Book #81 of 2021: Faye, Faraway by Helen Fisher For the most part, this novel (published in certain countries under the alternate title Space Hopper) is simply a lovely story about a woman time-traveling back to visit with the mother who passed away when she was a young girl. I appreciate how the narrative doesn’t …
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TV #28 of 2021: Community, season 5 This is a year for the sitcom that’s clearly in transition, with the return of showrunner/creator Dan Harmon after a season off, the departure of two original cast members, and a few necessary tweaks to the general premise. The solution to the question of how one still tells …
Book #80 of 2021: The Foundling and Other Tales of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander A fine but largely unremarkable collection of prequel tales to author Lloyd Alexander’s Chronicles of Prydain (which I just realized I finished reading two years ago today). It’s an early look at a few familiar characters like Fflewddur or Dallben, coupled …
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Book #79 of 2021: Saturday the Rabbi Went Hungry by Harry Kemelman (The Rabbi Small Mysteries #2) A disappointing follow-up to Friday the Rabbi Slept Late. It’s still neat to see a Jewish author incorporating authentic lived details into mainstream fiction — a rarity today, let alone back in 1966 — but whereas the first …
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TV #27 of 2021: Justified, season 3 Structurally, I can admire the way that this season brings its various story threads crashing together at the end, but I’m increasingly thinking that the larger series is just not a great fit for me. Even setting aside the copaganda aspects and the fact that the program continues …
Book #78 of 2021: These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong (These Violent Delights #1) This is a very loose retelling of Romeo and Juliet, pitching the star-crossed lovers as the respective heirs to two rival gang families in 1926 Shanghai. They’re also exes with complicated lingering feelings for one another rather than current sweethearts, with …
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Book #77 of 2021: The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna (Deathless #1) This fantasy novel has some interestingly eerie worldbuilding flourishes early on, but I’ve found the ensuing plot to be slow and overly predictable, which makes it hard to fully invest in the heroine’s journey, much as I always love to celebrate another dark-skinned …
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Book #76 of 2021: The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson (Mistborn #2) Another phenomenal piece of epic fantasy, juggling pulse-pounding cinematic action, endearing characters, court intrigue, worldbuilding revelations, and even a hidden traitor subplot with apparent ease. Although I miss the feeling of daringly clever heist shenanigans from the first novel, this sequel is …
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Book #75 of 2021: The Price You Pay for College: An Entirely New Road Map for the Biggest Financial Decision Your Family Will Ever Make by Ron Lieber As the father to a toddler with a new sibling on the way, I picked up this 2021 title expecting simply a quick overview of the current …
Book #74 of 2021: Bruja Born by Zoraida Córdova (Brooklyn Brujas #2) Switching protagonists for a sequel is always a dicey maneuver, as it tends to lessen the audience’s investment and risk sidelining the very elements that may have drawn them back into the tale. In this case, for instance, one of my favorite things …
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