Winters in the northern US can be pretty brutal. If you aren't dealing with inches to feet of snow, you are probably suffering from sub zero temps thanks to the polar vortex. Actually, things seem to be pushing further south over the past couple of years due to global warming or whatever your preferred reason is.
There were a couple of years that I feel like Kentucky and Tennessee got more snow than we did. In any event, the cooler temperatures and white stuff tends to keep people inside a bit more. Unless you are a skier, snowboarder, or rich enough to own a snowmobile, you probably don't spend a ton of time outdoors from the middle of November until the end of February.
Which means in the winter @mrsbozz and I usually have a bit more opportunity to spend some time in front of the TV or occupying our time outside of camping or being outdoors. I've got a few things that I have been watching, reading, or listening to lately, so I wanted to go over a few of them with you here on HIVE. I hope you don't mind.
Bosch
A while ago my wife expressed an interest in watching the show "Ballard" on Amazon Prime. I added it to our list, and then promptly found out it was a spin off of the show Bosch. So we started the dive into the ten seasons of Bosch that are on Amazon Prime. Bosch is a LAPD Detective created by Michael Connelly, the same guy who created The Lincoln Lawyer.
It's been a fun watch and we are finally on the last season right now. After that we will transition to watching Ballard finally. I also recently bought the first couple of Bosch books by Connelly. I have heard the books are different enough from the show that you can still enjoy both of them. When I finish reading my current book I will start those. Either that or The Wheel of Time.
Lone Wolf
Speaking of books... I've been reading a series called Orphan X lately by an author named Gregg Hurwitz. If I had to explain the premise of the books, it is basically a cross between The Equalizer and The Borne Identity. Without the memory loss. It's been a fun read and I am currently in the middle of Lone Wolf which is the ninth book in the series.
There are only two more and then I am finished with them, but I think the last one hasn't even been written yet. The Internet gives it a publish date of 2026. They have been entertaining and I have been able to get through them more quickly than most books. In fact, the 8th book before Lone Wolf I think I finished in four or five days. That's a pretty big deal for me!
I still can't keep up with @mrsbozz. She usually has a physical book, a Kindle book, and an audio book all going at the same time.
The Order
Some time ago the wife and I were watching TV and we saw an advertisement for a movie that was coming out called The Order. We both looked at each other and said "that looks really good". Then we kind of forgot about it. I tried to find it a couple of times after that, but it was only available to watch via paid services.
I was pleasantly surprised to find it on Hulu the other day as part of our subscription. We took a break from watching Bosch over the holiday to watch The Order. It stars Jude Law as an FBI agent investigating a white supremacist faction in the northwestern US. It was actually based on true events and it was really really good. Disturbing, but good. If you get the chance to watch it, you definitely should.
I'm not going to talk about it too much so I don't spoil it for you.
Andor
Personally, when @mrsbozz is taking a nap or she heads to bed early, I have been working my way through the second season of Andor. I have been enjoying it more than the first season, but it still feels very slowly paced compared to what I typically watch. Honestly, it's hard to remember who all the characters are and I find myself getting quite confused at times. It's also been a really long time since I watched Rogue One, so I don't recognize all the tie ins that I am sure are there.
Despite that, it has been fun to watch and once I finish it up, I will probably move on to the third season of Dark Winds or something else.
Jazz Legends
Finally, I've also been listening to a Podcast a bit lately called Jazz Legends There are quite a few episodes and it is basically a panel of prominent jazz artists talking about some of the legends of jazz. They have some pretty amazing stories and it has been really interesting to listen to. I am only about six or seven episodes in, but it is safe to say I am hooked.
I don't always understand the terms they are using, or know all of the artists they reference, but it is still a good listen and that doesn't detract from it at all. It gives you a really great insight into some of the artists who shaped jazz music and made it what it is today.
This is my first dive into podcasts in a while, but I highly recommend it if you like jazz music and you are looking for something new to listen to.
I also got my Spotify year in review update yesterday. My niece shared hers with me, so I went and took a look at mine. I am only mildly surprised by the results. Perhaps I will share that in a different post.
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Gosh snow seems to exotic to me! I love God you hunker down and watch shows together. I liked the tv series Orphan X - I'm pretty sure it's the same thing? A good detective drama is worth its weight in gold - I haven't seen Bosch but there's a ton I haven't seen!
No, I think the Orphan X series was about mutants. This is more like government secret agents. That sort of thing. I could be wrong though.
I also did start to read the Orphan X series. But I did pauze it due to the release of the new Dan Brown novel. Normally I would have returned to Orphan X but a new book in the Jack Reacher series was released so that got the priority. After I will have finished this I will pick up the Orphan series again. The first and second I did read were great, the next one (with the president I believe) was a little bit over the top.
I will give the next one a try, and then I will see if I will continue the series or not.
I wasn't a fan of the second one. I thought the third one was great. I tend to suspend a bit of disbelief when I read in general, so the plot of the third one didn't really bother me that much. The only Dan Brown book I have ever read was Digital Fortress. I've never read any of the Reacher books.
Did you read the Reacher series? I do find them much better than the Orphan X series. But that’s a personal opinion 😁
No, I just watch the show.
Bosch sounds like a pretty good show for us to watch next. We don't have the same problem with the snow though 😀
It's been a good watch. I hope you enjoy it.
You have a lot of snow already, here in western, NY we are just starting to accumulate some inches. I think this winter we will both see a lot more snow and colder temps as they predicted. Hunkering down with movies and books sounds like a good plan. I will be doing some puzzles and deep cleaning, lol.
I would have expected you to have a lot more than that with the lake effect machine in full force!
Right! We usually get slammed but for some reason the snow never hit us her in Webster on the 104 corridor which is a hoot in the winter. lol
Wow, that is crazy. I guess it's probably coming though... Just a matter of time!
Andor is slow moving, but it was a good show at the end. I'm glad I watched the second season. It took me awhile to relearn the characters too, you weren't along there. I skipped Bosch and Ballard, there are just so many cop shows out there that I'm kind of tired of them.
I do hope you survive the white stuff on the ground, I don't miss that stuff! You'll enjoy Landman Season 2 and Nobody 2 as well, those have bee a lot of fun to watch!
I forgot to mention that I squeezed in the first part of Stranger Things season 5 as well. That was very good. Looking forward to picking it up come Christmas.
When I was young we would be watching different stuff to what you had in the US, but there was some cross-over with the big shows like Dallas or 6 Million Dollar Man. Now we can all watch the same streaming services. I enjoy Andor. With my other half we watched Only Murders In The Building and have started on Death By Lightning about President Garfield. I am watching Witcher, despite it getting some bad reviews, and then I will move onto Stranger Things. I think it is good when a show can end so you can move onto others. They do not have to run forever.