Breaking Bad

My Breaking Bad love continues unabated. I'm now caught up to the current season, and may I confess my writerly love for character-driven storytelling?

On that front, I think my favorite episode so far has been "Sunset" -- aka the "trapped in the RV" episode. It's a perfect example of how a VERY unlikely scenario can come across as plausible if it emerges from the actions of characters who would ABSOLUTELY DO THAT. Watching the three main characters react to each other's actions is like watching a string of dominoes collapse in a chain of ohgodno. And it's a wonderful payoff for the show's character development.

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A Real Update: Tall Ships

Further thoughts on tall ships: on a recent day sail we have a group of seniors on board, and I was introduced anew to the Problems with Tall Ships. Monitoring kids on board is one thing - they're always trying to squirm through cannon ports or fall over the rail. But monitoring bird-boned seniors as they falter their way around a deck covered with ropes and pointy things, while crew frantically tries to haul sail -- that's a new kind of difficult.

Anyway. We briefly got caught on a mud bank - the river tide was very low - but we freed ourselves. And I got more sail-handling in than I've done on previous sails. It was fun.

Research-wise, the sailing came in handy in revising my book chapter on tall ships. There were a couple points where I was strongly tempted to add a footnote using my training as a source, but I'll hold off on that unless it's absolutely necessary.

That's it for now. I might get to do some ocean sailing in August. We'll see.

And... books.

A quick reading report.

I continue to be enthralled by Hilary Mantell, who shows in Bring Up the Bodies that stream-of-consciousness can not only reveal character but also crank up suspense. If you like political intrigue and Tudor court politics then you should have already read Wolf Hall. BUTB is next in line, and it's just as good as WH. My favorite use of  flashback / telling detail in this novel: Cromwell bracing his wrists when Henry turns on him. It's a chilling, tense scene that also provides a lovely illumination of Cromwell's childhood. I'm sure we'll see more of these recollections in Book #3.

Gilian Flynn's Gone Girl is a gripping psychological page-turner. I love the instability of the narration, and the twist in the plot caught me by surprise. But on finishing it, I can't say that I  believed in these characters. The villain in particular was just too effective. Also, everyone in this novel is a variant on a serial-killer story character type, which I realize fits with the novel's look how enmeshed we are in pop culture theme, but ultimately meant that I didn't find these character unique or compelling.

Also, I read 50 Shades of Grey. It was better than Twilight, and that's... pretty much all I have to say about that.