Amy C. Shaw

Star Trek Voyager Season Two: My Top 5 Fave Episodes

June 17, 2016 • 2 Comments

As my husband and I are going through our second full watch of Star Trek as a couple, I thought it would be fun to report on the highlights along the way. So I decided to copy the same format as Charlene at Bookish Whimsy, who is going through her first-ever run of Star Trek and sharing her favorite episodes for each season. To compare, see her favorite episodes of Voyager season two.

So this is the season that is infamous for Threshold, which was not as painful the second time but is still pretty bad. And then something I never would have imagined but learned from podcast listening is that apparently Tuvix is a fan favorite and there are people who wished the character stayed on the show. Not gonna lie, he makes me uncomfortable as does the entire episode. So needless to say neither of those made my list. On to those that did…

5. Meld

This episode is kind of hard to watch because (1) psychopath alert and (2) Tuvok mind-melding with said psychopath (terrible idea) and becoming one himself. But it stuck with me and it’s interesting.

4. Persistence of Vision

This one was interesting, with hallucinations popping up all over the ship and the crew has to determine how and why.

3. Resolutions

What I like about this episode is you get to see a new side of Janeway and Chakotay, and I really like their more down-to-earth natures! But darn Kathryn just wouldn’t jump on the Chakotay ship! I mean, the man is building her stuff right and left, being so sweet and thoughtful, and that smile! I’m just saying, you could be stuck on a planet with worse company. Like almost everyone else, this episode kind of makes me ship them a little! No shame.

2. Innocence

While the alien people in this episode drive me crazy for not just being straightforward, I absolutely LOVE seeing another side of Tuvok as he deals with the children. “What are your children like, Tuvok?” “Well behaved.” LOL.

1. Deadlock

I decided to list this one as my top episode of the season because I think it held my interest the most, even though I remembered the outcome from my previous watch. I have to say though, poor Ensign Wildman! This episode also feels a little bit like a prelude to Year of Hell, AKA the best thing Voyager ever did.

If you’ve seen Voyager, what are your favorite episodes of season two?

The Top 5 Books on my Summer TBR

June 14, 2016 • 15 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic is Top Ten Most Anticipated Releases For The Second Half Of The Year. Well I say where’s the Summer TBR week?! This happened last winter too. What gives? I need my seasonal TBRs! There’s a freebie week coming up but I didn’t want to wait until then as the official start of summer is next Monday. On to my rebel ways yet again…

1. The Long Game by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

I really, really enjoyed The Fixer and need this sequel in my life ASAP.

2. Passenger by Alexandra Bracken

The mixed reviews have kept me from buying this book, but the pretty cover keeps tempting me. Now that it’s my next book club read, I’ll be giving into the temptation!

3. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

Carry-over from my spring TBR that I want to get to soon.

4. The Shadow Queen by C.J. Redwine

I’ve got this one on hold with the library and I’m curious about it. I saw C.J. Redwine at SE YA Fest and look forward to reading her work.

5. Don’t Judge a Girl by Her Cover by Ally Carter

I’m slowly making my way through the Gallagher Girls books and this my next one to read.

I stopped at five because that’s all I can think of at the moment! Weird, right? What happened to my mountain-high TBR? I don’t know, I’m just kind of winging it these days, seeing what calls to me (or is available from the library).

What’s on your summer TBR?

Greetings From The Other Side! And The Things I’ve Read…

June 7, 2016 • 10 Comments

Hello everyone! Yes, I am still alive, and now I have wi-fi again after moving into my new home and not having it for a while. Sorry I have been unable to comment on everyone else’s blogs lately; I hope I get to remedy that soon. I just wanted to do a brief post where I share a few things I’ve read lately and some quick thoughts on them.

Books I read in April and May any my brief thoughts on each:

Truthwitch by Susan Dennard: Interesting fantasy with complex characters and relationships. Wish there had been a glossary, though I think I mostly kept up with/figured out the terms.
When We Collided by Emery Lord: An incredibly hard read in terms of content. NOT a love story like I was expecting, not really. But it is well-written.
On The Loose by Jenny B. Jones: A cute follow-up to In-Between, though the romance was a little weak considering the guy she ends up with in the end spends most of the book dating someone else but obviously somewhat interested in her. Also, the next books in the series don’t seem to go in the direction I want the story to go so I’m afraid I’m stopping here.
Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy by Ally Carter: Cute and fun, and a little stronger than the first Gallagher Girl book, I felt. I’m looking forward to reading book three.
The Unbound by Victoria Schwab: This was a solid follow-up to The Archived, with enough closure for satisfaction, but a definite possibility for more. I appreciated Wesley more in this book, though I also really liked Cash.
The Rose and the Dagger by Renee Ahdieh: A pretty good conclusion to the duology. What happened at the end really surprised me, and it resolved in a clever way. However, for some reason the epilogue made the ending a little weaker for me. It would have been fine without.
Looking for Lovely by Annie F. Downs: This one didn’t capture my heart quite as much as her book Let’s All Be Brave that I read last year, but still a great and very worthwhile read. I’m very glad I got to devour this one while on vacation.
Love, Lies and Spies by Cindy Anstey: This one was cute and fun, but the writing could have been a little stronger. Another round of revisions or two could have made this one really great, because I loved the potential of a Jane Austen-esque story with spies. Spencer was fabulous.
The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord: This was a reread of one of my favorite books last year, and seriously, nothing has lived up to it yet this year. I just adore it from beginning to end. Such a me book.

What have you been reading lately?

May Hiatus

May 2, 2016 • 0 Comments

I know I’m already down to posting about once a week these days, but this month is shaping up to be a crazy busy one, so I don’t even want to feel like I need to attempt any posts (save for this one, obviously). I’m moving from one house to another and going on vacation, so things are going well, but again, just crazy busy! Packing is truly the pits. Thanks for hanging in there with me, friends. I look forward to talking books again in June!

Reading Habits

April 25, 2016 • 16 Comments

I think it’s common for each of us to do something in our own way, and to feel it’s the normal way. But then you see or hear about doing that same thing differently and you wonder, have I been doing it all wrong?

This is how I feel sometimes when it comes to other people’s reading habits. Of course I know that there isn’t actually a right way or a wrong way to read when it comes to choosing a book, how many I read at a time, how much I read in a day, etc., but sometimes I still feel that way! Here are my reading habits and why they work for me.

1. Most of my reading happens during my lunch hour at work. My typical reading time is only five hours a week, all during my lunch hour at work. This works for me because this is not a time that is conducive for doing much else, and it’s set-apart time where I don’t have to feel guilty for using it for reading. If I’m really into a book, I will sometimes read a little more at home in the evenings or on the weekend.

2. I only read one book at a time. The one exception to this is my Bible reading or if I’m reading a little bit of a non-fiction book at a time, usually along with other people. I cannot even imagine trying to keep up with reading multiple fiction books at one time though, and it would take me longer to finish a book which would drive me crazy! If it takes me much more than a week to finish a book I usually get antsy (unless I knew it would take a while because of the book’s length), and I think I would have an obvious favorite and that the others would get put aside.

3. I don’t read ARCs, so I read whatever I want, whenever I want, almost always solely based on my mood. I actually feel weird when I finish a book and I don’t know what I want to read next. I almost always know. And I don’t like when I’m ready for a library read that isn’t available, and when it is I’m usually in the middle of something else (like me impatiently waiting for The Winner’s Kiss right now).

4. I have a bad habit of losing bookmarks, so I generally use ticket stubs, coupons, and other random paper things. I really wish I used pretty bookmarks while reading, but alas.

I want to hear from you! What are your reading habits? Why do they work for you?

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