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catbeckster · 2 years

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Some Great Books!

Summer is the best time for catching up on all those books you have been meaning to get to but bookclub assignments and in my case “Peak TV” get in the way during the busier times of the year. In the list below, there are multiple books by first time published authors which is exciting as well as a wide variety of genre’s. Hopefully you will find something of interest! Horse by Geraldine Brooks…

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catbeckster · 2 years

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More TV

The Essex Serphant (Apple TV+ ***1/2) I enjoyed this period drama starring Claire Danes and Tom Hiddleston. It is a bit about a sea serpent but more about science vs faith and complicated relationships amidst beautiful scenery. Claire Danes plays Cora, a late 19th century woman whose abusive husband has recently passed away. She takes her son to the English coast to do some naturalist work after…

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catbeckster · 2 years

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TV Updates

Finally the April/May onslaught of programs premiering before the May 31st Emmy deadline is over and things are calmer. Many of my shows have ended and I have provided short analyses of them below. Some new ones are starting this month like Obi Wan, Miss Marvel, Westworld etc so there will be things to write about as well as being able to catch up with some shows that fell by the wayside during…

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catbeckster · 2 years

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A Break from TV to Review Some Books!

It has been a really long time since I reviewed any books so here are a few that I have read in the last year including a couple that were only released in the last two or three weeks. All of these books are good and worth reading. Many are worthy Book Club additions. Freezing Order: A True Story of Money Laundering, Murder and Surviving Vladimir Putin’s Wrath by Bill Browder ****1/2 This…

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catbeckster · 2 years

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There is Entirely Too Much TV on Right Now!

I know that I’m overdue for writing about books but it is all TV all the time right now and I’m stuck in Cloud Cuckoo Land hell on the book front (more to come on that!). As the deadline for Emmy consideration looms large, the Streamers and Networks are dumping all the shows that they possibly can into the April/May timeframe in order to be awards eligible. Some are good and some aren’t and…

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catbeckster · 2 years

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More TV

I know I said I would do books next and I will but there is SO much TV on right now and a lot of it is quite good. The Dropout (Hulu ****) I don’t typically rate a show before it is finished for the season but this is the best of the “scammer” series out right now and it has been pitch perfect (episode #4 is probably the best single episode of television I have seen in years). It is so much…

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#Amanda Seyfried #Audra McDonald #Bridgerton #Carrie Coons #Christine Baranski #Elizabeth Holmes #Jamie Dornan #Louisa Jacobson #Min Jin Lee #My brilliant friend #Pachinko #Rose Mateo #Starstruck #The Dropout #The Guilded Age #The Tourist #Youn You Yuh-Jung

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catbeckster · 2 years

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I'm Back with Some TV

I’m Back with Some TV

It has been a long time but it turns out downsizing, selling a house, moving across country, buying a place and then trying to furnish it during a supply chain crisis takes up a lot of free time. In addition, movie and TV releases have been scarce due to production halts during Covid but it is time to get back into the swing of things and TV seems to be ramping up strongly so some thoughts on…

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#Christina Ricci #Emily St.. John Mandel #Grogu #Himesh Patel #Inventing Anna #Julia Garner #Juliette Lewis #Mackenzie Davis #Melanie Lynskey #Ozark #Severance #Star Wars #Station 11 #Tawney Cypress #The Book of Boba Fett #The Mandalorian #Yellowjackets

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catbeckster · 3 years

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Books: Muslims, Mexicans and Crazy Rich Asians.

My book reading has slowed down in 2021 as my movie viewing dramatically increased and life has started to open up post vaccines but I just read a great one and wanted to share it with you! Homeland Elegies by Ayad Akhtar ****1/2 Homeland Elegies is to the Muslim American experience like last year’s Caste was to the African American experience. Ayad Aktar, a Pulitzer Prize winning playwright,…

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#Ayad Akhtar #China Rich Girlfriend #Crazy Rich Asians #Homeland Elegies #Immigration #Kevin Kwan #Magical realism #Muslim Americans #Rich People Problems #Sofia Segovia #The Murmur of Bees

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catbeckster · 3 years

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More Movies: Minari, Judas and the Black Messiah, The Sound of Metal, Nomadland and Marvel Movies.

Awards season is upon us and many of the movies that have been among the contenders all year are now available on various platforms. I am taking advantage of this opportunity and getting as many in before the Oscars and Globes as possible. After not posting about films for more than a year, here is my second post in a row! Just a brief note as to the overall caliber of films this year – they seem…

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catbeckster · 3 years

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Movies: What I Have Been Watching for the Last 10 Months

I spent the first few months of the pandemic catching up on all the TV shows and books that had been waiting for me. The movies good a back seat. However, when fall came and film festivals introduced new films, I regained an interest in the movies and started to watch- especially as Awards Season started creeping up on us. The Independent Spirit Award nominations came out last week and the Golden…

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catbeckster · 3 years

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Books: I Have Read Some Good Ones as of Late!

I finished up 2020 and started 2021 with some excellent books. A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World by C.A. Fletcher **** I like a good dystopian novel set in a post apocalyptic world and if there is a dog in it, I am pretty much sold. This is a terrific page turner about a teenage boy (Griz) who lives off the coast of Scotland. There are only about 1000 people left in the World after an…

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#A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World #Ann Patchett #Anxious People #Black Migration #C.A. Fletcher #Caste #Fredrik Bachman #Isabel Wilkerson #The Dutch House #The Warmth of Other Suns

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catbeckster · 3 years

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The Best of TV 2020 and Update on the Shows I'm Watching

The Best of TV 2020 and Update on the Shows I’m Watching

First, these are some of the shows that I have been watching and unfortunately, most have ended. They kept me entertained through the fall and I’m going to miss them! The Flight Attendant ****(HBO Max) I read Chris Bohjalian’s terrific book several years ago but thankfully couldn’t remember who the murderer was so I enjoyed every moment of this mini series based on the dark twisty book that the…

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catbeckster · 3 years

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Books: From the Ancient Gods to the Modern Day Immigrants - Something for Everyone

Books: From the Ancient Gods to the Modern Day Immigrants – Something for Everyone

American Dirt by Jeannine Cummins ***

Who is allowed to tell what stories? That in a nutshell is the controversy around American Dirt, a novel written by a white woman about a Mexican mother and her son fleeing their home in Mexico for life in the USA. The book succeeds as a reasonably competent thriller. It doesn’t succeed as well in character development, predictability or accomplishing the…

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#American Dirt #Circe #Greek Myths #immigrants #Jeannine Cummins #Lali Sokolov #Madeline Miller #Mandy Robotham #Tana French #The Circle #The Odyssey #The Searcher #The Secret Messenger #The Tattooist of Auschwitz

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catbeckster · 4 years

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Lots of New TV Content - Less That is Inspiring

Lots of New TV Content – Less That is Inspiring

The good news is that there is a lot of new TV content and I have started several show. The bad news is that they aren’t really great and I have dumped a bunch midstream. The good news is that there are two potentially excellent ones premiering this weekend. Here they are by Network:

HBO

The Third Day ***1/2

This was my favorite of the recent bunch of new shows and I’m not a…

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#Chris Rock #Emily Watson #Ethan Hawke #Fargo #First Ladies #Good Lord Bird #Hugh Grant #Jude Law #Katherine Waterston #Lovecraft #Naomie Harris #Nicole Kidman #Paddy Constadine #The Queen&039;s Gambit #The Third Day #The Undoing #The Voice #The Vow #We Are Who We Are

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catbeckster · 4 years

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TV: Content is getting slim but I'm catching up on a number of shows that have been on my list for awhile along with a few new ones.

TV: Content is getting slim but I’m catching up on a number of shows that have been on my list for awhile along with a few new ones.

It has been awhile since I have weighed in on TV shows that I’m watching so I’ll give you a quick synopsis of my viewing over the last couple of months – most of which was spent going through 6 seasons of Schitt’s Creek. I’m going to organize this post by Network as it will be easier to navigate if you don’t have access to any particular service or network. Hopefully it will help as I have been…

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#Ad Astra #Ford V Ferrari #Hayley Atwell #Jonathan Majors #Jurnee Smollett #Lovecraft Country #Mathew Rhys #My brilliant friend #Natasha Lyonne #NXIVM #Perry Mason #Richard Jewell #Russian Doll #The Vow

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catbeckster · 4 years

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Books: I have Read Many!

I realized that I haven’t updated this blog with what I’m reading for quite awhile – probably because I buried myself in over 10,000 pages of very small print to get through the Outlander series. I feel compelled to update today, however, because I have just finished one of the most powerful books I have ever read. Also included here are a few others with mixed results. Here we go!

Caste: The…

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#A Breath of Snow and Ashes #An Echo in the Bone #Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life #Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent #Death and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity #Diana Gabaldon #Donna Tart #Isabel Wilkerson #Katherine Boo #Midnight sun #Mumbai #Outlander #Race #Stephenie Meyer #The Fiery Cross #The Secret History #Twilight #Written in My Own Heart&039;s Blood

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catbeckster · 4 years

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TV: Marching Through that DVR!

In the last couple of weeks, I finished up a couple of series, streamed some new ones and dug into my DVR to finally watch some shows that I have been meaning to get to for awhile!

Mrs America (Hulu). ♦♦♦♦1/2

Mrs. America is probably the best show I have seen this year. The cast is absolutely phenomenal and I don’t know how the show’s producers are going to determine which of these amazing…

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