Since we are coming up on June, it seems like a good time to check in with everyone here on @bookstodon regarding favorite reads of 2024 so far. Whatcha got?
My top five reads of 2024 so far:
The Criminal series of graphic novels by Ed Brubaker (ten primary works)
@kimlockhartga@bookstodon I just started Erasure by Percival Everett (the movie version, American Fiction, is my fave Oscar movie) and it's really good
4 Guys Co-op had a magnificent session of Serious Sam 4 the other night. We had struggled with level 9, A Breakfast in France. It was the 5th time we played it. What can I say - we like a challenge! It was our 2nd run thru and it wasn't looking good. We had 0 extra lives and I was last man standing. I had 16 hit points when I made a dash for the level end. There were monsters hard behind me but I hoped I could beat them to it. And I did just barely! Phew! #ComputerGames
M and I finished watching Dune Part 2. It was pretty great. Zendaya is amazing but I'm sorry, I don't see how Timothée Chalamet could be a rebel leader. Austin Butler was incredible as Feyd-Rautha. And I thought I recognized Anya Taylor-Joy in there briefly. Other notable #movies I've watched recently include Sisu (bloody amazing), The Zone of Interest (did not sleep well), and Eileen (slow burn to a great ending). Pretty good month for #movie watching. #films@movies
I had a pretty nice long weekend. We did a ton of work outside on Saturday and Sunday, as the weather was good. I did a bunch of pressure washing, got the lawn mowed and even put down mulch in the front gardens. We have a gorgeous Japanese Red Maple in the front yard that we keep trying to find perennials that will take, but none ever have, so we just mulch around it now. I did get the pool emptied out but haven't cleaned it out enough to begin filling it yet.
And yesterday was a day of #boardgames. I saw some friends I hadn't seen in years. Several in this group go back 30+ years, when we first began meeting at another friend's house for weekly sessions of these new fangled "Euro" or "German" games. We played "Veiled Fate" at 7 players. Fun hidden role game of trying to figure out who your teammate is! And then Challengers, which is a quick deckbuilding game of tournament War. Good times.
As you watch Justice Thomas and Alito explicitly endorse racism and gerrymandering, and even go as far as to slam the Brown v Board ruling—a reminder that this corruption is who SCOTUS has always been.
Well, here it is again, as unwanted as ever - Monday. It wasn't a bad weekend, even though it rained each day at least a little bit, making it 16 out of 20 weekends so far this year. I did manage to squeeze in a mowing of the lawn to at least show someone lives here. We played #Seafall on Sunday, getting in a whole "game", which was fun. It makes 8 games out of probably 20 for this campaign legacy game. #boardgames
Not much planned for #today,. My wife drove herself in this morning, freeing up 90 minutes or so of my day. I need to make some phone calls. Get someone to give us a price on trimming the trees in the backyard. I should call the doctor's office to talk about my problematic knees. They aren't terrible but they aren't right either. Tonight watch the first Mad Max with @adrienne. The upcoming movie looks amazing and I think it would be fun to rewatch the entire series. #movies#films@movies
What advice would you give to someone just starting out in a relationship?
Mine might sound kind of dark in relation to the question, but here goes:
People change, and they should, it's part of being a person. Some people are lucky, and they change in the same direction, but some don't, and that's okay too. There's no shame in leaving a relationship or changing the nature of a relationship that no longer serves you. We are all taught that every relationship, whether romantic or friendship, is supposed to last forever, but nothing is forever, and forcing something that no longer works, just ends in anger and bitterness. Knowing when to let go is as important as knowing when to hold on through a rough patch, and how to know either of those things is the most cliché advice of all, COMMUNICATE.
@RickiTarr funny you should ask that! We had our 27th anniversary yesterday (we lived together for like 10 years before that) and I think the only bit of advice I would give is to be flexible and forgiving. See how the other person treats people who can't fight back, like wait staff and bartenders. When my wife and I sit at a bar, we are fast friends with all the servers in no time. We drive each other crazy sometimes but that's just being people.
@RickiTarr I think another key for us is that neither one of us stands on ceremony or fake fronts. We eloped to get married. We usually only remember our anniversary when a friend reminds us of it (it happens to be on Mike Oldfield's birthday, so he'll send me a text saying happy birthday). We hate formal affairs, preferring low-key times.
Seriously heard someone saying they don't listen to many black artists, because they aren't really into rap. Bitch please, feel free to share songs from Black artists from any genre. Here is one of my favorites, if you like this song please check out her other work:
Well we have a showing tomorrow which means my #TrumpTrial coverage will be interrupted tomorrow and today, because today we have to scramble to finish painting all the areas that we need to "touch up" including an entire wall.
@GottaLaff a friend of mine got his Canadian citizenship a few months ago but a move isn't currently planned. Good for him and his family to have the option anyway
I need some new science fiction to read, who has some suggestions? I don't like military sci-fi. For reference, my favorite series is the Expanse, I also enjoyed Scalzi's Collapsing Empire, I love Robert Charles Wilson's books. I mostly enjoy space operas and unique stories about technology, for example I really liked the recent book Mountain in the Sea about AI and intelligent octopus. Suggestions from the awesome Bookstodon community? @bookstodon#Bookstodon#Scifi#ScienceFiction