Saturday, December 19, 2015

Sunday Post #122



This week wasn't bad, I didn't do a ton of reading but I got some in. I did a guest post on Michelle's blog Because Reading for her Holiday Tradition and a Book and talked about one of my favorite traditions- that was a lot of fun. Thanks to Michelle for having me. I enjoyed all of the other guest bloggers' posts as well and encourage you to go check 'em out!

I'm caught up (mostly) on my Netflix shows now although I haven't been watching the current seasons of anything too much. So more binging in the future! The 100 comes back in January (trailer below) and that's probably the one I'm looking forward to the most. I still miss Continuum and have not found a show to replace it yet. 

The big news this week of course is... Star Wars. Yes it's out, and yes I saw it. On opening day! Not something I expected to do, but Thursday night there I was. There were several Rebel pilots, someone in Jedi robes, and even a Rey in attendance. No droids though. The atmosphere was festive, as one might expect, and it was a surreal experience to see the words come up on the screen...

And last week... the always fun Cover Characteristics continues, and I reviewed Iron Fist which is coming to Netflix soon. I also posted my Top Ten Books of the year and some other stuff, including a look at a particularly fascinating chapter of A Dance with Dragons. Whew- what a week! 

BOOKISH NEWS:




Books of Amber, Lady Knight Reads and The Overstuffed Bookcase are hosting a rewatch of The 100. The event is already underway and runs until Jan. 21- which is when S3 premieres. They're watching about 3 episodes a week plus a livewatch on Twitter. The 100 is available on Netflix and you can go here for all the info. 

Me On Books reviews A School for Unusual Girls.  

62 comments:

  1. Star Wars jealousy here! We weren't able to make opening night work but I'm looking forward to seeing it. My husband was at work Friday and he said a guy in the hallway right outside his office was giving another guy a play by play of the movie on Friday! He ended up putting headphones in and turning static up to block it out. Not cool! Have a great week and a very merry Christmas!

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    1. Yikes I can't believe someone would do that... well yeah I can actually. Spoilers are so hard to avoid. That's one reason to see it early before someone ruins it for you! Although to be honest I had no idea I would see it opening day- it just kinda worked out that way. Glad it did though!

      Hope you guys get to see it soon. And merry Christmas!

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  2. Oh, I really must see the Star Wars movie...I remember loving the first ones, and I'm glad they brought in some of the original stars.

    Enjoy your week! I am also watching (bingeing) on Netflix almost daily....forgot to mention that in my Sunday Post. Here are MY WEEKLY UPDATES

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    1. It was nice to see again, although to be honest it wasn't that great a movie- at least for me. I see it getting good reviews though, so you never know.

      Enjoy your week, and happy holidays!

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  3. We watched it too! We all loved it though I would give it 4.8 stars. It is hard to compete with the prequels :) but still an awesome movie :) looking forward to your review of Inmortals Happy Holidays :)

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    1. I'm glad you liked it! I was a little disappointed, but it was still fun to see it. Hope you have a great weekend and merry Christmas!!

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  4. Thank you, THANK YOU for not "spoiling" The Force Awakens for me. We're seeing it Monday night, since that was the first time we could get the whole extended family (well, one branch of it) together. Robin and I are watching the prequels now; I had seen The Phantom Menace but not #2 or #3, so I needed to catch up before seeing the new one.

    I wish you and your family the happiest of holidays!

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  5. I loved Star Wars but my hubs was like you about it - he said it was the same formula. I disagreed and I was happy as a clam sitting there enjoying the flying and the battling. Hubs was looking for more... Oh well.

    Merry Christmas!! Have a great week!!

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    1. Yeah I was disappointed- too many familiar plot points. Still... it's Star Wars! That's a good thing...glad you liked it!

      Have a great Christmas!!

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  6. Sounds like you had a good week in general. Did you like the new Star Wars movie? I saw the season 3 trailer of the 100 (without sound for some reason) but as I haven't seen season 2 yet it didn't really strike a cord with me.

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    1. I wasn't crazy about the new Star Wars, to be honest. Surprised myself how disappointed I was, but lots of people are liking it. For me it was the story choices they made, they seemed odd to me.

      Have a great week.

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  7. "You're ruining my life!"

    LMAO ... I'm laughing so hard at the Star Wars video. That was great. And oh wow, the trailer for The 100 looks so good. I have a weird relationship with that show, but I can't stop watching.

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    1. I know, I couldn't stop laughing! Made my day. :)

      And I know what you mean about The 100. I wasn't sure about that show at first, but I had to keep watching. Like a train wreck. :) Even though I hated some characters...and the second season really drew me in.

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  8. It sounds like you had a good week, Greg, and I loved Michelle's guest-blogs about holiday traditions, too. So nice to see special memories from everyone :)
    Have a fantastic week, and a very Merry Christmas.
    Lexxie @ (un)Conventional Bookviews

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  9. Wait is there a new Star Wars out or something?? I kid I kid! I have seen them all and like them but hate going to the movies. So I will see it evertually. My husband has NEVER seen any of them. Weird right? Now he holds it like a badge of honor in some weird way and refuses to watch them. He is so missing out. Anyway - Have a great week!!

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    1. Yeah there's some movie everyone is raving about. :) I was afraid the theater was going to be crowded but it wasn't too bad...

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  10. I really enjoyed Star Wars! I also really need to watch The 100 soon, my brother has started it and loves it so I need to do that soon!
    http://dualreads.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/sunday-post-20th-december-2015.html

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    1. I'm glad you liked it! I didn't like it as much as I thought I would, but I'm still glad I saw it. Nice to have Star Wars back again... I like The 100, although S1 and S2 are so different. My experience was I had to get through the first few episodes before it really took off... now I love it!

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  11. My dad wants to see Star Wars and I will go for Harrison Ford....lol. He has been one of my favorite actors growing up and my favorite from the original movie but I am not a huge Star Wars fan.

    I still need to watch season two of 100! I am so behind on my show watching.

    Happy reading!
    Stormi
    Week in Review

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  12. I will wait for the die down before I go see Star Wars, I worry waiting will make me see spoilers but I have no time to go now and have to wait till after Christmas. Plus I have to go alone because my husband never saw Star Wars..(should have checked his movie viewing before we married) The kids want to come but I want to enjoy it since I never got to see any of the original ones in the movies.

    Thanks for doing the Guest Post for me! and Thanks for the shout out!.

    Have a great week, Greg! Merry Christmas and Happy Reading!

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    1. That's what I was going to do, wait. Then it just happened I was there opening night. :) Glad I did, because now I can relax about it and not worry about spoilers. But normally I wouldn't have rushed out...

      LOL about movie viewing. I think a lot of people actually haven't seen them, which surprised me. For what it's worth, I didn't think it was that good (ducks as rabid fans throw things). OK, but not great- so waiting won't hurt ya much. :)

      Merry Christmas to you too!

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  13. My daughter's friend has seen Star Wars 4 times already!! A bit much, I think. No costumes, masks, etc. were allowed in the theaters here.

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    1. Forgot to wish you a Merry Christmas! :)

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    2. 4 times? Wow... I didn't think it was that good, but some peopel are loving it, so that's good. I wanted to like it...

      Merry christmas to you too, have a wonderful week!

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  14. We're going to see Star Wars tomorrow. First showing is 10:40, so that's the one we'll hit. I'm not a fan of crowds so opening weekends are kinda out for me. Plus, hubby had to work Fri, Sat and today and since he works from 06:30 until about 21:00 that leaves no time anyway. So Monday it is. My daughter and her boyfriend saw it Fri and she said the spoilers online (I saw one) are true. Ah, well. I hope you have a great week and Merry Christmas. :)

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  15. You had a busy week! I'm waiting for the furor to die down before I go see the new Star Wars.

    Merry Christmas and enjoy your break!

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    1. That's a good idea. I went opening night (what was I thinking) and it actually wasn't too bad, but I went late. Some shows sold out.

      Merry Christmas!!

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  16. I saw Star Wars as well! Are you going to be reviewing it ?

    Here is my The Sunday Post!

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    1. Yes, I'm going to reviews it on Wednesday. I had mixed feelings... what did you think?

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  17. Eeeep! Star Wars! I hope you enjoyed it and that it was a satisfying addition to the series! I wish I could have seen it opening night but it was all sold out - I'm hoping to see it as soon as possible though because I currently live in fear of spoilers O_O

    Also: LOVE the Charlie Brown soundtrack for Christmas ♥ Happy holidays Greg! I wish you lots of bookish goodness ;)

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    1. I was surprised it WASN'T sold out- although the show after mine was. It was pretty festive though. :) I know what you mean about spoilers

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  18. I know I'm in the minority here, but... I don't plan to see the Star Wars movie? I loved the original movies when I was a little kid, but I haven't seen them since then. I need to do a marathon at some point or something. I watch Star Wars Rebels, but I'm pretty sure that doesn't count lol. I'm glad you got to see the movie though!

    I did some binge-watching of my own last night with Suits Season 5. Legal shows aren't usually my thing, but this one has such great characters and emotion that I just got hooked.

    Have a great Christmas!

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    1. You're not missing anything, honestly. It's basically a remix of the originals, I was pretty disappointed. A lot of people might disagree with me but that's how I felt.

      Binging is my thing lately- I watch all these shows now I never used to watch, thanks to Netflix. It's easier just to watch them all at once or in chunks. I haven't heard of Suits... glad it's good tho. I'm sorta between shows...

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  19. We have a large college, so going to Star Wars anywhere near the first day was not for me. Now that I am older I am not such a crowd person anymore. I have managed not to see or hear any spoilers so far, but if I am waiting another week to see it, I should probably steer clear of Twitter. I will be scoping out your guest post and your TTT post. Have a wonderful holiday. :)

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    1. I'm not super fond of crowds either, and generally avoid opening nights at the movies. I had a chance to go to this one though and couldn't pass it up. LOL. I hope you enjoy it...

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  20. I was to busy this week to visit Michelle her blog, but those christmas posts sound fun, I might stop by later. I haven't seen star wars yet, not sure when I wil. That's exciting you already saw it, I hope it was good! Have a great week and happy holidays!

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    1. The guest posts were fun, it was fun to see what everyone wrote. I hope you like Star Wars- is it out there? I know they open at different dates in different countires...

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  21. We were able to see Star Wars Saturday. My daughter was disappointed we didn't take her, but I knew all too well how that would turn out. She would have gotten bored. I'm sorry you were disappointed in the movie. My husband and I loved it. I actually thought the throw backs to the other movies made it better, but that's just me.

    My husband and I have introduced my daughter to Doctor Who. We're having fun watching it again. We're still in the first season of the reboot (with Chris Eccleston), and I admit I'm anxious to get to the David Tennant episodes.

    I hope you have a wonderful week!

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    1. Ooh I'm glad you liked it- I thought I would too! It was nice to see it back- the crowd erupted in cheers when the words came on the screen, and that was fun. :)

      I've never seen Dr. Who (well, not much- I did see the dinosaurs)and I don't know where to start, but I'm frequently tempted to dive in and binge watch. I just may - one of these days.

      Merry Christmas!!

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  22. I'll be reviewing Need this week as well. I love the big movie premieres like that, the energy is so awesome! I'm not a huge Star Wars fan, I've seen all the movies, and will go see this one, but it isn't something I'm that excited about. Glad you got to go see it on the first day though! Thanks for stopping by my Sunday Post earlier!

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    1. I really didn't expect to see it opening night, so that was a surprise. It was fun (although I liked the atmosphere more than the actual movie, LOL) and now I can relax and not worry about when I'll see it! Can't wait to see your thoughts on Need- my review on that one is so late, I meant to post it a while ago...

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  23. I'm all caught up on my TV shows, so now I'm going to check out what I can watch on Netflix.

    Have a great week!

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  24. So.. thumbs up or thumbs down on the movie? Not sure I will go and see it or not. Looking forward to the return of The 100. Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas.

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    1. I didn't like it that much, personally. I thought it was too derivative- don't want to say much more without spoiling, but that was my take. Unlike the originals I don't really need to see it again. A lot of people are loving it though...

      I can't wait for the 100 either. Have a merry Christmas!!

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  25. Although I am not a big Star Wars fan - think I saw the first one - it was all over the news here too in NZ as people excitedly got involved. Wishing you a very happy Christmas and lots of relaxation and good things.

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    1. Thank you Kathryn- you as well. Hope your holidays are fabulous. It's been all over the news- certainly- funny how so many of us get so excited over a movie! :)

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  26. I know several of my family members were there for the first showings of Star Wars. We might see it once our son is in town on Wednesday. We watched Jurassic World on his big screen over Thanksgiving. It was okay and our grandkids wanted to watch it when they visited us and we were streaming it.
    You always do a great job adding interesting things to your post.
    I wish you a Merry, Merry Christmas. Enjoy your week!

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    1. Thank you Martha! I appreciate that... I hope you enjoy it if you see it. It's nice to watch fun movies with family. :)

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  27. I saw The Force Awakens today and I loved it. I didn't see anyone dressed up at the show I went to but as we left the theater we saw several people going in dressed in costume including a Princess Leia with hair buns and a wookie.

    I have been watching Christmas movies on Netflix and Hulu. I still need to catch up on a couple of my regular shows but they are on hiatus for awhile so I have some time. Next month Agent Carter will be back on and I can't wait.

    I didn't get much reading done either but I hope to have more time this week.

    Merry Christmas!

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    1. I'm glad you liked it! I wish I would have, I wanted to. I like Christmas movies, they're so relaxing and it's just nice to veg with something like that during the holidays. I am looking forward to Agent Carter too, loved that show last time!

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  28. My son and I are waiting til next week to go see Star Wars. I can't wait for more of The 100 and I just binge watched The Blacklist. What an awesome show. Also caught up on Jessica Jones. Have a Merry Christmas.

    http://fuonlyknew.com/2015/12/20/whats-new-on-my-bookshelf-140-and-the-sunday-post/

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  29. My partner is a huge Star Wars fan, was there for a midnight screening, opening night fundraiser but he was disappointed, familiar plot lines trotted out. I've been seeing mixed reviews but still wouldn't miss it lol. I'm behind on tv viewing but I'll be binge watching the 100 over the holidays. Merry Christmas to you and yours :)

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    1. I was disappointed too, so I can relate. Absolutely. It was not very original... and the dialogue was sometimes cringeworthy. Or at least I thought. But yeah see it if you're interested- it's still nice to have it back. :)

      I hope you like The 100. I had to get through the first few episodes as they're a bit teen angsty, but once it gets rolling I think it's good. the second season is much more intense.

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  30. I saw Star Wars today, I absolutely loved it. Have a great week :)

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  31. We introduced our kids to the first Star Wars movie so they could understand all the hype of this new release with the original actors!

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    1. That's a great plan! It makes a lot more sense if you've seen the originals, I think. :)

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  32. I didn't expect to go see it opening night either, but we were there and the atmosphere was amazing. It's awesome being a room of people who all have the same love for the movies, and just having your reactions echoed in a room of over 50 people is just epic. I plan to go see it again, so I can see things I missed and see if it holds up the second time.

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    1. Isn't it fun seeing it with other fans? I'm not a big fan of crowded movies but this time was different. Everyone was so raucous but once the crawl came on you could hear a pin drop.

      Interested to hear your thoughts- I want to talk about it but it's hard because it's too early, don't want to spoil for people. :)

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  33. I feel really bad for the movie theater employees who had to work on those nights. Especially if something went wrong. There would have been so many angry people who had purchased their tickets so far in advance.

    Glad you got to see it! I'm waiting until next week to see it with a group of friends. :D

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    1. I know, I'm glad I wasn't there. Or the poor theatre projection staff! Yikes...

      I hope you like it! It's nice to have it back in theaters...

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  34. So jealous you saw Star Wars already. My husband hates crowds so he didn't want to go opening weekend. But I want to go this weekend. We've watched a movie when the film stops. It got so bad the movie theater just gave us tickets to watch the movie again. I can just imagine how angry the fans were. I hope you have a great Christmas!!

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  35. Wow..great week.

    The Conspiring Woman looks very good.

    Going to check out your guest post.

    Thanks for sharing, and have a Merry Christmas.

    Elizabeth
    Silver's Reviews
    My It's Monday, What Are You Reading

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