Book #125 of 2022: Two Kinds of Truth by Michael Connelly (Harry Bosch #20) A disappointingly underwhelming Bosch story. There are two parallel cases that the semi-retired detective is working on here, and we spend too long on the less interesting one, which is obviously author Michael Connelly’s attempt at tackling the hot topic of …
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Book #124 of 2022: The Ultimate by K. A. Applegate (Animorphs #50) The Animorphs franchise has a complicated relationship with disability, which I think can charitably be described as author K. A. Applegate occasionally straying into insensitivity while generally having her heart in the right place. Thus, “crazy” is used as a go-to insult, but …
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Book #123 of 2022: Pandora’s Jar: Women in the Greek Myths by Natalie Haynes An interesting collection of essays, each one focusing on a different woman from Greek mythology and exploring how she’s changed from her earliest surviving depictions through to popular culture impressions today. The focus of the project is already somewhat automatically feminist, …
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Book #122 of 2022: Woman, Eating by Claire Kohda A neat little character study of a modern “vegan” vampire — her own term, although she actually means that she drinks pigs’ blood to avoid feeding on humans — who despite her unique circumstances is as overwhelmed and directionless as any other 23-year-old unpaid intern. I …
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TV #39 of 2022: Better Call Saul, season 6 An utterly masterful end to one of the great modern dramas of our time. This Breaking Bad prequel about Walter White’s shady lawyer has always been stronger than anyone could have predicted, and its final outing is truly one of its best. At long last we …
Book #121 of 2022: Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O’Brien (Rats of NIMH #1) I’m happy to revisit this beloved childhood classic today and discover that yes, it’s still an outstanding (though quick) story. The characters make an indelible impression, and the structure is fun, with a relatively lengthy nested …
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TV #38 of 2022: What We Do in the Shadows, season 2 Another great yet too short season of this hilarious undead mockumentary. (Ten episodes may not be enough space to develop and deliver a truly superb storyline, especially given how meandering this series tends to be. I love the characters and laugh a lot …
Book #120 of 2022: The Paradox Hotel by Rob Hart The Paradox is a hotel for the clients of the world’s only time travel agency, which the government runs next door, and January Cole is its head of security — which means that in addition to all the regular service industry headaches, she also has …
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TV #37 of 2022: The Lincoln Lawyer, season 1 Netflix’s adaptation of this twisty legal thriller is a lot of fun, aptly capturing and balancing the protagonist’s brilliance in court and vulnerability outside it. I’m particularly impressed with how the program has turned out, given some of the unusual production constraints placed upon it. This …
Book #119 of 2022: Mrs McGinty’s Dead by Agatha Christie (Hercule Poirot #32) I generally enjoy a good Agatha Christie mystery, but the eventual solution to the case at the heart of this story from 1952 feels a bit too convoluted and contrived for me. As its alternate title Blood Will Tell might suggest, there’s …
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