Slice of life: Don’s glasses, some nylon guitar strings, a toleware crumber that Don gave me years ago, one of our favorite houseplants, Don’s phone and a stack of books and New Yorkers that he is reading, and my McCoy bulb planter with mahjong tiles.
It’s sunny right now but it’s going to rain this afternoon.
One more episode of Hinterland to go and we’ll watch it tonight. Despite my complaints about the interview style, the show is truly excellent. Wonderful, rich acting by all, from the leads to the small one-time-only appearances. And a great arc of character development with the lead character that has been written and acted beautifully. I’ll miss it. I’m glad we stuck with it because it was well worth it.
I feel about Hinterland as I do about The Night Circus or any book, movie, series that I’ve been so caught up in that I can’t imagine it ending. And then I go through a period where I have no idea what to read or watch and everything I consider will be judged, whether fairly or unfairly, on the merits of what I’ve just finished.
I finished The Night Circus yesterday afternoon. I loved it. It’s magical, wondrous, beautifully written and imagined. It’s a love story contained within a rich fabric of the mysterious, the imagined, shifts back and forth in time, and the relationships of all who work in or encounter this circus. The descriptions of place and time are so vivid that you feel you are there. It’s very different than most books I read and I’m so glad I pulled it off the shelf at Oblong Books a couple of months ago. I recommend it highly. In fact, I can’t recommend it enough. Be patient in the beginning as you try to sort out the movement back and forth in time. It’s well worth it.
I walked around the den, pulling this book and that book, and I finally hit on a Kate Atkinson that I’ve had in my TBR stack – Transcription. That’s what I’ll be reading next.
I didn’t get to Rick’s plants yesterday, so I’ll head on over there this morning.
Happy Sunday.
I agree about finding the next read after reading an excellent book…it is difficult. I took my time reading the latest Louise Penny…I found it wonderful. So I had to choose my next book carefully. I found myself reuniting with David Baldacci’s Amos Decker series. Very good writing…great character development…the perfect follow up to Three Pines.
Believe it or not….the sun has decided to make an appearance! It’s almost blinding…but it’s glorious. Enjoy your day…I know I’ll enjoy mine! ;)
So glad you’re getting sun today, Donna! About time!
Alas, the rain we were to have is going to be about an inch of snow. Even the weatherpeople are surprised!
Lovely and sunny here in the north this morning, but the roads are so rutted with ice it makes driving anywhere a bit difficult. We did venture out last night to see The Marriage of Figaro, after which my daughter commented that she liked the costumes but was secretly relieved that she doesn’t have to wear a barrister’s wig to court. Currently reading A Tale of Love and Darkness by Amos Oz. I think there’s a film adaptation on Netflix, but I’ll wait until I’m done reading to check that out.
Yes, those barrister’s wigs fascinate me. But thank goodness she doesn’t have to wear one! Thanks, Barbara!
I love slice of life shots. Kind of perfect. And yes, it’s like saying goodbye to a dear friend when a good book ends or favorite series closes. You know you can go back and watch or read again — but it’s never quite the same.
It can never be the same, can it? We know too much already. Thanks, Jeanie!
I finished Night Circus on Friday and was curious to learn your reaction. I enjoyed it immensel., especially the imagery. The tents! The costumes!
However, I had just finished Strange the Dreamer and wasn’t quite ready to abandon those characters who I’d fallen completely in love with. I know I’ll be reading it again and I’ll share it with the rest of the family in the meantime. It was a hard act to follow.
Always tough to move on to a new book after reading something you adored. Thanks, Roxie!
I am so interested to see your comments about Hinterland! We started watching it because we had spent a vacation in Wales a couple years ago and realized it was filmed in the area that we visited. We stayed right in Aberystwyth (had to check the spelling on that!) so the scenes along the town beach head were very familiar. Then, we actually ate a delicious meal in the restaurant that is the setting for the Devil’s Head Children’s home (!). We hiked down into the gorge below the bridge and did a lot of driving through the surrounding hills. We loved the series but felt the same about the “blocking” that occurred during interviews with the detectives. It was interesting to hear your explanation of it from a theater perspective (one reason I love your blog!). We were there in the summer and it seemed most of the series was filmed in the colder months. For us it was an idyllic setting, while the series definitely had it’s dark moments – as any good crime oriented series should! I too will miss the characters – the red parka, the little car, the handing off of the gloves, etc. It was a great show in a wonderful setting.
How wonderful that you were able to spend time there. Love you mentioning the red parka and the handing off of the gloves. Such a presence all of that is in the series. Thank you, Carol!
even though i gravitate towards reading non-fiction probably 99 books out of 100, i will add “night circus” to my tbr list … and hope to someday soon get back to reading.
i appreciate your reviews of books, tv shows and movies … thank you!
in advance of some snow and ice tomorrow and tuesday, we had absolutely beautiful weather here today … 55 and sunny … and i saw people out in shorts and t-shirts … in iowa on february 02! i hope it goes your way.
heard today is a numeric palindrome (02-02-2020) … the first one in 900 years. enjoy!
kathy in iowa
So glad you had great weather today! Ours was a bit windy and damp. But tomorrow should be better. Although shorts and t-shirts might be a bit of an overreaction! Enjoy, Kathy.