Book #87 of 2026: Foster Dade Explores the Cosmos by Nash Jenkins Like its characters, this 2023 coming-of-age novel grows on me as it winds along, although I’m still not totally satisfied with the framing conceit that it’s the result of a relative stranger piecing together the fractured evidence to reconstruct the events in question. …
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Book #86 of 2026: The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald (Princess Irene and Curdie #1) Surprisingly readable for a fantasy novel first published in 1872, with a warm tone reminiscent of genre successors like J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, or Diana Wynne Jones. The plot is kind of a mess by …
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Movie #27 of 2026: Chasing Amy (1997) There’s a central tension in Kevin Smith’s third film, especially considered critically several decades on, which I think boils down to how much the audience is supposed to identify / agree with its main character. This is, after all, the tale of a man who confesses his love …
Book #85 of 2026: Daredevil: Born Again by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli I don’t read a lot of actual comic books, but I bought this in the airport on a recent whim, having heard how classic and influential it’s considered in such circles. (It’s also in part the basis for certain arcs on Marvel’s …
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Book #84 of 2026: Smash or Pass by Birdie Schae This YA romance is cute, but relatively lightweight — it’s a pretty quick read anyway, and it’s not until the last quarter of the text that the heroine finally realizes she isn’t straight and has been crushing on her new best friend at summer volleyball …
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TV #27 of 2026: Bob’s Burgers, season 16 I don’t have much to say about this animated sitcom that I haven’t said many times before, because Bob’s Burgers as a show is basically stuck in a longtime comfortable rut. It’s reliably funny enough to keep watching, and I especially like the initial episode of this …
Book #83 of 2026: The Original by Nell Stevens I’m unfortunately a bit underwhelmed by this historical fiction novel, which has a few interesting components that never really cohere together for me. The best part is the heroine’s overall struggle to live as a closeted queer woman in turn-of-the-century London, but it doesn’t have much …
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Book #82 of 2026: The Precipice by Ben Bova (The Asteroid Wars #1) This 2001 novel marks the start of a new sub-series within author Ben Bova’s Grand Tour saga, but it also represents the culmination of several previous titles that provide valuable context for returning readers. It’s chronologically the last of his stories to …
Movie #26 of 2026: Zoey’s Extraordinary Christmas (2021) A largely unnecessary second finale to the series Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, which had ended its TV run on NBC seven months earlier. As far as I can determine, The Roku Channel picked up this production in the dashed hopes of greenlighting a third season if it performed …
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Book #81 of 2026: Doctor Who: Lucifer Rising by Andy Lane and Jim Mortimer (Virgin New Adventures #14) The longest entry in its series so far is also one of the best, delivering a militaristic space opera that in many ways presages later adventures in the franchise such as The Impossible Planet / The Satan …
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