Talking about books, TV, podcasts & more. Brought to you by the magic of chocolate wine.
Friday, April 9, 2021
French Exit by Patrick deWitt
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
“Oh, to be youngish and in love–ish.”
The above is my favorite line from the book. It's funny and flip while being something I could honestly imagine someone feeling. It embodies the best of French Exit.
The worst, well, the worst for me was turning the final page and thinking, what the hell did I just read?!
Friday, April 2, 2021
Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Friday, March 26, 2021
What to Watch April 2021
Spring is finally here! Will I be plotting all the things I'll do outside, or what I'll be watching inside? Haha just kidding, we all know the answer to that. New shows will rain down on us in April, and I'm most looking forward to the comfort viewing that is Younger (in its seventh and final season!). But there's so much more that looks pretty damn good for a wide range of tastes.
As always, I've compiled a list of shows I'd like to see that will be available soon, and I'm sharing it here along with links to everything coming to streaming services so you can go through and pick your own must-watch viewing.
Saturday, March 20, 2021
Kicking & Dreaming: A Story of Heart, Soul, and Rock & Roll by Ann & Nancy Wilson
Kicking & Dreaming: A Story of Heart, Soul, and Rock & Roll tells the tale of Ann and Nancy Wilson from the beginning – the very beginning. As in, going back to long dead ancestors, then recounting how their parents met, their own births and childhoods, etc., before getting to the meat of their musical journey. They make a weak attempt at employing the popular method of starting with a smashing story to pull you in and then going back to tell things chronologically, but even the prologue isn't all that thrilling.
Friday, March 12, 2021
My Sister, The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
It feels weird to call this a fun book when it's about a serial killer, but it kind of is. The tale of two sisters, one blithely homicidal, the other dutifully trying to protect the other, is a fresh take on both the experience of being a woman in the world and dealing with a difficult sibling that you love in spite of it all.
My Sister, the Serial Killer is not really a laugh-out-loud type of story, but there's a bit of wit to the telling of it. There's just enough depth to glean an understanding of the two sisters and their motivations, but it's not trying to delve deep into plot or motivation. It gives enough to make it a good read (or listen, in my case).
Friday, March 5, 2021
Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson
On the surface, this is a tale of a young woman who's had some hard knocks and her friend who got all the gifts of wealth, privilege and beauty. And also it's about some kids that burst into flames when upset. Nothing to see here, move along. Wink, wink.
It's different, witty, and off-beat. It's also a sly examination of what parenting must feel like, about what even making the decision to become a parent might be like. Good and bad, welcome and unwelcome, all at the same time. A huge change in your life either way. I don't know if that's what you're supposed to see here, but I think so. It's what I saw, anyway.
Friday, February 26, 2021
What to Watch March 2021
The world's still a huge mess, there's not enough vaccine, I'm spending my days hunting for shots for family members and dealing with other needs of elderly relatives amid a pandemic. The rough ride isn't over yet. One thing we look forward to at my house each night is setting the worries aside briefly to watch a little TV. On that front March is looking up, preparing to bloom with shows, documentaries and movies (some of which are big-budget blockbusters premiering on HBO Max!).
As always, I've compiled a list of shows I'd like to see that will be available soon, and I'm sharing it here along with links to everything coming to streaming services so you can go through and pick your own must-watch viewing.
Friday, February 19, 2021
Lowborn by Kerry Hudson
"I was a private investigator, digging my way through my own deeply buried secrets, both desperate for answers and fighting to keep them hidden."
Growing up in poverty can leave lingering effects for the rest of your life. Author Kerry Hudson writes about surviving her impoverished childhood spent in public housing throughout a series of downtrodden towns in Great Britain in her insightful book, Lowborn: Growing Up, Getting Away and Returning to Britain's Poorest Towns.
She couldn't remember a lot about her young childhood, and had long-since broken contact with her mother. The erratic lifestyle and desperate poverty of Hudson's existence with her single mom left scars that lingered as Hudson, in her late 30s, decided to finally investigate her own past and put it down on paper.
Friday, February 12, 2021
My Life So Far by Jane Fonda
I can't remember the first Jane Fonda movie I ever saw. Perhaps it was Barbarella when I was way too young to take in all the sexual overtones, and I simply thought it was a fun sci-fi adventure (and that she was the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen). Also, that the biting dolls freaked me out.
Or maybe it was Barefoot in the Park, which bubbled with chemistry and charm so strong it almost sizzled off the TV screen. Jane Fonda and Robert Redford made a fizzy, fantastic pairing, and I couldn't resist watching whenever it came on.
Friday, February 5, 2021
Stonk stink made me think about investing
Friday, January 29, 2021
What to Watch February 2021
Ah, February is upon us, and the world is full of woe. But wait, what's that, does hope begin to grow? Who's to say, after all, I'm just here with the shows.
As always, I've compiled a list of shows I'd like to see that come to streaming soon, and I'm sharing it here along with links to everything coming to streaming services so you can go through and pick your own must-watch shows.
Friday, January 22, 2021
Revisiting Sharky's Machine

Awhile back my husband and I sat down to watch Sharky’s Machine, a 1981 gritty crime thriller starring and directed by Burt Reynolds. We both originally watched it when we were too young to fully get it, possibly on HBO or cable. We couldn’t recall the where of it, only that we remembered Sharky as a badass with a cool name.
On our adult viewing, it looked a bit different. It’s hard to define – it wasn't good but not entirely bad, either; you could tell it was trying for something, a style, a mood, an artsy feel. As my husband put it afterwards, “I wouldn’t exactly call it good; it’s ambitious. It’s bizarre and trippy and very ’70s.” (Even though it came out in 1981, the lingering mist of the '70s was very much alive, especially in this film.)
Friday, January 15, 2021
News of the World by Paulette Jiles
News of the World by Paulette Jiles introduces us to Capt. Jefferson Kyle Kidd as he makes his way through Texas post Civil War, making a living giving readings from a stack of newspapers to audiences seeking a window on the world. The old man has fought in two wars and lost a wife, and now enjoys his rambling life on the road. When he's asked to deliver a young orphan who had been captured and raised by members of the Kiowa tribe to her only living relatives, he reluctantly agrees. The heart, understanding and courage he displays on the perilous journey is matched by the young girl's bravery and tenacity in the face of being torn from the only family she remembers – her Kiowa family.
Friday, January 8, 2021
The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel has a lot going on, a lot of different threads. There's a Ponzi scheme, ghosts, and moral dilemmas aplenty. It was a lot; at moments a little too much, but it somehow never quite went overboard for me.
Friday, January 1, 2021
Slow Burner by Laura Lippman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I don't read a lot of mysteries, but this was kind of fun.
In Slow Burner by Laura Lippman, a woman finds her husband's secret burner phone with flirty text messages to another woman. Whatever will she do?