Book #129 of 2017: The Dark Man by Stephen King This illustrated poem is more atmospheric than substantive, an early character sketch of the figure who would eventually grow to be Stephen King’s recurring villain Randall Flagg. King wrote the poem when he was in college – well before Flagg would first pop up in …
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Book 128 of 2017: The Invasion of the Tearling by Erika Johansen (The Queen of the Tearling #2) It’s still a little uneven, but this second book in the Tearling trilogy is a definite improvement over the forgettable first volume. The magic is still over-powered and under-explained, and Kelsea’s character beats don’t always feel like …
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Book #127 of 2017: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell I liked the family drama and some other individual elements in this book, but I really couldn’t stand the main character or her love interest. She’s an introverted college freshman who kisses a guy she thinks is her roommate’s boyfriend and cries when her professor won’t accept …
Book #126 of 2017: Someday, Someday, Maybe by Lauren Graham This was a cute semi-autobiographical novel from TV star Lauren Graham about a struggling actress in New York City. For the most part I was charmed by the central character, who is somewhat neurotic but definitely relatable as she tries to break into her chosen …
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TV #21 of 2017: Bob’s Burgers, season 7 There are typically few real surprises this late into a show’s run, and although this particular show is still making me laugh, I’d probably be okay if it got canceled. I’ve always loved how the humor on Bob’s Burgers is so specifically character-based, but at this point, …
Movie #8 of 2017: Wonder Woman (2017) Wonder Woman is neither a perfect movie nor even a perfect superhero movie, but it’s such a refreshing change of pace from the typical male-heavy entries to that genre that it’s pretty easy to overlook the minor flaws and celebrate its accomplishments. And it is a good movie, …
Book #125 of 2017: Changing Planes by Ursula K. Le Guin The best part about this collection of loosely-related stories is captured by the pun in its title, reflecting the overall conceit that the unique combination of boredom and frustration experienced by a person waiting at the airport can enable travel to a different astral …
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Book #124 of 2017: Feed by Mira Grant (Newsflesh #1) Once you set aside this book’s ludicrous premise – not the zombie uprising, but the idea that independent teen bloggers represent a trusted news source – it ends up being a lot of fun. The story is set several decades after the undead outbreak, and …
Book #123 of 2017: Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King (Bill Hodges Trilogy #1) This novel lost steam for me as it went along (especially once I realized that a promising new character was just Stephen King’s version of Lisbeth Salander), but for the most part King has delivered an exciting crime thriller about a retired …
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Book #122 of 2017: The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoyevsky The Idiot — which might more fairly be called The Naïf — follows a wide-eyed innocent as he leaves his Swiss sanitarium for Russian high society and generally finds himself unprepared for its corruption and amorality. Some of these events are droll, but I felt there …
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