#AmReading + #AmWatching + #AmListening - #Reviews For November 21st 2019

I don't believe in the kind of magic in my books. But I do believe something very magical can happen when you read a good book.
~J.K. Rowling

Welcome to the new look weekly media shares and reviews post!

*Disclaimer: no matter what's being reviewed, all opinions in this post are entirely my own, and I reserve the right to have them, regardless of who may or may not share them. Feel free to express your own in the comments, but please respect my right - and the rights of other commenters - to have opinions that might differ from yours, and to express those opinions too.

Also, please remember that I read/watch/listen to things in a variety of genres, and for all ages, so you should make sure you check that the book/movie/show/song is suitable for the intended audience before reading/watching/listening to it, especially if children are involved. I take no responsibility for anything which may happen as a result of failing to do 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.

Unless otherwise stated, all music videos are via YouTube.

OK, so... Let's see what I've been reading, watching, and listening to, shall we?

This week I read...

X by Sue Grafton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I haven't read most of the previous books in this series, but do intend to go back and read them all, despite the fact my actual rating is 3.5 stars, and it only got four stars because I rounded up. This is a really slow-paced book, and I sometimes felt like we had way more than we needed of each character's backstory when they first appeared on the scene, to the point I often wished we could just get on with the story already. Other than that though, it was an enjoyable read.

Zom-B by Darren Shan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
The events of the first three quarters of the book were dragged out more than they needed to be, so it took until the last part of the book for the story to really get going, and then it was action-packed and gory. I enjoyed the book enough that I want to know what happens next, but sure hope the other books in the series are more like the last quarter when it comes to plot pacing.

As for what I've been watching this week...

I watched the second disk of season 2 of "The Big Bang Theory" on DVD. I also watched a movie with Kelly, which he'd recorded on the Sky box, because he wanted to watch it. It was one of those I kind of wanted to see too, so it was an ideal oppertunity to watch a movie together. I also decided to make use of the movie and TV show watching part of my Amazon Prime for a change, and watched the first episode of season 1 of "Rugrats" and a Christmas movie, just because I felt like it. Anyway, since both movies were new to me movies, here are what they were, and my reviews for them:

Venom (2018 movie):
This was an enjoyable movie, with plenty of action, and some entertaining moments. Kelly - the bigger action movie fan of the two of us - enjoyed it more than I did, but we definitely both really liked it, and are both glad we watched it. We both agree there was room for improvement, but it was really great, so wouldn't have needed much. When asked, Kelly said he'd give it four and a half stars out of five, but I didn't enjoy it quite as much as him, like I already mentioned. So, I give this movie four out of five stars.

Crown For Christmas (2015 TV movie):
This movie was kind of predictable, as most movies of this type are. But sometimes you need that, especially in a holiday movie. So, if you're the kind of person who enjoys the Hallmark style holiday movies, you'll enjoy this one. I did. My only complaint is that I felt like we missed out on some of the attempts by the heroine to win over the child. But given the length of the movie, and the fact the romance always takes center stage in these kinds of movies, I wasn't entirely surprised by that. Anyway, I give this movie four out of five stars.

Last, but not least, this week I've been listening to...

Actually, not much, if I'm honest. I've listened to a few songs in the mornings, but not been listening to tunes for so long in the mornings during the past week, because I had so much I wanted to catch up on with eMails and things. But I listened to a few country tunes while sorting my breakfast and such, so here's one of them, which even Kelly - not really a country fan - enjoys listening to: