October 2019 Books

I loved this book, which was the October pick for our book club. While my fellow club members felt that it dragged on a bit at the end, I would have been happy to keep reading. The author's writing style is clear and fresh. I liked how she told the story from both her own and her boyfriend's viewpoints, and she went back and forth between her childhood in Nigeria, her time in college, and the present. I am looking forward to reading her other novel, Half of a Yellow Sun.

 This was an excellent book to read following How Democracies Die, which I read last month. This one was more challenging for me, as it incorporated a fair amount of political philosophy, which slowed me down a bit. However, it's a very engaging and incisive look at how totalitarian movements have grown in the past, and how fascism is alive and well in Russia and other countries. The author makes a convincing case of how Vladimir Putin, inspired by the political philosophy of Ivan Ilyin, is trying to export fascism to Europe and the United States. I recommend this to anyone concerned about the state of the country today.

After the sobering book mentioned above, this collection of comics by Mark Tatulli provides a dose of relief. The main character in this comic is Lio, and his exploits and imagination are unrivaled.

September 2019 Films and Series

Rust and Bone.

Tully.

Mary Queen of Scots.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.

Call Me by Your Name.

Victoria (season 1).

Father Brown (season 1).

Perfume (season 1).

Mindhunter (seasons 1-2).

Bosch (seasons 3-5).

September 2019 Books

This is an excellent look at how autocratic governments evolve from democracies. They follow a pattern that is consistent over time and across different countries; the authors show that the pattern is repeating itself in the U.S. Very chilling to read this while an impeachment investigation is being launched right now.

This was a well-written book, although it moves very slowly and there's not much of a plot. I'm surprised that it is on the MLA list of 100 best books of the 20th century.

I loved this book about a young boy who is grieving the loss of his father who perished in the World Trade Center on 9/11.

This is an excellent historical mystery about an antiquarian bookseller who is grieving the loss of his wife. He turns to work to help himself heal, and begins tracking down the painter responsible for a small watercolor that resembles his wife, in the process unraveling a mystery about the authorship of a Shakespeare play.

August 2019 Films and Series

Bosch (Seasons 1-3). Based on Michael Connelly's best-selling detective series, Bosch season 1 follows threads: Bosch's investigation into the decades-old death of a young boy, a serial killer who attacks young prostitutes, and Bosch's civil trial for shooting a suspect.

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (Season 3). I loved every season of this comedy series. Its 30-minute length episodes made it particularly good to watch while I was on the treadmill, and that's how I watched most of the three seasons. This is the final season of the show, and I was happy to see that all of the story lines were tied up with happy endings.

Stockholm. This was an entertaining portrayal of the events during the bank robbery after which Stockholm Syndrome is named. The film starts by claiming that it is "Based on an absurd but true story.” But the actions of the two main characters and the police seem so silly that it's hard to believe; I would have to read more about it to know for sure how much of this was fictionalized for the film. Either way, the actors are excellent, and the film is a fast-paced, entertaining romp.

Tolkien. I loved this film about J.R.R. Tolkien. This film tells about his childhood, including the early loss of both parents, his placement with a foster mother, his mentorship by a family friend and priest, and his education. Tolkien was fortunate to have the support of his mentor who placed him into a good secondary school that prepared him well for Oxford and an academic career. Tolkien meets friends at school who develop a close bond that lasts through college. Enlisting in the armed forces to fight in WWI, Tolkien loses two friends to the war, and loses touch with the third. But the film shows how the horrors of war and his youthful friendships inspired many of the themes that he later wrote about in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. This film was inspiring and touching.

Victoria (Season 1). Very good historical series telling the story of Queen Victoria, beginning with her ascension to the throne at age 18. There are lots of inaccuracies, I assume to spice up the story and increase the drama, but it's a lot of fun, nevertheless.

Trainspotting. Second time around with this film; loved it as much as the first time.

Elementary (season 7). So sad that this is the final season, but glad they were given a happy ending.

August 2019 Books

Larry Kane's Ticket to Ride: Inside the Beatles' 1964 Tour that Changed the World is his memoir of his time traveling with the Beatles during their 1964 and 1965 tours across the U.S. He tells us about his early skepticism about the Beatles; he believed they would turn out to be just a flash in the pan. But two tours with the Beatles changed his view, and he became convinced of their lasting contributions and worth. I took this book on vacation, and found it to be a good read. The author clearly has remained a loyal fan of the Beatles, and his anecdotes were interesting and entertaining. I don't think the book is especially well-written. I think it was quite repetitive in parts, and could have used the skills of a good editor. Larry Kane was involved in news reporting for his entire career, first in radio news, and later in television news, but he isn't a great writer. Nevertheless, I found this enjoyable, and would recommend it to anyone who's interested in the Beatles.

I've been meaning to read this book for a long time, and finally did so. I found it to be as fun and entertaining as all the reviews had led me to believe. At only around 200 pages, it's a quick read, and covers what you would expect in a book on punctuation: apostrophes, commas, dashes, semicolons, colons, questions marks, exclamation points, parentheses, etc. Truss writes in a humorous style and includes lots of good and bad examples of punctuation. She also delves into the history and origins of each mark of punctuation. She cites lots of other writers on punctuation and includes their works in her bibliography. Lots of fun for grammar nerds!

I loved this first book by Amor Towles. We had read A Gentleman in Moscow for our book club last year, and decided to read this earlier novel this month. It has wonderful writing, intriguing characters, and a plot that keeps you turning the pages. It's about Katey, a secretary and editorial assistant in 1938 Manhattan, and the friends and relationships she formed during the course of the year. It's very atmospheric, and equally funny and touching in places.

This is a wonderful novel. It tells the story of Roy and Celestial, a young married couple whose life is turned upside down when Roy is unjustly accused of a violent crime, convicted, and sentenced to 12 years in prison. It tells the story from the perspective of Roy, Celestial, and their friend,Andre, who Celestial comes to lean on while Roy is incarcerated. These characters are well-developed and the dialog, emotions, and plot are completely realistic. I loved Ms. Jones' writing, and look forward to reading her other three books.

I finally got around to reading this popular book from a few years ago. It's a lovely romance set on the island of Guernsey, which was occupied by the Germans in WWII.

July 2019 Films and Series

Chernobyl. This is a chilling look at the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear power plant explosion and its aftermath. It's a fascinating look at how decisions were made to avoid humiliation and blame rather than to avoid catastrophic death and other consequences. The invasion of politics into every aspect of life is shown clearly, demonstrating how no one was willing to acknowledge that the party could be wrong or that a leader could possibly make a wrong decision. Excellent acting, but grueling to watch.

Stranger Things (Season 3). I'm still enjoying this '80s-themed sci-fi series, although I think they over-used Eleven's powers against the Mind Flayer. I've seen enough of her posing with her hand outstretched and blood dripping from her left nostril. Didn't she acquire any other powers from her days in captivity when she was the subject of corrupt scientific experiments? But, I don't want to belabor the point. I also enjoyed the introduction of and focus on other characters, such as Robin and Erica. I'm looking forward to season 4 and the return of Hopper.

Hitchcock Truffaut. This film documents the impact that Franҫois Truffaut's book about Hitchock had on subsequent filmmakers. I have to admit that I found it a little slow, although I enjoyed seeing the collages of Hitchcock film clips.

Dark (Season 2). This is Netflix's first German-language original series. It's a mind-bending time travel science fiction story. It's taken me two seasons to understand (sort of) what's going on, and who all the characters are. I'm really enjoying it, and looking forward to season 3, which is supposed to wrap it all up.

Hinterland (Season 1). Mystery series set in Wales.

 Shetland (Season 4).

July 2019 Books

This was my book club's July pick, based on her excellent third novel Sing, Unburied, Sing, which I had just read last month, and the fact that it won a National Book Award and. While the writing was excellent, and the story riveting, it was just about the worst book for four dog lovers to read. One of the main characters (Skeet) has a pit bull (China), which gives birth to a litter of puppies about 10 days before Hurricane Katrina hits the Southern Mississippi town where they live. Everything that can go wrong with the family and the litter of puppies does, and while none of the humans die, I can't say the same for the puppies. I think I would have loved this book if the author had simply eliminated everything about the dogs. The rest of the story was a heart-wrenching story of a family that sticks together through every type of adversity: losing their mother, hunger, poverty, an alcoholic father, etc. They try to prepare for Katrina, and go through hell when their house is flooded and begins to float off of its foundation. But the saga of the pit bull and her puppies ruined the book for me. I found myself hating Skeet when he decides to enter China into a fight just a week after giving birth; I was actually shocked at the animosity that I felt when I read those passages. While there is some judgment shown in the book about the cruelty of dog fighting, it was primarily in the form of disapproval of fighting China so soon after having puppies. Otherwise, it was presented with no value judgment at all. I have a hard time accepting that someone can show the love and affection they feel for a dog, and then voluntarily put it into a situation where it is likely to be seriously injured or killed. I don't know why this plot element was necessary at all; it would have been a great book otherwise.

 I enjoyed this collection of poems collected by the U.S. Poet Laureate. The most interesting to me was "38" by Layli Long Soldier, which tells the story of the Dakota 38, a group of Native Americans who were executed in 1862 for attacking and killing settlers and traders. After losing their land, they couldn't hunt; payments for the land weren't distributed; they were starving, and the traders wouldn't extend credit to them to purchase food. According to the poem, this is the largest "legal" mass execution in U.S. history.

This is a heartwarming story of the friendship between Arthur, whose wife has died, and Maddie, whose mother died soon after she was born. Picked on at school and with no friends, Maddie hides out in the cemetery during school lunch hour, where Arthur visits his wife's grave everyday. Soon they begin to rely on one another, and with the addition of Arthur's lonely neighbor Lucille, they learn that you can create your own family from the people you love.

Great collection by funny cartoonist Scott Hilburn. Reminds me of the quirky The Far Side comics.

This was the most ludicrous plot I've ever read. I picked it up at the 2019 ALA Annual Conference in Washington, DC, as an advance reader's copy; it won't be published until later this year. I thought it would be a good distraction from my pre-vacation stress (trying to get too much done in too little time), and I was right, but it's really nuts. Also, I wasn't very impressed with the underlying religious proselytizing.

June 2019 books

This was our June book club pick; not our usual fare, but a lot of fun.

This is a collection of Robert Darnton's articles about books and libraries, published in 2009. Organized in three sections (Future, Present, Past), chapters include: Google and the future of books, The information landscape, The future of libraries, Lost and found in cyberspace, E-books and old books, Gutenberg-e, Open access, A paean to paper, The importance of being bibliographical, The mysteries of reading, What is the history of books. Very interesting reading.

This was an excellent look at how the algorithms that run common computer applications contains many faults that can have long-lasting and detrimental impacts on people.

 This was a beautiful novel, well-written and moving.

This incisive look at Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google will give you a lot to think about. The author has done extensive research into the formation and management of these four companies. His insights will have you questioning their predominance in society and raises concerns about their impact on the economy and modern life.

This is the story of parents Jacob and Eidel, and their children Max and Lydia. Framed by Max's recollections of their times in Auschwitz, the novel alternates between narratives focusing on Jacob and Eidel and their varying experiences in the camp. Losing Lydia early on leads Jacob to gamble on a way to help Max survive. Very sobering.

Coming out in September 2019, this is a funny and heartfelt memoir by comedian and writer Josh Gondelman. I thoroughly enjoyed this book by one of the writers on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver and Desus & Mero.

This is a fascinating deep dive into the history of the Oxford English Dictionary, and some of the many people who were responsible for leading the project over he 68 years that it took to complete the first edition. And I thought editing a special issue of a journal was challenging!

June 2019 films and series

 RBG. Great documentary!

Ready Player One. Having just read the book, I was surprised at how much of the plot was changed and how much was completely left out.

The Bookshop. Disappointing. Not nearly as charming as the previews implied!

The Last Waltz. Directed by Martin Scorsese. A good concert documentary of the last performance of The Band in 1976.

Billions (season 4). Riveting, as usual. Can't wait for next season!

Can You Ever Forgive Me? Interesting film about reprehensible people; but very good acting.

The Little Stranger. Very suspenseful story about a man's obsession with a home where his mother worked as a maid when he was a child.

Murder on the Orient Express. Star-studded remake of the Agatha Christie classic. Fun, but a tad on the slow side.

Studio 54. This was an interesting documentary about the spectacular rise and fall of the NY nightclub.

Luther (season 5). I wish this series was longer; this season was only four episodes long. It ended in a cliffhanger, so I'm expecting another season to wrap up the story line. Idris Elba is wonderful in this, as are Ruth Wilson and Wunmi Mosaku.

Molly's Game. It was just a coincidence that we ended up watching another film with Idris Elba. He sports an American accent in this one and pulls it off with ease. The film was good, if a bit long.