Book #88 of 2016: Joyland by Stephen King Stephen King captures the particular aimlessness of a college student currently in between life dreams, but the plot of Joyland doesn’t have any real flashes of brilliance like the best of his work. It’s a perfectly adequate summer read, but so much of it – the psychic …
Author Archives: Joe Kessler
Book Review: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Book #87 of 2016: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald This book is justifiably a classic, and I’m glad that I finally got around to reading it — but wow, what a miserable bunch of characters. As much as I love a good take-down of the American Dream, I just couldn’t wait to be …
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Book Review: The Devil You Know by K. J. Parker
Book #86 of 2016: The Devil You Know by K. J. Parker (Saloninus #2) I think I like the idea behind this novella — the ongoing dialogue between a philosopher and the demon he’s sold his soul to who’s suspicious the man is trying to trick his way out of their contract — a lot …
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TV Review: Star Trek: The Animated Series, season 2
TV #43 of 2016: Star Trek: The Animated Series, season 2 I really liked Star Trek: The Animated Series, even in this abbreviated second season. I think it’s for the same reason I’ve been enjoying finally getting into the Big Finish Doctor Who audio dramas: the cast brings the same energy and joy they do …
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Book Review: Orange Is the New Black by Piper Kerman
Book #85 of 2016: Orange Is the New Black by Piper Kerman This memoir is far less dramatic and action-packed than its fictionalized Netflix adaptation. (And the real Piper frankly comes off as a lot less awful than her TV counterpart.) But fans of the show will still recognize much of its source material here, …
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Book Review: Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Book #84 of 2016: Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck A short but powerful read. Lennie is so clearly doomed from the start – I have to imagine Stephen King had the big man in mind when he created the character of John Coffey for The Green Mile – but Steinbeck unfolds the story …
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Book Review: The Uninvited Guests by Sadie Jones
Book #83 of 2016: The Uninvited Guests by Sadie Jones For a comedy of manners, The Uninvited Guests wasn’t really all that entertaining. It had some bright spots here and there – mostly to do with the younger daughter, who is absent for most of the text – but as a whole this was just …
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Book Review: Long After Midnight by Ray Bradbury
Book #82 of 2016: Long After Midnight by Ray Bradbury I can’t decide whether this was an exceptionally weak collection of Ray Bradbury stories, or whether the author just doesn’t speak to me like he did when I was younger. Either way, I really didn’t care for this collection. “A Piece of Wood” and “Punishment …
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Book Review: Bloodhound by Tamora Pierce
Book #81 of 2016: Bloodhound by Tamora Pierce (Beka Cooper #2) The second Beka Cooper novel continues her character growth nicely, settling her into her new role as a full Guardswoman with the assignment of a major counterfeiting case that sends her off largely on her own into a brand-new city. It’s a good way …
TV Review: Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23, season 1
TV #42 of 2016: Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23, season 1 My favorite part of this sitcom is definitely watching James Van Der Beek play a heightened parody of himself. Plus Krysten Ritter is always fun and it’s cool to see Dreama Walker in a more comedic role after her stint as Zach’s …
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The Lesser Joke: book reviews and more 