(Admittedly, I do tend to be a little picky about that fifth star.)
I picked up Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir because I wanted to be sure to read the book before I saw the movie. I knew that the book had received a fair amount of love and the movie was certainly hyped up!
It is a fantastic read that earns every bit of its hype.
I thought that the pacing was excellent. The story moves without feeling rushed or padded. I thought that the duel timeline worked really well.
My one minor gripe: there's a pivotal decision Grace made that felt out of character.
Because I do really enjoy a lot of Sanderson's work, I would like to end on a more positive note. I did really enjoy The Reckoners; that whole series was a fun, quick read!
June means that it is officially summer reading season! Our library bag is bursting with adventures, mysteries, gorgeous illustrations, and just all around goodness.
I know that I haven't shared an Our Library Bag since October 2020, but never fear, we've been keeping our wonderful librarians busy. My Goodreads log has me at 26 books for the year. My TBR pile has several books from Modern Mrs. Darcy's Summer Reading List, Sarah's Favorites, and various other sources. I even have a book for Library Book Club! I was thrilled to receive the email stating that Book Club and the Friends of the Library Book Sale will be back in July!
Here's the brief description from Amazon: "The Silent Patient is a shocking psychological thriller of a woman’s act of violence against her husband—and of the therapist obsessed with uncovering her motive." This book was, and still is, making quite a stir in a couple of bookish Facebook groups that I'm in and I decided to join the masses and read it. It was really enthralling. I was immediately drawn into the story.
From Amazon, "Lovingly nostalgic and wildly original as only Ernest Cline could conceive it, Ready Player Two takes us on another imaginative, fun, action-packed adventure through his beloved virtual universe, and jolts us thrillingly into the future once again." This was a fun read, but hugely problematic plot-wise and pandering a bit too much to the original audience.
My current read is the third book of the 100 Cupboards series, The Chestnut King. I shared a picture over on Instagram.
Our library bag, as always, is overflowing with books. This month we also borrowed some movies. After reading all of the Hunger Games books last month I was curious to re-watch/watch them. The ever-present bibliophile complaint, that the movies can't even begin to compare to the books, holds true--but overall I thought that they were done fairly well.
I intensely dislike when authors let you inside the characters' heads until they make the final deduction. After 850 pages of being privy to so very many of Robin and Strikes' private thoughts, being excluded for the denouement is just . . . irritating and insulting. Also, enough with the "will they/won't they" relationship! That being said, Galbraith knows how to tell a story and I am already looking forward to the next book.
I had a little bit of difficulty immersing myself into this book at first. Last year I read, and really enjoyed, the Renegades Trilogy. (It made my Top Five Books of 2019.) This book felt oddly similar early on. (In fairness, Steelheart came first.) I did get into it eventually and am now looking forward to continuing the series.
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The kids and I are enjoying all of our old fall favorites while discovering some new ones! Sarah Mackenzie's September and October picture book lists are fantastic. Based on how many holds are placed on these books once Sarah's list hits my email, I know that there are other RAR devotees local to me. I'm tempted to put little notes into the books saying something to the effect of, "We like the same books, let's be friends!" But I worry that it might be too bizarre . . .
I was very excited when I saw that there was a prequel to the Hunger Games trilogy coming out! I placed myself on the library wait list and had to patiently avoid all spoilers for a couple of months. I did see some vague posts of saying that you'll either love it or hate it. I fall into the first category. I thought that it was great! I loved the way that various details of the original books were given history. Who doesn't love backstory? I appreciate that Snow doesn't come out of it as a sympathetic villain -- he consciously made his choices. Even though the book is significantly over 400 pages long, I wanted about another 150 . . . or more . . . pages of story! I've seen rumors of a squeal, I hope that comes to fruition! (Random tangential note: I've been to the state forest where some of the Hunger Games was filmed!)
Of course, once I finished Ballad, I simply had to follow it up with a re-read of the entire trilogy. (Not actually from our library bag, as I was gifted a beautiful hardback set.) I immensely enjoyed this re-read. One of my favorite-people-that-I've-never-met-in-real-life, Sarah Mackenzie, has an awesome podcast titled, "Why Re-reading is Possibly the Best Reading". While she might be mainly referring to children the sentiment and reasoning is sound for grown ups too. My bookshelves are filled with books that I fully intend to re-read, and some I honestly plan to read more than once. Who wouldn't want to spend time with old friends?
Summer reading is about to give way to autumn reading. I've been busy preparing for the school year, but since so many things are cancelled (like our Disney Annual Passes), I've been able to squeeze in some extra reading time. My last Library Bag post was June, but never fear, we've been keeping our dear librarians busy.
I'm curious: how is your library currently operating? Are things "back to normal"? Is your library even open yet? Can you place holds? Inter-library Loans? Pay fines? We have reduced hours, a three day holding period for returns, most (but not all) branches are open, limited resources, and large sections of the library are blocked off from patrons. However, I did just get an email that fines will be re-instated for overdue books starting Monday, so I wonder if other things will be returning to normal operations.
My husband recently introduced me to the writings of Brandon Sanderson. As soon as he finished reading Skyward he told me that he thought it might be one that I would enjoy. Thirty-six hours and over 500 pages later . . . well, he was right. Of course, I devoured the squeal, Starsight immediately afterwards. I was more than a little disappointed to learn that the third book isn't due to come out until Spring of 2021.
Lucy Foley's telling of this tale is masterful. I saw someone say it was better as a retelling of "Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie than the original story. I was dubious, because Christie is in a league of her own; however, I must say, it is very good. It's a twisting whodunit, while also being a who's-going-to-get-it. It's an incredibly entertaining thriller. (It's definitely a grown up book though, with very adult themes and probably could use some trigger warning labels.)
With its vivid characters and gripping story this is an engaging read. A modern day American scholar interviews an elderly woman about her WWII memories. Most of the book is the story of Emmy trying to find her place in a torn apart world. (I may have geeked out a bit when Susan Meissner commented on my Instagram post!)
If you follow me on IG, then you might have seen another Meissner book, A Fall of Marigolds. This book had me in tears. For whatever reason, this book was hard to pick up, but once I did I couldn't put it down. It also had a modern and a historical story line: one character from 1911 who lost a loved one in the tragic Triangle Park fire; the second character is from modern times and lost someone in the horrific 9/11 attacks. It's all tied together by a marigold scarf. While I thought both books were good, I think Marigolds is a bit better: the intertwining stories were more developed.
That's all for now, the children are going to go wild if we don't go swimming right this minute. Ah, summer! (And spring, and fall, and even winter . . . we live in Florida.)
I always have several yarn-y projects going concurrently. (Let's just ignore the poor projects that have been started and are languishing in boxes and bins.) This month I have a few bigger ones that I'm determined to finish! And maybe even weave in all of the ends . . .
The Hylan Sweater is delightedly simply to knit. It's very relaxing. I've been catching up on some of my Netflix and Hulu shows while knitting this. I'm using yarn that I found on super clearance from Hobby Lobby.
I'm also knitting a Traveling Woman Shawl. This project has a bit of a story behind it. Originally this yarn was going to be a hat (a Mont Royal). I even had quite a bit of the hat completed, but then we moved to Florida. Then we bought a house. Then there was a box that sat in my craft area for a long time. Then I rediscovered the half-done hat. I considered frogging this project and even blogged about it. I found it again, and decided that the yarn wasn't being showcased as it deserved so I frogged the hat on the spot. (No second guessing myself!) Then I cast on a shawl . . . And here we are today! No regrets.
I've decided to go ahead and begin to crochet my Sophie's Dream afghan. Dedri is hosting an anniversary MAL and I've been itching to start this project for a couple of years, so why not now? (This won't be a project to finish in July, but I'd at least like to get it started!)
Finally, I am determined to finish the Elwood sweater for my middle child. (I shared a beginning photo on Instagram.) It came off the needles a month or three ago and he immediately wanted to try it on. He then proceeded to wear it around the house and it has even gone through the wash. There is at least one end that hasn't been woven in and it's missing buttons. (Also, we live in Central Florida, so there's certainly no pressing need to wear an unfinished sweater!)
In early March, before the stay at home orders swept the nation, I spent a day at Disney's Hollywood Studios. Once again, it was a solo trip. I wanted to check out the brand new ride, Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway.
I got there early, arriving at the park not long after six in the morning. I knew that opening would be pretty intense with both the Rise of the Resistance boarding group rush and the just opened Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway. The crowd was allowed through the turnstiles just after 7 AM for an official park opening time of 8 AM.
I headed straight to the Chinese Theater and followed the Cast Member's directions as I worked my way through the serpentine queue. The line was long, however, it rarely stopped. I'm not sure when the first riders boarded, but I know that it was early, probably around 7:30. I boarded the Railroad at 8 AM. (Unfortunately, this was the exact time that the Rise of the Resistance boarding groups opened. Luckily, my husband was able to grab one for me. You must be physically in the park in order to get a boarding group, but if you are there anyone that shares your My Experience App can get the boarding group for you.)
Was the ride a "hit" or a "miss"? I love that there is finally a Mickey and Minnie ride at Disney World! It honestly shocks me a bit that it's the first. I will note that the animation used throughout the ride is based on the recent award-winning Mickey Mouse cartoon shorts, NOT what *I* would consider the classic animation. I have to admit, I was a little disappointed they didn't use a more classic animation. However, in the past months we've had the opportunity to watch the shorts on Disney+ and I'm slowly coming around. I wonder if my kids will think of this newer animation as the "regular" style . . .
My biggest critique, or complaint if you must, is that the the ride is too short. The official ride length time for Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway is 4 minutes and 30 seconds. (That does not include the mid-queue pre-show.) This ride replaced The Great Movie Ride which clocked in at 22 minutes. At a park that doesn't have many options for everyone in the family, this experience doesn't do quite enough to fill the void. (This is one of only two rides in the entire park that infants and toddlers under 32 inches can ride. Check out my post on What can I do With Little Kids and Babies at Hollywood Studios?for more information on this.)
The ride uses a trackless system, and it's pretty fantastic. There are waterfalls, tornadoes, and even a tango! It's not perfect though. There are a few places where I felt there was a little too much reliance on straight up screens. The scene changes, and there are a few of them, are a little abrupt and disjointed. I would like to note here that the ride is not a roller coaster or a thrill ride. My personal classification of this ride would be "mild". (Intensity-wise I would put it in a similar category to Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh at Magic Kingdom.)
There are so many details to discover! Hidden Mickeys are everywhere, both in the queue and on the ride. I heard one cast member telling a family in front of me that there are several hundred. Hundreds! I love how they kept some of the original Chinese Theater elements in the lobby, the "Classic Hollywood" vibe is still alive!
I rode it three times in one day. It's eminently re-ridable. (Of course, I'm quite fond of having an Annual Pass, so I find most of the Disney experiences worth repeating.) There's a little homage to the ride's predecessor, The Great "Moving" Ride, in the carnival scene, which I thought was particularly great.
Overall, I thought Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway was a lot of fun and I look forward to enjoying it with the whole family! It's a hit for me!
For those who would like a little more information about the rest of my day at Hollywood Studios:
I was at Hollywood Studios until about 4 PM. It was a last minute decision to go, so I had no FastPasses scheduled. It was pretty crowded, so few "good" one popped up, but I was still able to have a blast on most of the headliners:
Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway
Tower of Terror
Rock 'n' Roller Coaster
Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway
Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
Toy Story Mania
Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway
Rise of the Resistance
Both times I rode Smugglers Run I went through the single rider lines, one time the wait was about 30 minutes the other closer to 45. Both times the posted Stand By wait time was over 80 minutes.
I also utilized the single rider line for Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, but that one didn't go as smoothly, I actually think I would have been better off in the regular Stand By line.
Toy Story Mania was a FastPass that I picked up while in the park.
I was boarding group 99 for Rise of the Resistance, which wasn't a "guaranteed" group, but it was called around 3:30.
I actually did manage to score a Slinky Dog Dash FastPass for around 5, but I decided to call it a day and head home for some food.
The posted time for Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway seemed to be inflated each time as well. In fact, I think it was roughly half of the posted time.
All in all, it was a great day!
Where you one of the lucky few to ride Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway before the shut down? If so, what did you think of it? If not, are you excited about it? Do you wish they had left the Great Movie Ride alone?
Must have items that I bring to Disney World:
Being local and an Annual Passholder, I go to Disney fairly often. I always bring a portable charger, an insulated bag, a water bottle, and a protective case for my phone.
