Book: Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey

Two of my 2015 goals were to read more, and to blog more.  I'm hoping to start doing so by blogging about what I've read.  Last month I started reading the Expanse Series, a space opera by James S. A. Corey.  I finished the first two books (there are four so far-more coming), Leviathan Wakes and Caliban's War, and am reading the third book.  I thought I better try to get this written before I do that thing where I blend a series all into one book.  I do that a lot.

Leviathan Wakes obviously takes place in space.  Humans have branched out from earth and have colonized a fair chunk of the solar system inhabiting planets, moons and the asteroid belt.  Along with this they have learned to live in different gravities, and cope with the strain of space travel. although still with some complications.  There are new governments, including Earth's United Nations, the Outer Plants Alliance (OPA), and other political and corporate based groups, and although humans have learned how to travel through space they still haven't learned how to get along and play nice.  You see the power struggle between planets, political groups, and corporations to get their hand on anything that gives them the upper hand.

The story is told through two main characters, Miller and Holden.  Miller, a police detective, finds himself on a job to find a missing girl.  Holden, an executive pilot of an ice freighter, and his crew eventually find themselves tangled up in what Miller is investigating.  I feel like once that happened the story really took off, and I had a hard time putting the book down.  I wanted to know if Miller found his girl, and why were some people acting so shady.  And there is also the protomolecule.  Once I got used to the story telling style, and saw how things were coming together I was hooked.  I liked that while you could see how things fit together, there were still things you didn't see coming.  I don't want to give anything away so I'll leave it at that.

The only complaints I have are mostly my own issues.  I am not a huge fan of the story being told by a different character each chapter.  It's less of a bother now that it was years ago, but for some reason I have a hard time switching back and forth between the different views.  I guess I'm a fan of the story being told from one person.  The other problem I had were pronoun issues.  There were a few passages I had to reread several times because I was confused which pronoun was correct.  It's not a big deal, but it's one of those things my brain really gets hung up on.  I like to visualize the characters in my mind and if I'm unsure about the gender that would make it hard for me to visualize.  Clearly I got over my issues because I devoured the next book, and am continuing to do so on the third.  More to come!

**edited 01-30-15 to correct a typo-thanks Mez!

Taking Stock

Making:  Nothing.  I hope to remedy that, I enjoy sewing when I'm watching TV.  I would like to start making quilt squares.

Cooking:  I made some baked chicken over the weekend, will probably have leftover that tonight.

Drinking:  Coffee.  Followed by water.  I'm going beverage crazy!

Reading:  The Expanse series by James S.A. Corey.  I'm on the second book, Caliban's War.  I need to blog about Leviathan Wakes, the first book in the series.

Looking:  Forward to next month, we have some fun things planned!

Playing:  World of Warcraft (not right now, but some in the evenings and weekends).  I have a cute little panda hunter really close to level 100.

Wasting:  Time.

Sewing:  Nothing right now.  I really need to talk to my mom about the fall leaf pattern I want to turn into quilt squares.

Wishing:  I was at the beach.  I could use some nice ocean air.

Enjoying:  The cooler weather and the crazy rain we had the last few days.

Waiting:  To wake up, I'm groggy.

Liking:  The cooler weather.  I really hate hot days and nights.

Wondering:  What's coming next in the book I'm reading.

Loving:  My husband, always.  My sisters sisters, I miss them when there are gaps in our sister chats,

Hoping:  That this year will be kinder than last year ended up being.  Last year kind of left me feeling a little bruised.

Marveling:  That it's sunny out right now.

Needing:  A nice weekend getaway with David.

Smelling:  Coffee.

Wearing:  Not the PJ's I wish I was still in.  I'm in appropriate adult work attire. /sigh

Following:  Several texts with friends and family.

Noticing:  I'm still not 100% over the cough I had last year.  I'm thankful I didn't get the horrible flu that was going around, I got the cold that seems to stick for a month.

Feeling:  Sleepy, but I could also go for some chocolate or a nice scone with my coffee.

Opening:  The office, time to end this and get ready to start the work day.

Blogstipated

Ugh.  I'm blogstipated.  Is that a thing or did I just make it up?  I think it's a thing.  I'm making it a thing, it's a thing.  I told my friend that earlier, that I was blogstipated.  She laughed, and told me I should blog about that.  I told her it would be short post.  But, after some thought, I guess a short post is better than no post.  So here goes, be ready for a really rambly read.

I've been trying to write a book review, because two of my goals this year are to read more and blog more.  I thought it would be a good way to show I'm doing the reading, and hopefully it would help with the blogging.  Every time I sit down to work on it I feel like I'm writing a book report.  I hated writing book reports in school.  So, there is a lot of sitting and staring at the blinking cursor and a mostly empty post page.

I'm sure part of my problem today is I am a husk of Emily.  I didn't get much sleep last night.  David is out of town for a few nights and I just could not fall asleep.  For once the house wasn't making weird noises, the cat wasn't acting strange (well, she was unusually sweet and photogenic), and I was mellow.  Ended up not falling asleep until 2 am.  I think I slept through my first alarm that went off at 5:30 am.  Maybe I rolled over and shut it off, if I did I have no memory.  I vaguely remember the second alarm going off at 6:30 am.  David called me not long after, thankfully, so then I was awake.  But I'm dragging today.  I have a bit of a lack of sleep headache, and I'm just not feeling fully functional.

our pretty girl

Hopefully I'll sleep better tonight, so I can be more complete tomorrow.

2015 Goals

I had this whole post about how badly the end of 2014 left me feeling, but it made me want to scream so I decided to try again.  It was a rough time, but it's over.  Now is the recovery and rebuilding time.  Rather than resolutions, I thought I'd post some goals.  If I'm lucky enough to accomplish a goal I've listed then I'll have to blog about it.  So with that, here is my list:

• Blog more.  I really do feel better when I post something, even if it's just one of those form things where I share what I'm doing that moment.
• Go to the gym.  I asked for a gym membership for Christmas.  I need to get healthy because I want more years with my husband, my family, and my friends.  Exercise is a big step in doing that.
• Bask in quality time with David.  It's really easy to get bogged down with work stuff, and health stuff and just every day STUFF.  I love those moments where we get away together and it's just us and we don't have to worry about all the STUFF for a day or two.  
• Team up with my mom and make a quilt.  I have an idea for the squares I want to sew, I just need her help in actually making the quilt-I'm not ready to dive into the quilt making myself just yet.
• Lean to do embroidery.  I kind of know how, but I want to do it for real.  I'd like to team up with my mom on lots of quilts and I would like to do pretty squares.
• Hang out with my sisters more.  They are cool people, and there is lots of giggling involved when we all (sisters, spouses, kids) get together.
• Hang out and play games (or watch said games be played) with friends.  My husband likes games.  I will play some, but I'm not as into it as he is.  It would be nice though to have a game night with some friends every month or two.
• Read more.  I've been getting back into books, but I would like to have something that I'm reading every night.  I'd be happy finishing a book a month, but I'm a fast enough reader if I was really serious I could probably finish up to 3 a month.
• Correspond more.  I don't have a big friend base, those friends I do have are people that I value and believe are worth the energy it takes to maintain a friendship.  I want to reach out better, or at least more than I have been.  I want to write letters rather than send texts.
• Find my music.  I used to be very into music.  I played instruments, I listened to music all the time.  It was always on, I was always listening to something.  I feel like that has slipped away and I want to reclaim that again.  

I think that's a pretty good start.  I'm sure there are other things I'd like to work on for this year, but this will just have to do.  I wish everyone success on their own goals for the coming year!