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
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
I’m also getting ready to start on Soon I Will Be Invincible
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?
I’m still drowning in games
(Mercenaries, Ninja Gaiden Black, Destroy all Humans 2, Zack and Wiki, Battalion Wars 2, just got GHIII and now KOTOR II) SO between that, and reading for school, I really haven’t been doing much at all. In fact, right now I’m supposed to fixing a history paper that’s due tommorow, but instead I’m squandering my time on the internet. DAMN YOU INTERWEBS!! THESE STUID TUBES ARE SO ADDICTING!!
Anyway, for books.. Nothing. yup. Nothing that’s not school related. I’ve had a few people recomend me Ender, so I’ll probably grab that when I have some free time (yeah right, nov. is packed full of games, some with TONS of replay value (I’m looking at you, geometery wars galaxies!) so I’m just gonna stack my list higher.) There’s also this book i’ve been wanting to check out, called World War Z, it’s apperently a bunch of “Eye witness” stories about “world war z” a fictional worldwide zombie outbreak. I read a few chapters before, and it’s surprising.. not crap. seems pretty well thought out, how the people react to the situation, how the various governments try to deal with it, etc. Things like it spread somewhat through organs. Someone would die and before becoming zombified, their organs would be removed (obviously ppl didn’t know they were gonna be zombies) and sold on the black market. so ya, it seems interesting
as for TV: nothing. New episodes of mythbusters, but aside from that, nothing. I do love whatching the zero punctuation reviews, but that’s on the intertubes, not the TV
World War Z is great. Have you read the first book, Zombie Survival Guide? Simply brilliant. It has a very serious tone (like a real guide). The undertone is one of humor.
I read it a month ago from the library but was told not to get it by the “other”. I’m looking at zombies for Christmas.
World War Z is on my list as well. I’m currently reading Matthew Hughes’ The Spiral Labyrinth. He’s a great SF/Fantasy author that I found mostly by accident as most SF/F lately to me has been pretty rote. Check out The Gist Hunter and Other Stories by him.
Great, another book to throw on the list. World War Z has been added to my Amazon wishlist. Same with Zombie Survival Guide.
I’ll have to check out Matthew Hughes’ stuff as well. Thanks for the suggestions!
I love it when you find good books by accident. It’s like winning the golden ticket.
Dan Brown was my Mr. Slugworth.