Book #240 of 2018: And Now We Have Everything: On Motherhood Before I Was Ready by Meaghan O’Connell A short, powerful memoir about unplanned pregnancy, birth, early parenting, and postpartum depression. I really admire author Meaghan O’Connell’s sharp, matter-of-fact tone, which basically comes across as a more human version of Amy Dunne from Gone Girl. …
Author Archives: Joe Kessler
TV Review: Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, season 2
TV #50 of 2018: Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, season 2 Not as tight a story as the first season, but I like that it immediately pushes forward new character-driven plots, especially for Paula, and that the status quo continues to get shaken up as the season progresses. And of course, the songs are as clever and catchy …
Book Review: Ararat by Christopher Golden
Book #239 of 2018: Ararat by Christopher Golden (Ben Walker #1) This story of demonic possession and murder unleashed by the discovery of Noah’s Ark on an isolated mountainside is a solid paranormal thriller, sort of like Michael Crichton or Dan Brown crossed with early Stephen King. I would have liked a little more depth …
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Book Review: The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
Book #238 of 2018: The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov This subversive Soviet satire, written in secret and only published after author Mikhail Bulgakov’s death, is wickedly funny and very creative, but it’s all a bit chaotic for my tastes. Given the sarcastic gun-wielding cat, the black magic of the literal devil, the gratuitous …
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Book Review: Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
Book #237 of 2018: Pachinko by Min Jin Lee This sprawling novel spans most of the twentieth century, following several generations of a family throughout their lives in Korea and Japan. The characters are very well-drawn in grounded detail, although as usual for this sort of saga, they tend to come and go over the …
Book Review: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling
Book #236 of 2018: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling (Harry Potter #6) I love plenty of individual moments in this penultimate Harry Potter book, but if I’m being truly objective, its flashback-heavy narrative arc is a bit of a step down for the series. As usual author J. K. Rowling …
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Book Review: Unhinged: An Insider’s Account of the Trump White House by Omarosa Manigault Newman
Book #235 of 2018: Unhinged: An Insider’s Account of the Trump White House by Omarosa Manigault Newman In the burgeoning genre of inside accounts of the 45th presidential administration, this one from President Trump’s longtime associate Omarosa Manigault Newman covers relatively little new ground. It also feels aimed at a very particular sort of contemporary …
Book Review: From Cradle to Stage: Stories from the Mothers Who Rocked and Raised Rock Stars by Virginia Hanlon Grohl
Book #234 of 2018: From Cradle to Stage: Stories from the Mothers Who Rocked and Raised Rock Stars by Virginia Hanlon Grohl Author Virginia Hanlon Grohl is the mother of Dave Grohl from the bands Nirvana and Foo Fighters, and although she seems to have enjoyed getting to know and interview other musician moms for …
Movie Review: Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)
Movie #20 of 2018: Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) This musical biopic of Queen singer Freddie Mercury is much better than I expected it to be. I’m not super well-informed about the actual history of the band, but it seems like the movie sticks pretty close to the facts. I’m especially surprised – quite pleasantly so! – …
Book Review: Strange Weather by Joe Hill
Book #233 of 2018: Strange Weather by Joe Hill These four novellas from author Joe Hill are of mixed quality, but the collection as a whole is well worth the price of admittance. SNAPSHOT: A thirteen-year-old boy learns that his neighbor’s dementia has been caused by a sinister man whose magic camera is stealing her …
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