Kat: I’ve been on vacation, and the fall semester is about to start in a couple of weeks, so I’ve been pretty busy. But I did manage to read a couple more Andre Norton titles, Synchronized Sorcery by Juliet Blackwell, and The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab. I’ve also read a couple of books about nutrition.
Bill: This week I read The Kingdoms, by Natasha Pulley, which had its issues but which I’m still recommending (review up soon); Second Nature by Nathaniel Rich, a collection of infuriating/energizing environmental essays; and The Last Unkillable Thing by Emily Pittinos, a poetry collection that didn’t work for me on the whole, but had some wonderful segments. Currently, I’m a third of the way into The Rookery, Deborah Hewitt’s sequel to The Nightjar, a debut novel that felt like one but boded well for future work based on its originality and imagination, both of which are in clear evidence in the follow-up. In video, I finished Counterpart, a smart mix of science fiction and spy stories (spy-fi?) topped by a brilliant performance by J.K.Simmons. Bemoaning no third season of this excellent show. My son and I also bade a fond farewell to Grimm, which held up quite well on a second viewing for me. Finally, I watched Luca, which I’d classify as lesser Pixar, though it was enjoyable enough and of course, being Pixar, had me choking up at various points.
Marion: I was at the conference from Thursday through Saturday, so I didn’t get much else read, but I did start Craze: Gin and Debauchery in an Age of Reason, by Jessica Warner. Because, who could resist that title? It’s nonfiction, a study of the anti-gin propaganda movement in England.
I longed for a third season of Counterpart.
They certainly left it open for one. Too bad nobody else picked it up
“Spy-fi”! I love it! Wish I’d thought of that myself!