2013 - The Year that Was

It was a year.  :)  And it's just about done.  Reflecting back on it, there were more good times and things on it than bad, so we'll put it in the plus column of the ledger book.  There are some things that stick out in my memories and thoughts of the year.  Things other than the day to day activity of life that is really what living is.  :)

My blood was good all year!  Go me!  The COPD and phlebitis sucks and makes things difficult to do at times, but it is what it is.  I've not smoked in 2 and a half years, which is a good thing.  (I still do crave a good cig every once in a while, but it passes quickly.)  In the coming year, I have to find a way to get more active.  I had the greatest plans for walking when I retired but the COPD put a HUGE spoke in that wheel.  But I am going to work on that.  For now it will have to be inside because the lungs really, really, really don't like this arctic cold thing the weather has going on this winter.

I had some family and friends going through really shitty times this year and I wish I was closer to them so I could help, you know?  At the very least to offer hugs and coffee.  To them, I hope the new year brings peace, happiness, good health and a very limited amount of crapola.  *hugs them all*  

Speaking of friends, I got to know someone a whole lot better this past year and she's become a very good and close friend.  The internet is really good for some things.  

I read a lot of good books this past year, among them, Dirty Laundry by Heidi Cullinan, the Inn BoonsBoro Trilogy by Nora Roberts,  Beyond Shame, Beyond Control and Beyond Pain by Kit Rocha, Touch & Geaux by Abigail Roux, Forever Promised by Amy Lane, Catch a Ghost and Long Time Gone by SE Jakes are all among my faves.  Here is my Pinterest Board of Books I Read in 2013 if anyone is curious.  

Movies that I saw this year include Frozen from Disney that I highly recommend to anyone who will listen.  *LOL*  It turns all those Prince Charming, romance and Knights on white chargers tropes on their heads in a most wonderful way.  I wanted to have All The Daughters so I could take them to see this one.  :)  And this song... THIS SONG!!  There are no words to describe how I love this song.  Yeah, I'm a headbanger, I know, but THIS SONG!!!!

Some great TV watching this past year.  All the regulars of course, Dancing With the Stars, The Voice, NCIS, NCIS:LA, Hawaii Five-0, Survivor, Arrow, Revolution, Chicago Fire, White Collar, Once Upon A Time, The Amazing Race... there are even more.  *LOL*  I've enjoyed them all.  And the new additions to the schedule, Blacklist, Almost Human, Sleepy Hollow, Agents of Shield, Tomorrow People, The Originals and my latest total obsession Strike Back.  They have all kept me occupied in the best ways.  :)  Check out one of the best opening credit sequences in television -

So that's about it.  In the coming year?  There are things I want to do, get more active, write and complete something, things of that nature. I want to enjoy my family and friends.  I want to read good books, enjoy good movies and watch good TV shows. I want to enjoy my retirement.  :)

Happy New Year, everyone!!  *HUGS FOR ALL*

In Which I Rant about Reading

When did we become such a society of non-risk takers?  Even worse, when did we stop allowing ourselves the pleasure of being surprised by our entertainment?  When did it become de rigeur to know everything about a book, movie, TV show before reading or watching it?   And I'm not talking about spoilers, folks.

Just look at the fervour with which people tried to suss out the details of the latest Star Trek movie.  The world was going to end if we didn't know which villain Benedict Cumberbatch was going to be portraying.  And really, did the knowing make the pain of the let down of that movie any easier?  And really, if you're reading spoilers etc.. about Scandal, then you're missing a HUGE treat when you watch the week's episode.

I read a lot.  I follow a lot of reader blogs and author blogs.  I use Twitter a lot to follow these folks too, because they're interesting and funny people for the most part.  I have come to realise that these days, part of marketing a book is to put half of it out there, all over the internet, in sample chapters or previews or teasers.  There's also a big deal about cover reveals (more on that later) and authors are interviewing all over about books that aren't even going to be out for months!  I mean seriously!  There is one series I read that the 4th book is just going to be out this week and the authors are interviewing about the following book!  And this is the norm these days, not the exception.

Don't people want to be surprised any more?  I don't want to know about what I'm going to be reading, that's no fun!  I don't want to lay down $$ for something I already know all about.  I do my best to avoid all these things, I don't read the interviews, I don't read reviews that come out before the book is available to the general public, I don't read reviews of books I know I want to purchase until after I've read the book!  And as for tweeting those little snippets of your book that was published months ago, the same snippets over and over and over again?  Well, I won't be buying that book.  Sorry, you've turned me off any interest I may have had.

There's just too much pre-release information out there in my opinion.  The surprise is gone.  The delight of discovering what your favourite author has done with your favourite character while you eagerly turn page after page long after you should have been asleep, is gone.  The anticipation of what you're going to see up on the big screen that will make you gasp or cry or laugh is gone.  It's all so damned SAFE these days.  I suppose it's a result of the internet age and ebooks and the rise of indie, small and self publishing, but, call me old-fashioned, I don't like it.

And as for covers!  Let me tell you.  A favourite book that I (and many others) term as a psycho-sexual thriller, that has SO much deep and violent shit in it... should NOT have a damned cover that looks like it's a new Harry Potter book!