In Pieces by Sally Field

In Pieces by Sally Field
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

As I read In Pieces, I first thought it was an enjoyable three-star read. By the final third, I'd shifted gears to thinking of it as a four-star read. When I turned the final page, brushing away tears, I had to give it five.

Which not only means I enjoyed the book, but that Goodreads thinking is firmly implanted in my brain!

Sally Field has been a small part of the pop culture background noise throughout my life, having already become famous before I was born. I haven't seen all of her work, but I always enjoyed what I saw.

She managed to be unflinchingly honest in this book, while at the same time not going into a lot of what I'm choosing to think of as "side details." 

A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In college, I signed up for what sounded like a cool modern lit class, one that focused on science fiction. It was fun, and opened me up to a world of new (to me) authors.

My main experience with science fiction and fantasy before then came from borrowing books in my older sister's extensive collection. Her paperbacks were mostly lacking in substance or exceptional authors – with a few golden finds sprinkled in, like The Hobbit.

Then came college and that lit class. The point was to read and discuss excellent examples of sci-fi writing, and the book I loved the most from that class was The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin. 

Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I think I need to read everything by Taylor Jenkins Reid. So far, she's never done me wrong by wasting my reading time.

At the onset, I got hit with surfer dread. I don't dread surfers, but I didn't realize until I started Malibu Rising that I also don't give a flip about catching some waves and waxing boards or whatever the hell you do while bopping to the Beach Boys and flipping your bushy blond hairdo. (Note: No Beach Boy was harmed in the pages of this book, and in fact the band was only passingly mentioned once.)

You'd think the cover would've tipped me off, but I didn't look closely at it. It depicts four, count 'em, FOUR, tiny dots of surfers floating on boards in the vastness of the ocean. My bad. 

What to Watch March 2022

If you turn to favorite TV shows and streaming services for a mental break from all your worries, March is delivering in a big way. Four best picture nominees land on HBO Max, along with several new series and documentaries. Netflix is in the race with a heap of new offerings, including the much-anticipated season 2 of Bridgerton. Across various services (including cable/broadcast), we've got options like Star Trek: Picard season 2, Atlanta season 3, Below Deck Down Under, and so much more!

As always, I've compiled my top picks and I'm sharing them here, along with links to everything that's coming so you can make your own picks for must-watch viewing. Most of what I've collected is on streaming, but a few shows can be found on good old-fashioned network TV. And away we go!