A Month of Letters 2014

It's that time again! I love sending mail and I am really excited for Letter Month this year. The challenge is a bit 'Americanized'. The goal is to send 23 letters without counting Sunday's and a holiday. In my neck of the woods, there is no mail on Saturday either, so I might just go with 28. We will see how this goes! As last year, mine with be Postcard Month again. I have so many to send out it seems silly to buy anything else.

Let me know if you want to hear from me in February! I love receiving mail!

Start 2014 "Write!" - Hosted at The Estella Society

Look! Some winter fun! Here is the gist of it:

Here we are in 2014 and things are ticking right along! One of the coolest part of the holiday season for us is sending REAL MAIL to our friends, family, and bloggy community members. In order to keep the good times rolling Kailana from The Written World got together with us to create “Start 2014 Write!” A letter/card exchange!

• You may send letters, postcards, or greeting cards, but you should write a significant, thoughtful message meant to brighten someone’s day. This may require you to poke around on their blog and get to know them better. Fun!
• Use the form below to sign up to send and receive a specific number of letters (1, 3, or 5)
• Sign-ups end January 20
• Receive your assigned recipients by January 27
• Have the entire month of February to send your letters, postcards, cards, etc. All correspondence should be in the mail no later than February 28, 2014. 
• Because international shipping of letters and postcards is quite inexpensive, the assumption is that any participant may receive one or more international recipients

If you’re moved to do it, you can include something inside your letter or card, butPLEASE limit it to $5 or less. The important thing is to write something in the letter to brighten someone’s day…

So, you should head over to the Estella Society and join!

I chose February because it is also Letter Month hosted by author Mary Robinette Kowal.

Operation: Write Letters

I have been humming and hawing about whether or not I want to participate in this event... I decided why not... I am all about projects! I will be doing postcards, though. 2013 is the 'Year of Postcards' since joining Postcrossing. So, if you are okay with getting a postcard instead of a letter send me your address! (If I don't know you very well also include your blog URL so I can be sure to familiarize myself with you before sending you a card.) Just email me at kellyreads (@) gmail (dot) com. And, if you would like my address in return, feel free to request it. I love receiving mail! If I all ready have your address, be sure and leave me a comment saying whether you particularly want a card and if you are participating yourself. Otherwise, I will likely go through my address book and you will get a postcard anyway!

Friday Reads - 5th Edition, A Sherlock Holmes Viewing Experience, and a Few Other Things...

Friday Reads 5th Edition

I only read the introduction to this book. I am supposed to read it for a buddy read this month, though, so I really should get around to it soon. I want to finish the Kingsolver first, though.

I didn't really need another short story collection, but this came in for me at the library and I decided to see about finishing it to post about on Valentine's day. It just seemed to be good timing.

I am really enjoying this book, but with all my other 'projects' it keeps getting pushed to the side. When I do read it I spend a bit of time with it, but obviously I need to spend a bit more!

This will probably be on here for the month. I am just reading a story or 2 here and there depending on how much time I have. I think this is going to be my method for the year because I have many short story collections that are unread.

This book continues to be rather interesting. For one thing, I think it is brave for people to share their experiences in such a public format. It also gives you things to think about. I like to say I am pretty open-minded, but there are times where I probably could be more so...

I am about halfway through this book and really enjoying it. I have been brain-storming ways to have even a little garden this year, which I do most years anyway, and I was explaining to the cc yesterday that I would really like to learn how to make cheese.

At the rate I am going this is going it will be 2013 before I finish it. It's my own fault. I never have enough hours in the day for everything that I want to do and I always have too many books on the go!

Watching BBC Sherlock Season 1: A Q & A About the Experience with Suey and Melissa.

Suey's Questions:

-- Favorite thing about this show?
Well, first up I am very happy that Sherlock Holmes is played by someone other than Robert Downey Jr. As much as I enjoy the movie versions he is just not who I had pictured for Holmes. I am a bit torn on the two actors playing Watson, though. They are both very different; but each have their strong points. On a more serious note, my favourite things about the show are the humour, creativity of changing the time period entirely and making it work, and the chemistry between Watson and Holmes. Obviously that ties into the humour over and over again, but what I actually mean is that the two actors work well together.

-- Least favorite thing about the show?
Okay, I am sure there is probably something, but nothing is really coming to mind at the moment.

-- Analyze the characters.
Well, first there is Sherlock. I think that he is played really well. I can picture the character that I have read about easily while watching him on the screen. He might not be a perfect casting choice, but that is the hard part about watching books become movies. I enjoy watching his mind work and his humour even if he is not necessarily trying to be funny. I think it is a good interpretation of how Sherlock works. Then, we have Watson. When I saw him in the very beginning I didn't really think he matched what I had always pictured as a Watson, but as I continued to watch I couldn't help thinking he captures the character very well. He is a perfect companion for Holmes and plays off him very well. I also enjoy that instead of writing their adventures into books he is blogging about it. I am just going to go with the two main characters.

-- How is this one different from other Sherlock shows?
I have to admit that I have only really watched Sherlock the one other time and that was just the Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law movies. I believe that their core the shows are very similar, but the writers also have their own interpretations of how to show it on the screen. Also, this show is actually British with British actors. The movies are not. They do have things like the humour, the connection of Holmes and Watson, etc in common, though.

-- Are you most into the stories? Or the characters? Or the actors?
I think it is a little bit of both. The stories really come together and I enjoy learning both the back stories and watching Holmes get to the bottom of the cases.  Then, I really enjoy both Holmes and Watson. They make the watching experience a lot of fun. And, in order for them to work so well they have to be played by wonderful actors. So, I enjoy all three.

My Questions:

-- Have you ever read the original novels? If so, how do you think the characters compare to those in the books? 
I have read some of the original books, but I haven't finished. I would like to catch-up this year, though. I have read enough to get an idea of the characters, though, and like I said above they might not be exactly as I pictured them, but they still have a lot going for them.

-- Which was your favourite episode of the 3?
I think the very first one was my favourite just because I enjoyed the puzzle of it all. But then, I also enjoyed when Moriarty was introduced through a voice on the phone and Holmes had to solve puzzles to save them all. I really think all three episodes had redeeming qualities that made them all very enjoyable overall.

-- Did you like how the show is set in the present day?
I love it! I think it opens up much more creativity for the show to break away a bit from the 'common' story. It also opens up the door for new technology. In the very first episode when they are having a press conference and Sherlock keeps sending text messages to all of the reporters telling them the police are wrong is priceless. This is not something that would have been possible if they had set it in the past.

-- What do you think of how while Sherlock is thinking words appear on the screen instead of the watcher being left in the dark.
I love this idea! The guy does, too. I like watching how Sherlock comes up with his ideas. The way that he thinks is wonderful. We should all be more observant!

-- What do want to see in the second season?
Well, I am going to be obvious and just say I want to know how the cliff-hanger ending is addressed.

Final Thoughts: This was fun! I don't watch a lot of things as a group, so I was excited to do something a bit different. If you have read my blog with any regularity you will notice that I enjoy buddy reads, so this was the next possible step. I also think we chose a great show to try this with. I look forward to more review with Suey and Melissa in the future, but also to more Sherlock!

Then, I just wanted to inform everyone that there will be the first months wrap-up post on Lu's blog today. Be sure and check it out and make sure you didn't miss anything. The Linky and such for February will be on this blog on the 28th. I hope to see people participate!

Lastly, I know I won't have time to join in for this event, but if anyone needs someone to write to I will happily write back. I also collect postcards... Just saying! (If you need my address just ask.)