Book #78 of 2026: Ironwood by Michael Connelly (Catalina #2) Author Michael Connelly could probably write a crime novel like this in his sleep at this point, and occasionally I wonder if he has. His latest volume returns to the setting and characters of last year’s Nightshade, where a detective has been punished for still-murky …
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TV #25 of 2026: Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, season 1 This show is very much Terminator filtered through the particular ethos of a 2000s teen drama, which is not an approach I felt like I needed to watch after the first few episodes back when it originally aired. (The network may have been Fox, …
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Overall rating: ★★★★☆ Previously on Film Franchise Fridays:
Overall rating: ★★★★☆ Previously on Film Franchise Fridays:
Book #77 of 2026: The Astral Library by Kate Quinn I struggled a lot with this heroine early on, finding her woe-is-me, not-like-other-girls attitude incredibly childish and off-putting. She’s also the sort of character who bemoans her supposedly plain looks while ignoring how the romantic interest is practically throwing himself at her feet in worship. …
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TV #24 of 2026: Barry, season 1 SNL alumnus Bill Hader isn’t as funny in the title role of this series as I would have expected, but he’s certainly not the first established comedian to pivot to a more dramatic footing (Bryan Cranston and Bob Odenkirk both coming immediately to mind). And there is a …
Book #76 of 2026: All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker This novel carries a strong feeling of True Detective seasons 1 and 3 for me, and not only for the core plot involving a string of unsolved child abductions. It also spends a long time on people processing trauma and obsessing about …
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Book #75 of 2026: Radiant Star by Ann Leckie This latest entry is probably the weakest of the six novels in author Ann Leckie’s extended Imperial Radch saga so far, but it’s still an enjoyable enough time that I’m comfortable giving it three-and-a-half stars (radiant or otherwise), rounded up. It takes place during / after …
Movie #24 of 2026: Clerks (1994) Even on a rewatch decades on, Clerks feels like a marvel. Filmed in black-and-white on a shoestring budget in the adjoining convenience and video rental stores where writer-director Kevin Smith worked at the time, it captures the aimless Gen X burnout spirit of works like Office Space (1999), but …
Book #74 of 2026: Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke A neat premise, a compellingly unlikeable narrator reminiscent of June in Yellowface, and a scathing critique of the tradwife / manosphere / social media influencer ecosystem. What’s not to love? Natalie is one of those women peddling a faux traditional lifestyle to her millions of followers …
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