The Winds of Winter...NOT!

For those of you waiting for the release of Book 6, The Winds of Winter, of the Game of Thrones series, sad to say, but we still have to wait a little bit more. 

Piece of advise: Forget about Book 6 and just let the story unfold as the TV series airs again this April. Let's be surprised for a change. Nothing like a weekly cliffhanger to forward to the next showing.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

I heard about Gone Girl through my daughter who also happens to be a bookworm like myself.  The difference between the two of us is that I'm no longer updated as to what's read-worthy.  So I am now dependent on my daughter in terms of my reading selections especially with the newer authors.

A couple of months ago, she mentioned Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn as a must read and like Pavlov's dog I got me an ebook copy and started reading.  However, after three chapters, I got bored with the diary like narrative that I forgot about it for a while.

The thing is, I downloaded the movie and I don't want to see it without having read the book (I don't know if this makes sense to you but that's my process.)  So I started reading it again and as the plot thickened I got more and more interested until finally I got to finish it.

So, was it a good read?  Yes.  You just have to endure the first few boring chapters. It is somewhat of a misdirect especially in terms of what Amy's diary entries were versus what actually is.  Trust me.  Read on.

Anyways, I also finally watched the movie.  Not as believable as the book though. In my opinion, the movie failed to establish the amount of work done by the antagonist to perform all the forensic counter measures to influence the outcome of Amy's case.

Morale of the story:  A patient and meticulous sociopath can be a very dangerous predator.

Jack Reacher

So far, Tom Cruise in an action movie has yet to disappoint me and Jack Reacher is another one for the books.  Based on Lee Child's novel "One Shot", Tom Cruise plays Jack Reacher, a former Military Police officer turned drifter,  takes part in the investigation of---what seemed to be---a random shooting of a deranged former military sniper.   As the story unfolds a conspiracy angle comes into play that brings Jack's investigation from one brawl to another as he weeds out the pawns in the game of treachery and deceit that will leave you guessing who the real bad guy (or girl) is.

In my opinion, Tom Cruise played Jack Reacher to a "T"---well, except for the fact that the character is depicted in the novel as 6'5 and 220 lbs man (something that Lee Child says is an attribution to the character's strength which he believes Tom Cruise convincingly displayed in his portrayal).   Jack Reacher is stoic, composed, and a no bullshit kind of guy which is a mold similar to the character Tom Cruise played as Roy Miller in the 2010 movie Knight and Day.

Over-all, Jack Reacher is a good movie to watch to wash away the stress build up of the week's work!

I do believe this will be another movie franchise in the making for Tom Cruise!

Is It Hot in Here or Is It Me? by RJ Ledesma

I'm a fan of RJ Ledesma's writing.  I have been following his Wednesday column Pogi from a Parallel Universe for the Philippine Star as a stress reliever.  I find his topics aligned with my interests (men and their funny hedonistic adventures) but other than that---I think I have come to develop a growing infatuation with his YAYA!  

I have attempted time and again to buy one of his books.  Unfortunately, it's almost always not available.  Ok, ok...it's not availability that's an issue---it's budget!  Money has been tight recently and shelling out Php 220 for the book seemed excessive.  Fortunately, Christmas gave me the reason to splurge under the premise of buying myself a Christmas gift.  So here it is, my first RJ Ledesma book Is It Hot In Here or Is It Me?

I'm now setting aside (if you can actually do that to an ebook) George R.R. Martin's A Dance with Dragons and devote my reading time to finish this book