What is up party people! Welcome to my first weekly (biweekly...I feel like I need a better name for this) update! Since this is my first post, I'll be updating you all on everything I've been reading, watching, and listening to this month so far.

Reading:

March has been a slow reading month for me so far. I've only read two books, but both have been bangers, so I am not particularly upset about that!

First up is Oathbound, the long awaited third book in the Legendborn Cycle by Tracy Deonn. It's been a while since I've felt compelled to read a new release right when it came out, but I couldn't resist with this one. Bloodmarked, the second book in the series, was a little bit of a let down for me compared to Legendborn. Not bad by any means, but it definitely suffered from second book syndrome and felt like it was trying to do too many things. That being said, I still loved the characters and I think it did a solid enough job expanding the world and introducing us to new characters. And that cliffhanger? WILD. So of course, I needed to read Oathbound right a way, and boy did I have a good time reading this book. This third book was definitely a step up, in my opinion, from the prior book. I think Deonn did a good job introducing and playing with different perspectives that helped move the story a long in an interesting way, and it was nice to get to know some of these characters a little bit more. And of course, I continued to love Bree. I think she is one of my newer favorite protagonists I've read in a while, and I was STRESSED for her this entire book. I'll keep this review brief so as not to spoil anything, but Deonn loves her a cliffhanger and this book had me looking like the shocked Pikachu meme by the end of this book. I need the fourth book STAT!

The most recent book I finished was skin & bone by Reneé Watson. This is what I believe is her adult debut, as this author typically writes middle grade and YA books. Watson is a Portland local, and this book is set in Portland and is particularly focused on this history of Black folks in Oregon. I am a little bit weary of books set in the city I live in - I've had one bad experience (I'm looking at you, Kiss Her Once for Me lol), but this book absolutely blew me away. I'm not sure that I would have gone out of my way to pick this one up had it not been for the local book club I am apart of choosing this book for our March pick. The story follows our protagonist Lena who is a single mother, in her 40s, and is about to get married. Something happens that really shifts her world, and we watch as she deals with the fall out, while also dealing with grief, and trying to raise her daughter in a world that hates fat Black women. I found this book to be beautiful written, deeply moving, and also a little bit heartbreaking at times. I think this book also really hit deeper for me as a Black women who grew up in the Portland metro area. This was my FIRST 5 star read of the year and I absolutely recommend it, although with the caveat to check out a full list of trigger warnings. Some main ones are: fatphobia, self harm, and anti-Blackness/racism.

Watching:

I've been doing a loooot of tv watching recently. For the most part, there has been one show that really took up the majority of my watch time this month:

I don't typically like to use the term "guilty pleasure" because I don't feel guilty about the media I consume, nor do I think anyone should. That being said, I really enjoy a procedural, and often a police procedural. I do feel "guilty" here because these shows are all very obviously copaganda and well... ACAB. But also I just love the kind of Scooby-Doo, "mystery of the week" of it all. I've seen a lot, especially from the early 2000/2010s: Bones, Psych (my ultimate favorite), White Collar, Elementary, Burn Notice, etc. But I never got around to watching Castle while it was airing, and well, I kind of wanted something lowstakes to slowly watch throughout this year. What I wasn't anticipating was accidentally marathoning the first four-ish seasons in two weeks. Is this show particularly good? Not really. Does it hold up compared to its peers? Eh. Is it fun? Yeah, I'd say so.

Although, it is starting to become less fun now that I have mostly completed four seasons. Perhaps I shouldn't have marathoned it, but I suspect I would have the same feelings even had I slowly watched it. Here are my observations:

Almost every single scene in each episode features Castle and Beckett together.
Although there are significant side characters in this show, they mostly feel like set dressing. We know very little about any of them, including Castle's daughter Alexis, and we don't really get scenes following them that don't also involve at least one of the main duo.
Each episode, outside of the large two parters that happen mid season, are extremely focused on the investigation. There doesn't really seem to be much of a B or C plot in these episodes. Because of this, we get a very formulaic, ah it was this person! Nope. Okay it was this person! Also nope. Rinse and repeat. It feels a little silly that we get at minimum 4-5 different suspects per investigation.
Speaking of those mid season large two parters...the show keeps trying to top it self in scale each season to the point that it now feels a bit ridiculous.
The concept itself is fun, right? We have a best selling thriller author who is shadowing a real live detective as inspiration for his next book. But how does this work for 8 seasons? This concept makes sense for at best a few seasons, before we start to question, why is Castle still here? Nothing in the show explains why he is so invaluable to the team. And yet, the show also makes it seem like these people can't solve a crime without him! We get no explanation for this. In a show like Elementary, we have Sherlock Holmes. We know he is a brilliant, super genius detective, so this makes sense. In a show like Psych, Shaun is pretending to be a psychic, but is also hyper observant and this skill was trained into him by his father, and we see this in the show. But with Castle...well! Who knows!

In any case, I will continue watching lol. I am most of the way through the fourth season, and still have another four to go. I'm taking a break for now and when I return, well, hopefully I don't marathon it all again.

I've only watched one movie so far this month, and that was the romantic comedy, Picture This, staring Simone Ashley (of Bridgerton fame) and Hero Finnes Tiffen (of After fame). I didn't go into this movie with any particular set of expectations, but I was excited to see Simone Ashley in a role outside of Bridgerton. I was a bit perplexed by Hero Finnes Tiffen's casting, but sure, why not. They were both...fine in this movie. The premise is this: Pia (played by Ashley) is a photographer with a struggling business. Her younger sister Sonal is getting married. At one of the pre-wedding events, a spiritual guru reads Pia's astrological chart and determines that she will meet the love of her life among her next five dates. Cue her friends and family setting her up on various dates as we are leading up to the wedding. Things get wacky. Also in the background is Charlie (Finnes Tiffen), Pia's old flame from high school, who is also the best man in this wedding. Obviously he is going to be her one true love. Do we get to see any romantic development between these two throughout the movie? No. Do they have any sort of romantic chemistry? None. Was this movie at least funny? No! This was truly one of the most baffling movies I've watched in a while, and let me tell you, I have quite the high tolerance for garbage rom coms. This was weird and all over the place, and I wouldn't recommend! Also give us a high budget rom com with two Desi leads, you cowards!

Listening:

Honestly, I have not been listening to much music lately, besides random lofi playlists on Youtube. That being said, when I am listening to non-lofi music, Doechii has been on repeat, in particular her new single Anxiety. I am a big fan of Somebody That I Use to Know by Gotye ft. Kimbra, so I already felt primed to love Anxiety. Honestly, Doechii is a superstar and I love watching her finally get the accolades and hype she deserves!

Well, that is all for this week's media update! A bit of a long one, but it turns I out that I love to yap, even in writing form. I'll catch y'all in the next one!