Book #50 of 2021: Overground Railroad: The Green Book and the Roots of Black Travel in America by Candacy Taylor A fascinating deep dive into The Negro Motorist Green Book, a guide that was self-published by a small press from 1936 to 1966 with lists of businesses around the country that had been verified safe …
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TV Review: Justified, season 2
TV #19 of 2021: Justified, season 2 I like the idea of the Bennett hillbilly crime family — as well as Margo Martindale’s powerhouse portrayal of its cagey yet honorable clan matriarch — but the surrounding plot is messy and uneven, and a number of writing decisions leave me frustrated. I don’t mind making the …
TV Review: The Queen’s Gambit
TV #18 of 2021: The Queen’s Gambit An outstanding character study and period piece, offering the same sort of lush mid-twentieth-century design details that bring the era to life on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. The main focus here, however, is on our complicated protagonist, a brilliant but lonely young prodigy struggling to understand the world …
Book Review: You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson
Book #49 of 2021: You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson This is a really cute #ownvoices queer love story, and while it’s a little hard to suspend my disbelief that a race for prom queen could be this intense — or that the nerdy protagonist is pinning all of her scholarship …
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Book Review: The Plague Cycle: The Unending War Between Humanity and Infectious Disease by Charles Kenny
Book #48 of 2021: The Plague Cycle: The Unending War Between Humanity and Infectious Disease by Charles Kenny An informative yet somewhat dry overview of the history of pandemics, focusing less on the science of disease origin, spread, and containment / cure, and more on the human policy response (or lack thereof). I’d recommend this …
Book Review: Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor by Steven Moffat
Book #47 of 2021: Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor by Steven Moffat This 2018 novelization of the Doctor Who 50th anniversary special is a whole lot of fun. Although it doesn’t take the opportunity like the similar Russell T. Davies “Rose” adaptation to cheekily sneak in some post-facto canon nods, author Steven Moffat …
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Book Review: No Time Like the Future: An Optimist Considers Mortality by Michael J. Fox
Book #46 of 2021: No Time Like the Future: An Optimist Considers Mortality by Michael J. Fox I think most people probably have a fondness for actor Michael J. Fox, due to lingering affection for the beloved characters he’s played, sympathy for the early-onset Parkinson’s disease that reoriented his career and continues to affect his …
Book Review: Infinity Blade: Awakening by Brandon Sanderson
Book #45 of 2021: Infinity Blade: Awakening by Brandon Sanderson This 2011 media tie-in novella is an odd curiosity, even with author Brandon Sanderson bringing his usual talents to the task. It takes place in-between two mobile games to apparently bridge their stories together, and I imagine it would read better for an audience familiar …
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Book Review: The Beauty of What Remains: How Our Greatest Fear Becomes Our Greatest Gift by Steve Leder
Book #44 of 2021: The Beauty of What Remains: How Our Greatest Fear Becomes Our Greatest Gift by Steve Leder A powerful meditation on saying goodbye to loved ones who are dead or dying, and learning how to carry on without them. Author Steve Leder is a rabbi who has spent decades counseling his congregants …
TV Review: His Dark Materials, season 2
TV #17 of 2021: His Dark Materials, season 2 A clear improvement over the debut year of this literary fantasy series, in two key areas. First, perhaps simply due to an increased effects budget, we actually see dæmons — the trademark animal soul companions of the franchise — in most shots of anyone from Lyra’s …
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