Sunday, July 25, 2021

{Sunday Post} - The Shadow, Spiral, and The Dark Room


Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer!

Good Morning, Everyone! 

 

Good News & Bad News


Well, I have some good news. My dishwasher is functioning correctly again. No, I didn't have it repaired. It turns out that the problem wasn't the motor. It was the breaker. The bad news is that the breaker box is from the '70s, and the breakers are extinct. There's a welder outlet in the garage that I've never used, so I turned it off and switched the breakers. Everything seems to be working correctly.

I learned the previous owners mislabeled all the breakers, and the entire time the gas stove has been hooked up to the wrong breaker. FYI: I took the stone burners apart and cleaned them. All of them are working correctly. I replaced the oven lightbulb earlier in the week, and it continued to flicker. It only stopped when I did the breaker switcheroo, which is weird since the stove is on a different breaker. 


It's a 200 AMP breaker box, and it's going to be costly to replace it. The minimum cost would be around $5,000 - $6,000. Yeah, it's going to be a while before I can afford to have it replaced, but it's something that's going to have to happen. In the meantime, I'm going to use the dishwasher sparingly and keep a close eye on it when it's in use. Any first signs of trouble, and I'm unplugging it.






 

What Am I Reading?


I finished reading Once Upon a Time in Hollywood by Quentin Tarantino on Tuesday. My review for it is coming soon. 


I didn't have time to read anything else until Friday afternoon when I picked up The Shadow by James Patterson and Brian Sitts. It's a new take on The Shadow pulp novels from the 1930s. I'm currently on page 136 or otherwise known as Chapter 36, out of 101. Yep, there are 101 chapters in a 378-page book. I'm no longer questioning why Mr. Patterson wants so many chapters in his novels. I'm just reading it and trying not to nitpick the crap out of it.



Recent Reviews





What's in the Mail? 


Yesterday, I received a copy of Blue Man by John L. Moore. I'll be reviewing it for an upcoming book tour.



As you can see by the photo above, there were many movies in the mail this past week. Lionsgate sent over V.C. Andrews' Laundry Family 4-Movie Series (Ruby, Pearl in the Mist, All That Glitters, and Hidden Jewel). I had watched the movies when they first aired on Lifetime earlier in the year. The first movie is alright, but the writing and acting get worse in each sequel. I posted mini-reviews on Letterboxd after viewing them. I have yet to watch the films on DVD, though I will have to, so can I write the review. 


Lionsgate also sent Spiral: From the Book of Saw, which I've already watched and reviewed. It's the worst film in the Saw franchise. 


RLJ Entertainment sent me the Gangs of London: Season One Blu-ray, which I have yet to watch. I'm not for sure how many episodes there are, but the runtime is over 9 hours.


Lastly, Paramount Home Entertainment sent me A Quite Place Part II on 4K Ultra HD, which I believe is coming out on Tuesday. I watched it on Friday night and liked it for the most part. I'm going to try to have my review posted on Tuesday morning.



What's New On the Bookshelf?


A month or so ago, the newly-built backend of the Salvation Army building caught on fire and burnt most of the donations. I wasn't aware the store was open until yesterday morning. The store part of the building was unharmed by the fire. I bought one paperback - The Dark Room by Minette Walters.


11 comments:

  1. Oh no -sorry to hear that. That's an expensive repair. Glad the dishwasher is working though (and hopefully continues to)!

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    1. The dishwasher is working for now. I'm wondering if it was what caused the breaker to overload in the first place.

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  2. That's definitely a costly repair but fingers crossed that everything will go well until you're ready to do it :) I do think 101 chapters is pushing it if you're not even crossing the 400-page mark but hey, he's the expert! I hope you enjoy Gangs of London, I definitely want to see A Quiet Place Part II at some point!
    Juli @ A Universe in Words

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  3. Sorry to hear about all the house troubles. Hopefully everything is working better now.

    Nice new reads and movies! Lots of new to me ones here but I hope you enjoy them all!


    Here's my StS

    Have a GREAT day!

    Old Follower :)

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  4. Oh no! That's expensive. Hopefully the old breaker box will hold out a while longer. I'm still puzzling over 101 chapters in that book!

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    1. All James Patterson books have way too many chapters.

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  5. Ugh, that's the problem with older houses. I had to replace my A/C in May before it got hot because it was already not working, so I also went ahead and replace my furnace which was from the 90s, my AC older than that. It cost over $8000 which I had to finance. Ugh. I thought Spiral had some interesting parts, I liked the looks back at the cops from other stories, and of course you can see how they left it open for more. Hope your breaker box will hold out long enough that you can deal with it when you can afford it.
    Lisa Loves Literature

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  6. Oh hmmm, didn't know they adapted that VC Andrews series. Got me curious - even though it doesn't sound promising. If done right, that VC's stories could become cult favorites.

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  7. Yikes that's a pricey home repair but sounds like you'll want to get done as quickly as you can-

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  8. How did you get so lucky to have studios sending you movies to review??????

    I'm terrified of all things electrical (and gas) so I'm in awe of you changing your own breakers or whatever. My Mom's house scares me the way everything dims when the AC kicks on.

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