Sunday, April 5, 2020

March Wrap-Up

Books I Read



3.5/5

This would be a really fun show to put on with a student theatre group. It's simple and pure fluff, but it could be hilarious if played by the right people. Some things were so over-the-top or stilted that it lost the humor for me, and it's no great work of art or anything, but it's a lot of fun.


3.5/5

So I was super dumb and thought this was the sequel to One of Us Is Lying and spent the first forty pages or so really confused as to what was going on and who these characters were (granted, it has been forever since I read One of Us Is Lying, but still), so once I realized that this was an entirely different story, I was good to go. It was a little slow to start, so it took me a while to actually read because I wasn't getting into it, but once it got going it got going. I loved the whole second half. Excellent small town mystery/thriller!


3.5/5

I was expecting a ghost story, and I definitely got one, but it's nothing like any ghost story I've read before. It was a really cool look at the indigenous people of Australia. Because it was so surreal and full of magical elements that didn't get explained very clearly at first, it was hard to follow sometimes, and because of how short it was you don't get a lot of time to connect with the characters. But because it's so short, I recommend picking it up if you want a paranormal story that not your typical ghost/vampire/werewolf/zombie story.


4/5

Yayyy, more Simon and Baz!! This was an excellent sequel! I loved the change of venue and road trip vibes; seeing British young adults explore non-magical America was an amusing experience. And these characters are just fantastic and I loved spending time with them. The only part I wasn't too sure about was a new character that was introduced but didn't seem to have a ton to do with the plot, so it took up a little time and slowed down the plot, but I didn't hate him. I think he's being set up as a bigger character for the third book, so hopefully that's true, because he could be a really good addition to the story.

Movies I Watched

2.5/5

I didn't like this sequel very much because I wasn't connecting with the characters like I thought I would. I wasn't a huge fan of Peter to begin with and he wasn't winning any points with me in this one either, and it was a little slow and had a disappointing ending. It definitely should've gone in a different direction in my opinion, but I sometimes have unpopular opinions when it comes to rom-com love triangles.

3.5/5

This was really good! I'm biased towards the musical since I was in it and experienced the story that way before watching the movie, but this was fun too. It was a good cast with nice chemistry and it was still pretty funny 40 years later.


4.5/5

This was a fantastic movie! Definitely worth all the hype. It's a work of art and worth watching for the way music is infused alone, but the fancy car maneuvers and high-stakes heists were awesome too. I felt breathless the entire time I watched. The only thing that could have been better was (once again) the ending. I would've preferred something more ambiguous than what they did; there were several points at which I thought the movie would end, but then it kept going to wrap the story up more neatly.


4/5

Funny, entertaining, good actors, very weird scenarios throughout the story (but in a way that worked). There were some parts that were a little long/rambling or too weird, but overall it was a very solid movie.


4/5

(Or "The Spider Thieves" in English). I had to watch this for Spanish class and really enjoyed it. It never bored me and it was fascinating to see the culture of a homeless village in Chile. I both sympathized with the characters and didn't like them at certain points, especially the main girl; I didn't like how her character developed and once I started not to like the characters, it affected how much I liked the movie. But all in all, I would still recommend it.


4/5

I definitely like Tarantino movies, and this one might have been even better than "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood," in my opinion, though the jury's still out on that one. I was intrigued by the mystery and the different characters and their motivations. It kept me hooked the whole time, even when there wasn't any action. Some parts were a little longer than they needed to be, but not so much that I was bored.


3.5/5

See the above review. ^ I didn't like this one quite as much because I thought even though a few parts were longer than they needed to be, the ending was somehow still rushed. But overall, it was a good conclusion.

Quotes I Wrote

Nothing new here, but I'm deep in revisions, as well as braving the querying trenches.

Obsessions I Acquired

None this month!

Pictures of the Month




My boyfriend and I are both huge theatre people and love singing together (in the car, in shows, in cabarets, in recitals, while baking cookies, etc.) and being apart from each other has been really hard, but luckily he is a whiz at audio editing and we've figured out how to sing "virtual duets!" I record my vocals, he records his, and we mash it together with our backing track. It's been a fun way to keep creating art during this quarantine. This is one of my favorite so far, so I hope you enjoy it!




My vocal teacher has been giving all of us challenges to record and post to our Facebook group so we can keep up on our vocals during this social isolation time, so this was the result of me singing a song with the word "friend" in it ("Sonya Alone" from "Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812"). This was one of my favorite videos I recorded so far for the challenges.

Who would've thought that I'd miss my college cafeteria now that I'm stuck at home? 😅
Triple date!
Group hug!
I don't even remember what was happening here. xD
Egg night!
Josh helped me edit my flash-fiction homework.
Milkshakes to celebrate the opening night of "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum."
Lunch date!
 

Josh was fantastic as Hero!
 



I miss this cutie like crazy, but the goofy faces he makes over video chat every night are a good way to help, even a little bit 💓
Took Josh and Cassie on our walk with Scout 😜
Goofing off
With the newfound free time I have on my hands, I've been experimenting with different eyeshadow designs (thanks, Pinterest!)
 


Arthur's Zoom shenanigans (he's the fish)
 

One of the few good things about this quarantine is getting to make nice breakfasts and cozy up with a good book
 

Triple date!
 


We've gotten pretty good at Pictionary
And now for everyone's favorite: Scout pictures!
 




You would think she'd lay on her bed instead of a random pillow, but no . . .
 




She found my sandwich
 


How was your March?

7 comments:

Boquinha said...

Great pictures, and I can't believe you miss the cafeteria. :P (Actually, I can. I feel bad your college year got cut short!)

Dr. Mark said...

It's weird to think how much changed over the past month. You've handled it quite well, as hard as it's been. And I love all the pictures of you and Josh, and Scout, of course!

The Magic Violinist said...

@Boquinha

I know, right? :P Not that I miss the food, but I do miss the physical location itself and eating with everybody.

@Dr. Mark

I know, going through the pictures really showed how quickly everything shifted. Thanks!

Hannah said...

Good luck with your revisions and your querying!

I hope you're keeping safe and well. I'm doing pub game night via Skype with some of my friends (it's actually terrifying how easy it was to bring board game night online), and DnD via Discord and Skype, or Roll 20, with both of my nearby friendship groups.

Have a great April!

The Magic Violinist said...

@Ivy

Thank you! It's a slow process, but an important one.

You too! That sounds like fun! :) It is crazy how many things you can do pretty easily online through websites or video chat. It's good that you can still keep in touch with friends during all of this!

Leah @ Quite the Novel Idea said...

I'm so sorry about your college year getting cut short. Things have changed for everyone in the blink of an eye, it seems.

I still have to read Carry On and Wayward Son. And O Brother Where Art Thou is one of my favorite movies. Take care!

The Magic Violinist said...

@Leah

Thank you, it's definitely been a rough adjustment, especially when I was just getting settled there. It really has; I hope you're doing okay!

Yes, you must! Have you read Fangirl? Definitely recommend reading that first for some more context. You too!