October media diet

A diverse month! Multi-media consumption, that's the sign of a healthy individual.

Books

The Passenger and Stella Maris by Cormac McCarthy | The Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist, now 89, drops a pair of books in 2022, 16 years after he won all the Fiction prizes for “The Road.”  Not as apocalyptic as that father-son tale, but they will rank among the most unusual novels anyone will read this year. Just don’t expect to be entertained by the pages, if that makes any sense. Among the many things they mull — schizophrenia, quantum mechanics, God, who killed JFK and incest. Read my AP review.

The Last Chairlift by John Irving | The longest book I’ll read this year, for sure. 889 pages of classic Irving. I’ve read some other reviews that pan it for not treading new ground, but really, the guy’s 80 years old. If readers don’t realize by now that he’s a horndog with family issues who loves to wrestle, they haven’t been paying attention. Read my AP review.

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver | I almost didn’t review this one once I found out it was a modern reimagining of David Copperfield, set in the coal country of Southwest Virginia. But I’m glad I gave it a shot. Super engaging narrative voice and quite a story to tell about how the pharmaceutical companies preyed upon some of the poorest people in the nation to create a generation of painkiller addicts. Read my AP review.

Happy-Go-Lucky by David Sedaris | The prolific humorist’s latest audio book filled the 4+ hours west to Niagara Falls and a few walks as well. What a job - he roams the Earth, writes stuff down, then shapes them into essays, binds them in a book, and travels the world some more to read the best of them at book-signing events. One of the funniest people alive, for sure. But you know what? I wouldn’t trade my father for his at any price.

TV

It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown - Apple TV | Carey made us all watch this 1966 classic and the adults both remarked that it didn’t end the way we remembered it. We both thought the Great Pumpkin actually made an appearance! Oh, and Lucy is MEAN. Sally, though, I bet she grew up to be nice.

Bad Sisters, S1 - Apple TV | Four lovable Irish lasses (including Bono’s daughter Eve Hewson, who knew?) from a sibling quintet plot to kill the husband of their fifth sister and hilarity ensues. One of those reverse narratives where we know they succeed, but it takes 10 episodes to find out how.

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, S1 - Disney+ | Has Marvel lost its fastball? Is the multimedia connective tissue that made “Phase IV” so impressive not to be repeated? I love the actress Tatiana Maslany, but this doesn’t hold a finger to her work in “Orphan Black.” Her superpower, in part, is to “break the fourth wall?” Really?!

House of the Dragon, S1 - HBO | Oh, those Westerosians, they just never stop playing their Game of Thrones! This wasn’t as captivating as its progenitor, but the dragons were cool and it has an odd ability to make incest not seem so bad. I’ve given up hope George R.R. Martin will ever finish his Song of Ice & Fire books, so these HBO spinoffs will have to suffice.

Derry Girls, S3 - Netflix | I’d forgotten a lot of this very funny show that debuted on U.S. Netflix during the pandemic. It returned for a final season with one of its characters now a star thanks to “Bridgerton.” I didn’t find it as amusing the third go-round, but it’s all based on the true adventures of a family in Northern Ireland during The Troubles, so they get my respect for making art out of unrest.

The Rings of Power, S1- Amazon | This one leaves no doubt on how they spent their $250 million budget. Stunning visuals for a “TV” show.  I’m a sucker for the fantasy genre and this one has it all — lovable Harfoots, demonic Orcs, Elves, Dwarves, and of course, Humans you just can’t trust. Probably my favorite guilty pleasure show of 2022.

Movies

NOPE - Redbox | Couldn’t convince anyone in the family to watch this with me, but it wasn’t a horror movie after all. Had some real Spielberg vibes, as a brother, sister, Geek Squad member and a cinematographer try to capture a UFO on camera. Not nearly as good as Jordan Peele’s other films, though I haven’t seen “Us,” just “Get Out,” which was amazing

Bridesmaids - DVD | In a sure sign that we are the parents of two 15+ year olds, we watched Bridesmaids at camp at 7pm on a Saturday with their grandparents.  At least nobody asked for an explanation of the various X-rated references multiple characters make! Still very funny almost a dozen years later though!

Ambulance - Amazon Prime | Michael Bay is back, baby! This high adrenaline thriller casts Jake Gyllenhaal as a bad guy and floors the accelerator about 10 mins in and doesn’t let up for 2 hours. The drone cinematography is pretty sick, too.