march

Books

Empress of Forever

A fun space romp with a Jobsian lesbian protagonist and a strange cast of characters. This quickly shifts into a very different book from what it starts as, but I still loved it. More space lesbians, please.

A Song for a New Day

Welp, my second book for the month was another plague book, albeit one that largely took place in the aftermath of a pox. I enjoyed this book quite a bit, even if it was a little too hopeful for my usual taste. Honestly, it was a little refreshing to read a book where cool women make music and care about each other, and hope for the future. Thanks Haley for the tip on this one.

Wanderers

Phew, that was a dark fucking book. With the pandemic going on in the world right now, this wasn’t a very good idea to read, but I’m glad I finished it. Just about every bad thing you can imagine happens in this book, so I have a hard time recommending it, but perhaps for folks who don’t believe in global warming or in the danger of a pandemic, this will give them pause.

Lurking

A very interesting look at the history of the internet as a user. One of the best non-fiction books I’ve read in a while.

Movies

The Martian

Another rewatch. I had a FaceTime call where my friend Lena and I discussed Halt and Catch Fire, which reminded me how much I enjoyed this film, which I took to be about the competence of McKenzie Davis’ character. This was my first time watching this movie in 4K though, which made it look pretty amazing. Also, I always forget Donald Glover was in this.

Skyfall

Perhaps one of the only movies to use a Land Rover Defender in a car chase, this is pure fun. The filming and action scenes were a wild step-up from the previous two films, and the stakes felt high throughout.

Quantum of Solace

Far less memorable than Casino Royale. The first chase was fun, but a lot of the rest of the film kinda just meanders. I do appreciate the little nods towards older James Bond films though.

Casino Royale

Rewatching this in preparation for the eventual release of the final Daniel Craig bond film. It holds pretty well, save for the hilariously old-looking Sony phones and bootcut khakis. I’d forgotten Mads Mikkelsen was in this.

Contagion

I saw this in the theater when it first came out, but I haven’t seen it since then. This felt like a timely movie considering our current circumstances. I forgot Jude Law plays a weird crank reporter.