Rather exhausted…

What a week it has been. I started working my second job, as well as a new study. A lot of new impressions, and I have found myself rather tired in the evenings. Which is great when working evening shifts as well… So on my Sunday off I decided to take it easy. Not. The Husband and I went on an outing to Amsterdam. I needed to get myself some new clothes for work, and we decided to just make a day trip out of it.

A super green smoothie… with Wodka (which you don’t taste but certainly feel…)

We went to see The Batman in a cinema that turned 100 last October. The movie was decent, but I can’t help being somewhat underwhelmed. I had expected to be either great or sht, but it was just fine. Very watchable, but far from ‘the best Batman movie’. I had also expected it to be Dark… but it wasn’t. Even when Batman has to be stopped beating a bad guy to pulp, when we then see the bad guy he doesn’t even have a bloody nose. And overall it wasn’t nearly as gritty as I had expected. It also seems Batman had read the script, because he knew the answers to all the riddles within half a second. Great way to build some tension I guess. One cannot have a Batman movie without the Batmobile… but that was the least exciting car chase I’ve ever seen. Where The Husband was concerned about the portrayal of Gordon and Catwoman, I was mainly worried about Alfred (I hadn’t looked up who they cast for him). I think Serkis could do a good job of it, but I have to say I felt no chemistry between him and Bruce at all. I also cannot say I was very impressed with the music. Danny Elfman has created such an iconic soundtrack and theme, I would have liked to hear it back in some way. Instead what Giacchino has created just made me think of Darth Vader. There are certain things that happen near the end that make No sense and The Husband and I just ended up laughing at some supposedly tense moments. I have to say, there were some humorous moments in here that worked really well, which I hadn’t expected. The fights themselves were put together well, and I liked the way Bruce’s mental health was presented. So yeah, I enjoyed myself but I had expected More.

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The Husband and I cannot go to Amsterdam without buying too many books. So, here is a book haul…

I have anxiously been awaiting the paperback edition of A Line to Kill, so imagine my disappointment when I couldn’t originally find this book. It had been put on the 2nd half price table though, which made its eventual find even better. The second book I picked up for the half price was The Hatmakers, a book I was planning to get anyway seeing as I got the sequel already. I have been meaning to start the Adventures on Trains series, so when I saw they had a signed edition of the fourth book Danger at Dead Man’s Pass I grabbed it (you don’t really get signed editions here in The Netherlands). The only other book in the series they had was book two Kidnap on the California Comet. Another book I was desperate to get my hands on was A Fatal Crossing… I ended up paying more for it than I had hoped to but the e-book prices for it were extortionate as well so I just got it. And hope I will love it. Finally I picked up (the paperback of) Gallant. I was waiting out the reviews, but have heard mainly good tings about this book and think it really is one I would enjoy.

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I was fairly hesitant to pick up the Ms Marvel comics because teenagers. But earlier this week I was looking for something light before work and decided to just give it a try… and then it was time to leave for work and I had binged through 19 issues. And I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. The romance plot in Volume 3 (the insta love with the obvious bad guy) was annoying, but apart from that I had a good time with this series and will continue it for sure. I especially adored the team up with Wolverine. I still doubt the Disney+ series will be for me, but then again, I am not its target audience.

I listened to the audiobook of A Lesson in Love & Murder, the second Herringford and Watts mystery. I enjoyed parts of this, especially seeing how married life is treating Jem. But in general there was a lot in this book that annoyed me or I didn’t care for. It was a struggle to keep focussed on the audiobook, as short as it was, and that was mainly just due to a lack of intrigue. Where the first book was a fun palette cleanser, I didn’t care for this one.

Julia and the Shark isn’t a book I would usually pick up, but it is very beloved and I can see why. It is also a book I really wanted to read physically because it has been put together beautifully. The art in here and the way it incorporates the text is just stunning. A very full on experience that gave me lots of feels.

Content Warning for mental illness and suicide

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I am currently reading two Middle Grade books, because those are just easy when everything is a bit hectic at the moment. On my Kobo I am reading the final book in The Blackwell Pages, Thor’s Serpents. I am about 20% in, and am enjoying it quite a bit. I am very excited for the big battle. On audio I am reading the second Darkmouth book, a series I picked up just because Andrew Scott does the narration. It is fun. And there are lots of monsters.

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Hoping you are having a wonderful week,