Mrs. March by Virginia Feito

Mrs. March by Virginia Feito
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Mrs. March is an OK read if you temper expectations.

It kicks off with a fun vibe, kind of kooky. You'll want to see where it's going. Unfortunately, it's going to an obvious place, and all your hopes of some last-minute revelation or twist will fade like your grandma's green kidskin gloves decaying at the bottom of a musty old trunk.

You ever watch any Twilight Zone episodes from the original series? The mood of Mrs. March feels very much like one of those episodes — but not one of the better ones. It's not the episode where Capt. Kirk sees something crazy on the airplane wing or the one where the kicker is a cookbook, OK? 

Can My Friendships Survive Facebook?

I remember how we communicated back in the day, 'cause I was fully alive back in the day. I'm Gen X; we communicated by snail mail before it was called that AND jumped on the Internet bandwagon as soon as we were able.

And that day was long before Facebook, even well before the Internet became part of our daily lives. In that "day," I talked to friends on the phone. If one of us moved, we wrote actual letters. Handwritten! In cursive! I have some dating back to the '80s in a shoebox, and the most recent going back to the 2000s (anything via snail mail after that came from parents who are old enough that they never picked up the Internet, smartphones, or any sign of living in the 21st century). 

Scratch: Writers, Money, and the Art of Making a Living

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Writing is about expressing yourself, creating art, making sense of the world, or sharing information and ideas.

It's also all about the money, honey.

A lot of us have dreamed, longingly, of making a living with the keyboard. Most of us haven't figured out how to do it. Do you even know where to start or what to expect to earn? That's where Scratch comes in. 

What to Watch October 2021

Autumn leaves may soon be slowly drifting down in the crisp October air, but streaming options are coming in hot, baby! There are a few biggies: Dune is finally coming to HBO Max! Black Widow is finally included with the Disney Plus subscription! Curb Your Enthusiasm returns! Below Deck Season 9 and new series Winter House (the flip side of Summer House) hit Bravo! The options are better than chocolate (OK, that's hyperbole, but you get where I'm going).

As always, I've compiled a list of my top picks for shows and movies coming soon, and I'm sharing it here along with links to everything coming to those streaming services so you can add your own selections. 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! 

Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney

Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

When I got the email my hold for this book was ready on OverDrive, I almost suspended it for another month or so. I have many other things to read, and I'd forgotten this might be coming soon. But it was a hot new release, and I decided to go ahead and dive in while there's still ample discussion of it so that the whole internet could be my book club, bouncing reactions around like so many book-geek pinballs pinging off each other.

I'm so glad I did. I've been struggling for a while now to maintain focus when reading, there's just too much craziness from the world and my own life poking holes in my concentration. Sometimes I don't have a problem, and other times I set the book aside and binge-watch reality TV (damn you, Peacock, and your backlog of Below Deck seasons!). I'm getting through far fewer books than I did just a few years ago, and I need something to really grab me and pull me in. Beautiful World, Where Are You did just that. 

Links I'm Loving

Glass phoenix at Missouri Botanical Garden

Many cool books, shows, podcasts, albums and articles have roped me in lately. Here are a few recommendations of things I think you'll enjoy:

• Have you seen the LuLaRich docuseries? It's fascinating, and this interview is the perfect companion piece: What Got Left Out of LuLaRich.
  
  
• Listen (or read) about pop culture picks for this fall including upcoming books, music, shows and movies from the gang at the Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast.
  
  
• My new favorite show is Only Murders in the Building. Here's a look at why it's so fab.