Tag Archives: book-reviews

Bye Bye 2025

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Here is a look back on the entertainment I consumed last year:

Books (if I recommend it, it will have an *, my 5-stars have **)

  1. *Fourth Wing (re-read) – Rebecca Yarros
  2. *The Frozen River – Ariel Lawhon
  3. *Rental House – Weike Wang
  4. Same As It Ever Was – Claire Lombardo
  5. *James – Percival Everett
  6. *Eddie Winston is Looking for Love – Marianne Cronin
  7. Ordinary Grace – William Kent Krueger
  8. In the Unlikely Event – L.J. Shen
  9. *Back After This – Linda Holmes
  10. *We All Live Here – Jojo Moyes
  11. Binding 13 – Chloe Walsh
  12. *Deep End – Ali Hazelwood
  13. Great Big Beautiful Life – Emily Henry
  14. Ask Not: The Kennedys and the Women They Destroyed – Maureen Callahan
  15. *Every Summer After – Carley Fortune
  16. All We Lost Was Everything – Sloan Harlow
  17. *Problematic Summer Romance – Ali Hazelwood
  18. The Tell – Amy Griffin
  19. *This Summer Will Be Different – Carley Fortune
  20. *It’s a Love Story – Annabel Monaghan
  21. *Atmosphere – Taylor Jenkins Reid
  22. *Say You’ll Remember Me – Abby Jimenez
  23. *Silver Elite – Dani Francis
  24. Sounds Like Love – Ashley Poston
  25. *The Satisfaction Café – Kathy Wang
  26. *Rose in Chains – Julie Soto
  27. *All the Colors of the Dark – Chris Whitaker
  28. The Art of Vanishing – Morgan Pager
  29. **Project Hail Mary – Andy Weir
  30. *These Summer Storms – Sarah MacLean
  31. *One Golden Summer – Carley Fortune
  32. **Heart the Lover – Lily King
  33. **Theo of Golden – Allen Levi
  34. *The Correspondent – Virginia Evans
  35. *The Compound – Aisling Rawle

Of those, here are my faves:

  1. Project Hail Mary – Andy Weir  The movie comes out in March – read it now!!!
  2. Theo of Golden – Allen Levi  If you live in the south, you’ve probably already read this because everyone is talking about it. If not, go get it. Levi self-published this novel about kindness.  Read with tissues nearby, I teared up throughout the whole thing. Two of the sweetest/kindest people I know both gave it to me which about says it all.
  3. Heart the Lover – Lily King  I absolutely loved her Writers and Lovers. If you did not, you probably won’t like this either. I read half on a flight to Boston and finished it on the flight back.
  4. Atmosphere – Taylor Jenkins Reid
  5. The Correspondent – Virginia Evans  A beautifully written story told through letters which I’ve been told is also a wonderful audiobook.
  6. Frozen River – Ariel Lawhon
  7. Rental House – Weike Wang  I adored her previous book Chemistry so maybe start there. If it’s not your thing, this won’t be either as the writing is quite deadpan. A tiny book that covers a lot of ground; complexities of marriage, the immigrant experience, and parental expectations, just to name a few of the themes addressed.
  8. James – Percival Everett

And to round the list out – these are my 4-star romances: 

  1. Deep End – Ali Hazelwood
  2. One Golden Summer – Carley Fortune
  3. Problematic Summer Romance – Ali Hazelwood
  4. Back After This – Linda Holmes
  5. Say You’ll Remember Me – Abby Jimenez

Movies/Documentaries

 I had a tough year with movies this past year. The only one I gave even an A- to was Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning and it was ridiculously far-fetched but I don’t care because I love those movies so much. I did like a bunch of docs (Charles Grodin, Yacht Rock, Billy Joel, Eddie Murphy) but the best, hands down, was Taylor Swift: The End of an Era. This 6-episode docuseries is on Disney+ and is fantastic. If you didn’t see the The Era’s tour or just don’t think you are a fan, give this doc a go. I teared up in EVERY episode. As someone in her crew says, the “tour cultivates good energy.” How she learned the kindness, empathy, work ethic, to really see people, etc., I don’t know, but she is a gift to us all.

TV

I think I’ve covered everything I’ve loved in my past posts, so I’ll just list them one more time:

  1. The Pitt
  2. Severence
  3. The Diplomat
  4. High Potential
  5. Ghosts
  6. Nobody Wants This
  7. Will Trent
  8. Matlock
  9. Hacks
  10. CBS Sunday Morning – weird to put it here probably but it really is so so good.

I’m eagerly awaiting Shrinking, currently near the end of Pluribus (so I’ll talk about it next time), and hoping to watch a few on my list this weekend, so more to come!

Instagram

I was watching a post from a Dr. who specializes in dementia prevention (no idea how legit he is but I watched anyway) and he recommended a couple things. I do my word games/puzzles and try to eat berries and salmon because all of that supposedly helps my brain, and these seemed kinda harmless so I’ve added them to my nighttime routine. While brushing my teeth, I use my left (non-dominant) hand (encourages new neural pathways) while standing on one foot – I do one foot for my top row and the other for the bottom (balance is very important for everything apparently). I don’t know if any of that helps with anything, but it can’t hurt so I thought I’d pass it along.

We are empty nesters now. If I’m being honest, I don’t love it. Parenting them has been my full-time job and I’ve been working really hard at it (very steep learning curve!) for the past 24 years. As they needed me less at home, I got more active at the kids’ school and went to their many activities, etc., so I’m feeling a bit like I got laid off. My days are still busy(ish) but I do miss them, a lot. Don’t worry about me, I’m fine, and I will figure out my next chapter (maybe a job that pays?). I’m more telling you because if you’re in the same boat, I just wanted you to know you aren’t alone.

Happy new year!

TV Time

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I’ve been in a bit of a reading rut. I only like to post when I have books I highly recommend, so that’s why it’s been a minute since my last entry. Luckily, TV is picking up the slack!

TV

“Severence” – Apple TV – A little reminiscent of “Lost” in that you have no idea what is happening but everything must mean something, you just don’t know what it could be. “Severance” is two seasons and has just been renewed for a third.

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 2024 – I challenge you to not get up while Kool & the Gang performs; I was dancing by myself. Cher is sassy, Foreigner will remind you why their music is so good, plus Dionne Warwick and Dave Matthews – it’s always a great show and watching the star-studded crowd enjoy this one-of-a-kind concert is fun, too.

Ladies & Gentlemen…50 Years of SNL Music – while we’re into the tunes, this is a wonderful time capsule of music from the last 50 years with really interesting stories of who performed on the show and the legacies that followed those performances.

If you didn’t watch “Shrinking” or “The Diplomat,” why not? Fantastic both. “Will Trent” is also great again this season (especially because my girl, Gina Rodriguez, from “Jane the Virgin” joined the cast!).

“Black Doves “– Netflix – more diverting than fantastic, still entertaining and every man seems to love Keira Knightly so you can watch with your husband if you are looking for a show to watch together.

“American Idol “– my annual plug because it’s SOOOO good but this year we know someone competing!! Watch here for Slater’s audition.

Books

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon follows Mrs. Martha Ballard, a midwife and healer during the post-revolutionary war. She is smart, no-nonsense, and a person of high morals; very likeable and admirable. Life is (so) hard but her marriage is solid and enviable which is refreshing to read in a novel these days. Based on a real person of the same name, this book is well-written, vividly recalling a time I didn’t know much about but was captivated by.

Back After This by Linda Holmes is for when you need a break after reading a book like The Frozen River. Holmes also wrote Evvie Drake Starts Over which I looooooved. This one follows Cecily, a podcast producer, who becomes the reluctant host of her own show in which a relationship expert is going to find her a match. Smarter than it sounds, it’s funny and cute – a great vacation read.

Movies

I’ve seen a lot of movies lately, including those nominated for Oscars, but I haven’t loved any. My husband and I did just watch the documentary Charles Grodin: Rebel with a Cause and learned that there was much more to Grodin than we knew. It was a reminder of how many spectacular films he made and how easy he made playing those characters look. Just as interesting is the impact he made outside of film advocating for justice; I had no idea. Keep an eye out for it if you’re interested. In the meantime, watch Midnight Run again.

Sleeping Aid

Having trouble falling asleep? Does your mind race at night? Mine sometimes does. I do some games on my iPad in bed to quiet my brain, but it doesn’t always work. I saw someone on Instagram with a suggestion, I tried it, and it worked! Recently, the NY Times wrote about a similar exercise, so I decided to share them with you. 

The Instagram version is to come up with a short name, like Amy or Tony. Take each letter, one at a time, and think of three adjectives/adverbs that begin with that letter, then move on to the next. So, for Amy – A; adorable, adventurous, acrimonious. M; macho, menial, malevolent, etc. If you aren’t asleep by the last letter, do it again with another name.

The NY Times version was to think of any word – build, smack, etc. Similarly, think of words that begin with each letter but think of as many as you can. When you are done with a letter, move on to the next. Good luck and sleep well!

Happy spring and good luck to all of the high school seniors (and their parents) out there!

My 2024 Highlights

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Happy 2025!!

Below are the books I read in 2024, in the order I read them. If they have an *, I recommend them:

  1. * Maybe Next Time – Cesca Major
  2. If You Would Have Told Me – John Stamos
  3. Normal Women – Ainslie Hogarth
  4. *You, With a View – Jessica Joyce
  5. *Iron Flame – Rebecca Yarros
  6. Love, Me – Jessica Saunders
  7. A Court of Thorn and Roses – Sarah J. Maas
  8. *The Exception to the Rule (novella) – Christina Lauren
  9. *Mercury – Amy Jo Burns
  10. *Bride – Ali Hazelwood
  11. *Simply the Best – Susan Elizabeth Phillips
  12. *The Backup Plan – Jill Shalvis
  13. Worst Wingman Ever (novella) – Abby Jimenez
  14. *How to End a Love Story – Yulin Kuang
  15. *Chain-Gang All-Stars – Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
  16. Good Material – Dolly Alderton
  17. *Just for the Summer – Abby Jimenez
  18. Tangled Up in You – Christina Lauren
  19. *Check & Mate – Ali Hazelwood
  20. **Tom Lake – Ann Patchett
  21. The Husbands – Holly Gramazio
  22. *Funny Story – Emily Henry
  23. *The Guncle Abroad – Steven Rowley
  24. Eruption – Michael Chrichton & James Patterson
  25. *Summer Romance – Annabel Monaghan
  26. *Slow Dance – Rainbow Rowell
  27. Welcome Home, Caroline Kline – Courtney Preiss
  28. *A Court of Mist and Fury – Sarah J. Maas
  29. *The Paradise Problem – Christina Lauren
  30. A Novel Love Story – Ashley Poston
  31. *Uncomfortable Conversations with a Jew – Emmanuel Acho & Noa Tishby
  32. Always Remember – Mary Balogh
  33. *Not in Love – Ali Hazelwood
  34. **Sandwich – Catherine Newman
  35. *The Rom-Commers – Katherine Center
  36. *The Women – Kristen Hannah
  37. *Sylvia’s Second Act – Hillary Yablon
  38. *The Wedding People – Alison Espach
  39. *Here One Moment – Liane Moriarty
  40. Variation – Rebecca Yarros
  41. *The Life Impossible – Matt Haig

My faves from this list (if there’s no explanation, see past posts):

  1. Tom Lake – Audiobook – Meryl!!
  2. Sandwich
  3. How to End a Love Story
  4. Chain-Gang All-Stars
  5. The Women – I listened to this one and thought the narrator did a wonderful job. I have not previously read a book about Vietnam, I don’t think. This is my favorite Kristen Hannah book so far.
  6. The Wedding People – I also listened to this one and further realize how important the audiobook narrator is, as I’m listening to different book now and am not enjoying it as much because I don’t like the narrator. Anyway, I was hesitant about the plot in the beginning, but it won me over. Some good lessons learned here.
  7. Here One Moment – A woman on an Australian flight goes row by row informing passengers (whether they want to know or not) at what age and how they each will die. Chapters alternate between specific passengers, post-flight, and the woman. It’s an interesting question, one I’ve posed here before (with regard to The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin), if you could find out how and when you will die, would you want to know?
  8. The Life Impossible – This book is not going to be for everyone, and it may not be for you at this moment. I do think it has something to offer people who need to hear some of the messaging. Grief and guilt and hard beasts to tame, and life is not always easy. The sad/bad, however, allow us to appreciate the happy/beautiful.

Movies I saw in 2024 that I gave an A or A-:

  1. Irena’s Vow – A-
  2. Remembering Gene Wilder (documentary) – A-
  3. The Holdovers – A-
  4. The Fall Guy – A-
  5. Inside Out 2 – A-
  6. Twisters – A-
  7. Thelma – A
  8. Will & Harper (documentary) – A
  9. Wicked – A

Will & Harper is a wonderful documentary (available on Netflix) following Will Ferrell and his close friend, former head writer at SNL – who has come out as a trans woman – Harper, as they road trip across the country. Heartfelt and educational for those who are afraid of what they don’t understand, it’s a must watch. Plus, you will come away thinking the world of Will Ferrell.

TV I loved:

“Shrinking” – my fave!

“Nobody Wants This” – adorable

“The Diplomat” – that last episode!

“High Potential” – smart and sassy

“Hacks” – season 3 was its best yet

“Matlock” – clever and yay for Kathy Bates!

That’s it for now – may 2025 bring good health and happiness to you all!