TV #6 of 2017: The Magicians, season 1 This show’s writers made a lot of very smart choices when it came to adapting Lev Grossman’s book series, seamlessly weaving together plot points from the first two novels to create the arc for this season. Some of it was faithful adaptation, some of it was a …
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Book Review: The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Book #10 of 2017: The Help by Kathryn Stockett I loved this novel’s focus on black domestic servants during the Jim Crow era, which is an aspect of American history that doesn’t get talked about as much as it should – and is more recent than some folks might like to admit. I would have …
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Book Review: Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett
Book #9 of 2017: Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett (Discworld #8) This early Discworld novel introduces the character Sam Vimes and the rest of the City Watch, although it’s clear that author Terry Pratchett was still figuring out who they would be at this point. Here the Watch investigates the sudden appearance of a dragon …
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TV Review: The Good Place, season 1
TV #5 of 2017: The Good Place, season 1 I love this show so much! Kristen Bell plays a dead woman who gets welcomed to the show’s version of heaven for living such a good life – except there must have been some kind of mix-up, because she was actually kind of a terrible person …
TV Review: Star Trek: The Next Generation, season 1
TV #4 of 2017: Star Trek: The Next Generation, season 1 Ah, the next stage in my quest to watch all of Star Trek from the beginning. So far, I would say that TNG is about on par with the original series – which is both a good and a bad thing, of course. It’s …
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Book Review: Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
Book #8 of 2017: Inkheart by Cornelia Funke (Inkworld #1) Inkheart is that rare book that feels like coming home to an old favorite the very first time you read it. This story of a father and daughter who can bring to life characters from the books they read shares more than a little DNA …
TV Review: Orphan Black, season 4
TV #3 of 2017: Orphan Black, season 4 As usual with Orphan Black, this season was a mixed bag. On the plus side: more Krystal and actual honest-to-goodness extended flashback scenes with Beth. On the minus… well, the storylines on this show have long since stopped making any sort of sense, to be honest. I …
Book Review: You May Also Like: Taste in an Age of Endless Choice by Tom Vanderbilt
Book #7 of 2017: You May Also Like: Taste in an Age of Endless Choice by Tom Vanderbilt A sprawling but deeply engrossing read on how personal tastes function: why we like the things we like, how tastes intersect with our social identities, and how context-dependent, variable, and ultimately arbitrary those preferences can be. I …
Book Review: The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
Book #6 of 2017: The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier (The Chocolate War #1) This early YA novel about a Catholic schoolboy resisting peer pressure to participate in a corrupt fundraising scheme didn’t really do it for me. The story was well-written, but the villains were all way too over the top to be taken …
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TV Review: 11.22.63
TV #2 of 2017: 11.22.63 I ended up really liking this adaptation of the Stephen King story where the guy goes back in time to try and save JFK, even though they changed a lot of what I loved about the book. But the core of the story is still there, and even James Franco …
The Lesser Joke: book reviews and more 