Book #9 of 2023: The Secret History by Donna Tartt I’ve seen so many book reviews and even official publishing descriptions that compare other titles to Donna Tartt’s The Secret History — it’s apparently a belated inspiration for the modern ‘dark academia’ genre — so I knew that I would eventually need to check out …
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TV #3 of 2023: Gilmore Girls, season 1 This will be at least my third full watch-through of Gilmore Girls, which I think speaks to the overall quality of the program, but also to the ways in which a multigenerational drama like this can resonate with various audiences at various ages. The first time I …
Book #8 of 2023: Book Lovers by Emily Henry Romance is not one of my typical genres, but every once in a while, a title picks up enough positive chatter to break through and catch my attention. It probably helps that this particular novel is about two very bookish characters — the heroine a literary …
Movie #1 of 2023: The Bob’s Burgers Movie (2022) This seemingly-unnecessary feature film installment for the long-running Fox cartoon turns out to be a delightful surprise, especially coming after several seasons of television that haven’t struck me as all too creatively fruitful. Perhaps the production team’s attention was on this project instead? Whatever the reason, …
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Book #7 of 2023: The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle I know this 1968 novel is a beloved fantasy classic for many, but I’ll admit that reading it for the first time today, I’ve struggled to connect with the characters or their story. The imagery is certainly beautiful enough, and the equity in gender …
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Book #6 of 2023: The Singer’s Gun by Emily St. John Mandel This sophomore work from 2010 is definitely an Emily St. John Mandel title, displaying that author’s trademark tendency towards a narrative that unfolds nonlinearly, disclosing new elements of explanatory character backstory well after we’ve been following the cast’s foibles in the present day. …
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Book #5 of 2023: Bloodmarked by Tracy Deonn (Legendborn #2) The plot in the middle of this YA fantasy sequel picks up a little, but the beginning spends too long reiterating the overall premise — a Black teenager from North Carolina finds herself the unlikely inheritor of King Arthur’s magical powers, which she must use …
TV #2 of 2023: Bob’s Burgers, season 12 I’m not quite caught up on Bob’s Burgers — there’s the block that’s currently airing, plus the feature film that came out last summer yet to go. But this is the latest full season to be released, which I’m finally through after starting from the pilot and …
TV #1 of 2023: The Shield, season 4 This is a rebuilding era of sorts after the shakeup of the previous year, with the Strike Team disbanded and Aceveda finally moving on from the Farmington precinct, albeit for a supervisory political position that keeps him relevant. In the wake of those familiar power structures, we …
Book #4 of 2023: Other People’s Clothes by Calla Henkel [Disclaimer: I am Facebook friends with this author.] A darkly twisted tale of two toxically codependent young women studying abroad for art school, drawing on the infamous Amanda Knox scandal as well as debut author Calla Henkel’s own experiences as an American expat in Berlin. …
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