TV #47 of 2021: Killing Eve, season 3 After a strong opening stretch that set up a compelling queer romance amid its bleak comedy, this series has really plummeted in quality, with this latest run by far its weakest yet. The open questions about character loyalties that were once intriguing have never been satisfactorily answered, …
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Book Review: Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi
Book #141 of 2021: Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi This novella follows its protagonist from his birth during the Rodney King riots through childhood, falling in with the local gang, an eight-year prison sentence, and ultimately parole in a near-future still plagued with contemporary social problems, while also featuring periodic glances at his older sister’s …
Continue reading “Book Review: Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi”
Book Review: The A.B.C. Murders by Agatha Christie
Book #140 of 2021: The A.B.C. Murders by Agatha Christie (Hercule Poirot #13) A delightful change of pace for the clever Belgian detective, finding him matching wits with a serial killer who sends him taunting letters before each successive murder. It’s a surprisingly modern premise from author Agatha Christie, but unlike the similarly divergent The …
Continue reading “Book Review: The A.B.C. Murders by Agatha Christie”
TV Review: The Americans, season 3
TV #46 of 2021: The Americans, season 3 Another strong year of the deep-cover Cold War drama, albeit without as clear a throughline in thematic material or plot. Season one was largely focused on parallels between the Jennings marriage and its accompanying spy partnership, and the next one turned to the protagonists’ role as parents, …
TV Review: Saturday Night Live, season 46
TV #45 of 2021: Saturday Night Live, season 46 I may be grading on a curve here, but the erstwhile sketch comedy series bounced back pretty strong from (or rather, during) COVID-19. Following the few “SNL at Home” episodes that closed out the past season, it was sort of a relief to see the gang …
Continue reading “TV Review: Saturday Night Live, season 46”
Book Review: Passing by Nella Larsen
Book #139 of 2021: Passing by Nella Larsen An interesting 1929 novella about a black woman’s friend crossing the color line to present as white instead. The racial insights (and potential queer subtext) from almost a century ago are worth checking out, but the ending plays into the regrettable trope of the ‘tragic mulatto’ — …
Book Review: The Initial Insult by Mindy McGinnis
Book #138 of 2021: The Initial Insult by Mindy McGinnis (The Initial Insult #1) This first volume of a planned YA duology is a fun but kind of goofy modern spin on The Cask of Amontillado, playing out against a broad pastiche of several other Poe stories as well. So you’ve got the teenage girl …
Continue reading “Book Review: The Initial Insult by Mindy McGinnis”
Book Review: Rule of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo
Book #137 of 2021: Rule of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo (King of Scars #2) This is a much busier volume than its predecessor in the King of Scars duology, but author Leigh Bardugo impressively manages to bring it all together in the end (which is a welcome change from how disconnected Nina’s storyline felt before). …
Continue reading “Book Review: Rule of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo”
TV Review: Dawson’s Creek, season 3
TV #44 of 2021: Dawson’s Creek, season 3 Pacey Witter is the beating heart of this show, and the third season gets better as it goes along by leaning into the prickly attraction between him and Joey. That’s still not perfect storytelling — it’s a major disconnect from their dynamic the year before, and the …
Book Review: The Man Who Lived Underground by Richard Wright
Book #136 of 2021: The Man Who Lived Underground by Richard Wright Among the more unexpected surprises of 2021 has been this publication of a new novel by Richard Wright, eighty years after it was rejected by publishers and made available only as a heavily-truncated short story. In this full version, it’s a text as …
Continue reading “Book Review: The Man Who Lived Underground by Richard Wright”
The Lesser Joke: book reviews and more 