Holy cannoli, Batman, how is it February? The mind boggles. What a month we’ve had! If you want a nice, long trip down memory lane, browse through the Roundup archives for a quick reference to all of our writers’ fabulous work from last month (and the months before that). Now that the weekend has arrived, kick back and relax. Maybe think about staying in and catching up with us. This year’s flu season is nasty…better to avoid exposing yourself if possible. If you’ve already caught the bug, we wish you a speedy recovery! Now sit back, strap in, and let’s take a whirlwind tour through the week that was.
Monday
What do we do on Mondays, peanut gallery?
*crickets*
Really? You’re useless sometimes. Monday is My Favorite Things. This week we captured a wild Venessa Giunta and wouldn’t release her until she talked about the things she loves when she’s not caught up in reality. What are those things? “A spoon full of sugar, thirteen seasons and counting, an actual remake, the live-action evolution of video games, and making a game out of productivity.” Now I know you’re fascinated. Read her post to see what this cryptic list means!
Tuesday
Nicole Taft made her first appearance of the week with her latest Silver Screen installment. Her first selection? Gods of Egypt! What did she think of this (to quote J.L. Gribble) “beautiful white-washed tragedy”? (To which Gribble herself refused to give any money…read the comments too, people!) Read on for Nicole’s take on the movie.
Our second offering on Tuesday was the Sound Off! for The Death Cure, the third film in The Maze Runner series. Merrin was the only one of us who made it to the theater. Have you been keeping up with this franchise? If you’ve seen the first two, here’s Merrin’s spoiler-free reaction!
Wednesday
Merrin returned on Wednesday with the latest review in her newfound addiction fascination with the recent Star Wars novels. This time she dove into Chuck Wendig‘s Aftermath trilogy. I’ve seen mixed reactions to this set of books, but don’t listen to me (I haven’t read them). Listen to Merrin, who read and reviewed all three novels. (Beware of some spoilers.)
Thursday
Nicole makes her second appearance of the week with another Silver Screen post. This time, she swings way off into another direction with a French version of Beauty and the Beast: La Belle et la Bête. There are a lot of spoilers here, so if you’re determined to keep yourself unaware, fire up Netflix, watch the film yourself, and then check back in at the above link to discuss the film with Nicole.
Kelly McCarty gave us a book review for our Thursday afternoon post: a review of The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden. This is a sequel to The Bear and the Nightingale (which Kelly reviewed back in September). Do beware of spoilers in the above review, and the latest review.
Friday
First, Sherry Peters continued her own resolution project: A Year of Thrones! Her first installment covered the first season of HBO’s Game of Thrones. If you haven’t seen the first season, beware of spoilers here. This month she’s tackled the book itself, A Game of Thrones. Read her thoughts on the first book here, and be kind, don’t spoil any future information about either the books or the series, or we’ll sic a couple of dragons on you. Or maybe a bunch of Dothraki riders.
Finishing out Friday and the week, Merrin announced March’s pick for our Book Club: Daggerspell by Katharine Kerr. Check out the details here and be sure to cast your vote for April’s selection!
Book Club
There’s a lively discussion over at the our January post, on Octavia E. Butler’s Dawn. You can still get in on the action if you haven’t had the chance yet. Remember that we love to talk, and if you’ve read the masterpiece of science fiction, go make yourself heard! And please join us in February for our discussion of Nalo Hopkinson’s Brown Girl in the Ring. Fast reader, are you? Well, find a copy of Daggerspell and get started for March!
And that was our week. Movies (some good, some hilariously bad) and books. Please enjoy the rest of your weekend, relax, and stay healthy. You could do worse than to pick up one of our many reviewed/discussed works and spend the weekend at home.
And, try to stay well. Seriously. If you’re feeling crummy, don’t ignore it too long. We wouldn’t want you ending up like these guys.
Image from The Walking Dead, AMC
Seriously, if you’re following along on the Sound Off posts, you know there are very few ridiculous movies I refuse to give money to. 😉 (Geostorm, anyone?)
We appreciate your dedication to seeing most of the ridiculous offerings that Hollywood throws at us!