pedanther

. We weren't sure for a while if we were going to be able to have the usual family Christmas gathering, due to a health scare and some travel scheduling issues, but everyone made it in the end, and as far as I could tell everyone had a good time. It was indoors this year, to be out of the weather, and while we were waiting for everyone to arrive we decided to watch a movie to pass the time; after the disc for Disney's The Sword in the Stone (arguably at least Christmas-adjacent in a couple of places) turned out to be missing, we settled on Disney's Robin Hood (not really Christmassy, but you could probably do something with the theme of peace to men of good will and loving thy neighbour). One of the last arrivals seemed oddly intrigued by the choice of movie; when we got to the present-opening part of the proceedings it was revealed that he'd coincidentally chosen a Disney's-Robin-Hood themed present for another family member.


. I'm still only a few episodes into Bille August's TV adaptation of The Count of Monte Cristo, and struggling to muster enthusiasm to continue. My feeling is that it's trying too hard to be a Serious Literary Adaptation, and that none of the many credited writers have a knack for adventure and intrigue -- nor, unfortunately, for character motivation. The results are frequently implausible and, frankly, rather tedious. It's making me feel more kindly toward the old 1960s TV adaptation I watched a while ago, which was not without faults but many of them could be blamed on lack of budget and production time, which is not an excuse this version has. It's even making me feel more kindly toward the most recent film version; I often disagreed with the choices it was making, but at least it wasn't dull.


. My enthusiasm for playing Spirited Thief has waned. I'm still not finding the plot and dialogue engaging, and as I progress through it keeps adding new mechanisms in a way that I'm finding makes it more cluttered rather than more interestingly challenging. I've been having rather an off week all round, though, so I'll probably give it another go at some point when I'm feeling more generous.


. I was thinking about my mental state and time management, and it occurred to me that I hadn't touched the current jigsaw puzzle in nearly a month. So I went over to look at it, and was immediately reminded of all the reasons I'd been having an actively unpleasant time working on it. So now I've packed it away, and made a start on a puzzle I was given for my birthday.

Fiction books
Jenny Blackford. The Priestess and the Slave
Jasper Fforde. The Eyre Affair

Non-fiction books
Joanne Cantor. Mommy, I'm Scared: How TV and movies frighten children and what we can do to protect them

( short, screen, and stage )
( books bought and borrowed )

Top of the to-read pile
Fyodor Dostoevsky. The Brothers Karamazov