What we’re consuming

Sure, we play video games (we mash buttons, after all) but we also consume other forms of entertainment. We’re built for consumption. Here’s what we’re chomping on:

Tony:
Books:
I had a pretty good thing going while I was working on my “reading list.” I finished Stranger in a Strange Land and moved on to Ender’s Game, which was superb. Then I got sidetracked: I was going to start Snow Crash when I decided to read I Am Legend to get ready for the movie. But before my name came up on the wait-list at the library for Legend, I started reading Getting Things Done. Funny (or ironic, depending on your point of view) thing is that I haven’t finished reading GTD yet. It is on one of my “lists.” I’m just about done with it and then I’ll be going back to the reading list.

TV:
My TV viewing has gone down quite a bit. There are still the old standbys of My Name is Earl, The Office, and 30 Rock. 30 Rock is probably my favorite of the three. The only two other shows I watch regularly are Prison Break and The Biggest Loser. Not much else holds my interest right now. Those and any sporting event involving an Ohio team.

Music:
I recently subscribed to last.fm‘s services and can now listen to anything that I’ve “scrobbled.” So I’ve taken to listening to my whole iTunes library to scrobble everything I have. I started with at the top of my library with Aaron Neville and have listened all the way through to Gwen Stefani (what?). Along the way, I’ve rediscovered some great tracks that I haven’t listened to in a long time, like Alice in Chains. Jar of Flies was one of my favorite albums, and it was great listening to it again, start to finish. That’s some great music.

Nat:
Books:
I’ve also been putting words into my brain. I’m currently reading Schulz and Peanuts: A Biography by David Michaelis. At only twenty some odd pages in I find it to be fascinating about the creator behind one of the funniest and most poignant comic strips ever. (For a review by Bill Watterson, the creator of Calvin & Hobbes, who almost does nothing publicly any more, check out the Wall Street Journal Online).

I’m also getting ready to start on Soon I Will Be Invincible by Austin Grossman. It’s a superhero book with an interesting twist: it’s told from the side of the villain and from the side of a new girl superhero who is getting ready to join a superhero group. If only Barnes & Noble would get the thing in. I have an Audible Gold Account so I’ve already downloaded the audio and I’m waiting for the book to come in to listen along to it while reading.

TV:
I’m actually looking forward to the writers strike halting TV for a while. The only thing I’ve been catching regularly (with the wife)
is Heroes. It’s just now starting to look up. I was worried they would tell the same story as season 1 there for a while. We’re also
catching Scrubs when we can. However, it’s not too much of a biggie. I know it’ll be on DVD eventually. We’ve been watching all the seasons on DVD from Netflix. I’ve never missed an episode, but it’s fun going over them again. My wife and I relate well to the zany characters in the show.

So that’s what we’re consuming. What about you?