#AmReading + #AmWatching + #AmListening - Reviews For November 14th 2019

A book is a device to ignite the imagination.
~Alan Bennett

It's time to take a look at what I've been reading and watching during this past week. It's also time to see which song I've decided to put in the spotlight from those I've listened to over the past week. So...

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:

Arson by C.S. Boyack
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is another great read by this author, which weaves elements of science-fiction with romance, and keeps you turning the pages until the end. Not to mention, the plot and characters are fascinating, and described so well you can easily imagine you're right there in the world, standing beside the characters while events unfold. Unfortunately, it's let down by the need for more editing, which is why I can't give this one the full five stars. It's still well worth the read though.

Viral Blues by C.S. Boyack
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is an excellent read! It's a fantastic paranormal story, with a plot that's a wonderful mixture of action and humour, which will suck you in from the first page, and hold you until the very end. It was great to see more of some of the characters from other books by the author, especially Lisa, Lizzie, and The Hat. Only the presence of a few editing issues - which were a bit annoying, but didn't stop me from being absorbed by the story - made me hesitate before awarding this book that final star. So, my actual rating is 4.5 stars, but I rounded up, because the issue that almost stopped me giving it the full five stars is such a minor thing, and I like to round up when that's the case.

Serang by C.S. Boyack
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is a fantastic story, which I can’t recommend enough. It’s a gripping read, and a wonderful coming of age story. Though it’s meant as a companion novel to “Voyage of the Lanternfish” - and is an excellent one - it could easily be enjoyed without having read that one.

***For anyone who wants to know: I let editing reduce the rating in one title and not another because of the amount of editing required. In the book I still gave five stars to, it was only a few minor issues. The other book, on the other hand, could have done with a lot more editing. So it's all in the amount of errors. Just thought I'd mention that.

Anyway... As for what I've been watching...

I watched five more DVDs of "The Big Bang Theory" during this past week: the four DVDs that make up season 2, and the first disk of season 3. That's all I watched during the past week though. Unless you count a few YouTube videos I caught up on from channels I follow, and snatches of a couple of movies I caught while in and out of the living room, which I wasn't going to bother counting. Five DVDs is a good number for one week though, so I'm certainly not complaining.

As for what I've been listening to...

I've heard this song several times over the past few weeks, and quite a few times before that. I think it's a beautiful - though sad - song, and thought it was an appropriate one to share this week, what with Sunday being Remembrance Day here in the UK, and Monday being Veteran's Day in the US (and possibly elsewhere too, even if called by another name). I hope you agree.