_jems_ (![[info]](https://www.insanejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} _jems_) wrote,@ 2007-11-03 00:56:00 |
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| Current mood: | nerdy |
Yes, Doug can read.
My movie watching isn't going so well. I'm at 81 movies so far for the year, and I wouldn't be worried, because 19 movies in one month really isn't all that hard, but I've been seriously disinterested in watching movies the past few months. Of course, in that time I've watched about 20 complete seasons of different shows (I'm at 69 for the year), so it's not like I've had time to watch any movies.
I just need to discipline myself. I've got at least 20 movies I haven't watched just sitting around here at home, so it's not like it's going to involve a lot of effort figuring out what to watch.
Speaking of disciplining myself, my project for next year is to read. I haven't decided whether to go for the full 50 books in one year (I've done it before, plenty of times, but in the past few years I've usually only read 10-15) or whether to just halve it so I won't feel completely stressed out. I'm already putting together a reading list:
- His Dark Materials, by Philip Pullman. (I may read the first book earlier so I can go see the movie, which has a Christmas release, right?)
- Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson.
- American Gods, by Neil Gaiman.
- Life of Pi, by Yann Martel.
- The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood.
- The Black Book, by Orhan Pamuk.
- The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger.
- Rubicon, by Tom Holland.
- The Fall of the Roman Empire, by Peter Heather.
- Middlesex, by Jeffrey Eugenides.
- Children of Men, by P.D. James. (I wasn't as enamoured with the film as some of you, but I've had the book forever and figured it was time to read it. Plus, I've read some of her other stuff and I find her readable if somewhat boring at times.)
- The Little Friend, by Donna Tartt.
- Mästaren och Margarita, av Bulgakov.
About half of these are books that I've already started, but due to my short attention span brought on by reading waaaay too much fanfic in recent years, I've never gotten invested and have put them aside.
So, anyone got any other recs? When it comes to genre fiction, I've hardly read anything in the fantasy genre. I'm slightly more versed in the SciFi genre, but I've never really tried to go beyond the obvious (i.e. William Gibson, et al.)
I'm also going to attempt to (finally!) read a Thomas Hardy novel (since I'm distantly related to the man I figure I should read at least one of his books, right?), so of the ones I own, which would those of you who have read them recommend: Tess of D'Urbervilles, Far from the Madding Crowd, The Mayor of Casterbridge or The Return of the Native?
[I'm currently reading I Am America (And So Can You!) by Stephen Colbert, and The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood, but I expect to have those read before the end of the year.]
I'm already planning for the repercussions of the writers' strike. (Though I am already doing a fair bit of mourning about not having Jon and Stephen to watch at lunch every day, and not having Conan to translate. *sniff*)
Shows I plan to start watching (and will hold off on intentionally in case the spring becomes a barren television wasteland):
- CarnivĂ le.
- Deadwood.
- Flight of the Conchords.
- Spaced.
Shows I plan to rewatch:
- Arrested Development.
- China Beach.
- Farscape.
- Friends.
- The X-Files. (To get into the right frame of mind for the movie. Though that might not be the best move? Maybe it'll just scare me silly about what's to come?)
Show I had planned to wait to rewatch until Steph
- The West Wing.
Remember my brilliant idea to marathon show in small chunks? Turns out there's a hitch: I like all of them! I haven't dropped a show yet, though I suspect Life would have been on the chopping block if I wasn't marathoning, because I watched one by itself (because I had just done the Life marathon a few days earlier) and it hardly held my attention at all.
So far I haven't watched past the first episode of Heroes, Reaper or Ugly Betty, Moonlight and FNL are due for their second marathon sessions soon (read: probably after tonight's episodes), and the rest I've watched pretty recently.
I also marathoned Damages, since the season was over and all, and I really liked it! And I'm intrigued by the set-up for the second season. I am, however, a little worried about what they'll do after that, since I really don't want them to drag out the whole Patty thing, and I really don't want her to not be dirty.