This month, instead of listing all of the books and stories I read in the month prior, I’m going to do something a little different. I’m still going to list the books and stories, but I’m also going to include the comics I read this month. And the movies I watched. And the television shows. That way if anyone wonders how my writing is going, all they’ll have to do is look at this list and immediately know the answer. ๐
And as always, I’m happy to jabber about anything that’s on the following lists. If you want my opinion about something, just comment and ask.
CULTURE CONSUMPTION: July 2013 ***
Books
Doesn’t look too impressive here, does it? Three of these were for the Hugo/Campbell Award, and one I couldn’t even finish! How pitiful…. at least the Roth and Wendig were engaging!
Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed
2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson (DNF)
Divergent by Veronica Roth
Blackbirds by Chuck Wendig
Short Fiction
Lots of short fiction, so thank the Hugos. The only non-Hugo piece was Mira Grant’s, which was quite enjoyable, but SHOULD NOT be read independent of the Newsflesh Trilogy. Don’t even think about reading it until you’re done with book three, or you’ll spoil yourself silly.
“่ตท็ฎ๏ผ่ก็คผ (Rising LionโThe Lion Bows)” by Zen Cho
“The First Witch of Damansara” by Zen Cho
On a Red Station, Drifting by Aliette de Bodard
How Green This Land, How Blue This Sea by Mira Grant
“750,000 of Your Friends Like This” by Mur Lafferty
“The Reason for the Season” by Mur Lafferty
The Emperor’s Soul by Brandon Sanderson
Comics
I listed the graphic novel first, because. I’m still working on a Hellblazer a day, and I’m doing pretty well. Everything else on the list pretty much represents what I’m reading monthly, give or take some titles. Also? Lazarus is the new hot series to keep an eye on. VERY engaging!
John Constantine, Hellblazer: All His Engines by Mike Carey (graphic novel, hardcover)
Batgirl #22
Batman #22
Batman/Superman #2
Batwoman #21-22
East of West #4
Fairest #17
Hellblazer #182-212
Lazarus #2
Locke & Key: Omega #3-5
The Massive #13-14
Star Wars #7
Ten Grand #3
Thief of Thieves #15
Thumbprint #2
The Unwritten #50
The Walking Dead #112
Wonder Woman #22
Movies
My theater pick is first, because I actually went out of the house and spent money to see it. Everything else was viewed from the comfort of my own home, thanks to Netflix and iTunes.
Pacific Rim (3D, in theaters)
42
Clue
Evil Dead (2013)
Haywire
Lockout
The Machinist
Monsters
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
Primer
Reservoir Dogs
Trollhunter
Warm Bodies
Television Shows
Thanks to Netflix, I’m finally catching up on shows I’ve always wanted to watch but never could! Oh, and shows won’t be on the monthly list unless I finished watching the season in that month. So while I’m currently viewing season one of Friday Night Lights and season three of Arrested Development, they aren’t here because I’m not done watching those seasons. That’s also why Defiance is on the list, because its season finale was in July.
Arrested Development Seasons 1 & 2
Breaking Bad Season 1
Defiance Season 1
Longmire Season 1
Mad Men Season 1
And that’s it! Thank God I’m not into gaming, or I’d never leave my house, like, ever. At any rate, tell me what you think of the format, let me know if any of the links are wrong or wonky, and please, feel free to share your thoughts about what I’ve read/watched, ask questions, or share your own entertainment tallies. But please, for the love of God, no spoilers in the comments, especially since I’m just now catching up on BIG television shows.
Cheers!
*** = Thanks to Alex at Randomly Alex for the phrase: I see this every month when the latest Galactic Suburbia podcast is announced on the blog, and I couldn’t help but adapt it for my own nefarious purposes. ๐
Calico Writes 
what did you think of Pacific Rim? just saw it…
you hadn’t seen Clue?!?!
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I enjoyed the hell out of Pacific Rim. It was a lot of fun. ๐
And no, I haven’t. Technically, it shouldn’t really be on the list of stuff I watched, as it was late when we watched it, and I was kind of intoxicated, and I kind of fell asleep….
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yay! i rather adored Pacific Rim [even if the romance annoyed me… on the one hand, GO WOMEN KICKING ASS IN OFFICIAL MILITARY COMBAT! on the other… why did it have to be a romance? always, always romance. i like romance, but can’t women kick ass WITHOUT being the hero’s love interest? though the russian chick is my HERO i freaking swear!]
CLUE is my absolute favoritist movie EVAR and i think you should totally re-watch it while awake and aware… and giggle at the three different endings ๐
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At least the romance wasn’t the focus, and there wasn’t a kiss at the end. One could easily interpret the closeness as friendship if they wanted. ๐
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I actually I liked the romance aspect, mostly because it took a firm back seat to Raleigh’s puppy dog bouncing over how cool his partner is. (I was reminded of a gif that’s been going around on tumblr, featuring a tiny puppy enthusiastically attempting to make friends with a baby.)
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Are you planning on sharing your Hugo votes? Mur Lafferty seems to be a name I’m seeing a lot lately. I’ll have to check out her work.
Also, what did you think of the Machinist? I found it to be such an intriguing film, although I found Bale’s physical transformation to be rather frightening.
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No, not the actual votes. I want to talk about the process this year and the nominations, and I’m sure some of my comments themselves will be revealing in terms of what I voted for or didn’t, but nothing specific. Last year, I reviewed everything I read, so that gave you guys a chance to figure out my ballot, but not this time. That was really labor-intensive!
The Machinist: I really liked it. Found it rather compelling, but I need some Christian Bale as Batman, stat, to get that horrible image out of my head of his figure! Talk about the things one does for their art…..
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Oh, and Lafferty: I haven’t read her book and I’ve seen mixed reviews on it, but she’s up for the Campbell for the second (and her last) year in a row. From what I can tell, she’s more of a humorist. At least, the stories in the packet were humor. They were cute.
She’s got lots of free fiction on her website, if you want to check her out.
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Aw, love CLUE! It’s been a long time since I’ve seen that movie, though…
Did you like DIVERGENT? I have a copy somewhere in my TBR pile, but just haven’t had the urge to read it yet.
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Divergent was super-enjoyable. Lots to like in that book, and I suspect I’ll be finishing the trilogy one day. ๐
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I’ve got some catching up to do–I spent the majority of the summer without a computer, until I was able to order a new one. You miss a lot when you’re almost never online for two months.
I can’t help asking, what made the DNF a DNF? I haven’t heard of the book, but I’m curious as to why you couldn’t finish it.
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Have you read Kim Stanley Robinson before? He’s best known for his RED MARS trilogy. His trouble is it’s all science, all details, all the time, and while there was interesting stuff in 2312 (which won the Nebula and is a Hugo award nominee) and some cool images and whatnot, the story moved at such a glacial pace and all the information being thrown at me, while I’m sure it related to the story itself, felt awkward. It’s the kind of piece that if a never-before-published writer submitted it, they would’ve gotten torn to pieces and told it wasn’t publishable. IMHO. I’m learning that KSR is an author you love or you don’t, and my first foray into his work is putting me into the “not” camp.
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Okay, yeah, I’m not familiar with his work, but I can see from your description why it would have been hard to get through. ๐
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