A Month in Summary - February 2018

Little Whale Cove

Depoe Bay, Oregon

February 2018

Last month's summary seemed to be a big hit since I didn't just talk about the book I read, but I also included the shows & movies we watched, plus the puzzles we worked on. I've decided to continue with that format again this month. Hopefully, it won't be too long. It rained a lot in February, so we watched a lot of shows in the evening!

Books Read in February:

Promise Me, Dad by Joe Biden

The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne

Need to Know by Karen Cleveland

News of the World by Paulette Jiles (second reading)

The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett

The Force of Nature by Jane Harper


First Lines:

The days were getting shorter, so the light in the sky had started to fall away when the gate to our temporary home swung open and our motorcade edged beyond the fencing that surrounded the United States Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C. (Promise Me, Dad)

Long before we discovered that he had fathered two children by two different women, one in Drimoleague and one in Clonakilty, Father James Monroe stood on the alter of the Church of Our Lady, Star of the Sea, in the parish of Goleen, West Cork, and denounced my mother as a whore. (The Heart's Invisible Furies)

I stand in the doorway of the twins' room and watch them sleep, peaceful and innocent, through crib slats that remind me of bars on a prison cell. (Need to Know)

Captain Kidd laid out the Boston Morning Journal on the lectern and began to read from the article on the Fifteenth Amendment. He had been born in 1798 and the third war of his lifetime had ended five years ago and he hoped never to see another but now the news of the world aged him more than time itself. (News of the World)

At Windsor it was the evening of the state banquet and as the president of France took his place beside Her Majesty, the royal family formed up behind and the procession slowly moved off and through into the Waterloo Chamber. (The Uncommon Reader)

Later, the four remaining women could fully agree on only two things. One: No one saw the bushland swallow up Alice Russell. And two: Alice had a mean streak so sharp it could cut you. (The Force of Nature)


Movies & TV Series:

Broadchurch - We finished Season 3, which I thought was anti-climatic. Of all three seasons, the first was the best and now there's no more to come. I'm so sad. I miss this great duo, so I may have to watch the whole thing all over again. 

I'm not sure I'm ready to see David Tennant return as Kilgrave in the new season of Jessica Jones. Kilgrave is one creepy dude!

Endeavor - Once we finished Broadchurch, we moved on to more of Endeavor (Seasons 2, 3 and part of 4). This is a great show, but at times, I can't even keep up with the subtitles (we always enable them for British shows - ok, who am I kidding, we use them for everything!). The dialogue moves very quickly and as the episode wraps up, it feels rather convoluted and somewhat contrived. Still, great acting and very entertaining.

Vera - I've started watching Vera with my mom (who is watching it for the second time) and have only seen Season 1, Episodes 1 & 2. I like the fact that Vera is frumpy and enjoys her whiskey, but she is pretty coarse and loud. My husband, who was upstairs in the loft working on an editing project, asked what all yelling was about. I told him that's just Vera. ;) I'm not hooked yet, so maybe I'll try some of the books (by Ann Cleaves) before I watch any more. It may just be one of those series that takes a little time getting in the groove of the main characters.

Goodbye, Christopher Robin - We all watched this movie and thought it very good. I found it fascinating to learn how the Winnie-the-Pooh books came to be and how it affected Milne's young son. I think it would be fun to read the books again as an adult. I'm sure I read The House at Pooh Corner to my daughter, but that was almost 30 years ago!

Wonder - What can I say. This is a fantastic book, which I wrote about here. The movie was equally as impressive, although it came across more as a "feel-good" movie than R.J. Palacio's powerful book, written for young readers, but loved by all generations across the world. I was a little surprised that Auggie's appearance in the movie didn't reflect what I pictured after reading the book, finding his disfigurement not as severe as the author depicted. Overall, the movie was both informative and entertaining, but read the book. It's much better!

Victoria & Abdul - What a delightful film. I love Judi Dench in everything I've seen her in and she was a perfect queen! I don't know much about Queen Victoria and after reading this article from Vanity Fair, I'm interested in reading more about her life in the palace. 

Dead Again - Hmmm. Emma Thompson is another favorite actress of mine, so when my mom rented this dvd, I was eager to watch it. I liked it, but thought it was bizarre and melodramatic. 

Darkest Hour - Gary Oldman was outstanding as Churchill, but we have also recently watched Dunkirk and Churchill, so this latest film was not quite as riveting as I had hoped for. 


Coming Soon!!:



I just watched the trailer for this movie and can not wait to see it!! There is no U.S. release date, so I think I might have time to reread the book and refresh my memory. It has been a decade (!!) since I last read it.



And then there's this, which I know nothing about, but it looks wonderful! Oh, wait. I read this book (by Penelope Fitzgerald) many years ago and as I recall, I didn't care for it. But the movie looks quite good.

Puzzlemania:

A dear friend of mine sent me this puzzle and at first glance, I was pretty sure it would prove to be impossible! None of the pieces are "traditional" in the sense of any puzzle I have ever worked on. It doesn't have 500 pieces or 1,000 pieces, but rather 527 pieces! Even assembling the edges, which is usually a task I'm eager to finish first, was a major feat. We swore (as we always do) that there must be several pieces missing--or on the floor--or hidden by my husband! But in the end, they were all there and this wound up to be one of my favorites and I'm eager to try another like it. This particular puzzle is Interior of the Pantheon, Giovanni Paolo Panini by Liberty Puzzles (Classic Wooden Jigsaw Puzzles). The pieces are cut out of thick wood and there are dozens of shapes resembling people and objects. What fun!

Once we finished that puzzle, we were sure this one would be easy. Ha! I don't remember how long it took, but we struggled!

We ended the month with a dusting of snow. The nighttime temps dropped down in the high 20s, so we cancelled our week-long camping trip to Brookings. Fingers crossed that the weather continues to warm up through March, as we're planning a three-week-long road trip to Northern California at the end of the month.