Library Life: Community or Quiet?

Whether you are a frequent visitor of your local library, or or haven't been in one since you were little, I'm sure you have a distinct picture in your mind of what they are like. Are they quiet places of study and refuge, with people who shush you, a musty smell, and books in pristine condition? Are they maybe centres filled with the sounds of storytimes and children running around, media centres to explore technology, and a nice little cafe on the main floor?

Whatever your opinions are, most of them currently fall somewhere in the middle. Unfortunately, as wonderful as this balance is, it comes with some sacrifices. How can you have a quiet study space but also allow for multimedia use? How do you keep the books clean and without damage, but also allow in food? You can't. But, there are ways to protect both of these environments to get the best of both worlds.

Mini-Reviews: Black Narcissus, Cheerful Weather For the Wedding, Laggies

Movies, movies and more movies! I definitely love to watch a lot of them in the winter. I'm spending quite a bit of time watching things I had meant to see years ago, and occasionally re-watching some comforting old favourites. So, here's what I've been watching recently!

slantmagazine.com

Black Narcissus
I remember watching this movie as a teen, and remembered liking it...but I didn't really recall all that much about it, and kept mixing it up with A Nun's Story. I watched it again recently, and oh boy...wow. Honestly, I was totally in love with it. Now yes, there are a few things where it is clearly a product of its time (such as some racist depictions - although nowhere near the worst I've seen), but the storyline, cinematography, and mood are incredible. It sort of has a similar feeling to Daphne Du Maurier's Rebecca to me, so if you like the feeling of that story, I was check this one out. It is based on a book, but I've never read it.

January 2020 Update

I'm getting my groove back! I'm feeling a lot better in general now, and getting back into watching television and movies, and reading. Not to say that some days I don't want to do anything...but I'm definitely on the right track to being in a better place mentally and emotionally. So...what did I watch?

Started Watching:

pbs.org

Sanditon - season 1
This started airing in Canada a few weeks ago, and I started watching it right away. I had already been watching clips of it on YouTube because it had been out in the UK (so yes, I know spoilers). It's based on an unfinished Jane Austen story, and although I haven't read it yet, I knew I wanted to watch it. Apparently her writing only covers the first episode or two of the series, but I'm interested to see where the showrunners take it. I'm definitely enjoying it so far, and will probably read the original sooner than otherwise planned. If you need a selling point other than a period drama by PBS based on an Austen work, it also has Theo James in it (Four in Divergent, Mr. Pamuk in Downton Abbey).

ca.ign.com

Howard's End
Some people may be very shocked to hear I am watching this. Others will be confused why I wouldn't want to, considering I love period dramas and Hayley Atwell. Well, I remember watching the 1992 film with Emma Thompson and Anthony Hopkins...and I despised the ending so much that it ruined the whole thing for me (we can chat about this in the comments if you'd like, but I'm trying to avoid spoilers!). Seeing this fresh adaptation, I thought it might be worth giving it another try - perhaps I just found that version didn't work for me. I'm a good chunk of the way through it now - there's only an episode or two left - and although I am really enjoying parts of it, other aspects seem to be a bit, well, all over the place. Except, I don't get the feeling that that is any fault of the actors or director, and simply a fault of the original work (I haven't read it though). A few of the characters (especially Ms. Schlegel's brother) are absolutely insufferable, and I can't stand their scenes. Hayley is wonderful though, and I am enjoying Matthew McFadyen and Philippa Coulthard in their roles as well. We'll see how I react to the ending this time...

screenertv.com

Outlander - season 1 (rewatch)
I needed something swoon-worthy. Honestly, one day I just didn't feel overly motivated and wanted to watch something that would just make me happy, and I went for Outlander. I've watched about 3/4 of the first season, and I might finish it, or I might not. I'm not worried - I've seen it more than once, and read the book. But it is just as good this time around.

TMST: Winter Reads

It's been a while since I've participated in a Tell Me Something Tuesday! This is a great feature run by Heidi @ Rainy Day Ramblings, where we get to share our opinions about a variety of topics! This week's question is: What type of books do you like to cuddle up with in winter?

Comfort books. It's really as simple as that. I know a lot of people favour short, cute reads over the summer, but that's when I'm more likely to pick up something dense. I find that the dreariness of the season (I live in Canada, so let's not even get started talking about our winters, haha) can really affect me, so I want things that make me happy and are soothing.

I often during this time will pick up books I have read before and loved. It's not an uncommon sight to see me sitting on the floor in front of my bookshelf, reading something unintentionally. I'll have started browsing through my books, flip through to read a single passage, and end up there for 45 minutes pouring over the whole book until I realize my back has cramped up.

Library Life: Colonoscopy

Now, if that title didn't get your attention, I really don't know what will. It's a little bit of click-bait, but honestly... it was prompted by something that happened recently.

Spending so much time working in a public place, you get to not only see a lot of people, but some of them you see so often that you inadvertently learn a lot about them...or sometimes they tell you far too much. For example, I know that Patti* loves to look up facts about country music on the computer, and Stephen will automatically spell his whole name to you over the phone instead of saying "Stephen with a 'ph'," and Elizabeth will remind you she is legally blind every single time she can.

These interactions are what you just get used to, and you try to shape your conversations around this information. And then, there are these moments, where people tell you things they probably shouldn't, and that you definitely can't "unhear":

Mini-Reviews: The Sun is Also a Star, Austenland, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2

With all of the craziness going on in my life the past few months, I'm having the best time being able to sit down and just watch movies!  So over the next while, I'll probably be pumping out a bunch of mini-reviews. If there's something specific you would like to see reviewed, or that you would like to hear more in-depth about, let me know!

vanityfair.com

The Sun is Also a Star

I had been rather interested in this one for a while, but I've never read the book. The concept was one that I thought was probably a little far-fetched, but it looked cute enough that I figured it was worth a shot. Also, having a Hollywood-unconventional couple as the stars was a big plus. Now, right from the start I thought Charles Melton was going to have to convince me to like him as well as Yara Shahidi...and he didn't really succeed. I thought he was fine but I couldn't get as behind their romance as I wanted to. Yara, I think, did quite well. The movie was a decent distraction for an evening, and I liked the ending, but overall I sort of found it to be incredibly stereotypical and predictable...even for a Young Adult movie.

indiewire.com

2019 TBR Challenge - Wrap-Up

Now that 2019 has come to a close, I want to update you all on how I did on my TBR Challenge for the year. This challenge is held by Adam @ Roof Beam Reader, and although I didn't do the best in the world this year, it's helped me out a lot.

What am I talking about? Here's the link to my original post about the challenge, which includes a list of all of the books I hoped to get through, and links to the related reviews.