Hello friends and happy weekend!
This week I finished our book club novel Abigale Hall, and during most of the book I had no idea where it was going or how it was going to end. But I have to say I didn’t think it would end the way it did. It kind of devolved into a B movie horror flick ending involving rotting corpses in a mine and bloody murder and madness, lol. It was quite the ride. We haven’t chosen our new book yet, but we’re looking for something a bit more light-hearted, lol.
In Star Wars books, I’m still working my way through a reread of Kenobi, by John Jackson Miller, and have started the upper middle grade novel Smuggler’s Run by Greg Ruckus. It’s a Han and Chewie adventure story that takes place right after A New Hope. Princess Leia asks them to retrieve a stranded Rebel operative named Ematt. I like these middle grade books when I want something short and fun between longer reads. This one joins my Kindle with the Leia story Moving Target and the Luke story The Weapon of a Jedi.
On Disney+ I’ve been watching a few things. I started watching Get Back, the Peter Jackson documentary about the Beatles working out their songs and show for the Get Back album. I went through a fairly serious Beatles obsession when I was younger and thought I’d check this out. It was entertaining in its way, but watching several hours of the band rehearsing and jamming songs (and often arguing) is a bit much. I only got through the first half of the first installment, and that seemed enough for me.
It was interesting, though: they’re all brilliant, coming up with songs off the cuff (and feeling the pressure of a deadline looming); Paul can be a bit bossy but it’s clear he wants the whole thing to work and tries to get the others on board; John often looks zoned out; George tries to get his two cents worth in but nobody seems to want to listen; and Ringo sits quietly at the drums watching it all. Cigarettes are smoked endlessly by all, Yoko sits devotedly in her chair next to John reading her magazines or whatever, and George’s swami friends silently sit cross-legged in the corner. It was definitely weird, lol. But there’s no doubt that when these four “come together” (ha ha, get it?) magic happens. Who knows, I may watch the rest of it this coming week.
Anyway, in Marvel I watched Episode 3 of Hawkeye. I’m really liking this series. Echo (Maya) is a sympathetic villain in that she’s seeking revenge for her father’s death, as Hawkeye killed him during his Ronin period. I love that she’s a strong female character with disabilities–she has a prosthetic foot and is deaf. Hawkeye’s own hearing loss is, of course, rather symbolic: whenever someone tells him what an inspiration he is or that he’s a hero, he’s “not hearing” them. He’s defining himself by what he did as Ronin, and that’s clearly something he needs to work through in this show.
I also rewatched Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, because it’s just so wonderful and I love it, lol. I’m already on board for a sequel, not only because I want to see these characters again, but because now I want to know just what, exactly, the Ten Rings are and where they came from.
Also in rewatches, I watched A New Hope just because I wanted some Star Wars and figured I’d go back to basics. I try to find new things or insights whenever I rewatch stuff and realized something here. When Obi-Wan and Luke are in the cantina to meet Chewie and Han Solo, Obi-Wan doesn’t hesitate to bring out the ol’ lightsaber and chop that guy’s arm off. In my reading of the book Kenobi, Obi-Wan is trying to unlearn reacting to things as a Jedi in order to blend in and be invisible. But now, after twenty long years, he’s resurfacing as a Jedi and does it in a flashy way. Knowing Obi-Wan from all the other SW material out there, it seems a bit over the top for him, but I’m guessing he’s relishing coming out of hiding finally and can’t help himself. Old Ben’s gone and Obi-Wan’s back, bitches! At least that’s my in-universe head canon, lol.
That’s it for this week. What’s been entertaining you? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!
Star Wars and Other Obsessions 