TV #7 of 2019: Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, season 4 This series has always been an interesting blend of over-the-top 30 Rock absurdism and heightened-yet-thoughtful portrayal of abuse and recovery, but this final season struggles with that balance and regularly comes across as glibber than I remember the show being in the past. It’s a bit …
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Book #28 of 2019: Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik This pastoral winter fantasy novel initially seems like it will be a straightforward retelling of the Rumpelstiltskin myth, and I was already drawn in by the idea of setting that story in a medieval Slavic kingdom with a Jewish heroine. As it develops, however, author Naomi …
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Book #26 of 2019: The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of a Lost World by Steve Brusatte This 2018 book is an interesting review of the current scientific understanding of dinosaurs, much of which is different from what was taught in schools decades ago (and from the representation in popular culture …
Book #27 of 2019: Flight or Fright edited by Stephen King and Bev Vincent In principle, horror about air travel is a fine concept for a short story collection. There’s so much that can go wrong on a plane, at least in the domain of fiction: from supernatural cloud-dwellers (“Nightmare at 20,000 Feet” by Richard …
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Book #25 of 2019: Kill the Farm Boy by Delilah S. Dawson and Kevin Hearne (The Tales of Pell #1) This novel aspires to be a tongue-in-cheek fairy tale sendup a la Discworld or Shrek, but it doesn’t have anywhere near the heart or cleverness to pull that off. Instead it reads more like just …
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Book #24 of 2019: Palace of Stone by Shannon Hale (Princess Academy #2) Much like the first book, this Princess Academy sequel seems like a great title for readers transitioning between the middle-grade and young adult publishing categories. It’s a tough act to balance the atmosphere of class consciousness and fermenting revolution against a lighter …
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Book #23 of 2019: Girl Waits with Gun by Amy Stewart (Kopp Sisters #1) The heroine in this historical fiction novel has a plucky Willa Cather vibe to her, and it’s neat that her story is based on real events (which have also been recently portrayed in an episode of the show Drunk History). The …
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Book #22 of 2019: Taran Wanderer by Lloyd Alexander (The Chronicles of Prydain #4) I like the section near the end of this book when the hero apprentices under a series of artisans who sneakily give him life lessons along with crafting skills, but as a whole it’s a bit too meandering for my tastes. …
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Book #21 of 2019: Thanos: Titan Consumed by Barry Lyga Originally announced and written as the first novel set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe before Disney walked back that claim just before publication, this book presents the backstory of its title character and the origins of his quest to destroy half of all life in …
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Book #20 of 2019: Circe by Madeline Miller I’m not well-versed enough in Greek mythology to recognize everywhere this novel diverts from the traditional versions of the title character’s story, but it’s nevertheless clear that this presentation of her life on her own terms is something special. Much like Wicked, it’s a feminist reclamation of …
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