What is the title of the book (fiction) you are currently reading, or what is the title of the last fiction book you read?
Currently I've started reading
Prophet from my favourite author Frank Peretti. I recently acquired a new smartphone with a larger screen than my old one, and as such have been tempted for the first time to read a digital book, rather than my preference for physical paperbacks. So far I'm not sure I can really focus on reading a novel in this format, and as such have only really gotten a couple of chapters in.
However the last non-fiction book I completed was a re-reading of a personal favourite -
That Hideous Strength by CS Lewis.
What is the title/topic of the book (non-fiction) you are currently reading, or what is the title/topic of the last non-fiction book you read?
Other than work and university related texts (which would be
Practical Vim and
Casual Game Design), I've been reading two non-fiction books. The first is
The Mythical Man-Month, a fantastic series of essays on project management in software development, and the other is
Alien Invasion, a detailed break down of the UFO/abduction phenomenon from a Christian perspective.
What is the last live performance (music, drama, or dance) you attended?
I must admit, I'm unable to answer this question. I have not attended a live event since my teenage years in sixth form where I saw
Delirious live for the third time. I've since moved on from my obsession with their music, and onto other bands and musical genres, but have outgrown my need to hear any of it live.
I'm not hugely into drama or dance, but I did recently watch a dvd recording of the 25th Anniversary performance of
Phantom of the Opera, so that's probably the closest I've got. I would love to try and attend more live events, however finding the time to arrange something I'd enjoy seeing is difficult.
What is the title of the last film you saw at the cinema/online/watched on dvd?
Truthfully the last thing I saw at the cinema was a year ago, and was
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, a series I haven't read (nor do I desire to read) but I had seen out of curiosity the first film, and enjoying it decided to see the second. I rarely attend the cinema, with only a small handful of films that I want to see coming out each year. Due to the time and money involved, I usually don't bother, but when I do I really try to make the most out of the experience and enjoy it.
Online, I watched
Sound of my Voice, a surprisingly intriguing indie film, about - well I'm not really sure what exactly but I think that was the point of it. However, having also seen
The East, I can safely say that Brit Marling is now quite possibly my favourite actress/director (besides Joss Whedon, but who doesn't love him?)
How often do you read a newspaper?
Rarely. I have a complicated system of rss feeds, filtered by topic that deliver my news from a wide variety of sources online, including regularly reading political blogs from both the UK and America. Along with
reddit, I manage to stay up to date with the most important current affairs, both nationally and abroad while avoiding as much as possible, the bias that comes from simply reading/watching the news from a single source.
Which art gallery/museum/exhibition did you last visit?
I haven't been to a museum in a few years, and I haven't really had the interest to go to an art gallery since sixth form, however archaeology and history have always interested me, and since studying design theory last year I have a greater appreciation for art than I once did.
Exhibition wise, I have been to two in the last year with work. The first was
Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, where although I was there as an exhibitor, I still had the opportunity to discuss the latest tech advances with others in the industry. The second was
Gadget Show Live, and in between providing demos of my company's product, I got the opportunity to meet the developers of a few indie games I'd been following on reddit for a while.
How many hours a week do you spend playing video games?
Probably a few too many, considering all the other things here that I could be doing, but I would say about 6-8 hours (including weekends) in a given week. I just finished replaying
Broken Sword over the weekend, and have started sinking more hours into
Prison Architect after a recent update to the alpha. The games that I play a lot of would be
Skyrim,
Smite, and
Counter Strike: Source, as well as the frequent replays of all the Zelda games I own (which apart from the latest couple is all of them), and my favourite genre - the collect'em all 3D platformer on my old consoles.
How many hours a week do you spend playing games other than video games?
More than I did a few years ago. Though it isn't every week that I get the chance to spend time with my family and friends and play board games, when I do we tend to make a whole evening out of it and get 4-5 hours of various games. I recently acquired
Pandemic, and really enjoy the challenge of working together against the board in a game designed to make you lose far more than you win. I also enjoy
Carcassonne and
Ticket to Ride: Europe.
