My Current Interest

                 I will admit, I am torn about this series.   The mysteries are fantastic.   When I get to that part of the novel, all I want to do is push everything aside and read.   Nothing is more important than solving the mystery and figuring out who the culprit is along with Inspector Armand Gamache and his second in command, Jean Guy Beauvoir.   Gamache and Beauvoir are great characters.   They remind me of Barnaby and Troy from Midsomer Murders , which so far is still my favorite combination of detectives.                 Then we move on to everybody else.   While there are a few other characters in these novels that I like, I can’t say there are many.   This makes it hard to read the novels, but I keep finding myself reserving the next book because the mysteries are so good.   I ...

             I don’t know why, but I have always felt some odd connection to London; to England in its entirety, as a matter of fact.   The reason I say “odd” is because I have never set foot anywhere near England, much less London, so this feeling does not come from personal experience.   It’s just there and has been for as long as I can remember.   I don’t recall ever not wanting to go to England, but as I’ve become older that feeling has grown stronger.   It’s probably why I have such an interest in British television and movies.   They bring me closer to a place I so dearly want to visit.   It’s also most likely the reason for my picking up the book London Style Guide: Eat Sleep Shop .   Let me tell you, that while this book may look innocent, it is very dangerous.   As I read, all I wanted to do was jump on a plane or train and get out of town.   Each page made we want to go ...

               If you had any doubts about Eddie Redmayne winning the Oscar this year, all you have to do is watch The Theory of Everything for a few minutes and you’ll understand why.   He does an incredible job portraying Stephen Hawking from the early stages of his illness to the advanced point it has become.   Such a debilitating disease must have been extremely difficult to portray and taken great acting ability to do so.   Mr. Redmayne’s performance, however, is not the only noteworthy performance of this film.   Felicity Jones, who plays Jane Hawking, also did an incredible job.   The difference is so much of what Ms. Jones did was subtle.   Her emotions and thoughts were shown with a small gesture, the tone of her voice, or a look that came across her face.   So much of what her character went through was internal and it was those little things that let the viewer know wh...

             It’s not often anymore that I wander around the library looking for something to read.   Usually I have something specific in mind or there is a book waiting for me to pick up, but recently I decided I would take a look at the new book section to see what else might catch my attention.   What I came across was The Traitor’s Wife .   A work of historical fiction, it is about the wife of Benedict Arnold through the eyes of her maid.   This book came to me at the right time.   If I had come across this book a few months ago, I might not have been all that interested.   Thanks to a Revolutionary War series on History , now I am.   During that series I learned that Benedict Arnold’s becoming a traitor was not as black and white of a situation as it has been made out to be for so long.   There were a lot of things that happened to lead up to his actions that are rarely ever ment...

             Astrology is something I have been interested in for a very long time.   It’s not something I take overly seriously, but I do like to read my horoscope and see if who I am matches the characteristics of my sign.   The answer to that is yes and no, which I suspect would be most people’s answer.   So many things help determine who a person is, not just their astrological sign, but it is fun to read about.   I know I’m not alone in this feeling because there are so many daily horoscopes in the world and if they weren’t popular the newspapers wouldn’t publish them every day.   Even if someone isn’t interested in reading their horoscope, most people probably at least know what their sign is.   Hopefully they do for more than just the opportunity to use a cheesy pick-up line, but the point is, Western astrology is pretty universally known in the United States.   The Chinese Zodiac, I...

                All I have really wanted to watch lately is British television and movies.   I’m not sure why, but that is what has been interesting me.   There have been a lot of British TV shows and films I have watched, but one that keeps sticking in my mind is Gosford Park .   I saw the film years ago when it was released in theatres, but with so much time in between, there were a lot of details I did not remember.   One of the things I had forgotten was how many well-known actors are in the film, although many of them may not have been well-known at the time.   It was fun to think about where all those actors are now and how far they have come.                            Sir William McCordle (Michael Gambon) has invited his family to his large British estate ...