What I’m Into October 2014

October may just have been the busiest month I’ve had since I started this link-up. I wrote my PhD comprehensives at the beginning of the month and defended them yesterday, which means I am now officially ABD. In between, I gave a paper at the Sixteenth Century Society and Conference annual meeting in New Orleans. Here’s some of what I’ve managed to be into in between studying and paper writing.

Books:

Throne of Glass, Crown of Midnight, and Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas. I really enjoyed these, but as someone who’s perhaps unreasonably fond of closure I was disappointed to find out that Heir of Fire was not, in fact, the third book in a trilogy but instead book 3 of a projected 6.  Still, this is really good YA fantasy if you don’t mind waiting for a few years before finding out how the story ends.

Crewel by Gennifer Albin. The premise of this book was a bit fanciful, but I’m a sucker for YA dystopian lit and I read this one in about an hour.

Unwind, Unwholly, and Unsouled by Neal Shusterman. This series taught me the limits of my love for dystopian fiction. The premise of this book was so completely implausible that I couldn’t get past that and actually enjoy the books. I didn’t so much read book three as I skimmed it to get a general sense of the plot resolution before returning it to the library.

Television

I’ve been keeping up with the usuals (Parenthood, Big Bang Theory, Downton Abbey, Modern Family, New Girl, The Mindy Project). I also started watching Being Erica on Netflix. It’s a CBC drama about a thirty-something named Erica who gets the chance to relive moments she regrets and behave differently. I’ve liked it so far, but I took a look at the blurbs for future seasons on IMDB and I may drop it after season 2 and save myself the disappointment of seasons 3 and 4.

Movies

Not much on this score, but I did get the chance to re-watch The Prince of Egypt (one of my favourites) this month, and I also half watched, half napped through How to Train Your Dragon II on the plane to New Orleans.

Food

I spent a few days in the middle of the month in New Orleans, so I got to try some fantastic food while there. By far my favourite restaurant I tried while I was there was a tapas place called Salu in the garden district. Their selection of flatbreads is phenomenal, as was their creme brulee. I also loved the blackened gator bites and cajun pasta from the Old Nawlins Cookery on Bourbon Street.

As far as cooking at home goes, I loved these honey ginger chicken tostadas with pomegranate salsa and this chocolate peppermint trifle. These sea salt and olive oil brownie cookies were a big hit with friends and family. As usual, you can see my favourite recipes of the month on my monthly What I’m Into Pinterest board.

Board Games

I’ve been really into Castle Panic this month. It’s a cooperative game (with a possible additional competitive element) in which you’re a team of soldiers defending your castle from an onslaught of monsters. It’s a lot of fun and I’m always in the market for a good co-op game recommendation.

IRL

As I mentioned, I spent a weekend in New Orleans for the SCSC annual meeting, which was fantastic. It was my first big conference, and I had a great time taking in as many panels as possible and seeing the city (fyi, I do not recommend Bourbon Street after 6 PM).

Also, I actually dressed up for Halloween this year (and even showed up to my comps defense in costume). I was Rosie the Riveter. It felt appropriate.

That’s it for me for this month. be sure to head over to Leigh’s blog for more submissions.