The Weekly Update: 6/25/17

 
 

Let’s see, what did I do this week…

I rented some movies! I rarely watch movies, but it seemed like a good way to rest my arms. I watched Captain Fantastic because I thought it would be fun, quirky, and touching, I got a Little Miss Sunshine vibe from the cover, but boy was I wrong. I nearly cried like six times. I was heavy and unsettling in some ways and emotional but touching in the end. Good story and good acting too. I also watched The Lost Boys because I’d never seen it. Honestly it didn’t make much sense, but I like the idea of vampires as an 80s gang, and their lair was hella awesome. I also finally watched Fantastic Beasts. I loved it! Newt was adorable, and I totally want his magical bag with all those creatures. The ending was kinda sad though, I thought.

I also had some brainstorming sessions on the phone about backstories for my supernatural sims lol. I think I like coming up with ideas and just creating characters and stories/scenes in my head more than I like actually writing.

I also finally started on that goal to learn about the lore of different supernatural creatures.

I’ve basically just been finding things to do that don’t require a lot of arm use. As for blogging, I’d like to give a special shout-out to my phone because it is actually really good at dictation and has been a lifesaver for replying to comments and visiting other blogs. It’s not a perfect solution, but it helps. Which means, with my luck, I’ll end up having to get a new one in a month -_- Anyway, I’m keeping up with comments fairly well, but I still may not be visiting all the Sunday Posts this week.


Blog/Bookish Updates:

Nothing.

 

Books I Received for Review:

Nothing. I’ve been waiting to hear back about one book on NG for over a month. I think they might’ve forgotten about me :-/ I really want that book though!

 

Books I Finished:

Scarecrow by M.R. Pritchard
Trans Liberty Riot Brigade by L.M. Pierce
Deadgirl: Goneward by B.C. Johnson
Charm City by Ash Krafton
 

Scarecrow was a disappointment. Trans Liberty was unique in some ways and not bad but maybe just not quite for me. Goneward was great, unique, and darker than I expected. It did make me sad though 🙁 Charm City was kinda typical UF. Didn’t blow me away, but it was enjoyable.

 

Song of the Week:

Nothing this week.

 

Laugh of the Week:

A few minutes in the life of a sign language interpreter. I was laughing so hard.

 
 

In Case You Missed It:

– I reviewed Chester 5000 XYV Vol. 1 by Jess Fink, a webcomic/GN cross between silent film, erotica, and steampunk.
– I discussed consistency in book titles.
– I reviewed A Destiny of Dragons by TJ Klune, a fun and touching but heavier sequel in a M/M high fantasy series.

 

The Sunday Post Link-Up:

Once again, I’m linking up to The Sunday Post at Caffeinated Book Reviewer 🙂

 
 
 
 

Talk to me!

Have you found any good books or music lately?
If you've seen any of the movies I mentioned, what did you think of them?

 
 
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Your Thoughts

 

40 thoughts on “The Weekly Update: 6/25/17

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  1. Greg

    I loved the Lost boys. Especially the idea of them living in a beach town, the boardwalk. I can see young vampires doing that. 🙂 I remember liking Star but wasn’t clear on how she was “cured” – that seemed too easy. I’m probably not remembering something…

    There have been a few blogs that had mythical creatures features but I haven’t seen ’em lately.

    I love the interpreter. “I’ll give you a moment to think about that” lol. Delivered w/ a straight face at all times… 🙂

    1. Kristen Burns

      Nah, none of the vampirism stuff really made sense, so it’s not just you lol. But she and the guy were cured by killing the head vampire.

      Chuckles posts about creatures sometimes. But I finally just got on the internet and just started looking things up myself!

  2. roro

    It’s always fun watching movies. I loved fantastic beasts and my crush on newt’s actor increased haha. Did you know that the cw is working on a the lost boys seriesy. The Veronica mars and Izombie is helming it. Each season will take place in a time period. Season one in the 70s and S7( the planned ending) in the 2030. I hope it comes to fruition and that izombie reaches it’s planned ending

    1. Kristen Burns

      This was the first movie I’d seen with that actor, and gah, he’s so cute! I totally second your crush!

      I read the iZombie Comics but was never interested in the TV series. The Lost Boys one sounds like it could be good though!

  3. Di @ Book Reviews by Di

    It’s been a while since I stopped by! I’ve had a busy few weeks (year!) and so blogging has suffered. The last couple of weeks I feel like all I’m managing to do is just get around to commenting back to bloggers and not really getting to visit blogs a lot! I guess thats just how it is sometimes!

    I’m glad you’re managing to do so much that doesn’t need arm use and that your phone has been so awesome at dictation. I have to confess I don’t know much about RSIs? Is it supposed to be chronic? Will it get better?

    I was surprised to see no incoming review books and I hope you get that one from NetGalley that you wanted! I hope the review stack feels under control 😉

    Hope you have a good week and hope to catch up soon!

    1. Kristen Burns

      I’ve been doing the same thing, mostly just commenting back on the people who comment on my blog since that’s about all I can handle with my arms right now. So I guess that explains why we haven’t talked much lol.

      According to the internet, it takes 6 months to 2 years to heal. But there’s no way I’m not using my arms for that long. I’ve had other RSIs, and they’re just damn near impossible to heal :-/ acupuncture didn’t work out for me, but after I move I’m going to try and find something else that might help.

      Thanks, same to you!

  4. chucklesthescot

    The Lost Boys was one of my favourite films from the 80’s and I had a mega crush on Kiefer Sutherland! I still think he’s kinda hot to be honest! I stii haven’t got round to watching Fantastic Beasts yet. I need to fit things other than reading into my schedule. I’m in a vampire place right now, zooming through The Morganville Vampires books!

  5. HEATHER DUFF

    Oh my goodness, The Lost Boys was my film back in the day. I would watch it everyday during the holidays and I was in love with Corey Feldman. Plus the soundtrack was/is awesome!!!!! Have a good week!

  6. Lola

    That’s a good idea to watch movies to rest your arm. I haven’t watched any of those movies except for Fantastic Beast. I really enjoyed it as well and thought Newt was a great main character and his bag with all the creature sis so cool. I agree the ending was kinda sad and a bit uplifting. hopefully at the same time. I heard there will be more Fantastic Beast movies.

    We watched the movie Avatar this weekend and it was really good. I would definitely recommend it. It has a great story and world building and the visuals are stunning. The main character even has a disability, even though it sort of is not as important because of his job. It makes sense when you watch the movie. Oh and I would also recommend Jupiter Rising and Guardians of the Galaxy if you’re looking for a good sci-fi with lots of action.

    I hope your phone will not break down now that you’re using it so much. You did seem to have some bad luck with technology a few months ago from what i remember. It’s nice your phone works well for commenting with the dictation.

    And that’s great you did some brainstorming about your sims characters.

    It’s so annoying when you don’t get approved or rejected on Netgalley. I had a book like that a while ago and eventually got declined, but then I had almost forgotten about it. I actually had the opposite happen this week, I requested two books and got approved a few hours later, yay! I like it when that happens.

    Too bad Scarecrow was a disappointment. And sometimes that happens when a book is good, but not quite for you. I hadn’t expected Charm city to be UF from that cover, glad it was enjoyable even though it didn’t blow you away.

    I hope you’ll have a great week!

    1. Kristen Burns

      Yeah it was kind of a sweet ending, but also kind of sad. And I heard too that there’s going to be more movies. I know I’ve seen Avatar, but I don’t remember it.

      Oh man, I wasn’t even thinking about my bad luck with technology, just my bad luck in general. So now that’s two strikes against my phone lol.

      I’m glad you got some books really quickly from NetGalley this week! It’s great when that happens.

      Thanks, you have a great week too!

  7. Becky @ A Fool's Ingenuity

    Glad you’ve had a good week and have been renting some films. Isn’t Fantastic Beasts awesome? Newt was adorable, I want to keep him in my pocket the precious flower that he is. Hopefully, your phone will live to keep helping you out blogging. It’s little things like that which are good.

    That sign language video is hilarious but also sad because some folks seriously think like that. Definite face palm moments to be had.

  8. Laura Thomas

    I loved The Lost Boys and still crushing over Keifer Sutherland. The second movie wasn’t nearly as good. I’m curious about the series that’s supposed to come out. Right now I’m watching new episodes of iZombie and waiting for Preacher to start again tonight. Fear The Walking Dead is going good so far and also waiting for more of ZOO, even though the glimpses I;ve seen don’t appeal to me at all. Also caught the first Mist episode this weekend. It’s a wonder I find time to read. LOL It’s wonderful that your phone is working out for you. They truly do amazing things now:)

    1. Kristen Burns

      You’re not the first person to mention having a crush on him LOL. I didn’t even know there was a second movie though. Someone else mentioned the series, it does sound like it could be interesting!

  9. Evelina

    Oh man, isn’t Fantastic Beasts just awesome 🙂 I loved Newt, but I loved Jacob even more, I think! So super adorable. I’m glad you watched that.
    Also, is that book available on Edelweiss? I’ve noticed that I’ll sometimes be approved there when I am not approved on NG, and vice versa. Hope you get approved anyway!

  10. Danya @ Fine Print

    I have got to watch The Lost Boys one of these days! Vampires are my weakness, and I do love me some 80s cheese every now and then. Back in the day I used to be really into writing fanfiction, but then I realized that like you, I prefer coming up with scenarios in my head to actually writing them down. LOL at that sign language interpreter video! I’m definitely sending it to a few people now. Thanks for the laugh, Kristen! 🙂

    1. Kristen Burns

      I love vampires too! So I figured it was my duty to finally watch that movie lol. Yeah, liking brainstorming more than actually writing is a bit of a problem when you want to write. Glad you enjoyed the video!

  11. S. J. Pajonas

    Sounds like a good week to me! I like the fact that you’ve been resting your arms by watching TV/movies. That’s a good solution. I spent my week hoofing it all over Disneyworld and I have to do my Sunday Update now that I’m all caught up on blog reading for the week.

  12. Rachel

    Ahhh, I loved “Fantastic Beasts.” I seriously loved Newt. He’s adorable, just like you said. He made me smile a lot while watching the movie. I agree that the ending was sad, but I think it’s very open-ended for a second movie. Which I am very much looking forward to!

  13. Let's Get Beyond Tolerance

    Oh yay, I’m glad you liked Fantastic Beasts. I did find the ending a bit sad, but there will be more so I’m excited!! Newt was just adorable. 🙂 I haven’t seen Captain Fantastic but I’m curious.

  14. Barb (boxermommyreads)

    Sounds like you had an enjoyable week and glad you made time for some movies. It’s sad that you didn’t find Scarecrow to be better because it really does have an awesome cover. Glad you are finding ways to give your arm a rest. I loved Lost Boys when it came out but looking back, I can see some cheesy parts. I loved Keifer Sutherland back then so it was automatic for me to fall in love with the movie. Hope you have a wonderful week!

  15. Lindsey @ Lindsey Reads

    Oh, that reminds me I still need to watch The Lost Boys as well! It seems like such a classic and I just want to watch it to understand the hype 🙂 Glad to hear you enjoyed Fantastic Beasts! You’re right though, the ending was kind of sad.

  16. kris @ lemon-notes

    OH MY GOD THAT SIGN LANGUAGE VIDEO hahahahhahahahahaha. I’m literally dead. Sometimes people who have never had a disabled student ask the dumbest questions ever. You know a question i’ve been asked on multiple occasions about my brother?? “Oh, since your brother’s blind, does he know sign language”
    Me: Oh yeah, totally. He knows sign language, that way he can SEE what’s going on since he’s BLIND and CAN’T SEE.
    Them:
    Me:
    Them:
    Me:
    Them: oh.
    Me: yeah.
    Thank you for the laughs 😀

    1. Kristen Burns

      I just kind of stumbled upon it randomly.

      You know, I like reading zombie books, but I never watch zombie movies because I’m not a horror movie person!