Review: Warehouse 13

Hey!

I’m back again with yet another review. Today is a tv show review. Matt & I have been binging quite a bit of tv shows, while in quarantine and I have done a few reviews. I generally prefer to do a review of a show that has been completed that way you can get a real feel for what the show is about and that way you can get a full perspective of the show. If you want a more up to date list of what I have been watching on a monthly list you should check out my monthly wrap-ups here.

Back to the review, Warehouse 13 is a SyFy show that ran from 2009 to 2014. There was officially 4.5 seasons, I would say 5, but technically there are only 6 episodes in the fifth season because the show was cancelled. Matt & I watched it on IMDB streaming, which is free (at the time of writing this), but comes with commercials , so be prepared. It is still pretty easy to binge. This show was mostly a rewatch for me aside from the final seasons, and a watch for Matt since he didn’t get a chance to watch in real time.

The premise of the show is that a group of “secret service” agents are tasked with investigating objects with historical value that have gone awry in the world and then bringing them back to a large storage container in South Dakota to be labelled and contain, so that they can’t cause any further damage in the world.

The show is full of witty one liner, comedic acting, as well as history and a touch of mystery. If you like all of these you should definitely give this show a shot. There are a couple of over arching story lines that bring the show back and forth from beginning to end, but overall most of the episodes are self contained to 45 minutes or so. If any of this intrigues you I would recommend that you give Warehouse 13 a watch.

If you have seen the show let me know your thought. If you have seen other shows on SyFy that you would recommend give them a shot out. I’d love to hear from you and I hope to see you in another post soon!

Wonder Woman: Warbringer

7 / 16 / 207 / 15 / 20

Wonder Woman: Warbringer (DC Icons, #1) by Leigh Bardugo
Published by Random House Children's Books on August 28, 2017
Pages: 369
Goodreads
three-half-stars

Daughter of immortals.
Princess Diana longs to prove herself to her legendary warrior sisters. But when the opportunity finally comes, she throws away her chance at glory and breaks Amazon law—risking exile—to save a mortal. Diana will soon learn that she has rescued no ordinary girl, and that with this single brave act, she may have doomed the world.
Daughter of death.
Alia Keralis just wanted to escape her overprotective brother with a semester at sea. She doesn’t know she is being hunted by people who think her very existence could spark a world war. When a bomb detonates aboard her ship, Alia is rescued by a mysterious girl of extraordinary strength and forced to confront a horrible truth: Alia is a Warbringer—a direct descendant of the infamous Helen of Troy, fated to bring about an age of bloodshed and misery.
Together.
Two girls will face an army of enemies—mortal and divine—determined to either destroy or possess the Warbringer. Tested beyond the bounds of their abilities, Diana and Alia must find a way to unleash hidden strengths and forge an unlikely alliance. Because if they have any hope of saving both their worlds, they will have to stand side by side against the tide of war.

Hey!
I’m finally back with yet another book review. If you follow me on Goodreads, you will know that I have had this book on my TBR list for at least a few years. Since quarantine happened, I am determined to get at least a few books off of my shelf this year. I finally got around to reading this book , so here are some of my thoughts.

I took me a while to get into the beginning of the book, which is probably why it took me so long to read and finish the book. I also have been known to get distracted by other books as well. I enjoyed the premise of the Diana meeting Alia, the warbringer and the thought that she could be from a line of Warbringers that have passed through the generations. I think that the ending was a bit far fetched and there were things from the book that seemed out of place as well.

Overall, I liked the book, but I’m not keeping it in my collection. Also I would recommend that you give the book a shot if you like any of the other books in the DC Icons series, which you can read my thoughts on the other books I have read here, and here. I am interested in reading other books by Leigh Bardugo, just to see if I would still like her writing style under different circumstances. I am also still interested in reading the last book in the DC Icons series so far, which is Superman.

I hope that you are doing well and that you enjoyed this review. Let me know if you have read this book or any other books by Leigh Bardugo and what you would recommend. I hope to see you soon with another post!

Buddhist BootCamp

7 / 9 / 207 / 5 / 20

Buddhist Boot Camp by Timber Hawkeye
Published by HarperOne on February 19, 2013
Pages: 160
Goodreads

A collection of short journal entries and letters sent to friends over the course of an eight-year journey to mindful living. Buddhism is all about training the mind, and boot camp is an ideal training method for this generation's short attention span. The chapters in this small book can be read in any order, and are simple and easy to understand. Each story, inspirational quote, and teaching offers mindfulness-enhancing techniques that anyone can relate to. You don't need to be a Buddhist to find the Buddha's teachings motivational. As the Dalai Lama says, "Don't try to use what you learn from Buddhism to be a Buddhist; use it to be a better whatever-you-already-are."
So whether it's Mother Teresa's acts of charity, Gandhi's perseverance, or your aunt Betty's calm demeanor, as long as you're motivated to be better today than you were yesterday, it doesn't matter who inspires you. Regardless of religion, geographical region, race, ethnicity, color, gender, sexual orientation, age, ability, flexibility, or vulnerability, if you do good you feel good, and if you do bad you feel bad.
Buddhism isn't just about meditating. It's about rolling up your sleeves to relieve some of the suffering in the world. If you are ready to be a soldier of peace in the army of love, welcome to Buddhist Boot Camp!

Hey!
I’m back with yet another book review and I might be getting closer to my book goals for the year. I’m also working on my physical TBR list, which is also good news.

I’ve had this book on my TBR list for a long time in both a physical and list form for a long time. Which is unfortunate because when I met Timber Hawkeye in 2016 or so I had intended on reading his book then. I had also heard him speak at a reading of his book before that too. That only brings us here to the review and reading of this book.

This book is a collection of essays that Timber Hawkeye wrote during his time in Hawaii and some of it after. I loved that each essay can stand on its own or together with several others as shown in the book. The book is broken down into chapters dealing with life and giving the reader practical advice based on the writer’s experience.

I would recommend this book for someone looking for a quick easy to read book that might be interested in Buddhism or are trying to supplement their faith a bit more.

Let me know if you have read this book or have read something similar. How are your reading goals going this year since we are now about halfway through? Are you going to make it? Did you set a reading goal for the year? I’d love to know all your thoughts. I hope to see you again soon.

The Oracle Code

7 / 7 / 207 / 2 / 20

The Oracle Code by Marieke Nijkamp, Manuel Preitano
on March 10, 2020
Format: Paperback
Goodreads
three-half-stars

The #1 New York Times bestselling author Marieke Nijkamp (This Is Where It Ends) and artist Manuel Preitano unveil a graphic novel that explores the dark corridors of Barbara Gordon's first mystery: herself.
After a gunshot leaves her paralyzed, Barbara Gordon enters the Arkham Center for Independence, where Gotham's teens undergo physical and mental rehabilitation. Now using a wheelchair, Barbara must adapt to a new normal, but she cannot shake the feeling that something is dangerously amiss. Within these walls, strange sounds escape at night; patients go missing; and Barbara begins to put together pieces of what she believes to be a larger puzzle.
But is this suspicion simply a result of her trauma? Fellow patients try to connect with Barbara, but she pushes them away, and she'd rather spend time with ghost stories than participate in her daily exercises. Even Barbara's own judgment is in question.
In The Oracle Code, universal truths cannot be escaped, and Barbara Gordon must battle the phantoms of her past before they swarm her future.

Hello Everyone!
I’m back with yet another book review. Overall this year has been a slow reading year for me, but we are still pushing through in hopes that I will be able to make it to my reading goals at the end of the year. Today’s review is on The Oracle Code. This is another book in the DC Icons series, which I have been reading through in the past year. Overall I like that YA authors are trying their hands at writing for graphic novels though there are a few out of the series that are less than stellar.

This book was an average book for me, it was overly flashy in the way they handled the story of Barbara Gordon because if you know anything about DC this story can be a bit controversial. It was a bit unpleasant that Barbara spends most of the book not being believed for how she feels about the hospital. In a stereo typical fashion it comes out with a nice ending. I hope that we get a few more graphic novels about Barbara Gordon because I would like to see what she does next.

Let me know what you have been reading lately and if you read graphic novel. I hope to see you again in another post soon! 🙂

Review: Series of Unfortunate Events

7 / 2 / 206 / 29 / 20

Hey!
It has been a minute since I wrote a tv show review here. While in quarantine or this time of social distancing , I’ve had time to catch-up on shows and alleviate my Netflix queue of some of its burden or the older ones at least.

After I finished up all the seasons of NCIS on Netflix, I needed another show to binge. Matt & I agreed to binge Series of Unfortunate Events , since it had been a minute since we watched the series. The series is actually easier to understand if you binge it all at once. We ended up binging the whole series in roughly a week. While I never did end up finishing the book series though it is on my list to read through at some point I enjoyed the series thoroughly. I found that Netflix series was much better than the movie, don’t get me wrong Jim Carrey is a good actor, but Neil Patrick Harris did a far superb job playing Count Olaf. I did see the movie in theaters and while I thought it was good, it just didn’t do the books justice.

Daniel Handler, Lemony Snicket’s real life alias has been fortunate enough to get 2 iterations of his novels brought to life. Though each episode is an hour long I found that they covered most of the in depth detail the books cover making them loveable for both children and adults. I did read that the final episode of the Netflix series does change the ending versus the ending of the books, but that is fine with me.

If you haven’t already seen this series I would highly recommend that you watch it. If you have seen the series I would recommend that you give it a rewatch during this time, it is seriously so good. There are so many songs that will get stuck in your head. Also to note if you are one of the people that like to skip intros of shows because that is an option that Netflix gives you, I would recommend not skipping these intros because that give you small snippets of what will happen in the episode and a mini wrap up of what has happened also.

I hope to see you again soon in another post!