My Entertainment Weekend Update

Hello friends, and happy weekend!

I finished one book this week: Moving Target: A Princess Leia Novel, by Jason Fry and Cecil Castellucci. I enjoy these little middle-grade books; they’re quick reads, not particularly complex, but fun and give a bit of insight into familiar characters. This one had Leia on a mission between Empire and Return of the Jedi, while Han was still in carbonite, and the Alliance fleet was getting ready for its attack on Endor. The story is framed by an older Leia telling her droid PZ a story for her memoirs, just before the events of The Force Awakens, one that illustrates her ideas and commitment to duty. One little tidbit is that this story tells how they got the Imperial shuttle Tyderium for their strike team on Endor.

I’m still making my way through my reread of Master & Apprentice by Claudia Gray. But because it’s a reread, there’s no hurry, and I also would like to start the new book for our book club called Abigale Hall by Lauren A. Forry. It’s a gothic read about a strange estate in England with secrets and mysteries. We wanted to choose something spooky for the Halloween season, but we’re a little behind, lol. But it’s still appropriate for the season, I think. I’m going to start that this coming week.

The Book Review: Abigale Hall by Lauren A. Forry- Feature and Revie...

So I watched The Book of Boba Fett trailer this past week, and am cautiously optimistic for the show. Fett was never one of my favorite characters and I never really understood the fascination, but his appearance in The Mandalorian made him much more interesting to me. So I’m curious to see where this character is going. I think I agree with some predictions that Boba will unite the criminal underworld and use it to come to the aid against…somebody, lol. Maybe the Mandalorians, maybe Thrawn. I like either idea.

But before that, there’s the Hawkeye series this month, which I’m really looking forward to. I also think that Shang Chi and the Ten Rings will be on Disney+ this month, but I’m guessing it will be on Premier Access at first. We’ll see. And while The Eternals just came out in theaters, I’ll probably wait until it also shows up on D+. I’ll admit, I’m not in a hurry for any new Marvel heroes–I just discovered The Avengers a few months ago, lol. I’m more interested in their movies coming out next year, like Dr. Strange, Thor, Wakanda, and Ant-Man. Alas, they’ve been pushed further into the year, which is frustrating, but maybe the first half of the year will be for Star Wars, like Andor and Obi-Wan. At any rate, a very exciting year for entertainment!

I’ve also watched Assembled: The Making of What If, which was pretty cool. It’s another series that surprised me in how much I loved it. So it was fun seeing how it was all put together. I didn’t realize What If? was an actual series in the comics way back when (I’m quite ignorant when it comes to Marvel, to be honest, lol). I like how the creators took the concept of the What If comics but applied it to the MCU. I’m happy there’s going to be a Season Two, and am looking forward to seeing how they’ll continue it.

So, in writing news, I’ve finally picked up the Star Wars fan fiction I started several months ago and decided to work on it diligently and finish it. It’s turned from a tentative short story into a novel-length idea, and I’ve been taking notes, doing character sketches, brainstorming ideas, and working on an outline (and doing a ton of research on Wookieepedia). I’m pretty excited about it, and though it will take a while, I will share it here when it’s done. As a consequence, I probably won’t be tearing through as many books as I have been lately, or watching as many movies. I will definitely be watching the must-see Marvel and Star Wars series and movies that will be coming out, but not much extra stuff. I’ll keep you up to date on it all.

That’s about it this week. Let me know what’s been entertaining you and we’ll talk about it!

Dark Dr. Strange by Uzuri Art

I found this amazing image of Dark Doctor Strange (I think he’s called Dr. Strange Supreme? but I like Dark Dr. Strange, lol) on social media and just had to share it. It’s by one of my favorite illustrators, Uzuri Art, who, by the way, will be officially illustrating the middle-grade Star Wars book Stories of Jedi and Sith, coming out next year.

What do you think of this image? Have you been tuning in to Marvel’s What If…? series? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!

My Entertainment Weekend Update

Happy weekend, my friends!

In books this week, I’m about halfway through The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, which I’m really enjoying. I’m also only about halfway through The Outsiders, the book my daughter is reading in school. It’s a short book and I would have finished it in a couple of days, but I’m trying to go at my daughter’s class’ pace, which is EXTREMELY slow, lol (it doesn’t help that her teacher has been out sick). So that’s on hold until they catch up.

So I needed another Kindle book to keep me busy until then, so I downloaded The Weapon of a Jedi, by Jason Fry. It’s a middle-grade Luke-centric story that takes place between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back. I’ve just started it, so I can’t really say much about it right now, except that I’m happy to be reading a Luke story. More on this book next week.

This contains an image of: {{ pinTitle }} — He’s in the yellow coat/black shirt combo I like so much.

Speaking of Luke-centric stories, I just learned that there are several new Star Wars canon books coming out next year, and one of them is called Shadow of the Sith, by Adam Christopher. This one has Luke Skywalker and Lando Calrissian post-Return of the Jedi and before The Force Awakens. Finally, a Luke story post ROTJ! It comes out June 28th of next year (my birthday! Sounds like a great birthday present to myself, lol). I’m going to have a whole post on these new books, which also includes an Obi-Wan and Anakin novel called Brotherhood, a YA novel about Obi-Wan (so much Obi-Wan next year, my heart can’t take it!) called Padawan, and a book of short stories about the Jedi and the Sith called, well, Stories of Jedi and Sith, by various authors. Very exciting for this Star Wars bibliophile, and along with the new High Republic books coming out next year, I’ll be very busy indeed!

So, in Marvel: the latest What If? episode (What if…the Watcher Broke his Oath) was the season finale, and it was…good. I enjoyed it, as it brought together this rather ragtag team of heroes from across the multiverse to fight Ultron, including Party Thor, T’Challa Starlord, Captain Carter, Gomorra, Killmonger, Black Widow and Dark Dr. Strange. It had a lot of cool battles, and the solution was unique and unexpected, but…I have questions, lol.

What If...? Every MCU Easter Egg In Episode 9 | Screen Rant — Guardians of the Multiverse, assemble!

First off, I wanted to know more about this Gamorra. We hadn’t seen her at all in the series, and suddenly she’s there (taken from a universe where she was working with Tony Stark, of all people). What’s her story? Also, I just kind of assumed that if the Watcher broke his oath (and who, exactly, did he make the oath to?) that there would be consequences. A price to pay, so to speak. But nothing happened. He broke his oath and interfered, Ultron was defeated, and…that’s it. Multiverse saved. Doesn’t seem to make cosmic sense. Anyway, my last question is: how does the Watcher fit in with the multiverse unleashed in the Loki series? Does Kang (or He Who Remains, or whatever his name is) know the Watcher? Is he the one The Watcher gave the oath to? Maybe these are questions that will be answered in a Season Two, which I really hope happens.

Oh hey, if you want to ball your eyes out, check out the movie War Horse. It’s a great film about a horse and his boy, but has the kind of scenes (like a horse getting caught in barbed wire) that make me wonder why the hell I put myself through this, lol. Seriously, it’s a wonderful Spielberg film that ranks up there with my personal horse movie favorites–Hildalgo and Seabiscuit. Heavenly Hiddles is in it but only for about 20 minutes in a 2.5 hour movie. No matter; still well worth it.

That’s it for this week. What’s been entertaining you? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!

My Entertainment Weekend Update

Happy weekend my friends!

In books this past week, I finished The Snow Child, by Eowyn Ivey, about a childless couple in 1920 Alaska, who create a snow child that seemingly comes to life. It’s a lovely, moving book about grief and loss, but also joy and love; and about the forces of nature and how we try to tame it. I highly recommend it, especially if you enjoy magical realism, which this novel flirts with.

I’ve started reading The Outsiders, by S.E. Hinton, because my 12 year old daughter is reading it in school and I wanted to read it along with her so we can talk about it. Now that she’s older she’s reading more interesting books in school, and I relish the idea of discussing them with her. I read The Outsiders way back when I was a teen (35 years ago!) and remember liking it, though not exactly what it was about. I have to admit, it reads differently now that I’m a mom–such violence! smoking! chasing “broads”!–is this what I want my daughter to be reading?? Then again, I read it at her age or thereabouts, and it didn’t scar me or anything, lol. Kids can handle more than we give them credit for. And it’s about so much more than rowdy boys in the 60’s. The only problem is that now that I’m reading it, I want to keep going and finish it, but I also want to read it along with her at her class’s pace–which is pretty slow, lol.

A blast from my 80’s past: Two-Bit, Soda Pop, Ponyboy, Dallas, Johnny, Darry, and Steve.

Luckily I’ve got another book I’m reading called The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, by V.E. Schwab, and I’m loving it. It’s about a young woman in the 1700’s who prays to the gods for a different life, one where she is free and belongs to no one–but oops, she prays to “the gods who answer after dark” and gets her wish, but at a price. The price is that no one remembers her–not her parents, her best friend, not even the old witch who told her about the old gods. No one over the next 300 years ever remembers her. She is free to wander the world for as long as she likes, but it’s an unbearably lonely journey. I’m only several chapters in and I love it.

Never pray to the gods who answer after dark.

After watching Star Wars Visions, I decided I wanted to know more about the Ronin in The Duel, and so ordered Ronin, by Emma Mieko Candon. It comes out on October 12th, and I’m looking forward to it. I think it will be a unique Star Wars read–containing familiar Star Wars elements like lightsabers, the Force, droids, etc. but also things we’ve never seen before. I’d been trying to decide what Star Wars book I wanted to read next, but nothing called to me in particular; but once I heard about Ronin, I thought “Yes!” Can’t wait.

And speaking of Visions, I saw this custom poster for The Elder (my favorite Visions short) by TRIGGER on social media. It’s awesome!

Speaking of Star Wars, I discovered a new special on Disney+ called A Galaxy of Sounds. It’s a tribute to the sound and visual technicians of Star Wars, and it’s really cool to listen to parts of the movies without the John Williams soundtrack (which is fantastic, of course, but sometimes masks the other sounds we might not notice). It’s got 5 to 10 minute shorts with titles like “Wonder,” “Excitement,” “The Light Side,” “The Dark Side,” “Beeps,” etc. It’s put together quite well, and I enjoyed it. Made me want to watch all the movies again!

I also watched Lego’s Terrifying Tales, since I enjoyed last year’s Holiday Special so much. This wasn’t as funny or entertaining to me, but it had its moments. I especially liked the story “The Wookie’s Paw” where Luke joins the Empire instead of the Rebellion and is trained in the Force by Vader. When they swing across the chasm on the rope and Vader kisses him and says “For luck,” I lost it, lol.

In Marvel, the penultimate episode of What If? (Ultron Won) was just fantastic. When this whole thing started, I wondered about the Watcher, but never imagined he’d become an active character in his own right. Now he’s fighting for the fate of the multiverse, and actually asks for help from dark Dr. Strange. It just boggled my expectations, and I love it! Can’t wait to see how it ends next week.

What If… “Ultron Won”? Gives Us Peace in Our Time | Tor.com — How we gettin outta this one?

So that’s about it for this week. What’s been entertaining you? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!

My Entertainment Weekend Update

Happy weekend my friends!

In books this week, I’ve finished Loki: Where Mischief Lies on my Kindle. I’ve since ordered the sequel called Loki: Where Mischief Ends, and since it’s only available in paperback, I ordered the first book in paperback, too, for a matching set, lol. Can’t wait to start the second book.

I’m about two-thirds done with The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey. I love this book; it’s lovely and strange and keeps you wondering “What is the truth?” I’ll probably finish it by Monday, when we have our first book club meeting about it.

Well, unfortunately I’ve set Revan aside for now. I’m just not into it right now. It’s the first time in over a year and a half I’m not reading a Star Wars book. I’d been looking forward to Queen’s Hope, by E.K. Johnston, the third in a Padme Amidala trilogy. It was originally set to come out this November, but it’s been pushed up to April 2022. 😦 So now I’m not sure what’s next for Star Wars reading. Stay tuned.

Why Tajin From Star Wars: Visions Sounds So Familiar — The Elder was one my favorite shorts from Visions. I love this Jedi Master (whose name I can’t remember, lol). He reminds me of Qui Gon Jinn, who is one of my favorite Jedi.

So I’ve just finished watching Visions, and it was…interesting. As I’ve said before, I’m not an anime fan, so it was mostly out of curiosity that I watched. And as I suspected, it was hit or miss with me. There were a few that were quite good and that I enjoyed: The Duel, The Ninth Jedi, and The Elder were my particular favorites. Only one was painful to watch, and that was Tatooine Rhapsody. Unbearable, lol. The rest were fine, but didn’t wow me overmuch. I know there’s a novel called Ronin that will continue the story began in The Duel, and it may end up on my Star Wars reading list. We’ll see. I’m probably going to do a brief post of my thoughts on each short sometime soon.

So, Marvel: I absolutely loved the latest What If? episode, about party boy Thor. It was light and funny, and Frost Giant Loki is probably the best thing ever, lol. But it really punctuates how relationships have a huge impact on who we become. Without Loki as a mischievous brother competing with him for their father’s attention, it was Thor who became the mischievous, irresponsible one. And his relationship with Frost Giant Loki, his “brother from another mother” is swell. And Loki actually seems happy for once (thank you, Marvel!). I got a hoot out of Captain Marvel’s “Hey Whitesnake!” which you probably won’t get unless you’re familiar with 80’s hair bands. It was just a fun romp, the total opposite of the tragic Dr. Strange episode (which I also loved). This show can really do anything, and it’s gold, lol. Oh, and I have no idea what those robots at the end were. Even the Watcher was surprised.

How Did Thor Grow Up Without Loki on Marvel's What If..? Episode 7 — This made my heart happy.

So my X-Men marathon isn’t quite complete, but I’ve watched all the major X-Men-centric movies, up through Dark Phoenix. I haven’t watched The Wolverine, Logan, or the Deadpool movies yet. Since they’re not on Disney+ I have to pay for them individually on Youtube, which is fine, but I’ll space those out more. Really enjoying these movies, no matter how corny some may be. I’ll watch anything with Fassbender in it, lol.

Finally, I just want to do a shout-out to our lovely Ewan McGregor for winning the Emmy for Halston. The series isn’t for everyone, but I loved it, and there’s no denying he fully deserved the award for his amazing performance.

That’s it for this week. What’s been entertaining you lately? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!

My Entertainment Weekend Update

Happy weekend, my friends!

So my book club picked a new book to read this coming month, and it’s The Snow Child, by Eowyn Ivey (and yes, she was named after the Tolkien character). It was a finalist for the Pulitzer in Fiction, and it’s about a childless homesteading couple in Alaska in 1920. Life is hard, but in a moment of levity they build a snow child during a snowstorm. The next day, the snow child is gone, but a real child appears seemingly out of nowhere to enter their lives. It just sounded intriguing and magical to me, and I’m a few chapters in and I like it already. I can’t wait to dig deeper into this story and find out what happens.

I’m sad to say I haven’t gotten very far in the Star Wars book Revan. It just hasn’t captured me, at least not yet. I’m going to continue trying to get through it, just out of pure stubbornness, but we’ll see how it goes.

Another book that I’ve been reading that definitely captures me is Loki: Where Mischief Lies, by Mackenzie Lee. I read it a few months back and really enjoyed it. I’ve since read a few other Loki books and want to write a post about them, but wanted to refresh my memory on this one. I’d also like to read the sequel soon, called Loki: Where Mischief Ends. These are books about Marvel Loki, who we all know and love, and really is my favorite version of Loki, though he’s only very loosely based on mythological Loki (who is also quite fun and naughty, of course).

In other Marvel news, the latest What If? episode concerns Killmonger. I never liked Killmonger at all, and I still don’t. What a jerk, lol. Like every episode, it was still quite good, but the only question I have is….then what? Pepper and Shuri are on to Killmonger, and that’s great, but I want to know what happens. And because Tony is dead (again) does that mean they’re doomed by Thanos? Probably, like all the other timelines. We need Tony to snap his fingers.

In my X-Men marathon (in release date order), I just finished X-Men: First Class, the first one with the young Charles Xavier and Magneto, played by the lovelies James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender. I loved it, though it introduced a few inconsistencies with the original movies; I can live with them, though. Next is The Wolverine (not to be confused with X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which came just before this–also great). I’m really enjoying this marathon!

Lastly, I want to mention the Hawkeye trailer. I’m so happy that Hawkeye is getting his own show, he’s one of my favorites. I think it takes place when Clint absents himself from the Avengers during Infinity War to be with his family. But of course, it’s not all domestic bliss, as he seems to be pulled away from them by more bad guys. And he’s training someone new to take his place. I love the Christmas vibes; and is that an Avengers musical I see? Lol. Awesome. I think this one will be somewhere below Loki and Wandavision, but above The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Can’t wait!

That’s it this week. What’s been entertaining you? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!

Weekend Update

Happy weekend, my Star Wars friends!

Since I finished four books last week, I had some decisions to make on what I wanted to read next. With all the hype about the rebooted KOTOR game coming out, I decided it was time for me to delve into that era of Star Wars. So I ordered the book Revan, and I’m a few chapters in. Too soon to really make any pronouncements, but people keep telling me I’ll love it. I hope so! I’m not a gamer, so I’ve never played the game and don’t know much about that period; the book will be my source for the story.

This contains: Revan: Star Wars Legends (the Old Republic) by Karpyshyn, Drew

I also started and finished the second book in Lyra Wolf’s Loki series called The Order of Chaos. I’m really enjoying this series, and this second installment had me ripping through the chapters, much more quickly than the first book (although that was quite good, too). This one sees Loki escaping from his 500-year torment of dripping snake venom, bent on getting revenge on the gods through Ragnorok–until he finds out Sigyn is still alive. Then he must work to stop what’s already in motion, meeting up with his children along the way–Hel in the Underworld, Fenrir the Wolf, and Jormangandr the Snake; all the while trying to win Sigyn back from an Elf named Falael (who Loki calls “Falafel”). For me it was a real page-turner.

In Marvel, the What If? episode with Stephen Strange was so good I had to rewatch Dr. Strange. It really is quite wonderful, and I can’t wait for the next Dr. Strange movie (next March, I think?). He shows up in the Spiderman movie in November, too, but there’s something afoot there, lol. Can’t wait to find out what it is.

The latest What If? was….interesting. I suppose it had to happen sometime–zombies. I was a Walking Dead fan for awhile, and have nothing against zombies, but it just seems like a cliched sort of subject these days. But after I rolled my eyes, I settled in to watch and enjoyed it nonetheless. I especially loved Scott Lange’s head with Dr. Strange’s cape, lol. This is really turning out to be a fun show.

So I was casting around for another show to watch that fit my mood and was scrolling through Disney+ (the only streaming service I have) and decided to do another Marvel movie marathon but this time with X-Men. I had seen the first X-Men movie in 2000 (wow–21 years ago!) and it was one of the very few “comic book” movies I’d ever watched. I remember really liking it; I loved how it showcased people who are born differently and the discrimination they face because of it. I might have seen the second one, but not many more after that. But now I want to watch all of them! I watched the first one the other night, and really enjoyed it. It helped that there are some fabulous actors involved that I just love (Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellan, and Hugh Jackman, just to name a few). So really looking forward to getting these Marvel “Legacy” movies under my belt! Not sure about the Fantastic Four yet–we’ll see, lol. But once I’m done with watching X-Men, I’ll do a post on what I thought of each film (briefly), similar to what I did with my last Marvel movie marathon.

Looking ahead to some Star Wars shows, I’ll probably check out the Lego Halloween special Terrifying Tales. I’m not a huge Lego fan, but I loved the Holiday Special last year, and if this one is anything like that, it’ll be great. It centers around Poe Dameron, who I had wanted more of in the Holiday one, he was so funny. And of course, there’s Visions. Again, not a huge anime fan, but I’ll be tuning in out of curiosity.

So that’s it for now. Hope you have a great weekend and see you next time!

Weekend Update: Star Wars, Marvel and Vampires

Happy weekend Star Wars friends!

So I finally caught up with all of my reading and finished four, count ’em, four books this week!

Out of the Shadows, by Justina Ireland. I finally finished this YA High Republic Star Wars book, mainly featuring young Jedi Knight Vernestra Rwoh and a young hauler named Sylvestri Yarrow. I’m really enjoying the High Republic stories, and this one’s not bad, but I also felt it was kind of all over the place. There seemed to be a lot going on, and yet nothing really seemed to happen, if that makes sense. There was a lot of characterization, which I like, but the plot was a bit dull, concerning a possible Nihil weapon being built in an out of the way sector of space. But it’s about Jedi, which is what I love about the High Republic, so I’ll keep reading!
Freefall, by Alex Segura. This is the other YA Star Wars novel I’ve been working through, this one about a young Poe Dameron and his time with the Spice Runners of Kijimi. This one was fine, as well, a solid story about 16-year-old Poe wanting to get away from the boredom of Yavin 4 and kind of accidentally getting involved in the Spice Runner organization. The only reason he really stays is because of Zorii Bliss, but she is clearly more invested in the group than he is. It’s a decent coming of age story for Poe, when he finally decides what path he wants to pursue in his life.
Truth and Other Lies, by Lyra Wolf. This is the latest Loki novel I’ve read, and it concerns mythical Loki and his relationships with the other gods of Asgard. This one is borderline paranormal romance, and it seems Loki’s slept with quite a few of them, including Sif, Thor’s wife, and Odin himself. But it’s when he meets the human woman Sygin that he falls head over heels. It’s also a sign that Ragnorok is coming, with Loki at its center, as The Destroyer of Worlds. Quite entertaining, actually. It’s the first of a trilogy, and I’ll be starting the second book, The Order of Chaos, soon. Here Loki is ginger-haired and green-eyed, incredibly vain but witty and passionate.
I Was Anastasia, by Ariel Lawhon. This is a novel my book club is reading, and it’s split between the events leading up to the murder of the Romanov family in 1918, and the story of Anna Anderson, the woman who claimed to be Anastasia. Since Anderson was proven a fraud in 2007 through DNA results, the book was less about “is she or isn’t she?” and more about “how in the world did this woman pretend to be Anastasia for 60 years? And why?” Although I was more interested in the real Anastasia and the lead-up to the murders, this was an interesting and ultimately heartbreaking read, for both Anastasias.

With all these books finished, what’s next? Well, the next Loki book, as I mentioned, as well as the next book club book, which we’ll choose in a few days. But I was also thinking about exploring the Old Republic in the Star Wars universe. I haven’t done that yet, and since there will be no more High Republic books out until January (except the comics) I thought it was high time. So I’ve ordered the first Revan book by Drew Karpyshyn. I think I’m ready to dive into that era of Star Wars.

On the Marvel front, I watched All Hail the King, a short (15 min) film with the Mandarin aka Trevor Slattery, the “villain”/actor from Ironman 3, and his time in prison. At first it seemed kind of pointless, if diverting, but then it got to the point in linking to the new Marvel movie Shang Chi and the Ten Rings. Oh, okay. So there’s that. (I haven’t seen Shang Chi yet, and probably won’t until it comes out on Disney+. But don’t quote me on that).

Marvel's What If...? is more important to the MCU than you think — Dr. Strange prepares to face….Dr. Strange.

I much more enjoyed the new What If? episode with Dr. Strange. These shows have been fun and entertaining, with characters switching roles or what have you, but this one was really quite moving and heartbreaking. Besides Loki, Dr. Strange is my favorite Marvel character, and this is my favorite What If? by far. This one wasn’t so much about a hero turning evil (although that’s what happens), but about grief and the impact it has on an individual, and the entire universe. Really good stuff. I’m just wondering who the heck The Watcher is, to be honest. What’s his purpose? He can’t interfere, he can’t change things. He’s not a god, as he tells Dr. Strange, the first time he’s actually spoken to anyone he watches. I guess he’s just a celestial observer of some sort, lol.

Finally, in my quest to acquaint myself with more Tom Hiddleston work, I discovered a gem called Only Lovers Left Alive. TH and his Marvel co-star Tilda Swinton (The Sorceress Supreme–who happened to show up in the What If episode above) are modern-day vampires that have been alive for several centuries. Now, I haven’t been into vampires since Anne Rice in the 90s, but this film was really quite fabulous. It meanders along like a dream, with Adam and Eve (yeah, those are their names, lol) doing their vampire thing–Adam is a musician, creating music (anonymously) and tinkering with technology in an abandoned part of Detroit, while his wife Eve lives in Tangier with her multitudes of books, hanging out with her vampire friend Christopher Marlowe (yeah, that one) who apparently wrote all of Shakespeare’s works. They don’t kill people for blood (not anymore, anyway) and have to find it some other way, especially since most people these days have contaminated blood (alcohol, drugs, chemicals, etc.) Mostly they just hang around and listen to music and talk about Life and stuff. But then Eve’s wild sister Ava shows up and causes trouble. I absolutely loved it! Hipster vampires, lol. Oh, and I love how Adam calls humans “zombies.”

That’s it for this week. What’s been entertaining you? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!

My Entertainment Weekend Update

Happy weekend, my Star Wars friends!

So I’m still working on two books, Out of the Shadows and I Was Anastasia. It’s taking me a while because I’ve started another Loki book called Truth and Other Lies, by Lyra Wolf (what can I say, I’m obsessed, lol). It’s another mythical version of Loki, with all the usual players, just mixed up a little bit differently. It also borders on the paranormal romance with quite a few racy sex scenes. I don’t mind it, but it’s not exactly what I was expecting when I picked up the book, lol. The storyline is keeping me interested, though. It’s the first in a trilogy, and I have the first two on my Kindle, and pre-ordered the third, so I guess I have high hopes, lol. I may do a separate post on all the Loki books I’ve been reading, so stay tuned.

Speaking of Loki, I just finished watching the Loki series for the fourth time. I did say I was obsessed, lol. And so did I notice anything I missed during the first three viewings? Not really (although I’m sure there are plenty of easter eggs I don’t know about), except to realize that Loki is clearly more mischievous in this show than he was in the movies. In the films, he’s a trickster–which is similar but not quite the same–but mostly he’s a villain, an anguished family member, or a wise-ass. He’s angry a lot. But as the God of Mischief, you’d think there would be more tomfoolery. And in the show, we do get glimpses of this: when he plays around with the time device with Hunter B-15, clearly taking joy in tormenting her with it; when he and Mobius are in Pompei, and he just throws caution to the wind, exclaiming on top of the goat cart; and on the train on Lamentis, when he gets drunk and sings. These are just delightful moments, worthy of Loki’s elemental nature, which is just plain fun, and the show gave the creators time to explore that.

I also watched the latest What If? episode, which saw an assassin take out the Avengers one by one. At first I thought maybe it was Loki, but it didn’t quite make sense. It surprised me who it turned out to be; and Loki did make his appearance, at first to avenge Thor’s death, and then to help Nick Fury nab the killer. And then, of course, to take over Midgard, lol. It was a neat episode, as they all are. Fun little nuggets of Marvel.

In more Marvel news, I did catch the Spiderman: No Way Home trailer, after the whole leak debacle. I was more excited about seeing Dr. Strange in it than anything else, but he looked a bit…off, lol. Sweatpants? Snow in the Sanctum? And actually helping Peter with his request to change the fact that people knew who he was? It’s just all wrong. Is he an imposter? A variant? Possessed? What the hell’s going on? Very excited to see him, though, no matter how weird he is.

Finally, in the Star Wars universe, I watched the Mandalorian Gallery on Disney+ on the final episode of Season Two. You know, the one with Luke freaking Skywalker. Very cool, very fun to watch how they put it all together. I had no idea how they brought back a young Luke, except, you know, “technology.” The details are fascinating, and a bit bewildering. It’s so much work! And we are so glad and very lucky we have these dedicated people bringing our favorite characters to life, with so much care and respect. That’s why I love these behind-the-scenes specials, because it’s easy for us to take for granted the amazing shows we watch. But there’s literally an army’s worth of people, tons of talent, and painstaking work behind these shows and films, and I’m awed and thankful at all these souls who bring us such joy. So yeah, check it out if you can, lol.

That’s it for this week. What have you been up to? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!

My Entertainment Weekend Update

Happy weekend, my Star Wars friends!

Still trying to settle on the title of these weekly postings, which includes Star Wars, and lots of other things, too. It’s probably going to be a work in progress, lol.

And by the way, I’m going to be expanding the blog to cover the other stuff that I obsess about, in books, movies, and TV, as these posts have illustrated. So I’ll probably be changing the name of the blog, and just adding more categories. Nothing too drastic. I love Star Wars, but I just can’t keep quiet about all the other great stuff I love, too. I’m thinking of calling it Star Wars and Other Obsessions: All the Stuff I Love. What do you think?

Not much in book news today; I’m still reading the High Republic YA novel Out of the Shadows by Justina Ireland, and my book club novel I Was Anastasia, by Ariel Lawhon. Both excellent.

I’ve just watched the new trailer for Star Wars: Visions, and it looks really interesting. I’m totally not a Manga person, but I’ve got nothing against it, either, so I can guarantee you I’ll be checking these out. It will be nice to have some new Star Wars content to look forward to every week again, now that The Bad Batch is done.

Oh, and by the way, next week Disney+ is releasing a special about the Season 2 finale of The Mandalorian, specifically how Mark Hamill participated in bringing Luke Skywalker in for that awesome appearance to rescue Grogu. I can’t wait to see it, and I’ll report my thoughts on next week’s post.

In Marvel news, I’ve watched the second What If? episode, when T’Challa is Starlord instead of Peter Quill. I just have to say these shows are super cool and fun. To have T’Challa convince the Ravagers to do good in the universe is just awesome (seeing a “good” Thanos, and a super-sexy, benevolent Nebula is amazing!). It was a wonderful homage to Chadwick Boseman, and I got a little choked up at the end with their tribute. I think Loki is the next What If? character, and then Dr. Strange, and I can’t tell you how excited I am about that!

Also in Marvel, when I heard of the new Marvel superheroes The Eternals, I thought, meh. I’m really attached to the old crew, and who are these guys anywa–wait, is that Bucky?!? Oh nope, my mistake, I thought it was Sebastian Stan, lol, but it’s Richard Madden from Game of Thrones (another of my favorites) along with his costar, Kit Harington. Alrighty then, I’m sold! Actually, it looks really cool, so I’ll be there to watch.

Finally, I was in the mood for a movie the other night, but I also felt the urge to watch Loki again (because I can’t get enough of it, lol), but compromised with a movie with Tom Hiddleston in it. Hard to believe, but the man does act in other films. So out of what was available to me, I chose Crimson Peak, because I love period piece horror flicks.

This movie was directed by Guillermo del Toro, so it was guaranteed to be weird and creepy, and it was. But not so “out there” as Pan’s Labyrinth was. Oh, it had ghosts and a creepy, dilapidated English mansion, and blood and lots of stabbings, and incest, and all. Tom H’s character, Thomas Sharpe, was bad, but also kind of sweet and tragic. Sort of like Loki, but without the sass. I absolutely loved it.

So that’s it on my entertainment radar this week. What have you been up to? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!