I am the Book Queen.

So I have a couple of different posts that talk about the 2018 Reading Challenge that I set for myself, but because they are on different posts I thought I would talk about the entirety on one post.
Ok. So the gist of it was I had a lot of books on my GoodReads To Read List, and I wanted to lower that number. I set a reasonable goal of 25 books, with the intention to just read as many as possible. But I'm not good at these kinds of things without a set goal, so there you go. I chose not to count any re-reads in the official count because I kinda consider that counterproductive. But I do have an unofficial count as well. So I'm going to list, in order the books that I have read (including the re-reads, which will be noted with a r) this year. I also noticed that I forgot about a few of them so this is the complete list (as of 12/25) that I have read this year.
1. Ice by Skye Jones
2. Kiss of a Dragon by Alisa Woods
3. Written in Red by Anne Bishop
4. Amaury's Hellion by Tina Folsom (r)
5. Murder of Crows by Anne Bishop
6. The Assassin's Blade by Sarah J. Maas
7. Vision in Silver by Anne Bishop
8. Marked in Flesh by Anne Bishop
9. Etched in Bone by Anne Bishop
10. Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
11. Bound by Blood by Cynthia Eden
12. Blades of Magic by Terah Edun
13. A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas
14. Enchanter by Sara Douglass (r)
15. Deeper Than Midnight by Lara Adrian (r)
16. Darker Than Midnight by Lara Adrian (r)
17. A Touch of Midnight by Lara Adrian
18. Blood Song by Anthony Ryan
19. A Taste of Midnight by Lara Adrian
20. Darker After Midnight by Lara Adrian
21. Edge of Dawn by Lara Adrian
22. Lover Mine by J.R. Ward (r)
23. Lover Unleased by J.R. Ward (r)
24. Lover Reborn by J.R. Ward (r)
25. Legacies by L.E. Modesitt Jr. (r)
26. Darknesses by L.E. Modesitt Jr. (r)
27. Scepters by L.E. Modesitt Jr. *
28. Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris
29. The Last Hunt by Bruce Corville
30. Dime Store Magic by Kelley Armstrong
31. Industrial Magic by Kelley Armstrong
32. Day Shift by Charlaine Harris
33. Haunted by Kelley Armstrong
34. Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas
35. Broken by Kelley Armstrong
36. No Humans Involved by Kelley Armstrong
37. Personal Demons by Kelley Armstrong
38. Living with the Dead by Kelley Armstrong
39. Frostbitten by Kelley Armstrong
40. Waking the Witch by Kelley Armstrong
41. Spell Bound by Kelley Armstrong
42. Crave the Night by Lara Adrian
43. Thirteen by Kelley Armstrong
44. Bloodlines by Richelle Mead (technically a reread but I'm counting it as a initial read)
45. The Golden Lily by Richelle Mead (same as #44)
46. Bitten by Kelley Armstrong (r)
47. The Indigo Spell by Richelle Mead
48. Lover At Last by J.R. Ward
49. The King by J.R. Ward
50. The Fiery Heart by Richelle Mead
51. Silver Shadows by Richelle Mead
52. The Shadows by J.R. Ward
53. The Beast by J.R. Ward
54. The Chosen by J.R. Ward
55. Night Shift by Charlaine Harris
56. The Ruby Circle by Richelle Mead
*I technically started a book after Scepters and before Dead Ever After but I only made it like 70 pages into it in like a month and a half. I gave up reading it and moved on. Otherwise this challenge would have been completed with re-reads but not first time reads which was what I wanted to do.
So now GoodReads only has 46 books counted towards the goal of 25, so it tells me that I have completed (and exceeded the challenge) by 184%. But that's not counting 10 books, which makes the challenge 224% complete. I like that number!
Now my To Read list is still a lot (currently sitting at 73 books) but that was also because of re-reading 10 books, plus for some reason I have the yet to be released 5th and 6th books of Sarah J. Maas's A Court of Thorns and Roses series on there but not the 4th; I moved one from Currently Reading back to the To Read; all of the books by Anne Bishop where not on the list originally; and for some reason I didn't have The Fiery Heart, Silver Shadows or The Ruby Circle like I had The Indigo Spell. I also added the more recently released books from both Lara Adrian and J.R. Ward. I did however delete like 5 books because they were the continuation of L.E. Modesitt Jr.'s Corean Chronicles (Legacies, Darknesses and Scepters are 1-3 of 8) because he did a drastic perspective shift by going back in time and I had grown attached to the main character/narrator for the first three. I may return to the series in the future but not any time soon.

Priorities. Kinda.

Well I'm glad that I stopped the tv show reviews because I've been reading so much that I've gotten behind on almost all of them. The official GoodReads count is I'm currently reading 37 of 25, but because I've reread some books the actual count is 44 of 25.
I managed to shorten the number of episodes I currently have to watch by 2, watching episodes 3 and 4 of Legends of Tomorrow, but I'm still 3 episodes behind on Supergirl, Arrow and The Flash. I have 2 episodes for Supernatural, and then Monday's episodes for The Resident and Manifest. I then have the episodes airing tonight (Friday) for Midnight, Texas and Van Helsing. I am caught up on Blindspot
but that's just because there is not an episode airing this week.
More show talk. Shadowhunters has an official air date for the second half of season 3: February 25th, which means it moves to Monday night. No idea what time it is expected to air, although I expect it to be at 8pm. And well ahead of the season 6 premiere since that is set for July 2019, Marvel's Agents of SHIELD has been renewed for a 7th season, which makes me so freaking happy. It was announced about a week ago, but I'm just now making this post so :p
Now I do have Saturday off, as well as Monday and Tuesday (the 26th and 27th) so I can at least catch up a little on the shows as well as read the books because I've got books 38, 39 and 40 already on loan because I'm taking about 2-3 days on average to read a book.
So I mentioned two posts ago about the 25 books that achieve my set goal of books read, and I'll list the ones I've read since.
Book #26 was Kelley Armstrong's Broken, which is book 6 of "The Women of the Otherworld".
#27 was No Humans Involved, book 7 of "The Women of the Otherworld".
#28 was Personal Demon, book 8 of "The Women of the Otherworld".
#29 was Living With the Dead, book 9 of "The Women of the Otherworld".
#30 was Frostbitten, book 10 of "The Women of the Otherworld".

#31 was Waking the Witch, book 11 of "The Women of the Otherworld".
#32 was Spell Bound, book 12 of "The Women of the Otherworld".
#33 was Crave the Night by Lara Adrian, book 12 of "Midnight Breed".
#34 was Thirteen, book 13 (funny, right?) of "The Women of the Otherworld". Now, this completes the series, however there are books that are tangent to this series that I will read at some point.
#35 was Bloodlines by Richelle Mead which is the first in the series of the same name that follows almost immediately after the events of Last Sacrifice which is book 6 of "The Vampire Academy". Now, I had this one already checked as having been read, but I didn't remember much so I am counting this as a fresh read and therefore on the GoodReads list.
#36 was The Golden Lily, which follows Bloodlines.
#37 is The Indigo Spell, which is book 3 in the "Bloodlines" series.
#38 will be Lover At Last by J.R. Ward and is book 11 of the "Black Dagger Brotherhood" series.
#39 will be The King, which is book 12 of the "Black Dagger Brotherhood".
#40 will be The Fiery Heart, book 4 of the "Bloodlines".
Now, my library has kindle loans thing available, which all of these but Thirteen were digital loans (for whatever reason it has 1-12 of "Women of the Otherworld" but not 13 so I bought it, I know own 1, 2, and 13 for that series *insert eye roll*) and they have the next book (5) in the "Bloodlines" series as well as 13, 14, 15 and 16 of "Black Dagger Brotherhood". As well as a couple of other books that I am interested in reading.
So yeah, update.

What's Old Is New

So I've been talking a lot about books recently, and I mentioned that I was blogging about my 2015 reading challenge that I didn't complete, but I still have the list from it so I'm gonna talk about it now.

So the goal was 52 books in 52 weeks. I did not accomplish that because I stopped reading my list about half way through the year. But, I'm going to list what the prompt was and the book I had picked for said prompt as well as if I read it or not.

1. Book with more than 500 pages. I had picked Terry Goodkind's Wizard's First Rule. The first book in the Sword of Truth series, and also the book that the short TV series Legend of the Seeker was based on which is what interested me in that book. It was also a book that my brother had so I was able to read it.
2. Classic romance. Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter. I don't remember much about this book. But I read it!
3. That became a movie. I had picked Kami Garcia's Beautiful Creatures, but is still on my to-read list. I will get to it...eventually.
4. Published this year. Yeah, I never picked one.......................
5. With a number in the title. Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five was the choice and I did read it. I read it in one day, but only gave it 1 star on GoodReads.
6. Written by someone under 30. Pierce Brown's Red Rising. Which I thought was horrible. Yeah.
7. With nonhuman characters. Silvana De Mari's The Last Dragon, which I didn't get to.
8. A funny book. Apparently Rick Riordan's The Lightning Thief was a funny book, but I don't remember much other than I did read it. So....
9. By a female author. Diana Wynne Jones's Howl's Moving Castle was picked but not read.
10. Mystery/thriller. Stieg Larsson's The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo was picked but not read.
11. With a one-word title. Hermann Hesse's Steppenwolf was picked but not read.
12. Book of short stories. James Finn Garner's Politically Correct Bedtime Stories was picked but not read.
13. Set in a different country. Nicole Hadaway's Release was picked but not read.
14. Nonfiction book. Erik Lawson's The Devil in the White City. When I picked this one, I thought it sounded so interesting but it was dreadful. Just awful and dull and boring and yeah.
15. Popular author's first book. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's A Study in Scarlet was picked but not read.
16. From author you love but haven't read yet. Jodi Picoult's The Storyteller was picked but not read. And I still have not read it.
17. A friend recommended. Rachel Hartman's Seraphina was picked but not read. I don't even remember who recommended it.
18. Pulitzer prize-winning. Jeffrey Eugindes's Middlesex was picked but not read.
19. Based on a true story. Beatrice Sparks's Go Ask Alice was picked but not read.
20. At the bottom of your to-read list. Tina Folsom's Cain's Identity which is book 9 of the Scanguards Vampire Series. Which I'm pretty sure I rearranged my to-read list shortly after but who really cares. It was also one of the first ones I read that year.
21. Your mom loves. I never picked one, mainly because my mom is no longer with us, but I remember some book series that she enjoyed but I never got that far.
22. That scares you. Dan Simmons's The Terror. And I don't know if it scared me or not because it was picked but not read.
23. More than 100 years old. Jack London's White Fang was picked but not read.
24. Based entirely on cover. Nothing was ever picked.
25. Supposed to read in school but didn't. Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita which I did a paper on in college and did pretty well on for not reading it all the way through. Didn't get around to reading it this time either.
26. A memoir. Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love was picked but not read.
27. You can finish in one day. Because I read Old Man and the Sea in one day, I theorized that I could also read Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises in a day. Which I did.
28. With antonyms in the title. Jaime Ford's Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet was picked but not read. I had to google this prompt and that was the only one that sounded interesting.
29. Set somewhere you've always wanted to visit. Again with the Hemingway: A Farewell to Arms however this one was picked but not read.
30. Published the year you were born. Andrzej Sapkowski's The Last Wish, which is the first in the "Witcher" series that the video game is set after. I don't remember much about it.
31. With bad reviews. Believe it or not, but Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray had bad reviews. I enjoyed it but you know, there is always one person who complains about anything.
32. a Trilogy. JRR Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings series was picked but not read. This is why even though there is only 50 prompts, there were 52 books to read.
33. From your childhood. Bruce Coville's Dark Whispers from the Unicorn Chronicles filled this prompt. Since I didn't want to count re-reads, and a lot of the books series from my childhood I had actually finished or couldn't remember where I left off, I went with this one.
34. With a love triangle. Richelle Mead's Storm Born was picked but not read. Since I enjoyed her Vampire Academy series, which also had a love triangle, I figured I would enjoy this one too, but still haven't gotten around to reading it.
35. Set in the future. Veronica Roth's Allegiant filled this prompt. Considering I had read Divergent and Insurgent in 2013, I figured I should finish the series.
36. Set in high school. Jay Asher's Thirteen Reasons Why was picked but not read.
37. With a color in the title. Richelle Mead's The Indigo Spell was picked but not read. I had read the previous two books in the Bloodlines series, but for some reason didn't read this one. I still haven't but I plan on it.
38. That made you cry. Markus Zusak's The Book Thief was picked, but I'm not sure if it made me cry.
39. With magic. L.E. Modesitt, Jr.'s Ordermaster was picked, however I still haven't gotten to it. Oops.
40. Graphic novel. Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis was picked but not read.
41. By an author you've never read before. Rachel Vincent's My Soul to Take was picked but not read.
42. You own but have never read. Nothing was picked for this one. I now have an ample supply of ones I own but have never read.
43. That takes place in your hometown. Coreen Callahan's Fury of Fire (go Seattle!). I did accomplish this one... but haven't read any of the rest of the series. I plan on it. Just haven't yet.
44. Originally written in different language. I took this one a step further and read Antoine de Saint-Exuréy's Le Petit Prince IN FRENCH. I had started reading it Senior year of high school but hadn't finished it and it was one of the first kindle purchases I made but never got around to it until 2015.
45. Set during Christmas. David Baldacci's The Christmas Train was picked but not read.
46. Written by author with your initials. A.D. Miller's Snowdrops was what I picked and if I remember correctly I actually enjoyed this one. However, now that it is three years later I realized that Ann M. Martin, the author of the Baby-Sitters Club series, would have been exact. I counted first and last because not a lot of authors include either their middle name or initial. 
47. A play. Shakespeare's A Midsummer's Night Dream was picked but not read.
48. Banned book. Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 was picked but not read.
49. Based on or turned into a tv show*. Melissa de la Cruz's Witches of East End, which aired on Lifetime under the same name, was picked but not read. Oops.
50. You started but never finished. Dram Stoker's Dracula was picked but is still not finished.

*I did however, read Bitten and Stolen by Kelley Armstrong which are the first two books in the Women of the Otherworld series, which was turned into the SyFy show Bitten that aired for 3 years. So technically this prompt was filled, but not by what I had picked and was done after I basically called it quits on the reading challenge.

Some of these I am still interested in reading, but as I mentioned previously (at least I think I did), I want to get the books that are physically on my to-read list on GoodReads done before I get to ones that aren't on that list/ before I add more. Some, like the two by Mead and the ones by Modesitt and Goodkind are on my list so I'll get to them at some point.

Reading Challenge Has Been Completed

So.
Technically, I have read more than the 25 books I set out to read as my Reading Challenge this year, but I do not count rereads towards my number.
I want to break something down for you (if you care; if not: ignore). I'm writing these in the order that they were read, just so you know. The number count is important. Just an FYI.

The first book that I read this year (that counts to my 25 books) is Ice by Skye Jones and is the first in the Dragon Clan book series. It contained 142 pages, and was a kindle freebie. I read this basically in a day, starting it on January 17th and finishing it the 18th. Unless the succeeding books become freebies, may not read.

Kiss of a Dragon by Alisa Woods and is the first in the Fallen Immortals series was another kindle freebie that I actually managed to finish in less than 24 hours on February 17th. 280 pages. Unless the succeeding books become freebies, may not read.

Written in Blood by Anne Bishop and the first in The Others series. This was a borrow from my local library, and was 433 pages. I honestly don't remember what attracted me to this book, but I read it decently fast, starting on February 21st and finishing on the 22nd. This is the series I mentioned previous that I read but was not on my to read list on GoodReads.

Murder of Crows by Anne Bishop and book 2. Same as predecessor, library borrow of 413 pages. Read from February 24th to the 25th. This series has a very naive main character, which can be a bit of a turn off to the more mature audience, but I stuck with it.

The Assassin's Blade by Sarah J. Maas, and is the precursor for the Throne of Glass series. It is broken into 5 separate "baby stories" that are set before the Throne of Glass (title of both first book and series) that give stories behind events that are mentioned throughout the series itself. This was a kindle purchase (because Maas is a literary genius), and a 465 page delight. Started on February 25th and finished February 26th.

Vision in Silver by Anne Bishop and book 3. Same as series predecessors, page count of 493. At this point I started having trouble focusing long enough to read books, so it took a little longer. February 27th to March 1st.

Marked in Flesh by Anne Bishop and book 4. Same as series predecessors, page count of 399. Despite a lower page count, took 6 days to read. March 2nd to the 8th.

Etched in Bone by Anne Bishop and book 5. Same as series predecessors, page count of 397. I had made a note in my review when I was done that "that first 40%.....damn. It seemed to crawl slower than a sloth". From March 9th to March 27th I read this book. Obviously I read small chunks at a time, but not even 400 pages and it took me that long? Yeesh. However, there is a 6th book that was released a few months back and while I do plan on reading it, I want to get through some of the books that have been on my to read list longer than a couple of months (considering the 6th isn't even on my list yet).


Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard and is book 1 in the series of the same name. I'm pretty sure this was a library borrow, sporting 383 pages. Read from March 28th to April 7th, I noted in my review that to me it seemed to be a cross of Suzanne Collin's Hunger Games series and Pierce Brown's Red Rising series. The former I enjoyed and the latter I did not. This book I placed between the two and (when I finished) removed the second book from my to read list. This book just was not for me, and I actually almost stopped reading it because it seemed to just take too long.

Bound by Blood by Cynthia Eden was a 95 page kindle freebie. It is the first in the series crowned Bound, but unless the succeeding books are freebies as well, I will most likely not read them.  Read in less than a day on May 5th, but it was not even 100 pages so I would have been worried with myself if I hadn't. I did however, read this because I got home from work to a power outage and so I read this by candlelight...

Blades of Magic by Terah Edun and is the first book in the Crown Service series. Also a kindle freebie, a 304 page count. Now I had obtained this book around January 21st, but didn't get very far into actually reading it, like less than 10% done. So I restarted it, but didn't mark that date so it says I was reading this one longer than I actually did. Finished on May 5th. Unless the succeeding books become freebies, may not read.


A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas and is considered book 3.1 of the A Court of Thorns and Roses or ACoTaR (because that is a lot of words and also the title of the first book, which I read last year!) series. This is considered a novella, and that's why it's not book 4 of the series. The hardcover version had 229, the kindle had 272 but either way it took less than a day to read, May 8th being the day this time. The actual fourth book in the series is set to be released in 2020 and does not have a title as of yet.

Blood Song by Anthony Ryan and is book one of the Raven's Shadow. I saw the third book in a store, thought it looked/sounded interesting and thought I'd give it a try. I then forgot about it and was pretty excited when I found out my library had all three books. From May 9th to June 24th I was reading this 575 page book. Which had a strong beginning and a strong end but a terribly slow middle. I noted that I will read the following books, but want to read others first if it took me over a month to finish this one.

A Touch of Midnight by Lara Adrian and is considered book 0.5 of the Midnight Breed series. I read a good chunk of the series between 2012 and 2016 (I'm not sure of exact dates). This book is set before the first in the series, but was published after Edge of Dawn which is book 11, and contains 182 pages. A kindle borrow read in one day, June 24th to be exact. I figured since it took place before the events in the book that was technically next in order, I read this one first. I would also like to note that I re-read some of the previous books so that I could remember basic events of the series (because it's similar to another series that I have been reading too).

A Taste of Midnight by Lara Adrian and is considered book 9.5 of the Midnight Breed series, taking place between Deeper Than Midnight which is where I had left off and Darker After Midnight which was next to read. Also a kindle borrow, this one only 70 pages (geez, what's with the short novellas!) Read in one day, June 26th.


Darker After Midnight by Lara Adrian and is book 10 of the Midnight Breed series. A kindle borrow of 384 pages. This one was read from June 27th to June 29th. This one centered on a character I didn't really like, so I'm claiming that as the reason why I didn't read it lickity-split.


Edge of Dawn by Lara Adrian and is book 11 of the Midnight Breed series. Another kindle borrow of 313 pages, I got this late (if I remember correctly) on June 29th, which is when I started it, and finished on June 30th. I didn't immediately read the next in the series because it was loaned to someone else, but I will eventually get to it. In fact I recently re-ordered my to read list and it is higher up on the chain of order than previously.

Scepters by L.E. Modesitt, Jr. and is book 3 of the Corean Chronicles which I have mentioned in previous posts. I would like to mention that I re-read Legacies and Darknesses which are books 1 and 2 of the series so that I remembered what the series was about because I technically started this book in March of 2013. So because I re-read the previous 2 books, I restarted this one too, and was something like 100 pages into it. So I don't have the actual start date but I finished this on August 27th. Because this is a book I'm borrowing from my brother, it wasn't really pressing to read it in a certain amount of time. It did have 738 pages, but you'll see why that is no excuse in a bit. As I mentioned in a previous post, at this time I have no intention of reading the following books but I may change my mind again later.

Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris and is book 13 (and the final) of the Sookie Stackhouse series. A library borrow of 338 pages, I was trying to read Alector's Choice (book 4 of Corean Chronicles) but hardly made a dent so I stopped and picked this one because it was the final book of its series. Now I had watched the show that was a product of this book series first, but I did read the books. The only problem is that I watched/ read the books years ago. Surprisingly, I didn't have trouble following along with everything despite the years long gap and was read in a single day. September 25th. 

The Last Hunt by Bruce Coville and is the 4th and final book of the Unicorn Chronicles series. This series is geared more towards middle school ages, which is when I found this series and I read books 1 and 2. I found out that my local library had both 3 and 4 (and 1 and 2, but I didn't really need those...) so when I did the 2015 reading challenge, I read book 3. I basically came to the same decision as with Dead Ever After, that it was the last in the series so it made sense to just get it over and done with. This was a 605 page endeavor, and I really have no excuse as to why it took as long as it did to read, from September 27th to October 9th, other than it kept switching perspective which I'm usually not a fan of it unless it's done well. Also, Cara was my favorite character (for obvious reasons when when you first read the series and you were about the same age as the protagonist) and there was a lot where she isn't in the scene. 

Dime Store Magic by Kelley Armstrong and is book 3 of the Women of the Otherworld series. Books 1 and 2 (Bitten and Stolen) were read in 2015 after getting into the tv show that held the same name as the first book. Bitten, if I remember correctly was a freebie purchase (oxymoron right there) and I had some cash to spare so I bought Stolen shortly after. Then life happened and I didn't get any of the following books. This was a kindle borrow, as is the following books in the series. 448 pages and despite not following Elena's perspective, but Paige's (who I didn't like in the show) this one took about a week, October 9th to the 15th. Usually when a series deviates from the original perspective I have trouble especially if the original perspective (read: narrator) was one I adored. However, Armstrong did a much better job with Paige's character than the show so it wasn't too bad.

Industrial Magic by Kelley Armstrong and is book 4 of the Women of the Otherworld series. 560 pages make up this book, still in the perspective of Paige. This took from October 15th to the 20th to read, some of that was because I had spent almost all day on the 20th out with my brother because he was in town because my birthday was the 17th. Again, I enjoyed this book pretty well, Armstrong doing an amazing job with characterization and execution of the story.


Day Shift by Charlaine Harris and is book 2 of the Midnight, Texas series. Again, I found the show first, which airs on the NBC network. I read the preceding book sometime last year and figured that since the library bought the 3rd book (Night Shift) for kindle loan which I had set up to automatically put me on a waiting list for the book that I should read this one before I received notice that the third book was available for borrowing. Now despite the fact that the show airs on NBC and not HBO like True Blood did, the show was racier than the books (that is to say, I'm enjoying the show more). This 308 page book took from October 20th to October 24th. 

Haunted by Kelley Armstrong and is book 6 of the Women of the Otherworld series. This one changes perspective again, shifting to Eve. I'm not going to bore you with how every one is related to everyone, but this 528 page book was done in 4 days. October 24th to the 28th (I had borrowed Day Shift and this one at the same time, it gives you 21 days to read, and since I had both in my borrowed possession before Kingdom of Ash was released, that was my incentive to read them quickly). Which lead me to the big kahuna.

Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas and is book 7 of the Throne of Glass series. This is also the final book. I'm not going to give all the details in case anyone reading my posts are reading this series but haven't gotten to this book yet. Technically, I read this 992 page book in 2 days, October 28th to October 30th. But I worked on the 27th, 28th and 29th, so I wasn't pushing myself to read it because I knew that if I really wanted to, I could have read it in one sitting, but that wouldn't be fair on my coworker because I wouldn't have gotten any sleep from the 27th/28th and I was by myself on the 29th so that would have been a bad idea all around. However, once I got home on the 29th, I sat down and read for about 4.5 to 5 hours to finish the book. I finished this book at around 4:40am, and holy shit. If I hadn't previously though Maas was a literary genius, I would have coined her a literary God. I may still do that, because she wrapped up the story so beautifully. It didn't end how I expected based on foreshadowing she had set up in the previous books, and while there was still sad parts, it had an overall happy ending, for everyone you grew to love. (Maas also did promise that Fleetfoot, Aelin's dog, would survive the series, "the only guaranteed survivor" so she also gets points for that). I did however, cry like 10 times (or more).... but there were also moments that made you laugh so there was at least a semblance of balance between the two emotions.
Ok. So if you took the actual amount of time it took me to read this almost 1000 page book, I read it in about 12/13 hours. Of course I'm estimating, and could be off in either direction, but I can guarantee that if I had the day off of work when I first started reading this book, it would have been done in a day. That is why I mentioned above to notice page numbers. I found the Throne of Glass series in 2016, and pretty much read them as quickly as I could. I'm pretty sure I found them because Throne of Glass had been a freebie because Empire of Storms (book 5) had been recently released. Tower of Dawn (book 6) had been released in November of 2016. I was a little hesitant to read book 6 because it changed perspective and you were tortured with the knowledge of how 5 ended, knowing that 6 ran pretty much concurrently to the events of 5 (the beginning of both 5 and 6 start where 4 leaves off, merging at the end of 5 and 6 respectively, and lead into 7). But I read it, and I am hailing this series as the Best Young Adult Sci-Fi/Fantasy series ever. I don't care what others say.

So now, there are 62 days of the year left, and I'm not going to stop. My actual goal was to read as many books off my to read list as possible, but I set a reasonable goal of 25 books as something to shoot for, because often times if I don't have a set goal in mind I fail to follow through on things.
I started reading Broken which is book 7 in the  Women of the Otherworld series this morning (perspective because I haven't gone to bed yet, so October 30th) after I went to bed at like 5am and slept till noon. I am about 54% done and have already borrowed the following book for when I finish this one. At the rate I'm going, I can easily finish this series at least, with six more books in the series (there is a total of 13 books).
I also have, as I mentioned above, Night Shift which is book three of Midnight, Texas series on a wait list (which I'm now #15 of 33 on 4 copies) but I also placed Crave the Night from the Midnight Breed series on hold and I'm #1 of 1 on 2 copies.
I'm not counting my current reading material here, but I have a page count of 9820 for this year, and I'm not even done reading for my "unofficial" official reading challenge. Kingdom of Ash is the biggest book that I've read by far, at least that I remember, beating out Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by 122 pages. I do have some books on my to read list that are longer (books 3, 4, and 5 of A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin, the series Game of Thrones is based on) but I haven't read them yet (duh) so they don't count (yet). I do have one that is bigger than HP and the OotP: Stone of Tears which is book two of Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series at 979 pages but that is only a couple pages shorter than KoA.

LET THE READING GAMES, CONTINUE!!!!!!!!!!

Is this the real life? Just Fantasy?

So something that has become more popular lately is tv shows or movies that were originally books or books series or comics. Prime examples would be anything released by Marvel or DC. But there are some that are smaller scale (perspective in some cases) like Game of Thrones or Harry Potter. So I want to talk a little about books that became a media franchise.
Now the thing with transferring mediums like books to screen is that there is a lot of material to work with and utilize. One of the things as a show writer they have to consider is where to cut content. You will not always be able to completely transfer information and make it work. A scene in the book may take up an entire chapter (which can be anywhere from 2 to I've seen chapters that are 30-some pages long) may only take up about 4 minutes when done for the show or movie. Ultimately, depending on where the writers for the show/movie want that medium to go, they can either scrap the idea as unnecessary or say that it would contradict what they aim to head towards. This is seen more in movies, where they really have to condense the material down into anywhere between an hour and a half to 2.5 hours, because for some reason a 3+ hour long movie is too damn long. With shows there is a little bit more leeway, because you can stretch the arc for a few episodes or even the season if that is the way the writers choose.
The first literary series that became a media franchise (that I'm gonna talk about at least) would be The Vampire Diaries. Originally a book series that the first set, which were books 1 through 4, were released between September of 1991 and 1992. Which means this series is older than I am. Books 5 through 13 were published later, from February 2009 through May 2014. I'm not sure the exact work around, but the CW network got the green light to take this series (by author L.J. Smith) to make into a show. The show, which was franchised under the same name aired its pilot episode on September 10, 2009 and aired its finale on March 10, 2017 after 8 seasons. I read the first four books of the series before then. I'm not sure exactly when, probably around 2007 or 2008, but before the show was set to release. I never got to reading the later books, and I don't intend to, but from what I can remember the early seasons of the show stuck pretty close to the books.
I enjoyed the show when I finally got into it, around 2012-ish, up until the actress playing Elena decided to leave the show. For me, the story revolved around Elena, so without Elena the show was not what I wanted. I could be completely wrong about how true to the books they were, considering I haven't re-read the books and have become more familiar with the show.
The next series I want to talk about is The Southern Vampire Mysteries or The Sookie Stackhouse Novels by Charlaine Harris. The books were released from 2001 to 2013, with a total of 13 books. In 2008, HBO released a show titled True Blood (based on component in the books) that ran until 2014. After the airing of the show, the book series was revamped (see what I did there?) as the True Blood Series to connect the two back. Now having watched the show first, there were moments when I read the book that I had to keep reminding myself that they change stuff when adapting a novel into a movie or a show. Having the show air on HBO meant that they could get away with a bit of a darker edge to the story, because the books where pretty clean in comparison. Like sex scenes. Racy sex scenes. I have read all the books and have seen every episode and will say this: neither is better than the other. They both had their positives and negatives, and in the end the show differed pretty greatly from the books.
I have many examples that I can talk about, I actually pulled information about a lot of them so I could talk about them (I'll list them below) but now I want to switch gears slightly otherwise this post is going to be unbearably long. Not all adaptions are great.
Take The Vampire Academy for example. This book series was released from 2007 to 2010 as a young adult paranormal book. I've read the books, and they actually are pretty good. There is two series that are tangent to them, and I'm working on reading them. In 2014 a movie was released under the same name (with a secondary title of Blood Sisters) that was a box office flop. And I mean that literally. It had a box office profit of $15.4 million which was nowhere close to the budget of $30 million. They did not attempt to make a second movie. I have not watched the movie so I cannot say if they did a good job on it or not, but I have no interest in seeing it....
Another book series that didn't do well as a movie was The Mortal Instruments. The book series written by Cassandra Clare from 2007 to 2014 was turned into a movie in 2013. Named The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (which is the first book of the series) it did slightly better than Vampire Academy. Box office profit of $91 million against a $60 million budget meant that it did make a profit, but not enough to warrant a second movie. However, in 2015 ABC family gained the rights to make the book into a show, which was called Shadowhunters. It has done pretty well, but as per a previous post, when Netflix pulled funding for the show it was cancelled. It still has 12 episodes to air next year (2019) so there is that.
Another book series turn movie turn tv show is A Series of Unfortunate Events. Book series by Lemony Snicket from 1999 to 2006. A total of 13 books that the content doesn't span a large amount of time. The movie, under the same name, was released in 2004 which was an adaption of the first three books. It was successful, but ultimately they didn't continue. However, in 2017 Netflix released the show version of it, with a from the get go a three season order. Season one encompasses books 1 through 4, season 2 encompasses books 5 through 9 and season 3 (which has yet to be released, looking at 2019) which will encompass 10 through 13. This one has been considered very successful, however it is pretty difficult to measure success on something from Netflix, just because of the nature of the streaming service.
Ok. I'm gonna stop there otherwise I'm going to be writing for hours. So the list that I mentioned above:
Harry Potter series (JK Rowling): books from 1997 to 2007; films (under same name as books) from 2001 to 2011.
A Song of Ice and Fire (George RR Martin): books started in 1996, but six and seven are still forthcoming/ no official release date; HBO's Game of Thrones released in 2011 and will end next year.
Midnight, Texas (Charlaine Harris): books released 2014 to 2016; tv show on NBC under same name with second season set to air tomorrow.
The Sword of Truth (Terry Goodkind); first book released in 1994 with the most recent released this year, it made it sound like there was more in the works. A short 2 season show on ABC aired from 2008 to 2010 under the name of Legend of the Seeker.
Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins): book trilogy released 2008 through 2010 was split into four moives (the third book split into two movies) that were released 2012 through 2015.

There were obviously more, but those are ones that I enjoyed, either reading or watching or both. And that is where I'm leaving this post.

Reading Challenge.

Early this year, like around February, I noticed that because I had signed up for two email alerts for reduced priced or even free e-books, I had accumulated a collection of books that were often the beginning of a series. Which isn't a problem, one could say that it was the opposite of a problem. But when you have a GoodReads to-read list that reaches almost 100 books, many of which are parts of a series, and those aren't counting the ones I was getting as freebies. So I decided that I would challenge myself to read as many books as I could this year so that I could reduce the number of books on my to-read list. I set a reasonable goal of 25 with the intention to read as many as possible.
I mentioned in the last post about the Corean Chronicles, how I couldn't even get 100 pages into the fourth book, so I let it go for the moment. I deleted the fourth and the four following books from my list. In the time it took me to read the 80 some pages of that book, I have read Dead Ever After (which is book 13 of 13 of the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris), The Last Hunt (Book 4 of 4 in Bruce Coville's Unicorn Chronicles), and Dime Store Magic and Industrial Magic (Book 3 and 4 of 13 in Women of the Otherworld by Kelley Armstrong) and have started a fifth book: Day Shift which is book 2 in the Midnight, Texas series (also by Charlaine Harris). I'm a little under halfway done with Day Shift, but about 4.5 books in the time it takes to read 80 pages? Yeah, the book was the issue.
Now, I have read 22 of the 25 books for the goal I set, but even with deleting 5 books from the list, I still have 91 books on my two read list. And I still haven't added the freebie books I've accumulated. It also didn't help that I started a books series that wasn't on the to-read list, with another book in the series that got released recently that I haven't read yet.
I have two e-books on loan right now from my library, the already mentioned Day Shift and Haunted which is book 5 in Women of the Otherworld. I have Sarah J. Maas's Kingdom of Ash of the Throne of Glass series on pre-order which gets released tomorrow (writing this on October 22nd). I have Night Shift which is book 3 of the Midnight, Texas series on a waiting list to borrow since it was recently bought by the library for e-book lending (I'm #18 of 36 with a total of four copies) and I figured I should read book 2 before I'm next in line for 3. So I have the two loans till November 9th, Kingdom of Ash gets released tomorrow, and I'll get Night Shift sometimes soon.  So that will concludes the 25 book goal. Book 6 in Women of the Otherworld, and the remainder of the series will help lower the to-read list.

Things Change.

So two posts ago I said I was gonna do a thing and I've decided after doing it for three weeks, that I really don't want to do the thing. So I deleted the posts pertaining to that idea and I don't plan on doing it going forward. If it interested you (which from what I'm seeing, no one was; I'm talking mainly to myself at this point), sorry.

D.I.F.F.E.R.E.N.T. T.O.P.I.C.
So when my brother still lived with us before moving up near Grand Rapids, I would quite frequently borrow books from him that he had to read. Among those were The Deverry Cycle by Katherine Kerr; The Wayfarer Redemption and The Troy Games by Sara Douglass; The Saga of Recluce, The Corean Chronicles and The Imager Portfolio by L.E. Modesitt Jr.
One good thing about siblings and having similar tastes is you can read their books. Bad news is when they move away you don't have access anymore. For the Corean Chronicles, that was not a problem, because my local library has them. But they don't have the rest of the books except The Wayfarer Redemption series and just book one of another series Douglass wrote.
It had been ages since I had read the first and second books of the Corean Chronicles, so this year I re-read them so that I could familiarize myself with the world in the story (I've had the third book held "hostage" since my brother had moved out). So I borrowed the first two books from the library and read them, then moved onto book three. No big deal. I got through it, took me about a month to do so, but I did it. And then the issue arose. Book four takes you to a time before the first three. It takes you to basically the beginning of the history of the world. I had grown attached to the characters established in the first three books, and so with the sudden reverse, I had the book for a month and a half and hadn't even reached page 80. Modesitt does something similar in The Saga of Recluce but I knew that going in and he did such a wonderful job in that series that it didn't cause a problem. Although he really just jumps around in the history of the world, hence the SAGA OF RECLUCE. Recluce being the world in the story.  (I still have to read book 13 of something close to 20 but that's another issue for another day).
I finally returned the book and said that I would try to read it another time, when the character that I had grown to adore wasn't so fresh in my mind. Because I have noticed that I sometimes have trouble continuing a series when it jumps perspectives from someone I've become attached to to someone different. It normally doesn't cause this much trouble, however, for this series it did. I'll talk about one apparent exception later, at some point, if I don't forget.
So for now, ta!

Word Vomit, A Redux.

Alrighty.
Some updates: Wynonna Earp has been renewed for a fourth season on August 21st, and has two more episodes to air of the current season. Game of Thrones had a season 8 premiere set for April 21th, 2019 (I believe that's what it was) but now they are back to saying early 2019. Killjoys just concluded it's fourth season Friday, and will be airing it's series finale season 5 next summer. 
Tomorrow, September 24th, sees the return of Fox Network show The Resident which I'm excited for, as well as NBC newbie Manifest (I've also seen it titled as The Manifest but the commercials for it say Manifest).

Onto the Word Vomit, A Redux.
So I've mentioned it here very briefly about shows that have gone on for a while and are losing their potency, in passing about certain shows and how I feel about them. I'm going to expand on that idea a little further before I start doing the thingy I talked about in my last post.

So... Some of the longest running tv shows are as follows (I'm counting ones that have aired during my lifetime, just an FYI):
The Simpsons, Fox Network has aired for 30 seasons, starting in 1989 and still currently airing. I almost didn't include this one because it's an animated show, but it's a good grounding point.
Law & Order (the original one!) started airing in 1990 and ran for 20 seasons, ending in 2010 on NBC.
It's spin-off, Law & Order: SVU  (also NBC) has been airing for 20 seasons, starting in 1999 and the 20th season is actually to air soon.
NCIS (CBS) has technically been on the air since 2002, with a two episode back door pilot on the 10 season JAG (CBS), but began officially airing in 2003. Season 16 is set to air soon.
Criminal Minds (CBS) has been on the air since 2005 and will be airing it's 14th season this week, I believe (I'm behind on this show so I haven't been paying attention to air dates, I just started season 9 a few weeks back)
Supernatural, a show I currently watch (CW Network), has also been on the air since 2005 and the 14th season is set to air October 12th.

Why did I feel it necessary to mention those?
1. I have watched a least a few episodes of each of those shows (with the exception of The Simpsons)
2. So I have some points of reference when I continue the line of thought for this post
3. Yeah, that's all I got.

Crime dramas, like both Law & Order series, Criminal Minds, NCIS and it's two spin-offs, they have a longevity due to the nature of the show. Crime is something that will probably go on until the end of the world. Therefore it can be replicated into a tv show super easy, and therefore they will always have new material to work with. Plus as there are real life developments in science and forensics, those shows can adapt and boom, more new material.
However, supernatural element shows, like Supernatural, Charmed (both the original and the reboot), any show that can be classified as Science Fiction (SciFi), they have a more limited pool to pull ideas from. It will get to the point where there is overlap between shows and you'll find they pull mythologies in different directions.
Let's take vampire folklore for example. In Buffy the Vampire Slayer, vampires can not stand direct sunlight (although they can be outside in shade and not be affected, but certain times they show them being exhausted by it), but in The Vampire Diaries they have something called Daylight rings that allows them to walk in the sunlight. In True Blood, they don't have Daylight rings, but if they drink Faerie blood they are able to walk in sunlight as long as that blood is in their system. In all three of these, vampires are not seen as brainless beings, like in Van Helsing, but intelligent beings capable of human interaction. In some vampires are known to the public (True Blood), while in others they hide their existence (Buffy and The Vampire Diaries). In The Vampire Diaries as long as the vampire has blood in their system they can stomach human food, in True Blood it will make them violently sick, and in Buffy it just isn't a thing; they avoid situations that would cause the fact that they don't eat to be noticed (although smoking is apparently a different thing).  
And that's just with one mythical creature. Fairies (also Faerie, Fae), werewolves, wendigos, witches, zombies, demons, for every mythology that there is out there, there are versions for the creatures that the show can utilize how they see fit. It creates a lot of confusion when you watch multiple shows and have to keep straight how one reacts in each scenario. In one, werewolves may have sensitivity to silver, in others nothing.
But it's not even just the ones that rely on supernatural elements for the story. Superhero shows also have a limited pool to pull their storylines from.
So. Reason I'm bringing up this very long winded post:
Supernatural, Arrow, and The Flash (all CW shows) I feel have long past stayed their welcome.  For Supernatural, after fourteen seasons, they just can't keep coming up with a bigger bad that is worse than the previous season big bad. I'll be honest, after the devil, who in most theologies is the worse being to walk the earth, there shouldn't be a bigger bad guy than Lucifer himself! Yet that was the big bad in season 5! The writers have managed to go around that a bit by having a world ending crisis in loo of a big bad, but they are still trying to one-up previous seasons. I honestly feel (and I've mentioned this previously) that they are grasping for straws so the network can milk the show for all it can before they cancel it. There will get to a point where they either contradiction previous season so horribly, or they will have to kill off the main characters (FOR GOOD THIS TIME) and do a soft reboot like ABC's Once Upon a Time did and hope it holds. I'm not holding out for the second because they tried to do a spin-off (Wayward Sisters) that held no traction.
In Arrow, like I mentioned previously, they wrapped up the Lian Yu storyline which was a major factor in the first four seasons. They did flashbacks to show the "missing" time for Oliver before his return to Starling City (later Star City) and as explanations for why this playboy who had no sense of responsibility suddenly can shoot a bow and arrow, can disarm bombs (I think he disarms a bomb at one point...) and fight like a master. But then they stopped doing flashbacks (because you can only stretch 5 years so far and make it realistic) and started focusing on the next step, but there is only so far you can go beyond that with something of this nature. 
In The Flash, there is just a remarkable about of "Rinse, Repeat". The first season: Barry Allen is the fastest man alive, but wait a minute! No he isn't. He works on it, reclaims that title and beats the bad guy for the season. Season two: Barry Allen is the fastest man alive, but gotcha! No he isn't . He works on it, reclaims that title and beats the bad guy for the season. Season three: Barry Allen is the fastest man alive, but hold on! No he isn't. He.................do I really have to continue?  They have followed the same story line for the past four seasons. Season 5 is set to air October 9th and I have my fingers crossed that they don't repeat the same thing, again. Yes, Barry Allen learns new things about his powers in the process, they do have some plot points for "secondary, supporting characters" but again, there is only so much you can do with this. Because at some point the character is going to deal with shit that causes them not to be able to continue down the path they are: a life-threatening illness or injury, no one being stupid enough to go up against some one who has saved the city countless times (regardless of how long it took them to defeat the bad guy). I read somewhere for starting writers that the main character shouldn't always be able to defeat the bad guy, that they should struggle and have things that they can't come back from.  And The Flash writers are not following that advice. I would, personally, also like to see more from Caitlin Snow and Cisco Ramon. The writers kinda shot Iris West-Allen (she marries Barry in the fourth season) in the foot by making her very unlikable.

So very long story short (and also not what I wanted to talk about but I got sidetracked and ranted): is that sometimes long running shows don't deserve the long running status. They should be allowed to live a short life and be cancelled before large portions of the fans start to detest the show. The fans should be able to say that they were happy with where the story went and how it ended, not that it should have ended at this point and not five, six, seven seasons later. 

Plan of Attack....

So. Because I really have nothing better to do, this fall I plan on (and will attempt to follow through with, we'll see how this goes) writing a weekly post about the shows that I watch and a reaction to the episode, without giving any spoilers. I may do it differently, but I will attempt to at least post once a week (if I follow that idea it will be on Saturdays).

To give you an idea of what I will be posting about (and so you don't have to look at my older posts (not that there are many at this point) I will list for you the ones that will be airing during the Fall 2018 season, many of which will be continuing through to what is considered the Winter 2019 season (usually April or May 2019). I already know that some are going to have shorter seasons and therefore most likely will not continue past December, and I have two shows in particular that won't start until the New Year, but I will make a note of those when appropriate.

Without further ado, the Fall 2018 season shows that I will be watching.

Sunday
Staying at the 8 o'clock hour but moving to Sundays, Supergirl (CW network) makes it's season four debut October 14th. I felt that this show held it's own for it's third season, but like the other shows that air on the CW, it may tank this season or may be stronger than previous.

Monday
Since Supergirl moved to Sunday, the CW show Arrow will be taking the 8 o'clock spot. The season seven debut is October 15th. I felt that this show was losing it's potential, and pretty quickly. The writers wrapped up the whole Lian Yu story line a few seasons ago, and the story to me just fell flat. It has gotten to be repetitive and quite frankly: boring. I will try to stick with this one, but this show may just join a short list of shows that I've abandoned because it just wasn't enjoyable any more.

Airing concurrently to that, on the Fox network is returning show The Resident. While the first season was short--only 13 episodes-- I have not seen how many this second season, set to debut September 24th, is expected to have. All I know is that they have a lot of potential coming off a strong first season, this medical drama has amazing actors in the spotlight and a lot of room for growth.

In the 9pm slot is another CW hit Legends of Tomorrow. Season four debuts October 22nd, so quite a bit later than the other CW shows, this show is expected to only have 16 episodes, dropping 2 from last season. It could be an indication of a couple of things (in my opinion): a) that the show isn't going to be around much longer or b)that they are keeping the seasons short so they have more flexibility with the story writing. Or c) they just like making this short so they have more air time for other shows.

New to air in the 10pm slot on NBC is Manifest. Set to debut also on September 24th, this new drama is about a flight that disappeared, only to reappear five years later to everyone but those on the plane. To those on the flight, it was only the time of the flight. It is bringing Josh Dallas from Once Upon a Time (ABC, which ended it's final season back in April), so I'm pretty excited about that, but also the premise behind it just sounds interesting. We'll see on this one!

(In case you haven't noticed, Monday is going to be pretty packed.) 

Tuesday
Airing at 8pm is the CW show The Flash. Returning for its season five on October 9th, I'm not really sure that this will be one that I continue. Much like Arrow, which this show is a branch off of, I just feel like the story line is repetitive and that there is not much that they can do differently. It's gotten to the point were you can easily guess what is going to happen. And to a degree that's a good thing. But when you can guess pretty much what is going to happen when you weren't really paying attention.... yeah.

Also airing at 8pm, but not until sometime in 2019, is the Freeform supershow Shadowhunters. Which sadly will be airing the final 12 episodes of the third season, which was deemed the final season because Netflix pulled it's funding of the show (which I am still very bitter about). They released sometime in the past two days the titles for the final two episodes, which are "Alliance" and "All Good Things..." and I may have teared up a bit upon reading that. Freeform however, has not released exact dates for when the final episodes will air, but I will update that info when I happen upon it. I also fully expect to cry when the finale actually airs.

Wednesday
I do have one show airing at 9pm on Wednesday, The Magicians on the SyFy network, but again this one will not air until sometime in 2019. If it follows suit with the third season, it will air from January to April with 13 episodes, but even the number of episodes hasn't been confirmed to the public yet (at least that I've seen). So more on that when I have more information.

Thursday
Airing at 8pm on the CW, is returning Supernatural. Once my favorite show, this milk cow of a show is airing its fourteenth (FOURTEENTH) season starting October 11th. Recapping previous posts of mine, this show has been airing since 2005, and I feel like they've done all they can with the show, but because they can market the crap out of it, they keep renewing the show even though the initial brain behind the story felt the natural end to it was season 5. This one may also join the short list of shows that I've stopped watching if they continue on the way they have.


Airing at 9pm on the SyFy network is returning show Van Helsing. However, this show does not have a definitive start date as of the time I'm writing this (which is 11pm on Sept. 2nd). It was confirmed however, that the third season will contain 13 episodes. I will keep you updated as I find out more.


Friday
Airing at 8pm on NBC is returning champ Blindspot. Its fourth season debut is scheduled for October 12th, but they haven't released much information about it that I can find (not that I'm looking very hard but still...). I felt that the third season had a bit of a rocky start, but they recovered well and I look forward to the upcoming season.

Airing at 9pm also on NBC is sophomore show Midnight, Texas. Based on a book series by Charlaine Harris (the brain behind the Sookie Stackhouse novels, which HBO's True Blood was based on), this show originally aired during the Summer of 2017 but was moved to the Fall schedule with a debut of October 26th. So I'm hoping that means the season will be longer than the 10 episode first season, but I haven't found anything that gives an expected episode count for the second season.

That is it for those types of shows. If you recall from earlier posts, there were two more shows that I was on the lookout for, TNT drama Good Behavior and WGN's Bellevue. Both of which were neither confirmed for a renewal or for cancellation. However, unless I hear something about either one, they are most likely going to be swept under the rug by their respective networks.

I do have two Netflix shows that I will be looking out for, Marvel's Jessica Jones and A Series of Unfortunate Events. However both of those will most likely not be out until sometime next year.

ABC's Marvel's Agents of SHIELD will not return until July 2019 for a shorter season, but I will update on that as I learn more about it.

So until then, TA!

Edit on 9/16/18:
The SyFy network finally announced that Van Helsing will air on Friday nights at 10pm starting October 5th. However, they have not released the episode title or anything else as of 9/16. 

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOKS.

So I want to talk about something different today.

And that something would be books.

As of right now, on my GoodReads account, I have 100 books on a to-read list, with 3 listed as currently reading.
Actively reading is Anthony Ryan's Blood Song, which is the first in a trilogy titled "A Raven's Shadow". This book had a great start, but has started to dwindle (on page 399 of 575) and drag on. But the book is due back to the library on the 30th of this month so that is my motivation to finish it. So there is that.
Way back when, I started George R.R. Martin's A Clash of Kings which is the second book in the "A Song of Fire and Ice" series. I am a little shy of half way done with that book, but I don't remember what happened and since I had binge-watched the show, the events of the show blurred together and it would probably be wise to reread the first book so that I have the events of the books separate from the show.
And bear with me, but my brother and I have similar tastes in reading materials. When he was still living here with us, I would sneak in his room and steal the book that was next in the series. Well he is now 2ish hours away and I can't drive right now and a 2ish hour drive for a book is a tad ridiculous anyway. So. I have his copy of Sceptors by L.E. Modesitt Jr. held hostage (which is the third book), but I don't remember what has happened enough to feel comfortable just jumping into it, so I borrowed the first two books in the series from the library so that I can reread them and then move onto Sceptors. I also have my brother's copy of Ordermaster which is interesting in how Modesitt writes the "Saga of Recluce" series, and seeing as they read as a history of a nation instead of following just one person or group of people, I wanted the preceding book Wellspring of Chaos as well as the following (which is not following chronologically) Natural Ordermage. But seeing as that is a borrow from my brother and not the library I can hold those three hostage technically indefinitely.

But the other thing is I also have a bunch of books that I've gotten for cheap or free on my kindle that I have not added to my GoodReads list. So at the beginning of the year I pledged to read as many books this year as I can to lower the list of to-read books. I set a realistic goal of 25 books (basically 2 books a month plus one more), and to date I am one book ahead of schedule because it doesn't count them until I mark the book as completed. I also am not counting rereads, although they technically count on GoodReads. If I counted them, I would be much closer to the goal of 25 books. Part of the problem is that I do not have a job that allows me enough money to buy the books myself so that I do not have them in either print or on my kindle, and not all of the books on my list are available to be borrowed from my local library. Another part is that a lot of the books are part of a series, and for a good chunk of them I haven't read the preceding book in a while so I don't remember what has happened and therefore I would feel better rereading at least the most recent book to familiarize myself again with the plot lines and characters and the relationships between characters. Another point is that a few of the book series I'm reading are still on going so the authors are releasing books which then adds to the number of books on my to-read list just by being part of something I'm already reading.

The other, more frustrating part of the problem? I don't want to read. I just want them to have been read. Like, I love to read. I full on call myself a lover of books and reading, but I just don't have the patience right now to sit down and just read a 575 page book like I use to. Back in 2007 or 2008 I read the book East by Edith Pattou, which is 498 pages, in like 6 hours. I am not kidding. I got home from school, took care of our dogs, started reading, took a small break to feed our dogs and cat, and didn't stop until I was reading the last word. At like 9pm. I would have gotten home at around 3pm. I just want to be able to do that again.
Now Sarah J. Maas's A Court of Frost and Starlight was released earlier this year and I full on read that in one sitting, a few days after it was released, but that was also only 229 pages and I absolutely adore both of Maas's series ("A Court of Thorns and Roses" and "A Throne of Glass") so that has something to do with it. 

I kinda wish I had the patience to just sit and read right now, but as it is I can't even do that with books I genuinely want to read. Like I was stoked that the library has all three books of Anthony Ryan's series, and I started off strong, but now I'm just lagging. Uggh. 

A Charmed Life

From October 1998 to May 2006, on the WB network aired a show called Charmed. Starring Shannon Doherty (who was later replaced by Rose McGowen in the fourth season onward), Holly Marie Combs and Alyssa Milano as sisters with magical powers that fight the forces of supernatural evil.
I absolutely loved this show. From the first episode to the final episode, this show was brilliant. Charmed was considered to be a cult classic, doing an amazing job holding its own against shows on the big four networks (ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox) for its 8 season run. It not only had the supernatural element that I adore, but it did also include a family element that brought the story together. I own all 8 seasons on DVD, I dressed up as Piper (Holly Marie Combs) for Halloween one year, and I had an English project themed for the show. I found this show at a time were I was struggling in life, and honestly it helped me in ways that I couldn't even explain at the time. I would not be were I am today if not for this show.

The WB network is now defunct, having merged with UPN (United Paramount Network) to create the CW network that is known today. Supernatural, another show that I watch that is similar in genre to Charmed, originally aired on the WB for 2 seasons and is still airing on CW.  When the CW announced this year its lineup for the 2018-2019 season, it announced that they were rebooting Charmed. From what I understand, they have 3 young women coming back together after the death of their mother with the emergence of supernatural powers. There are some differences, such as the initial sisters have one half-sister right off the bat, whereas in the original the half-sister was brought in after Doherty left the show on some not so nice terms. There are also some other differences, bringing the more modern dynamics (one of the sisters is a lesbian this time around) to the show.

Why am I bringing this up? The original show ended in 2006. At this point, 12 years ago. I do not feel that a reboot is necessary at this time. There are still people who enjoyed the original show still out there, myself being one, and therefore the reboot is too soon coming. I can understand rebooting a show that has been off the air for 30 or more years, but 12? Just a little (or you know, a lot) too soon.

YES.

MARVEL'S AGENTS OF SHIELD HAS BEEN RENEWED FOR A SIXTH SEASON.

I COULD NOT BE HAPPIER! Although it has been renewed for a shorter (13 episodes) season and will not air until Summer 2019. Which I'm wagering is due to Infinity War and Avengers 4 (which is still not yet named due to the revealing nature of the name, or so it was said) and therefore they can either do a reaction to what has happened in Infinity War and what will be resolved in A4, or they are just making it so that they don't cause too much conflict between the two (the movies and the show). They kept the plot of Thor: The Dark World at least tangent in the show, and there was a brief (very brief, like two seconds) mention of IW in Option Two. But they haven't really haven't done much to keep the two connected since the first season other than the Sif episode they did.

Not what I planned on talking about but word vomit is word vomit. (And I got excited, again)

What I wanted to talk about is this: since the announcement, only three of my shows still have not been confirmed either way. Good Behavior, Bellevue and Shadowhunters. I really feel like Shadowhunters is too soon to say, simply because they are splitting up the third season like they did the second, and the final two episodes of 3A air tonight (May 15th) and I believe the remaining 10 episodes are to air in the fall. So we will see about that later.

SO all things considered, only 2 of my shows were cancelled: Once Upon a Time and Quantico. Both air (soon to be aired) on the ABC Network.

NBC also announced that Midnight, Texas will air in the fall, not summer for season 2, and will follow Blindspot on Friday night. Which means I will only have two shows airing this summer: Killjoys and Wynnona Earp, which will air concurrently for two weeks with Quantico (at least as long as they don't have any gaps in the release schedule).

Networks Cleaning House

for the last few hours, I've been obsessively watching as a good chunk of the remaining shows with undetermined fates are being announced as renewed, or cancelled.

So. A list of shows that have been announced one way or the other.
Speechless, ABC. Renewed.
The Detour, TBS. Renewed.
Taken, CBS. Cancelled.
Lucifer, Fox. Cancelled.
The Exorcist, Fox. Cancelled.
Designated Survivor, ABC. Cancelled.
Quantico, ABC. Cancelled.
Great News, NBC. Cancelled.
Splitting Up Together, ABC. Renewed.
Alex, Inc; ABC. Cancelled.
How to Get Away With Murder, ABC. Renewed.
American Housewife, ABC. Renewed.
iZombie, CW. Renewed.
Fresh off the Boat, ABC. Renewed.
For the People, ABC. Renewed.
Station 19, ABC. Renewed.
The Crossing, ABC. Cancelled.
Deception, ABC. Cancelled.
Kevin (Probably) Saves the World, ABC. Cancelled.
Marvel's Inhumans, ABC. Cancelled.
Ten Days in the Valley, ABC. Cancelled.
Rise, NBC. Cancelled.

20 some shows have been cancelled as of today. Including Quantico, which has only aired 3 of it's 13 episodes for it's 3rd season (I'm mentioning this one specifically because it's the only one I watch from that list).

Okay. So instead of recapping all the shows I watch, here's the updated list from the last time I posted.

Good Behavior, TNT, still no word on if renewed or cancelled.
The Resident, Fox, renewed.
Shadowhunters, Freeform, no word on if renewed or cancelled, although the second half of the 3rd season is airing later in the year so it may be a while before we hear definitively.
Bellevue,  WGN America, still no word however it is looking like it may be cancelled.
 Marvel's Agents of SHIELD, ABC, no word on if renewed or cancelled. I'm particularly worried about this one because ABC cancelled the other Marvel show, and as previously mentioned it was  almost not renewed for a 5th (the current) season. The penultimate episode airs tonight with the season finale next week. However, there is a new Marvel show, Cloak and Dagger, that will be airing on Freeform so it's possible ABC will keep this one to combat that. (Or you know, potentially shopped to Freeform [fingers crossed]). The reason I say that is because Agents of SHIELD and Shadowhunters are my two favorite shows right now.
I will say this though: I was happy to hear Blindspot be renewed for a 4th season.

UPDATE!!!!

Mainly so that I stop thinking about Avengers: Infinity War, which thanks to a coworker I was able to see it last night! Because I don't want to spoil anything other than saying it was amazing and I may have cried.

So. Full list of shows I watch currently:

Good Behavior. Airs on TNT, the second season aired October 15th, 2017 to December 17th, 2017 for 10 episodes. No word yet on if renewed or cancelled.

Supergirl. Airs on CW, the third season is currently airing. Potentially ending this season in June due to a hiatus so that Legends of Tomorrow could air the second half of its third season with the introduction of Black Lightning. Already renewed for a 4th season.

Legends of Tomorrow. Airs on the CW, the third season aired October 10th, 2017 to April 9th, 2018. Already renewed for a 4th season.

The Resident. Airs on Fox, the first season started January 21st, 2018. As of right now (the time I'm posting this) there are 13 episodes. Not yet renewed or cancelled.

Shadowhunters. Airs on Freeform, the third season is currently airing having started March 20th, 2018. There are 20 episodes this season. Not yet renewed or cancelled.

The Flash. Airs on the CW, the fourth season is currently airing, with a season finale of May 22nd. Already renewed for a 5th season.

Bellevue. A Canadian show that airs on WGN America in the US. The first season had 8 episodes, airing from February 20th to April 10th 2018. Not yet renewed or cancelled.

The Magicians. Airs on the SyFy network, the third season finished airing April 4th, 2018. Has been renewed for a 13 episode 4th season (like the previous 3) set to air in 2019.

Supernatural. Airs on the CW, the 13th season is currently airing with a season finale set for May 17th. Already renewed for a 14th season.

Arrow. Airs on the CW, the 6th season is currently airing with a season finale set for May 17th. Already renewed for a 7th season.

Van Helsing. Airs on the SyFy network, the second season aired from October 5th, 2017 to January 4th, 2018 for a 13 episode season. Already renewed for a 13 episode third season.

Quantico. Airs on ABC, the third season just started airing (April 26th), and will have 13 episodes. Not yet renewed or cancelled, although it literally just started, so it has plenty of time to either sink or swim.

Blindspot. Airs on NBC, the third season is currently airing with a season finale set for May 18th. Not yet renewed or cancelled.

Once Upon a Time. Airs on the ABC network, the 7th season is currently airing with a series finale set for May 18th. Cancelled in February 2018.

Agents of SHIELD. Airs on ABC, the fifth season is currently airing with a season finale set for May 18th. Not yet renewed or cancelled.

Midnight, Texas. Airs on NBC, the first season aired from July 24th, 2017 to September 18, 2017. Was renewed for a second season February 14th, 2018, yet no word on when the second season will air.

Killjoys. A Canadian show airing on the SyFy network, the third season aired June 30, 2017 to September 1st, 2017. Has been renewed for a 10 episode 4th season to air in 2018, and a 10 episode 5th season which will end the show (presumably in 2019 but that could change between now and then).

Wynonna Earp. Airs on the SyFy network, the second season aired June 9th, 2017 to August 25, 2017. Has been renewed for a third season, set to air in 2018.

Game of Thrones. Airs on HBO, the seventh season aired July 16, 2017 to August 27th, 2017. Has been renewed for a final 8th season, set to air in 2019.

Jessica Jones. Airs (if you can call it that) on Netflix as a Netflix Original. The second season was released on March 8th, 2018. A third season was ordered about a month later. No word yet on when that will be released.

A Series of Unfortunate Events. Also a Netflix Original. The second season was released March 30th, 2018. Previously renewed for a third season in April 2017, most likely going to be the last season (but not officially in my opinion until stated so).

Prison Break. Airs on Fox. A 9 episode 5th season "revival" aired April 4th, 2017 to May 30th, 2017. Was officially announced that a sixth season was "in early development" on January 4th, 2018. However, no word that a cursory search reveals tells you more than that.

Ok. Reiterating what I've said in previous posts.
I was not expecting Arrow, Supernatural or the Flash to be renewed (they were). I really feel like the network is milking these for all they are worth, despite losing the potency they orginially had.
I was expecting Once Upon a Time to not be renewed (which it wasn't).
I was expecting the Magicians to be renewed (which it was).
I really want Shadowhunters, Agents of SHIELD and Blindspot to be renewed (no word yet on any). The Resident is a newcomer that honestly could go either way, but I enjoy it and will be delighted if it is renewed.  
Bellevue was good in my opinion, but it is slightly out of the realm of comfort for most people despite it being similar to Criminal Minds or any of the CSI or NCIS shows.  
Legends of Tomorrow was the one CW show I really wanted to be renewed, and it was, but Supergirl still has time to make a mess of its plot but was renewed with the other CW shows.
Quantico just started airing, so no opinion on it yet other than I liked the premiere.
Jessica Jones, I feel, lost some of its momentum but was still pretty enjoyable, mainly because I like the gritty way Krysten Ritter plays Jessica.  
A Series of Unfortunate Events is pretty damn accurate to the books, at least what I can remember because it's been a while since I read them, and therefore it is super enjoyable. 

I guess that's all for now.

PEACE.

Rehash.

So. Related to my previous post.

All of the shows I actively watch:

Legends of Tomorrow, The Flash, Shadowhunters, Supernatural, Arrow, Blindspot, Once Upon a Time, and Agents of SHIELD.

Also: A Series of Unfortunate Events, The Magicians, Supergirl, Quantico, Jessica Jones, Van Helsing, Midnight Texas, Killjoys, Wynonna Earp and Game of Thrones.

First:
1. The Magicians just finished their 3rd season, and has already been renewed for a 4th.
2. Supergirl has been on hiatus so that Legends of Tomorrow could air the second half of their 3rd season since the introduction of Black Lightning (which I do not watch). Supergirl returns April 16th.
3. Quantico returns for a 3rd season on April 26.
4. Jessica Jones' 2nd season was released to Netflix early March, yet as far as I know there has been no news on a 3rd.
5. Van Helsing aired in Fall of 17 with 13 episodes and has already been renewed for a 4th season. Which will probably also have 13 episodes and will air Fall of 2018.
6. Midnight Texas, Killjoys and Wynonna Earp are supposed to air sometime this summer. Midnight Texas had a really late renewal (like February 14th, 2018) for a 2nd season, so that may be delayed a tad. Killjoys had previously been renewed for a 4th and 5th season, which is going to be the last. Wynonna Earp was renewed for a 3rd season, but nothing beyond that.
7. A Series of Unfortunate Events has already been confirmed for 3 seasons, the first season adapted the first 4 books, the second season books 5 through 9, and the third season the remaining 4 books. I doubt they will do anything after that because that's where the books end.
8. Game of Thrones has already been renewed for an 8th season which will air in 2019, although this will be the last season. 

Second. (And the main reason I'm writing this)
On April 2nd, The CW network announced that they are renewing the bulk of it's current lineup. This includes (just the ones I watch) Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow, The Flash, Arrow and Supernatural. Now, in case you actually read my previous post but don't remember, I was not expecting The Flash, Arrow and Supernatural to be renewed. Legends of Tomorrow has brought it to the table every week and therefore that was awesome. Supergirl hasn't aired since February 5th so that one is up in the air as far as I'm concerned.
I will say that Supernatural brought it to the table last week with the "Scoobynatural" episode. But that is because I loved Scooby-Doo and they did an awesome job with that episode. Just like they did an amazing job with the "Ask Jeeves" (Season 10) Clue episode.

Shadowhunters (Freeform) is 3 episodes (of 20) into their 3rd season, so it may be too soon to tell about a renewal from this show, but they are doing a fantastic job and have come far from the 1st season.

Blindspot brought some twists and turns to the 3rd season, including a 18 month jump in time from where season 2 ended and 3 began. But overall, I am enjoying this season and would be sad if it is not renewed for a 4th season. (Hint, hint NBC).

Once Upon a Time (ABC) has already been announced to have not be renewed for an 8th season, although I'm really excited because they are at least bringing Emma (Jennifer Morrison) for the final episode, which is titled "Leaving Storybrooke".

Agents of SHIELD was almost not renewed for a 5th season, and well, they pulled all the bells and whistles this season. The fact that it was almost not renewed pissed me off because this is one show that I enjoy every time. Granted there are some plot lines that I did not enjoy, but the long term plot has been amazing. The characters and story telling really make this show what it is. This show is a prime example of the kind of stories that I love. I really hope ABC renews this for a 6th season, because they are doing an amazing job and I love this show to pieces. The fans brought Coulson back, just see what happens if they cancel this show.


Although when they announced the CW's renewals of almost all shows, that it was early renewals so we still have a while before other networks announce the remainder of the shows that have not yet been confirmed either way.

Word Vomit.

So....

In case anyone was subscribed to this (which I don't think anyone was) you may notice something. I recently deleted all my old posts, some because they involved stuff that I am not apart of any more, others because it was just nonsense and I felt that it wasn't important anymore. I also realized that I had not posted in almost 3 years, yeah. Sorry about that. Although to be honest, I was posting about a 2015 reading challenge that I stopped because life got hectic. Not that life isn't hectic anymore....


Regardless.

I am writing this post today to word vomit and get my mind off some things that are stressing me out and honestly upsetting and frustrating.

So.

At this point in time, I am currently watching 8 shows. I have one that is returning this month, one returning when one currently airing ends for the season, one picking back up at the end of April, 3 that will be returning sometime this summer and one that won't be returning until Summer of 2019. An additional one that ended in December has been renewed already for the fall schedule. There is also one that just ended with its fate undetermined at this point.

Currently airing (in order of airing): Legends of Tomorrow (CW), The Flash (CW),  The Magicians (SyFy), Supernatural (CW), Arrow (CW), Blindspot (NBC), Once Upon a Time (ABC), and Agents of SHIELD (ABC). Shadowhunters (Freeform) returns March 20th, and Quantico (ABC) returns late April. Supergirl (CW) will return once Legends ends this season.

I want to talk about these for the sole purpose of expressing thoughts I've had regarding the shows.

Legends of Tomorrow, Mondays at 8pm. 3rd Season.
So I really like this show. It is a superhero show involving time travel. Part 3 of 4 for the Arrowverse. In all honesty, my favorite right now. Between the cast, the plot lines, and just the content, this show brings it to the table every week, at least since the return from winter break. The earlier episodes of this season where good, but the second half is better in my opinion. Moving on.

The Flash, Tuesdays at 8pm. 4th Season.
Part 2 of 4 for the Arrowverse. For me, The Flash has lost a lot of its momentum. Seasons 1 and 2 were pretty good, 3 was decent but 4 is really lack luster.  And don't get me wrong, certain episodes were awesome, but they are few and far between. I have not been enjoying the second half of this season as much as I would like. I feel like the writers are grasping at straws at this point and therefore the story just seems forced to me. I would not be surprised if this show is not renewed for a 5th season; but if it is, I may find this to be one of my discontinued shows.

The Magicians, Wednesdays at 9pm. 3rd Season.
When I first started watching The Magicians, I thought it was a little weird and out there but interesting. Second season held steady and the storytelling was phenomenal. Third season has picked up just a tad, but is just as amazing as the previous two. From the story telling to the cinematography to the cast, this show is a well rounded machine. Already renewed for a 4th season, I will continue to enjoy this wild roller coaster of a ride.

Supernatural, Thursdays at 8pm. 13 Season.
Well. My once favorite show has slipped into the 4th or 5th position. I feel like this show has greatly distanced itself from it's starting point. Which is what most shows do as they get higher up in season count. But this show started as the story of two brothers, traveling and fighting supernatural creatures. In an attempt to keep the interest of the fans, the show writers has tried to create a bigger bad guy each season. As a result, I'm just not enjoying this show like I use to. I think part of this has to do with multiple changes in head writer for the series, and a certain focus on a character that I feel shouldn't have been keep around this long (I'm not naming names because I'm not). I truly believe that this show has drifted so far from where it started, the premise of the show, that I am finding myself rolling my eyes more often than I am enjoying the episode. I, honestly, will be surprised if it is renewed for a 14th season.

Arrow, Thursdays at 9pm. 6th Season.
Part 1 of 4 of the Arrowverse. When I started watching this show, I adored the flashbacks that were used to explain stuff happening in the present day. However, now that the show has reached it's 6th season, they haven't done as many flashbacks as previous seasons, and I have to say, I miss them. I feel like the character arches that could be played have already been exhausted and therefore this season isn't as enjoyable as previously. Again, I'd be surprised if this one is renewed, but if it is, I may not be watching it.

Blindspot, Fridays at 8pm. 3rd Season.
Another relatively out there show, but this one is amazing. I do feel like there was too much of a time jump between the second and third season, but they recovered from well. I do see this show not having many more seasons, simply because they are already stretching the characters and plot, and I'm not sure how much more they can do without stepping into the realm of insanely impossible. But I continue to enjoy the show week after week, so there's that.

Once Upon a Time, Fridays at 8pm. 7th Season.
So. I'm paraphrasing now from a tumblr post I made a few weeks back. Going into season 7, I knew that a good chunk of the main cast would not be returning, for reasons that we the viewers don't need to know. Actor's choice or whatever. The reason I'm bringing this up? One of the non-returning cast members? My favorite character. I was willing to at least stick around for a few episodes, which turned into the entire first half of the season. But it wasn't the show that made me fall in love with fairytales again, so I was kinda watching it just to say I was still watching it. Back in February it was announced that this season would be the final season. Which I kind of expected to be honest. Sticking with it in hopes that they maybe bring the originals back for the finale.

Agents of SHIELD, Fridays 9pm. 5th Season.
So easily one of my favorite shows. This show also stretches the realm of possibility but I enjoy this one so much. I will be heartbroken if this show gets cancelled. The cast, story telling, characters, everything is just amazing. I'm definitely enjoying this show more than some of the other shows I'm watching combined.

So there will maybe be more. May be not.

Toodles.