#AmReading + #AmWatching - October 10th 2019 #Reviews

Wherever I am, if I've got a book with me, I have a place I can go and be happy
~J. K. Rowling

It's time to take a look at what I've been reading and watching during this past week.

If you want to know more about the book, or the author, click on whichever it is you want to learn more about, and it will take you to the appropriate page on Goodreads. Clicking on my rating should take you to my actual Goodreads review for the book in question. Please bear in mind that the format I've reviewed on Goodreads may not be the format I actually read.

Alternatively, if it's a movie or TV show you want to know more about, just click on the title to go to a page where you can find out more details about the movie or TV show in question; the title links will usually take you to a page on IMDB.

Don't forget: I read and watch things across multiple genres, as well as for different age ranges, so you should always check before reading or viewing, to make certain something is suitable for the intended audience, especially when children are involved.

OK...

Here's what I read this week:

Qualify by Vera Nazarian
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
For the most part I loved this book. The plot concept was interesting, and the combination of history and science combining to show us glimpses of the society and technology was fantastic. So, why only four stars? For one thing, the semi-finals were almost too detailed, while the finals seemed to hardly be mentioned, so it would have been nice if those had been a bit more balanced out. Mostly though, my issue is with the main character, who manages to be clever enough to get everyone out of tricky situations, even under circumstances where supposedly none of the others can do anything other than cry and panic at their circumstances, but not smart enough to know when to keep her mouth shut, and when to obey orders and stop pushing her luck, which was a bit annoying, though admittedly not as annoying as her whining and crying when failing to spot the signs she should keep her mouth shut and head down got her in hot water, so to speak. So, a great read, but an annoying main character. Still, I'm eager enough to know what happens next that I'm looking forward to seeing how the series progresses, and eager to continue reading it.

As for what I've been watching:

I only watched one DVD during the past week, which was a movie I hadn't seen before, so here's my review:

Big Miracle (2012 movie):
This was a really good movie, but hard to watch in places for someone as sensative as I am about animals, especially knowing it's based on a true story. So, beautiful, but emotional. I give this movie five out of five stars.