Life and Things

Pretty quiet week overall. I did get to see JW: Fallen Kingdom. I want to go see it again!! I think I enjoyed it more than the first Jurassic World movie. There were deep currents beneath the action, just as with the first Jurassic Park. Questions of eugenics, genetic manipulation, and our responsibilities should we play Frankenstein. Or Moreau, rather. It’s sobering to realise that I was in high school when the first movie came out, so long ago. Jurassic Park is the movie I’ve seen the most times in the theatre, at some 8 or 9 times. Fallen Kingdom may become the second seen the most times.

Ignore my ugly mug, and meet Loki Do’Urden. He’s such a sweetheart, and so smart. Unfortunately, his sister is going downhill fast. I think she will not make it to August. 🙁

 

Books read, reviewed, and posted/scheduled this past week

Just Elliot by Sue Baer, 3*

Go Home, Afton by Brent Jones, 4*

The Lion and the Bride by Mika Sakurano, 4*

My Favourite Animal: Dogs by Victoria Marcos, 4*

Oothar the Blue by Brandon Reese, 4*

Scientist, Scientist, Who Do You See? by Chris Ferrie, 4*

Wake Up Baby Bear! by Lynn Plourde, illustrated by Teri Weiner, 4*

Macaroni the Great and the Sea Beast by Whitney Childers, 5*

 

Favourite Read(s) of the Week

Read my review

 

Current Read

 

Next Up (maybe)

Building a Trade Empire by Paul E Horsman

High Merchant by Paul E Horsman

Fascinating New Yorkers by Clifford Browder

Hiding by Jenny Morton Potts

Jurassic Florida by Hunter Shea

Everything Under the Sun by Jessica Redmerski

Dunn by Kay Jay

 

Book Haul

‘The biggest lie of all is the story you think you already know.

The del Cisne girls have never just been sisters; they’re also rivals, Blanca as obedient and graceful as Roja is vicious and manipulative. They know that, because of a generations-old spell, their family is bound to a bevy of swans deep in the woods. They know that, one day, the swans will pull them into a dangerous game that will leave one of them a girl, and trap the other in the body of a swan.

But when two local boys become drawn into the game, the swans’ spell intertwines with the strange and unpredictable magic lacing the woods, and all four of their fates depend on facing truths that could either save or destroy them. Blanca & Roja is the captivating story of sisters, friendship, love, hatred, and the price we pay to protect our hearts.’

 

‘As she stows away on a ship bound for Antarctica, a young woman uncovers a shocking betrayal.

1842. Stranded on Deception Island in the South Atlantic, her whaling captain husband lost at sea, Karina is destitute and desperate. Disguised as a cabin boy, she stows away on a British ship. But Karina is about to get a nasty surprise.

As she grows closer to ship’s surgeon Joseph Hooker, Karina and the rest of the crew find themselves pushed to the limits both physically and emotionally as conditions worsen onboard. Engulfed in the chillingly hostile Antarctic landscape, something extraordinary happens – and Karina’s story becomes intertwined with some of the 20th century’s bravest Polar explorers …’

 

‘Don’t miss this pulse-pounding prequel to the Jurassic World movies that reveals the never-before-seen backstory of beloved film character Claire Dearing.

Freshman year in college is full of obstacles–there are messy roommates, cranky professors, and disgusting dining halls. But for Claire Dearing, add “How to properly avoid being eaten by a dinosaur” to that list.

The year is 2004, and Claire has been given the chance of a lifetime: the opportunity to intern at the Jurassic World theme park less than a year before it opens to the public. She is laser-focused, with her sights set on bettering the lives of all animals worldwide. But life at the park isn’t all test-driving gyrospheres and falling head over heels for a fellow student named Justin . . . though she does that too. Rumors and suspicions flood the island, and Claire is determined to unravel the truth.

As Claire searches for answers, she and Justin find themselves thrust into a sinister plot that will leave Claire forever changed, forcing her to question everything she thought she knew and bringing her one step closer to the Claire viewers met in Jurassic World and who they’ll return to in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.’

 

‘Somebody is watching. Somebody is always watching.

A teenage girl in Wakefield has been abducted, and tracking her down not only tests Afton’s moral limits, but threatens her freedom and her life.

Suspected of murder by local police, and under the watch of a menacing figure in the shadows, Afton’s search and rescue effort unravels dark secrets from her own past. Familial secrets her mother took to the grave, more than a decade ago.

See You Soon, Afton is the second of four parts in a new serial thriller by author Brent Jones. Packed with grit and action, The Afton Morrison Series delves into a world of moral ambiguity, delivering audiences an unlikely heroine in the form of a disturbed vigilante murderess.’