Tear It Down is the 4th book in the Peter Ash series. And the weakest, so far.

Lots of action. But the plot is simply too impossible, even for me.

Iraq war veteran Peter Ash is restless in the home he shares with June Cassidy in Washington State.

June knows Peter needs to be on the move, so she sends him to Memphis to help her friend Wanda Wyatt, a photographer and war correspondent who’s been receiving peculiar threats. When Peter arrives in Memphis, however, he finds the situation has gone downhill fast–someone has just driven a dump truck into Wanda’s living room. But neither Wanda nor Peter can figure out why.

At the same time, a young homeless street musician finds himself roped into a plan to rob a jewelry store. The heist doesn’t go as planned, and the young man finds himself holding a sack full of Rolexes and running for his life. When his getaway car breaks down, he steals a new one at gunpoint–Peter’s 1968 green Chevrolet pickup truck. 

Peter likes the skinny kid’s smarts and attitude, but he soon discovers that the desperate musician is in far worse trouble than he knows. And Wanda’s troubles are only beginning. Peter finds himself stuck between Memphis gangsters–looking for Rolexes and revenge–and a Mississippi ex-con and his hog-butcher brother looking for a valuable piece of family history that goes all the way back to the Civil War.

King is a great story teller. And his books are long.

Fairy Tale (2022) is twice as long as most novels. Too long, I’d say.

I really enjoyed the first half. But found it began to drag in the middle.

In fact, I would have been happier to stop reading at the halfway point.

The novel follows Charlie Reade, a 17-year-old who inherits a portal to a hidden, otherworldly realm, and finds himself leading the battle between forces of good vs evil.

A German Shepherd dog, named Radar, is important to the voyage — through a shed — to Empis, an unhappy land where Charlie befriends exiled members of the royal family.

If you like King’s books, you’ll like this one too.

It’s a scary, modern fairy tale with references to Robert E. Howard, Edgar Rice Burroughs, H.P. Lovecraft, and Ray Bradbury.

A film adaptation is already in the works.

The book is fantastic.

The story follows two timelines that slowly intertwine.

The first describes the life and adventures of a young girl named Kya as she grows up isolated, parentless in the marshes of North Carolina from 1952–1969.

The second timeline follows a murder investigation of Chase Andrews, a local celebrity of Barkley Cove, a fictional coastal town of North Carolina.

I liked the film, even if it is a bit schmaltzy in places.

David Strathairn was my favourite character, as lawyer Tom Milton.

Daisy Edgar-Jones as Catherine “Kya” Clark is great, as well.

Reviews have not been good. 😀

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

I really liked Kenneth Branagh’s film Death on the Nile (2022).

The film is a much better version of the story than the book published 1937.

A lot of changes were made for the movie. For the better.

Salome Otterbourne, a romance novelist in the book, becomes a Black blues singer in the film. My favourite character.

Christie speaks very little of the tourist activities on the Nile while the film makes excellent use of the scenery.

Mark Critch (born May 14, 1974) is a Canadian comedian, actor, and writer.

He is best known for his work on the comedy series This Hour Has 22 Minutes, initially as a writer and then as a regular cast member beginning in 2003. …

In 2018, Critch announced the release of his early life memoir, Son of a Critch.

I found it hilarious. Funnier than Rick Mercer’s early memoir. Also in Newfoundland.

Next I watched Son of a Critch, a Canadian television comedy series, created by Mark Critch and Tim McAuliffe, based on the book. I watched it for free online, on CBC’s streaming platform, CBC Gem.

11-year-old Mark is growing up in 1980s Newfoundland, where he navigates starting junior high school, making friends, and connecting with the small collection of people in his limited world. Mark is a nerd.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Mark Critch plays Mike Critch, Mark’s father and reporter for radio station VOCM.

Malcolm McDowell plays Patrick “Pop” Critch, Mark’s grandfather.

Season 2 launches January 2023. I’m sure I’ll watch it too.

Son of a Critch is a good addition to the CanCon SitCom genre, easier watching even than Kim’s Convenience and Corner Gas.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Very funny.

Bossypants (2011) is an autobiographical comedy book written by comedian Tina Fey

It’s been called “sketch comedy in book form”.

Most of the personalities in House of the Dragon are horrible people.

There’s no Arya nor Jon Snow to cheer.

Closest to someone I might like in the first episodes is Gavin Spokes as Lord Lyonel Strong.

My favourite character is Milly Alcock as the young Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen.

I found her very believable.

Emma D’Arcy is perhaps equally believable as the adult Rhaenyra. But life has gone to crap by this point.

It’s difficult to end entertainments. I’d say the ending of season 1 was about as good as any TV series or film I can recall. The highlight moment.

Film students will be studying that scene.

At times I liked Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen even more. But that role confuses me.

Similar to his turn as Prince Philip in ‘The Crown’, he’s got the look. Charismatic? Evil? Both?

Perhaps the most impressive performance is Paddy Considine as King Viserys Targaryen.

What a complex and nuanced role.

Produced for a fraction of the cost / episode of Games of Thrones or Rings of Power, this TV series is pushing limits for television. Sex. Violence. The dangers of childbirth before modern medicine.

Not always easy to watch, but #respect for the creators.

Also — the dragons are cool.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

The legendary Canadian comedy has been on TV for 28 seasons.

But it launched with not much budget. No real plan.

It was to be a Mary Walsh project, but at launch she was in bed with terrible back pain.

The first episode was 1993 during Canada’s 35th general election.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube. Episode 1, season 1.

It includes the first Rick Mercer rant.

Recovering from injuries in the village of Three Pines, Armand Gamache, former Chief Inspector of Homicide with the Sûreté du Québec, has found a peace he’d only imagined possible. 

Until his friend Clara seeks him out, when her artist husband fails to come home.

Together with his former second-in-command, Jean-Guy Beauvoir, a group of the regulars goes on the road to solve the mystery of the disappearance.

There’s far less action than usual. More philosophy.

Though different than the usual Gamache fare, I still enjoyed the book.

A Great Reckoning (2016) is the 12th novel in the Inspector Gamache series. …

Well written and engaging.

As usual, a dumb and impossible-to-believe plot.

At the start of the novel, Gamache begins a new position as the head of the Sûreté Academy, where new cadets are trained for the police force.

Of course a murder mystery is presented. Ganache is one of many suspects.

More interesting to me was finally learning the history of the 3 pines in Three Pines. And finding out why the small village is not on any official Quebec maps.

There’s a film based on these books called “Still Life“.

Click PLAY or watch the location for the film on YouTube.