I was surprised how much I enjoyed this book.
It’s not historical fiction, however. The olde English dialogue is anachronistic.
But for some reason, the story works.
Anticipate an adaptation for the screen.
Two time frames:
Late 1700s London. An apothecary who sells poisons only to kill misbehaving men. And her curious 12-year-old assistant.
Modern day London. An American woman who’s whose marriage is disintegrating — by chance — decides to investigate the apothecary.
With a new subscription to Disney+ , I finally got the chance to watch Mandalorian.
Though not a big Star Wars franchise fan, I did enjoy season 1.
It’s silly, escapist Western space cowboy TV — but with excellent production values. Entertaining — as was Firefly.
Beginning five years after the events of Return of the Jedi (1983) and the fall of the Galactic Empire, The Mandalorian follows Din Djarin, a lone Mandalorian bounty hunter in the outer reaches of the galaxy.
He is hired by remnant Imperial forces to retrieve the child Grogu (Baby Yoda), but instead goes on the run to protect the infant …
Nick Nolte was a good choice for the voice of Kuiil. An interesting character.
Gina Carano as Cara Dune, a former Rebel shock trooper-turned-mercenary is good too.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
FUNNY TV. I enjoyed this a lot.
Damn.
I subscribed to Disney+ STAR Canada.
Another CAD $12 / month on my pandemic long list of monthly recurring bills.
As HULU is not available in Canada, to watch Only Murders in the Building I was forced to sign-up for Disney.
I’ll unsubscribe from Netflix for a while.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Of the books, TV shows and films I’ve seen about Bletchley Park, I’d say Rose Code was the most entertaining for me.
1940.
As England prepares to fight the Nazis, three very different women answer the call to mysterious country estate Bletchley Park, where the best minds in Britain train to break German military codes.
Vivacious debutante Osla is the girl who has everything—beauty, wealth, and the dashing Prince Philip of Greece sending her roses—but she burns to prove herself as more than a society girl, and puts her fluent German to use as a translator of decoded enemy secrets.
Imperious self-made Mab, product of east-end London poverty, works the legendary codebreaking machines as she conceals old wounds and looks for a socially advantageous husband.
Both Osla and Mab are quick to see the potential in local village spinster Beth, whose shyness conceals a brilliant facility with puzzles, and soon Beth spreads her wings as one of the Park’s few female cryptanalysts.
But war, loss, and the impossible pressure of secrecy will tear the three apart. …
Kate Quinn Author
I started watching for Sandra Oh.
But it’s the other characters who make this drama / comedy worth watching.
Especially Jay Duplass.
Everly Carganilla as Ju-Hee “Ju Ju”, Sandra’s adopted daughter is hilarious too.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube. Scandals and issues at fictional Pembroke University in New England.
Great soundtrack.
After reading the book, I learned a mini-series had been adapted in 1997.
Edgler Vess is the bad guy. Real bad.
Koontz is very skilled at inventing bad guys.
Click PLAY or watch an example of Vess on YouTube.
The book is well written. Original. Scary.
I recommend it.
A story of date rape.
Jon Krakauer wrote a book that much influenced my thinking:
The book follows several case studies of women raped in Missoula, Montana, many of them linked in some way to the University of Montana.
Many of the rapists were football players, protected from the justice system.
In Beartown, the 15-year-old daughter of a small town Swedish hockey team general manager is raped by the 17-year-old star of the Beartown junior team.
Fredrik Backman is an excellent writer. This is an important book, as is the Krakauer.
Themes of family, friendship, loyalty. Ethics.
I recommend Beartown.
I also read the sequel, Us Against You. Not nearly as good.
The book was adapted for TV and is available on HBO.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
“Never Have I Ever‘s fresh take on the coming-of-age comedy is hilariously honest, sweetly smart, and likely to have viewers falling head over heels for charming newcomer Maitreyi Ramakrishnan.
There are a LOT of things I like about this comedy.
Great music. For sure.
The dialogue includes a lot of contemporary slang. And funny one liners.
Lily D. Moore as Rebecca Hall-Yoshida, too.
Lily was born with Down syndrome, but that hasn’t slowed her career in film, television, and national commercials.
Maitreyi Ramakrishnan is a natural comic. She plays Devi, an Indian American, overachieving teen struggling to find her place at High School.
Best of all is the voice over narration of John McEnroe and other celebrities.
Hilarious.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
The Mosquito Coast is based on the novel of the same name by Paul Theroux published in 1981.
It also loosely adapted from the 1986 film which starred Harrison Ford. It premiered on Apple TV+ on April 30, 2021.
The series stars Justin Theroux, nephew of Paul …
As with many of the Apple TV shows, it’s very well done.
I recommend it. But many find the plot unnecessarily confusing with too many twists and turns.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Season 2 will take the family to some place like where Harrison Ford ended up.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
The seventh and final season was released on June 25, 2021.
I’d say it was the best of all.
In this one Harry refuses to let the death of a ten-year-old girl be traded away in a plea deal.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
An as-yet-untitled spinoff series for Amazon’s IMDb TV was announced on March 3, 2021, featuring Welliver along with much of the Bosch creative team.
Madison Lintz will return as Harry’s daughter, Maddie, and Bosch recurring character defense attorney Honey “Money” Chandler, played by Mimi Rogers, will also be a main character.
In the new series, Bosch, now retired from the LAPD, will work as an investigator for Chandler.
