It happened. I stopped keeping up with my blog for a month 😦 Last time I said March was busy, but April was really busy. We had state testing at work, and so I was out proctoring tests for 3rd-11th graders for two weeks. Then I don’t know what happened; I had to recover I guess. This post will be a catch-up for weeks 13-18 (March 24 – May 4th). I’ve listened to two albums, finished two books, and watched four movies. I will split my reviews up into two parts to reduce the length of my posts. I will write a Part 2 post just for the movies that I’ve watched!
Album: The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology (2024) by Taylor Swift
My Thoughts:
I’ll get this one out of the way. I, like many people all over the world, listened to this album the day it dropped. I fell asleep before the full double album dropped. Unfortunately, I’m still not a Swiftie, and this album was not for me. To my Swiftie friends and coworkers (if you’re reading) please don’t hate me, and please stop reading now.
Tortured Poets Department is too long, the songs all sound too alike, and none of them really resonated with me. I don’t know if I can explain this properly in writing, but while I listened to this album, the feeling the sonic experience gave me was similar to the feeling you get when listening to non-denominational Christian music. It’s like a long-sustained heightened emotional feeling, but it rarely goes anywhere. I feel no sense of release/catharsis when listening to this, and the album is so long and tedious that I have no desire to listen to it all the way through more than once.
I know I reviewed Midnights last year and I didn’t love it, but it at least had a few songs that I did connect with, especially “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve” from the special editions. Probably the only song I enjoyed from The Tortured Poets Department was “Fortnight.” I’m sorry to say that I don’t care for Swift’s lyricism in this album, and I’m not interested enough in the Taylor Swift lore to care about all the Easter eggs.
My Rating:
It’s ok, but not for me.
Favorite Songs:
Album: Random Access Memories (2013) by Daft Punk
My Thoughts:
I can’t believe it’s now been over 10 years since Daft Punk released their final album. Sadly, back in 2013 I was too sick of hearing “Get Lucky” everywhere to actually give this album a try. Maybe I’m too easily influenced by the music video essayists that I like to watch, but recently thanks to their videos I decided to give this album a full listen. These video essayists call this album a “masterpiece” and after hearing their arguments along with them album, I would have to agree. I am so sad that Daft Punk is now broken up and that I will never get to go back in time to experience their live shows. I remember that there was even a Tron: Legacy light show in LA. I can’t remember if Daft Punk would even be there, but I wish I could have been there back in 2010/2011.
I could summarize why this album is amazing, but the video essayists I mentioned earlier do a better job, so I suggest you watch their videos instead!
My Rating:
Obsessed!
Favorite Songs:
Book: Red, White, and Royal Blue (2019) by Casey McQuiston
Summary:
“Red, White & Royal Blue” by Casey McQuiston is a contemporary romantic comedy novel that follows the story of Alex Claremont-Diaz, the First Son of the United States, and Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, a British prince. The novel explores their unexpected romance and the complexities that arise due to their public personas and the political implications of their relationship.
Alex and Henry start off as rivals, but after an incident at a royal wedding that threatens international relations, they are forced to fake a friendship for the public eye. As they spend more time together, their animosity turns into genuine affection, and they embark on a secret relationship.
The novel delves into themes of identity, family, politics, and the pressures of public life. It explores the challenges of being true to oneself in the face of societal expectations and the importance of love and acceptance in overcoming obstacles.
Throughout the story, Alex and Henry navigate their feelings for each other while grappling with the expectations of their families and the public. Their journey is filled with humor, heartache, and ultimately, the triumph of love over adversity.
Summary written by ChatGPT when prompted “Summarize the novel ‘Red, White, and Royal Blue.’“
My Thoughts:
I started reading this book back in February for a book club that I’m in with my sister and one of my best friends. We chose it because it’s a romantic comedy, and it fit the month of February for Valentine’s day. None of us managed to finish it in February, and we haven’t had a book club meeting since. Actually, I’m still the only one that has finished this book. Back in October, Stephen King killed our book club, and it looks like now this book might have killed our book club again 😥 I’m sure we’ll meet again at the end of this month now that life is more back to normal for the three of us, and maybe we’ll finally get to discuss this book together.
This book was fun, and it’s one of the few gay romances I have ever read. I like it, and I recommend it, but parts of it were also kind of annoying. The two main characters are just such elite, educated boys and they can come off as pretentious sometimes. I know that the emails between the two main characters are meant to show readers how their relationship develops and the bond that they have over shared jokes, interests, and opening up to one another, but their correspondence can grow tiresome after awhile.
I’m looking forward to watching the film adaptation on Amazon Prime. I’m sure you’ll see my review for it on here sometime soon!
My Rating:
Book: An Accidental Murder (2015) by J. New
Summary:
When a strange child follows her home on the train from London, Ella Bridges feels bound to help her. However she soon discovers the child is not what she seems.
Having recently moved into a large home on Linhay Island, affectionately known locally as The Yellow Cottage, Ella finds herself at the centre of a murder investigation thanks to a special gift from the previous house owner.
Along with her unusual sidekick, a former cottage resident, Ella follows clues which take her to the heart of London. As the mystery unravels she is forced to enter the lion’s den to solve the crime and stop the perpetrator. But can she do it before she becomes the next victim?
An Accidental Murder is set in 1930’s England and is the first in The Yellow Cottage Vintage Mystery series (New, An Accidental Murder).
My Thoughts:
I read this novel/novella for a new book club that my friends and I started. I love cozy mysteries, and so I was looking forward to starting a new series. Sadly, this first instalment of “The Yellow Cottage Vintage Mystery” series was not quite what I expected. One of my friends compared it to the 2000s TV show Ghost Whisperer. I guess it’s also like the TV show, Medium, but less scary. To me, it’s not very satisfying to read a mystery where ghosts are basically telling you right off the bat whodunit. Aside from this, the biggest thing that made me not love this book was the ending. It was very violent all of a sudden, and it just didn’t match the tone of the rest of the story.
This was a really short read. It was only 3 hours long in the audiobook format, so if you’re looking for something to listen to over a weekend or long car ride, this might be fun, but don’t expect too much!
My Rating:
References:
OpenAI. (2024). ChatGPT (May 8 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat
New, J. (2024). An Accidental Murder. The first book in the popular British 1930s mystery series an accidental murder. https://jnewwrites.com/the-first-book-in-the-popular-british-1930s-mystery-series-an-accidental-murder/
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