just watched Asylum of the Daleks too. So good to be back with The Doctor. <3

    And as far as I am concerned, you're never too old. I watch Doctor Who with my Dad, who is about ready to retire.

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    1. It's good to be back after a long period of Who withdrawal. ;-) What a fun thing for you and your dad to do together.

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  7. Blue Asylum sounds like something that is right up my alley, I'll have to keep my eyes open for a copy :)

    Have a great week of reading and watching!
    The Relentless Reader

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    1. Blue Asylum was a good novel -- different from other historical fiction I've read. I hope to review it tonight

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  8. I don't watch much TV, but I'm starting Sherlock and Luther soon. Of course, I have to watch 30 Rock Season 6 first. ;)

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    1. I was never a T.V. watcher either -- but I seem to be starting a new pattern. I've never heard of 30 Rock.

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    2. 30 Rock is the NBC comedy series with Alec Baldwin and Tina Fey. Baldwin plays network executive Jack Donaghy and Fey is Liz Lemon, the head writer of one of the network's sketch comedy shows. It's got an ensemble cast and features many celebrity guest stars, like Matt Damon, Julianne Moore, and Norah Jones. I'd recommend it.

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  9. I think we might share a video game obsessed teenager. :-P No, it's good to hear others have a child like mine. It makes it less painful. ::grin:: Hope you've been liking Blue Asylum. I really enjoyed it a lot.

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    1. Do we have joint custody of a son, Kristen?? :-) Blue Asylum was quite good, wasn't it?

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  10. I got Blue Asylum from NetGalley months ago and haven't gotten to it yet. I'll have to get to it next month. Enjoy all your new reads and showss!
    Check out my It's Monday! post :)

    -Kimberly @ Turning The Pages

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    1. I really liked this book. I hope you enjoy it too.

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  11. Great post :) lol...I do think we all need to prepare for the inevitable Zombie Apocalypse.
    My two fav shows are The Walking Dead and MadMen. I have heard alot about Breaking Bad.
    I watched Snakes on a Plane simply because of Samuel L. Jackson. He's pretty badass.

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    1. Samuel L. Jackson is pretty bad ass. :) I like The Walking Dead, though I've only seen the first season. I've also read a few of the graphic novels upon which they based. They're good, but my husband warned me the series gets WAY too brutal by about the 4th or 5th book.

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  12. Hi Stephanie! Ha..ha.. your post title cracks me up! Moffat is one heck of a talented writer isn't he? I LOVE Sherlock but haven't got around to watching season 2 yet. I love that quote of him about a functioning sociopath, he's so darn witty!

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    1. He is incredibly witty! Terrifying but witty. ;-)

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  13. Thank you for the mention! Idris is gorgeous and Luther is his best work, the show is great too, very entertaining, I hope you'll like it!

    I myself have been watching so many series I barely have time to see any films and it's almost the time for new seasons to begin, I'm doomed :)

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  14. My boyfriend and I are watching Breaking Bad, and it does stay pretty consistently dark (at least through the mid part of season three). But, it's also weirdly funny in parts, and I think the absurdity of it starts to come out more too. We're really enjoying it, but it's certainly not a show everyone is going to enjoy :)

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  15. I've heard such good things about Blue Asylum, can't wait to see what you think. My 50 year old Dr Who mad brother-in-law would join you on your killing spree if he heard Dr Who getting rubbished lol.
    Have a great week and happy reading :)

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