Book #89 of 2026: Vigil by George Saunders This one is a bit of a head-scratcher for me. The writing is absolutely gorgeous, which suggests that I should probably go ahead and read the author’s earlier novel Lincoln in the Bardo, as I’ve seen several reviews of this title comparing it disfavorably to that. But …
Tag Archives: three stars
Book Review: The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald
Book #86 of 2026: The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald (Princess Irene and Curdie #1) Surprisingly readable for a fantasy novel first published in 1872, with a warm tone reminiscent of genre successors like J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, or Diana Wynne Jones. The plot is kind of a mess by …
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Movie Review: Chasing Amy (1997)
Movie #27 of 2026: Chasing Amy (1997) There’s a central tension in Kevin Smith’s third film, especially considered critically several decades on, which I think boils down to how much the audience is supposed to identify / agree with its main character. This is, after all, the tale of a man who confesses his love …
Book Review: Smash or Pass by Birdie Schae
Book #84 of 2026: Smash or Pass by Birdie Schae This YA romance is cute, but relatively lightweight — it’s a pretty quick read anyway, and it’s not until the last quarter of the text that the heroine finally realizes she isn’t straight and has been crushing on her new best friend at summer volleyball …
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TV Review: Bob’s Burgers, season 16
TV #27 of 2026: Bob’s Burgers, season 16 I don’t have much to say about this animated sitcom that I haven’t said many times before, because Bob’s Burgers as a show is basically stuck in a longtime comfortable rut. It’s reliably funny enough to keep watching, and I especially like the initial episode of this …
Book Review: The Original by Nell Stevens
Book #83 of 2026: The Original by Nell Stevens I’m unfortunately a bit underwhelmed by this historical fiction novel, which has a few interesting components that never really cohere together for me. The best part is the heroine’s overall struggle to live as a closeted queer woman in turn-of-the-century London, but it doesn’t have much …
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Movie Review: Zoey’s Extraordinary Christmas (2021)
Movie #26 of 2026: Zoey’s Extraordinary Christmas (2021) A largely unnecessary second finale to the series Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, which had ended its TV run on NBC seven months earlier. As far as I can determine, The Roku Channel picked up this production in the dashed hopes of greenlighting a third season if it performed …
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Book Review: Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings
Book #80 of 2026: Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings (The Belgariad #1) I suppose I’m interested enough to read more of this 80s fantasy saga, but it all feels pretty generic so far, and this initial volume doesn’t build to much of a climax. The teenage hero is your typical orphan farmboy with a …
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Book Review: Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods by Suzanne Collins
Book #79 of 2026: Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods by Suzanne Collins (The Underland Chronicles #3) I’m definitely not in the target audience for this middle-grade fantasy series, but I liked the first volume (and of course author Suzanne Collins’s unrelated Hunger Games novels) enough that I feel compelled to finish the pentalogy …
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TV Review: Saturday Night Live, season 51
TV #26 of 2026: Saturday Night Live, season 51 I think a helpful framework for considering a season of a sketch comedy show like this is not only whether it was funny, but also what it did differently this time around. And in the wake of SNL’s landmark 50th anniversary, this follow-up feels a bit …
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The Lesser Joke: book reviews and more 