Devon Trevarrow Flaherty's Blog, page 41

Book Review: Where the Crawdads Sing

Sometimes a book just haunts me, before I even know what it is, let alone read it. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens was one such book. I believe I first heard of it at writing group, where we share what we have recently read. I think I remember the share being favorable. Then I saw it at the store. Then it kept popping up in ads. Then someone said they would like to read it and I bought it for not one, but two other people. Eventually I caved and bought one for myself. After all, it was recommended to the world by Reese Witherspoon. Everyone’s read it, says the New York Times.

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Delia Owens has an interesting story, herself. She is an older woman, and she has written other books in tandem with her husband, but they were memoirs based on their life together as zoologists, largely in Africa. She now lives in the South, though I’m unclear about that being in Georgia or in North Carolina, where Crawdads takes place. It is interesting that this is her breakthrough novel and she’s already lived a life full of other things. It is also interesting that she is a zoologist, and that plays right into her reading of the world as portrayed in Crawdads.

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Where the Crawdads Sing is a mystery novel. It is about Kya, a poor, rural kid living out in the coastal marshes of 1950s/1960s North Carolina. When she is abandoned by her entire family at around age ten, she has to fend for herself in an out-of-the-way shack with very few resources. The townies are cruel and prejudiced, so she carves out a life of solitude, interacting with people only when she can’t avoid them. She’s odd, she’s intense, she’s smart, she’s beautiful, and she’s intimately connected to the land and the animals around her, making her a target of legend, suspicion, and crime. While half the chapters tell Kya’s story from the time of her being abandoned and her consequent two, coming-of-age relationships, every other chapter takes place in the “present” of the book, in 1969. Chase Owens, town sweetheart, has been found dead out in the marsh. At first, it looks like an accident, but then the careful cops find a lack of evidence that makes them suspect a cover up and murder. The two stories jump back and forth until we start seeing them weave together, about halfway through the book, and come to a conclusion together.

I don’t read a whole lotta mystery. If all mystery books were this good, however, I would probably read more. This book is, I suppose, a genre bender, anyhow. To call it a mystery is selling it a little short, as it is also literary, historical, pastoral, and romance. Some people might cringe at me calling it “literary,” and I admit that it is a bit cheesier than most literary novels, but the writing is beautiful, lyrical, and the content is a bit of social history mixed with an in-depth exploration of a memorable character and her psyche, her twisted connection to the world.

If you can’t tell, I did like the novel and I would recommend it. I am having a hard time separating the reading from my experience of it, since I began the book as we drove out to a small town on the North Carolina coast and read it over the next two days between the beach and a vintage chair in an-honest-to-goodness 1950s ranch. I did not plan it that way, but it makes me wonder if people do plan readings like that. That could be a travel agency: reading adventures in the place of the setting, complete with tours and food. (Now, that really is a thought.)

The book is nice, but more than anything it is compelling. Kya is compelling. Her story is compelling. And with the murder mystery thrown in there, it makes it a real page-turner. Who dunnit!?! And why? And how? And will Kya get sacrificed on the altar of bigotry along the way? (Also, will Kya find love? Will she find family? Will she be able to keep nature and sanity?) I would read it again, and I have recommended it to others. I often feel the tension between an ending that is trite and popular and one that is more complicated, realistic, and modern. I felt that tension here, but Owens went with an ending that I think most people will find fulfilling.

QUOTES

While the writing is nice, it’s the kind of nice that remains un-distracting. It’s also the kind of nice that waxes poetic on nature. These are the only two things I underlined:

“When cornered, desperate, or isolated, man reverts to those instincts that aim straight at survival. Quick and just …. It is not a morality, but a simple math” (p8).

“A clutch of women’s the most tender, most tough place on Earth” (p150).

MOVIE

Witherspoon is now saying she’s going to make a movie from the book, which came as absolutely no surprise. And while it might actually make a great movie, I am a little sad to see this one go to the screen. There is something about it that is important in the written form. The pacing, the jumping back and forth, the painting of scenes with language that is both reverent and loving, the slow unfolding of the girl and then the woman. I feel like there will be loss in this translation.

Series Review: Anatomy Books by Julia Rothman

I came across Julia Rothman being stuck at home for months on end with a tween and a teen. While relatives have sent me books and punch needle supplies, my husband puzzles, and my daughter paints and canvases, my son has been harder to figure out. I mean, he could just play video games straight from March through whenever this pandemic ends, but that would not be wise. We have tried models, books (which actually does work, but only for the required hour per day), sketchbooks, and then sigh and kick him out the door to play by himself in the neighborhood, a sad figure with a net, on a bike, donning a mask. (Geocaching and hiking have also worked, but not in a constant stream and not actually in our house.) When I saw Ocean Anatomy and Nature Anatomy pop up on one of my frequent romps through Amazon, I thought perhaps they could draw his attention in a way that only National Geographic Kids has done. Then, when I realized Food Anatomy was a thing, too, I threw caution to the wind and spent my allowance on a copy. And some nail polish.

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For sure, these are “extra” books. For the most part, they fit in the category of coffee table books, or maybe even bathroom books. They would be fun to leave out at a rental house. The illustrations are great. I appreciate both Rothman’s ability and her style. How can I describe the style? Vintage, domestic cartoon? Ink and watercolor? They’re not surprising; technically I could do them, myself. (Actually, now that I think about it, my illustration style is similar.) But they do have a nice, warm feel to them. They’re meant to by cute and a little funny. And coupled with all the bits and bobs of nature/food facts, these books are nice ones to have around.

Would you sit down and read them (asks the woman who reads cookbooks cover to cover)? Most likely not, though I have been reading Food Anatomy in spurts, before bed. I am using a bookmark. Would you reference them? You definitely could, though you wouldn’t find a depth of information as much as a few things to fill in an information gap, such as Short Order Egg Lingo or Parts of a Whale. In other words, these books aren’t comprehensive, they’re interesting and fun. It occurs to me that these books would be great on home school shelves and also on children’s books shelves. Not meant to be like Richard Scarry, they sort of are, anyhow. I could really imagine a grown up snuggled up with a kid and turning the pages, chatting and learning together.

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You know what else they might be good for? As gifts for people who have everything (or at least everything they need). Well, anyway, if they have an interest in nature, marine biology, farms, or food. Because the series, so far, (packaged before Ocean as The Julie Rothman Collection) is:

Nature AnatomyOcean AnatomyFood AnatomyFarm Anatomy

More books by or illustrated by Rothman:

Brick, Who Found Herself in Architecture (illustrator, picture book)Hello, NYCan I Eat That? (illustrator)What’s Cooking? (illustrator)Ladies Drawing NightDrawn In (contributing artist)The Where, the Why and the How (contributing illustrator)The Who, The What and the When (contributing illustrator)The Exquisite Book (collaboration with nine other artists)When Strangers Meet (illustrator)Design Sponge at Home (illustrator)Past & Present (illustrator)Book By Its Cover (blog)



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I am most interested in checking out Ladies Drawing Night, Drawn In, The Where the Why and the How, The Who the What and the When, and possibly The Exquisite Book. Rothman’s books really vary in topic, but many of them revolve around art and even the artistic process. Rothman is also big on doing and even spearheading projects with other artists. She definitely seems like one to follow, if you find that sort of thing enjoyable. I do.

And I’ll be keeping Food Anatomy on a shelf in the kitchen, once I’m done “reading” it.

Book Review: Dear Mr. Henshaw

I already like Beverly Cleary, but I wasn’t sure about this book because it seems so outside of what Cleary usually writes (Ramona, Henry Huggins, cute stories about animals). Published in and taking place about in 1983, it’s a more modern book than her typical fifties neighborhood kids. It features a more “modern” family and a more broken, complicated family life. It’s epistolary. It’s serious: Leigh is not only going through it but even though he’s a good kid, he’s right on the edge of losing it. He’s angry, he’s lonely, he’s lost and wondering…

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In walks the plot. Sixth-grader Leigh Botts has been writing to his favorite author, Mr. Henshaw, for years, but when his teacher makes her class send a list of questions to authors, Mr. Henshaw has a few questions of his own. Leigh begins to tell us, and Mr. Henshaw, about how his parents have just divorced, he has been moved to a new town and a new school, his dad has lost his dog, and someone keeps stealing all the best things out of his lunch bag. In the end, the story is less about the resolutions of any of these problems and more about: will Leigh adjust?

All the characters in the book, with se few pages and so few words, are approachable, endearing, flawed, and fleshed out. The story is cute and interesting. The scene, again is so few words, just jumps off the page. Some of the characters are special, and others are funny. Cleary is so extremely deft, coming across as an actual child interacting with actual adults and a big, changing world. And just about everybody grows.

The age for this book is a little interesting. While the subject matter would make it middle grades, the reading level is more elementary age. For a more mature elementary age student, this book would work, and also for a slower or more remedial MG reader. And as far as the whole kid writing to an author thing, of course it appeals especially to kids (and adults) who want to grow up to be writers. But I think kids will be able to relate to Leigh on way more than his love of writing and reading, even if they aren’t going through a move or a divorce or another loss. The lessons here, like getting outside of your own head and noticing the humanity of others around you, are universal. However, if you know a child who is going through some stuff, this would be a great book to hand them (along with a couple books I have previously recommended, like A Snicker of Magic, Because of Winn Dixie, Bridge to Terabithia, and Where the Red Fern Grows).

I’m not the biggest fan of the few illustrations, but don’t let that deter you or your child. This is a great book that continues to be relevant as well as enjoyable, an easy read with a gentle touch of charm and humor. It’s not about things ending up tidy, but about becoming a compassionate, open, joyful person despite them.

How to Change Gears

I am looking for an agent for my novel.

As for going indie, I do not have the time, resources, or availability to package and market my books while I am also home schooling and teaching at a co-op (and all those other things I do, too). There are also things that really appeal about publishing the traditional way: I am not the marketing team, I am not in the editing process alone, I can spend more of my time doing the actual writing, and, if things go as planned, I sell way more copies and make way more money. But will things go as planned?

I have written before about self- and indie-publishing. (Not so much vanity presses, which I do not recommend unless you are very specific case.) Years ago, when I set up a small publishing house and began to publish my own stuff, I sang the praises of going it without a conventional publisher (and agent and editor) in a series of blogs over a couple years. The pros include having more creative license, more of a say in the finished product (including art), keeping projects alive instead of watching them die, and bringing home a much larger per cent of the royalties. These are all really big pluses, if things go as planned. But did things go as planned?

There’s the catch. I knew that when I decided, all starry-eyed, to go the self- route, that would put all the marketing weight on me. Not only do I not like selling myself, but it felt like I could spend every full-time week doing this and there would still be more selling and promoting to do. I hoped maybe I could give marketing one out of every five days. I published my first two novels within two years of each other, and was working on a few re-print and journal projects as well. Things were going okay. I had some moderate success with awards and blog tours, but the numbers were still suffering from different things, including an inability to work full time at it. Within months of publishing my second novel, it was necessary that I pull one of my kids from school and begin home schooling, a scenario I had not planned on. I was unable to work at writing as more than a hobby (officially a back-burner career) for several years. The novels and journal that I had just flung out there were left to float about, unaided, un-marketed, un-trumpeted. Then I didn’t have five days anymore, or even one day. Having no time to work is not a viable business model for self-publishing. So, things did not go as planned.

I am now throwing myself on the other horn of this dilemma. Knowing that I do not—at least for the next two years—have enough time to work as a full-time writer, let alone a full-time indie editor, and publisher, I am going to give the other option the ol’ college try. I am willingly giving up some of my creative license, my ability to closely control the look and feel of the product, and a large cut of the royalties in order to partner with someone who knows the field and has the resources and connections to make a book happen, right now. But to me, the biggest thing I fear is watching as a publishing house takes my book, slaps a cover on it, lists it low in their catalog, no sales people ever even mention the thing, and before I know it I find one lonely copy in the bargain bin somewhere before it goes out of print.

While that sounds all sad, please note that a small portion of a lot of sales is obviously better than a large portion of only a few sales. If I have—for whatever reason—failed to make more than a few hundred bucks on my first two books by self-publishing, what do I have to lose by trying to publish traditionally? Well, the ability to closely control things and keep a book alive. But if no one’s reading it, what’s the difference? Uh, it’s my blood, sweat, and tears? My thoughts? My life’s work? It’s difficult to hand that over to someone when you know that statistically most books get little to no marketing and do, indeed, die a quiet death in the bargain bin.

It’s a gamble then.

Fine, I’ve made a choice. But then there’s the small obstacle of actually putting together a query package, landing an agent, have them interest an editor, have them convince the publisher this is something to throw the marketing team behind, and have them convince the bookstores and general public that this is where their $15 should be well-spent this week. (Not to mention, how exactly do you make a name for yourself during a pandemic? I have a friend currently touring and he’s managing through a number or creative Zoom calls.) So I can make whatever decision I want now, but since I can’t see many occurrences, each dependent on the one before, into the future, I’m kinda’ stabbing in the dark, here.

Perhaps I ought to worry about writing. Then about editing enough and slapping an acceptable query package on it. Then finding the right agent and… Looks like there’s no rest for the writing soul. It’s tough out there, and I just keep asking myself, Is this even the book that I think it is? Well, considering that I vacillate wildly between being over the moon about what I’ve done and wanting to shove it under a rock, perhaps I should just fall back on the reliable adage: Do your best.

Book Review: The Underground Railroad

Let me tell you what this blog post is not: a critique on subject or a political statement. Let me tell you what it is: a review of a book. While I had such high hopes for this book—and there were many voices from Oprah Winfrey to The New York Times on the cover calling out to me its excellence—I did not think that it delivered. Oh, on some things it did: violence, gore, terror, a large cast of characters, a trek across the country, a step back in time… But on the magic realism, the unique take on the “Underground Railroad,” and a plot that moved forward in a trackable way, characters I could sink my teeth into: well, I don’t think it did.

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I mean, the idea is so compelling. A female slave in the Deep South who runs away from a horrific life on a plantation, in the footsteps of her mother, and she finds herself on an actual, literal underground railroad. (If you are not sure of history here, there was neither actual underground or railroad about the Underground Railroad. It was more of a secret system of contacts that formed a web and/or a trail to get slaves from the south to the north and to freedom.) The story follows Cora from city to town and from one state to another to another, where the reader must encounter the reality of life for a black woman and an escaped slave in some bizarre iterations, and we begin to wonder if freedom can really be found anywhere. Now, I am a huge magic realism fan, so I was really hoping that this book would take a tale that had been told and marry it to a genre that, as far as I know, had not been used for it, and make something fresh and something that would cut to the quick for being so unique.

Let’s just say this first: the railroad is hardly in the book. And there is no other aspect of magic realism. So that was weird. Especially since Whitehead eventually uses the railroad itself to say something important about historical slavery, this was a missed opportunity. I know the story just passed through it here and there, but… I just expected much more. What else? Because that can’t be my only thought. Well, the language is beautiful and there are some keen observations. On the other hand, I found the language—while beautiful—to be dense and confusing. If there is a trait in literature that I like to float to the top of any reading, it just might be clarity. The Underground Railroad, however, was far from clear. I spent some time circling back around and re-reading bits, but I think it had more to do with this book being more exposition than story-telling and a ton to do with sentence structure. Whitehead’s sentences, paragraphs, and even chapters all feel “loopy” to me. I felt bogged down reading it, like there was fabric between me and the story, left for pages at a time wondering what had happened to the characters and/or to the story. Couple that with lots and lots of telling instead of showing, the confusing similarity of some of their names (Randall, Royal, and Ridgeway) and a lack of development of many of the secondary characters, and I was lost and many times bored.

Which is a little crazy, because this book was filled with the very worst of every plantation slave’s experience. Perhaps that was part of it. It was so horrifying that I started to go a little numb without a real plot to latch on to. Think of The Diary of a Young Girl: it’s the character of Anne and her story that are able to bring compassion to a story of such depravity. The Underground Railroad left me with only depravity and no compelling character or plot to anchor it, at least up until the end. For me, flowery language that was dripping with poetry and observation was not quite enough.

Not that I wouldn’t recommend this book, exactly. The ending does do some redeeming: as the plot picks up, we feel more at home with Cora, and even the railroad shows up more as a feature. And if you want to explore this subject, in all its gruesome reality, then I guess you could do that in this book. (Though I believe there are plenty of other books and movies that do that, and perhaps better.) It is a bit of a mystery to me, that Underground Railroad has gotten so many awards, like, say the Pulitzer Prize, and was at the top of the New York Times bestsellers list. Perhaps other people, reading it before they expected it to be the sun and the moon, were swept away by their expecting nothing and encountering searing prose and a face that refused to turn away from the injustice. Then everyone else bought the book because it was so lauded and were okay with it enough to sing its praise, for the subject matter’s sake. And now I, who expected so much, am left droopy and not even really wanting to finish the thing. Remember, The Goldfinch really disappointed and bored me, as well, and for some of the same reasons. It’s like, if a book considers itself to be high art, it can’t have sympathetic characters, a well-developed plot, or clarity. Wouldn’t it be nice to have everything?

This may help you: The Underground Railroad is not magical realism, it is historical fiction with a small element of fantasy, but does not read like anything but historical fiction. It is dense and is meant for people who like language and concepts for language’s and concept’s sakes. It doesn’t hook you with its plot or its characters, but with its honesty and brutality. If you’re okay with some cloudiness and more telling than showing, then go right ahead and read this giant of modern literature. But if you’re asking for my recommendation, I’m going to have to point you elsewhere.

QUOTES:

“They were treated to the same Randall hospitality, the travesties so routine and familiar that they were a kind of weather, and the ones so imaginative in their monstrousness that the mind refused to accommodate them. Sometimes such an experience bound one person to another; just as often the shame of one’s powerlessness made all the witnesses into enemies. Ava and Mabel did not get along” (p15).

“What did you get for that? For knowing the day you were born into the white man’s world? It didn’t seem like the thing to remember. More like to forget” (p26).

“Then it comes, always—the overseer’s cry, the call to work, the shadow of the master, the reminder that she is only a human being for a tiny moment across the eternity of her servitude” (p29).

“…if you can keep it, it is yours. Your property, slave or continent. The American imperative” (p82).

“’A plantation was a plantation; one might think one’s misfortunes distinct, but the true horror lay in their universality” (p105).

“But we can’t have you too clever. We can’t have you so fit you outrun us’” (p227).

“Poetry and prayer put ideas in people’s heads that got them killed, distracting them from the ruthless mechanism of the world” (p256).

“She’d never been the first person to open a book” (p257).

“’I’m what the botanists call a hybrid,’ he said the first time Cora heard him speak. ‘A mixture of two different families. In flowers, such a concoction pleases the eye. When that amalgamation takes shape in flesh and blood, some take great offense. In this room we recognize it for what it is—a new beauty come into the world, and it is in bloom all around us” (p260).

“Racial prejudice rotted one’s faculties, he said” (p274).

“’Indiana was a slave state,’ Valentine continued. ‘That evil soaks into the soil. Some say it seeps and gets stronger’” (p282).

MINISERIES

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Apparently, though I had been seeing previews for this since months and months ago, it has not yet been released on Amazon, and indeed I can find out hardly anything about it except the cast and director and that it was filmed in Georgia. So I can’t tell you when to expect it, though I look forward to it because I believe that film can really do this story justice, especially if the director was willing to seize on the plot and the magic realism in a way that Whitehead didn’t quite. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

Series Review: The Hunger Games

I would say that my reading of Hunger Games started on a high. I was forehead-deep in a number of nonfiction and bleak reading (mostly about social issues), and I was just going to tape the corners of book one (that’s a thing I always do) when I just peeked at the first chapter… and it was all over. I was surprised, because the writing wasn’t too bad. Not bad, at all. Perhaps it’s not literary fiction or poetry, but it is more than adequate for the audience that it is reaching for (and getting, easy). I read the first book in a couple days, around normal life, and finished it long after I should have closed my eyes one night. Just one more chapter…

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And this continued through the whole series. I was enthralled during book one, The Hunger Games, because Panem is such an interesting place and The Games is an interesting concept. In case you’ve been living under a rock: the series is set in a futuristic North America called Panem, after some cataclysmic events decimated humanity and destroyed much of the world. The Capitol is the political center, which holds power over the twelve Districts, full of people that are basically enslaved due to a rebellion that took place 75 years before. Every year, each district is forced to send one girl and one boy teen to participate in the Hunger Games, where they must battle it out in an arena with the other 23 teens, to the death. Only one can remain standing. Katniss Everdeen (which unfortunately, as a name, still smells like litter boxes and pine needles to me whenever it is said) is the head of her family, after her father has died and her mother and sister looked to her for leadership. She is also a hunter (illegally) and feels like a bit of a loner, except for her BFF Gale. When Katniss’s sister, Prim, is chosen as “tribute” for the Hunger Games, Katniss volunteers in her place and into the books we go. There is also a ton of in-your-head eye candy in these books, especially in the fashion department. There’s much description of the costume, environment, food, and customs of the Capitol and the districts. Not too much for me, but I believe the series is sort of known for this matter-of-fact, over-the-top world building thing. (I did find Collins’ food choices to be a little strange, but I’m a die-hard foodie and I think her descriptions lacked finesse. You know, this isn’t the Pulitzer, it’s the best-sellers list.)

The series, by Suzanne Collins, is:

The Hunger GamesCatching FireMockingjay

I found the first book to be a real page-turner. I also found myself easily falling for the characters and happy to be checking out this world that Collins had built, including the fashion (which I already mentioned) that is an integral part of the experience. It was paced well, perhaps lingering on details a little here and there without letting them get luscious (which she could have done), but the tone was much more practical, much more the voice (and thoughts) of Katniss Everdeen. I do think that the amazing-woman-who-doesn’t-even-understand-that-she-is-totally-amazing-to-everyone-else theme is a little overdone lately, but let’s not forget that I read the Twilight series in the not-so-distant past. The bare truth: I was dying to read the next book (but I made myself finish a couple nonfiction numbers first. Motivation, you see).

The second book was fine. By now, we’re not as much surprised or curious as we are invested in Katniss and in the characters around her. And there are many characters (even though you know so many of them are going to have to die) that are fleshed out enough to enjoy. The originality wears off after a while, and I predicted the curveball Collins throws to keep the plot moving in the second book, and from there, there is little to no mystery. We’re in this for the long haul now, and are driven by watching Katniss grow and be torn down and grow again, by wondering what will become of all these characters. These books are now more clearly about fashion, social commentary, and a romance, as well as the action and violence. The romance is… well, interesting. (It is also interesting how much Katniss is like Twilight’s Bella—doesn’t know her own powers, especially of influence and a type of beauty which may or may not be physical, we’re all up in her head the whole time as she’s figuring things out in her teen years, she has a hard time knowing her own mind, is sometimes the victim and sometimes a strong leader, a rebel, is involved in a complicated love triangle…). Which takes us to the third and final book.

The romance. Because in many ways, that’s what’s driving this story at this point: the love triangle between Katniss, her handsome and passionate best friend Gale, and her kind and influential fellow tribute, Peeta. (Yeah, I’m not exactly sure what’s up with the names in this book. Collins was, I suppose, imagining what our names might become in the future and giving each district its own naming flare, but some of them were distracting to me. I find that when names are too different, I have a harder time remembering who’s who. I’m terrible with names, in real life, anyway. But also, Gale is a girl’s name and Peeta is a bread. Haha. Or at best the British way to say Peter.) Back to the romance. I’m going to take a wild guess here and say that there must be many people who aren’t happy with the way the romance ends up. Two reasons: there isn’t enough hands-on “action,” unless it’s (literally) forced. (I don’t want to spoil it, so I’ll leave that a mysterious comment.) You’re waiting much of the series (I won’t tell you how long) for that big moment when Katniss chooses (or is forced to choose by an untimely death) and the two love-birds have the biggest smooch of their life. This basically happens off-camera which is, I think, a disappointment (even though I chickened out and did the same thing in my first novel and Harry Potter relied on the secondary romance for this moment). Second, I believe that Collins failed to swing the inevitability toward the one who would eventually win out. I mean, up until the end, Gale and Peeta are on a pretty level playing field, swinging back and forth and back and forth at a quickening pace. We’re given no good clues as to what is actually going on in the girl-on-fire-who-doesn’t-know-her-own-mind-due-to-trauma-and-innocence’s heart, clues that we could have even if she doesn’t know. We could know, and that would make the conclusion much more satisfying. (Plus, I’m pretty sure that this way, half the readers got to the end of the romance and chucked the book across the room because it did not end up being the guy they were rooting for. I bet they’re still clinging to dashed hopes to this very day.)

But all in all, this is a great series, especially for YA. It’s not high-falutin’, but it is entertaining and well-written enough. If you haven’t read it yet, it makes a great quick read, when you have time to devote to some late-night hours with your eyes glued to the pages. And then you can choose your side: Gale or Peeta for the win?

MOVIES

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It’s reeeeeealy nice when a movies series lives up to expectations, especially the whole way through. Note: there are four movies here, not three. In league with Harry Potter, Twilight, Divergent, and the Hobbit (with the prequel split into three movies), “they” decided to split the final movie into two parts. Milk that series! (This tactic killed the Divergent series, by the way, but seems to have worked out for everyone else, except perhaps the fans.) So we have The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Mockingjay, Part I, and Mockingjay, Part II. And, really, they are a better-than-average bunch of movies.

Acting spans from okay to great. The movies are really loyal to the original material, only changing plots and omitting characters where they pretty much had to, to fit the screen. In one case, I even liked the director’s idea better. So the story and characters and basically the same, and pretty much all my comments about the books can be pulled and stuck down here. Perhaps Peeta’s character was the only thing that didn’t translate as well. He lacked some of his warmth and definitely some of the charisma that he had in the books, due, I think, largely to cut scenes and speeches.

Anyhow, if you have some teen/tweens around, this is a family-pleasing series for movie night. It does, of course, involve violence and some heavy themes, so you may want to do a little check with Common Sense Media for the deets. It’s exciting, suspenseful, interesting, thought-provoking, and well done.

Cookbook Review: Orange Blossom & Honey

During the stay-at-home and safer-at-home orders, I have been adding one Home Wishlist item to the grocery haul, every two weeks. I have also been using all of my otherwise pretty useless “allowance” on things from my own Wishlist. In this way, I have acquired a number of cool things (a fountain pen, a crepe spreader, glass leftover dishes, Girl Most Wanted) and also another cookbook: Orange Blossom & Honey by John Gregory-Smith. This book was one of the items added last to my Wishlist and so it was sitting right there at the top. Why had I added it recently? Because I realized that although my Wishlist (and cookbook shelves) had a world of cookbooks, it did not contain a Moroccan one, and I am fairly sure that I like Moroccan food.

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Orange Blossom & Honey fits into a cookbook category that I’m not sure I love (though I would love to be one of the authors): cookbook travelogue, or like a kind of journalism. These authors aren’t from these places, they don’t live in the culture, they don’t even necessarily have a specific tie to the origin of the food, nor are they fusing it or doing anything new with it, lumping it into a new category of “crockpot meals” or “things to do with pasta.” They just pick a location that, for whatever reason, they pick and then set off on an exploratory, gustatory expedition that results in a cookbook. Later, they will move on to another place. See why it’s not my favorite category? And yet, sometimes good things emerge from this pattern, and we get a book that speaks to American English-speaking people (by way of British-English speaking people in this case) that unlocks a part of the world’s cuisine for our minds, grocery stores, and tables.

Orange Blossom & Honey is one such book. It is also another type of cookbook that I don’t actually prefer: the coffee table cookbook. Of course, you can still use these books—and I do, or I wouldn’t bother with them—but it has that feel. (Caveat: lots of people prefer these eye-candy cookbooks, and I totally get that.) The cover is one of the most beautiful on my shelf, with it’s textural, geometric design on matte white, with a painted map on the frontispiece and absolutely beautiful photos of both food and Morocco on every page. It’s not people-oriented as much as place-oriented, though the narrative is full of people and families that Gregory-Smith encountered along the way. And while his stories are interesting, they are all about his travels, lacking that personal-memory touch that could have been there if, say, he were Moroccan.

So, despite that there are multiple two-page illustrations (in which I always lament the appearance of another actual recipe), I have been cooking may way through some of the recipes. I don’t know if it is just discovering the taste of the place, or if Gregory-Smith favors certain recipes, but most of them have basically had the same flavor profile. It is a taste that I find exciting and delicious, but my family is not really with me on this. I think it’s the emphasis on bitter and tart? Which are two of my favorite things to taste. Of course, there’s also the sweet and savory, umami and sometimes a little spicy, but all those olives and preserved lemons? Mmm! Two of my favorite things in the world. (Without waiting weeks for my own preserved lemons to preserve, I did have to make a trip to a specialty grocer for some of the ingredients needed. You won’t find preserved lemons, ox cheeks, or dried chermoula at the Piggly Wiggly.)

I have tried Herby Couscous Salad, Red Chicken with Fries (D’jaj m’Hamer), Truck Stop Kefta, and Chicken, Preserved Lemon, and Olive Salad. They all received a thumbs up or even a thumbs up enthusiastically (the top two ratings in my six-tiered rating system), which means they will be making another appearance. I find the directions to be my speed: not too detailed and not too sparse. Goldilocks-ish. And I love experimenting and trying new things in the kitchen, especially when we come across new things that really seem to belong at our family’s table, such as the D’jaj m’Hamer. (I was also pleased when a friend commented on my Insta that her husband is Moroccan and D’jaj m’Hamer is most definitely a “thing.”) I look forward to trying more recipes over time, such as Night Stall Noodles and Ox Cheeks, Lamb Tagine, Fried Halloumi Cheese, Aicha’s Chicken Couscous, stuffed flatbreads, and Pomegranate and Chocolate Cake.

So, if you are looking for a Moroccan cookbook that is not as much comprehensive as beautiful and introductory, then look no further. There are a few other Moroccan cookbooks with an excellent track record that you could try, too, but I enjoy this pretty spine looking out at me day after day, daring me to crack out the preserved lemons and serve up more food that begs for a pretty platter.

My Apologies for the Scathing Reviews

I have been looking for an agent, which is a blog post for another day. As part of this process, I have had to cozy up to agents with a remark or two in each query, indicating that I understood who they were and why I have picked them out of the thousands of agents, to ask to read my manuscript. There are different reasons that I give: I am a fan of one of their clients; I think my writing is like one of their client’s; they have an impressive track record; they represent clients in a way I would like to be represented; our ideals jive; my book fits into the genre that they are seeking; my catalogue fits into genres that they represent…

That’s about it, so far. I may have to get more creative as I mine deeper and deeper into the list that I have made (and even past that list on to a new list. Let’s hope for more brevity in the search). My point is that because I have been looking at their clients and then also giving them my information including my website, I have become paranoid about a NUMBER of things, including them coming across a mean review that I might have written about one of their books or clients. That would be bad, right? It seems unideal.

The truth is, I have always hated writing scathing reviews and not least of all because I know that I will receive them myself and I see these authors as fellow-writers and fellow-human beings. But I am also honest to a fault, which isn’t the same thing as right all the time, which I am definitely not. Then again, a reading of a book is often subjective, and where there is objective criticism (or praise) to give, I believe I am in some position to give it. As if I had all the time in the world to do each review. In reality and on the whole, my reviews are anything but thorough, and show a slice of my own life as much as a peek into the book I am reviewing.

I also, many times, have pointed out that my review does not negate the sometimes large and vocal fan base of a book or author. In other words, I have certain standards and they don’t always line up with yours, or with pop culture, or with a tween’s, or a romance fan’s, or whatever. I have many times acknowledged that whole swaths of the population will (and indeed, probably should) ignore my review for such and such a reason and go ahead and read something I didn’t like or don’t read something I did like.

All that said, I agree that I deserve much of what may befall me. Not all of it, because I do believe that I have been fair and honest and even diplomatic and some people are mean and will be mean to me and to my books, they will be dishonest (like when they rate a book before they read it) or anything but diplomatic. (Trolls!) Also, cultures are prone to crucify those that don’t fall in line with the party. This happens right here in America, every day, and on the stage of media no less than anywhere else. In other words, I have a fear that I will be called to account for a minutiae in my life or works (that might be honest, just different or not currently PC) and will seek in vain for justice when it comes to the meting of a sentence. I have seen greats topple, the proud humbled, the powerful smashed to smithereens for issues of rhetoric, free speech, or a difference in beliefs. Could this happen to me? Of course. Would it be unfair? As it always is. Survival can be a matter of pliability, of which I am not.

But I am kind, though my logical mind and candid disposition can make it seem otherwise. Or can provide sway away from kindness, but I try hard to be kind. I would like to give smiley face stickers to every book I read and I have considered just reviewing books that I could recommend. Alas, this is not the journey I am on here, on The Starving Artist. So what is my journey? Well, essentially my journey is from obscurity to fame. (Ha!) But paralleling the writing journey is one very much connected to it: a reading journey. The book reviews are my reading journey. I don’t mind steering someone away from a book I didn’t find rewarding, and I enjoy handing someone a pass to read a truly great book. I love celebrating the beautiful in art, whether that be in the science of plotting or the poetry of language, a character you can take into your dreams at night or even a scenery that broke right out of the page into a movie. But I also just enjoy it when people read, and I’m not really even all that picky about it. It’s like this: I’m not a “creature person,” but whenever I see a person and their pet, especially a dog, it makes my heart sing. I’m picky about what I read, but a person with a book in hand is a joy.

That said, sometimes I have to restrain myself in the dairy section of the grocery store. Especially before a certain awareness, there were many times I saw a person perusing all those little, white cups of yogurt with cartoonish fruit on the sides and I wanted so bad to actually hit the cup out of someone’s hands. Why? Because I understood that many of the household-name brands were packaging what didn’t even really amount to yogurt but more to an over-sweetened, artificially flavored, skim milk gel (using gelatin, maybe, but other thickeners, as well). Probiotics were an add-on, sometimes not even to the point of any effectiveness. I knew what yogurt was, historically, what it could be and what it had to offer. No wonder I wanted to slap the imposters out of their hands. It wasn’t vengeance. It was concern. Same thing with books, which I also know quite a bit about.

I also wonder: when will this blog become obsolete? I have, for a very long time, imagined that I would always have it, that I would just add on to it, give it a face-lift, tweak it when needed and over the decades. However, looking at it through the eyes of a potential agent, I don’t know if it can be that way. Perhaps an editor or publisher—or even the agent—makes me scrap the whole thing and start my PR from a different angle? Or they make me revamp the page so much that my old content is banished to a less-visible part of the never-forgetting internet? Maybe I shouldn’t have said those things. Maybe I shouldn’t have alienated Chris Colfer, Stephen Lawhead, or Neil Gaiman. Or maybe I should have liked Little Fires Everywhere or not compared my white experience to the black experience in The Turner House (though it was remarkably similar). It’s hard to keep up and it’s impossible to keep everyone happy.

Most of all, me.

In conclusion, if you have been the brunt of my bad review, or have felt the sting of my coldhearted judgement, I am sorry-not-sorry. Yes, the phrase is of the moment and overused, but I do find that it has a place in our language that I’m not sure any other word or phrase quite covers. I am sorry in that glossy, watery way, where I might, for my own convenience or your comfort, wish it hadn’t happened. Like when someone says, “I’m sorry that your dog died.” But I am not repentant, because I’m not sorry in that other way. (There are many things that I am sorry and repentant for, but they do not include any book reviews I can think of.) I have been honest. I have been as careful as I can be. And one day I might be forced to un-say that which I have said in order to avoid future damage; a prettier, nicer face to my fellow-writers and their life’s blood. Or maybe I’ll be let run riot, because it is, after all and for pity’s sake, just an opinion.

An Apology for the Scathing Reviews

I have been looking for an agent, which is a blog post for another day. As part of this process, I have had to cozy up to agents with a remark or two in each query, indicating that I understood who they were and why I have picked them out of the thousands of agents, to ask to read my manuscript. There are different reasons that I give: I am a fan of one of their clients; I think my writing is like one of their client’s; they have an impressive track record; they represent clients in a way I would like to be represented; our ideals jive; my book fits into the genre that they are seeking; my catalogue fits into genres that they represent…

That’s about it, so far. I may have to get more creative as I mine deeper and deeper into the list that I have made (and even past that list on to a new list. Let’s hope for more brevity in the search). My point is that because I have been looking at their clients and then also giving them my information including my website, I have become paranoid about a NUMBER of things, including them coming across a mean review that I might have written about one of their books or clients. That would be bad, right? It seems unideal.

The truth is, I have always hated writing scathing reviews and not least of all because I know that I will receive them myself and I see these authors as fellow-writers and fellow-human beings. But I am also honest to a fault, which isn’t the same thing as right all the time, which I am definitely not. Then again, a reading of a book is often subjective, and where there is objective criticism (or praise) to give, I believe I am in some position to give it. As if I had all the time in the world to do each review. In reality and on the whole, my reviews are anything but thorough, and show a slice of my own life as much as a peek into the book I am reviewing.

I also, many times, have pointed out that my review does not negate the sometimes large and vocal fan base of a book or author. In other words, I have certain standards and they don’t always line up with yours, or with pop culture, or with a tween’s, or a romance fan’s, or whatever. I have many times acknowledged that whole swaths of the population will (and indeed, probably should) ignore my review for such and such a reason and go ahead and read something I didn’t like or don’t read something I did like.

All that said, I agree that I deserve much of what may befall me. Not all of it, because I do believe that I have been fair and honest and even diplomatic and some people are mean and will be mean to me and to my books, they will be dishonest (like when they rate a book before they read it) or anything but diplomatic. (Trolls!) Also, cultures are prone to crucify those that don’t fall in line with the party. This happens right here in America, every day, and on the stage of media no less than anywhere else. In other words, I have a fear that I will be called to account for a minutiae in my life or works (that might be honest, just different or not currently PC) and will seek in vain for justice when it comes to the meting of a sentence. I have seen greats topple, the proud humbled, the powerful smashed to smithereens for issues of rhetoric, free speech, or a difference in beliefs. Could this happen to me? Of course. Would it be unfair? As it always is. Survival can be a matter of pliability, of which I am not.

But I am kind, though my logical mind and candid disposition can make it seem otherwise. Or can provide sway away from kindness, but I try hard to be kind. I would like to give smiley face stickers to every book I read and I have considered just reviewing books that I could recommend. Alas, this is not the journey I am on here, on The Starving Artist. So what is my journey? Well, essentially my journey is from obscurity to fame. (Ha!) But paralleling the writing journey is one very much connected to it: a reading journey. The book reviews are my reading journey. I don’t mind steering someone away from a book I didn’t find rewarding, and I enjoy handing someone a pass to read a truly great book. I love celebrating the beautiful in art, whether that be in the science of plotting or the poetry of language, a character you can take into your dreams at night or even a scenery that broke right out of the page into a movie. But I also just enjoy it when people read, and I’m not really even all that picky about it. It’s like this: I’m not a “creature person,” but whenever I see a person and their pet, especially a dog, it makes my heart sing. I’m picky about what I read, but a person with a book in hand is a joy.

That said, sometimes I have to restrain myself in the dairy section of the grocery store. Especially before a certain awareness, there were many times I saw a person perusing all those little, white cups of yogurt with cartoonish fruit on the sides and I wanted so bad to actually hit the cup out of someone’s hands. Why? Because I understood that many of the household-name brands were packaging what didn’t even really amount to yogurt but more to an over-sweetened, artificially flavored, skim milk gel (using gelatin, maybe, but other thickeners, as well). Probiotics were an add-on, sometimes not even to the point of any effectiveness. I knew what yogurt was, historically, what it could be and what it had to offer. No wonder I wanted to slap the imposters out of their hands. It wasn’t vengeance. It was concern. Same thing with books, which I also know quite a bit about.

I also wonder: when will this blog become obsolete? I have, for a very long time, imagined that I would always have it, that I would just add on to it, give it a face-lift, tweak it when needed and over the decades. However, looking at it through the eyes of a potential agent, I don’t know if it can be that way. Perhaps an editor or publisher—or even the agent—makes me scrap the whole thing and start my PR from a different angle? Or they make me revamp the page so much that my old content is banished to a less-visible part of the never-forgetting internet? Maybe I shouldn’t have said those things. Maybe I shouldn’t have alienated Chris Colfer, Stephen Lawhead, or Neil Gaiman. Or maybe I should have liked Little Fires Everywhere or not compared my white experience to the black experience in The Turner House (though it was remarkably similar). It’s hard to keep up and it’s impossible to keep everyone happy.

Most of all, me.

In conclusion, if you have been the brunt of my bad review, or have felt the sting of my coldhearted judgement, I am sorry-not-sorry. Yes, the phrase is of the moment and overused, but I do find that it has a place in our language that I’m not sure any other word or phrase quite covers. I am sorry in that glossy, watery way, where I might, for my own convenience or your comfort, wish it hadn’t happened. Like when someone says, “I’m sorry that your dog died.” But I am not repentant, because I’m not sorry in that other way. (There are many things that I am sorry and repentant for, but they do not include any book reviews I can think of.) I have been honest. I have been as careful as I can be. And one day I might be forced to un-say that which I have said in order to avoid future damage; a prettier, nicer face to my fellow-writers and their life’s blood. Or maybe I’ll be let run riot, because it is, after all and for pity’s sake, just an opinion.

Bonus Blog: Best Movies and Shows

This is like the world’s longest blog entry, and it’s just one enormous list. Also, it’s not something that I am particularly qualified to address you about, but it is, after all, just a list of suggestions. Except not really suggestions, because the list here–of best movies and shows–is culled from various lists online, which means I haven’t even seen the majority of the recommendations. (Okay, occasionally I threw one in, but not actually that often.) At the end of the looooooooong list, I did list my favorite movies and shows, as well. Because anybody cares.

I plan on using this list, so I thought I would share it with you in case you’re looking for a list to use to pick your next year’s worth of movies or TV series (which would mean you only pick one subset of this list–like a particular genre) or just movies for the rest of quarantine. I’m looking forward to checking off several of them for family movie night and during my alone, down-time before bed. I might even get around to reviewing some of them, maybe a month at a time like I used to do. And maybe I could star the ones I agree with. (Note: there are a few genres missing, because I simply don’t watch them, like horror.)

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DRAMA

Forrest GumpThe Shawshank RedemptionThe GodfatherAmerican BeautySchindler’s ListBatman BeginsThe Godfather seriesGoodfellasAmerican History XOne Flew Over the Cuckoo’s NestLeon: The ProfessionalThe Green MileNo Country for Old MenA Clockwork OrangeCity of GodThe Truman ShowCrashTaxi DriverCasablancaScarfaceGood Will HuntingTrainspottingGran TorinoDr. StrangeloveMillion Dollar BabyThe Curious Case of Benjamin ButtonCatch Me If You CanGroundhog DayThere Will Be BloodA Beautiful MindCitizen Kane12 Angry MenThe Social NetworkInto the WildMagnoliaGangs of New YorkRain ManAmerican GangsterCasinoCastawayBeing John MalkovichThe WrestlerUnforgiven3:10 to YumaThe King’s SpeechZodiacAmadeusSeven SamuraiHotel RwandaBabelSeven SamuraiDark KnightThe Lord of the RingsFight ClubCity of GodSunset BoulevardIt’s a Wonderful LifeMomentoCity LightsApocalypse NowWest by NorthwestPaths of GloryThe Human Condition ISaving Private RyanModern TimesLawrence of ArabiaThe Lives of OthersThe ShiningTo Kill a MockingbirdThe Treasure of the Sierra MadreThe PianistSatantangoDas BootThe Bicycle ThiefAll About EveRequiem for a DreamEternal Sunshine of the Spotless MindCinema ParadisoChinatownRashomonLife is BeautifulRear WindowRebeccaBicycle ThievesThe Graduate



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COMEDY

A Night at the OperaThe Blues BrothersMonty Python and the Holy GrailTommy BoyCaddy ShackDoctor StrangeloveThe BurbsNational Lampoon’s VacationThe Big LebowskiAirplane!Meet the ParentsMean GirlsLocal HeroBooksmartThere’s Something About MaryPopstarSchool of RockWaiting for GuffmanThe Big SickOld SchoolSlapshotThe Pink Panther and The Return of the Pink PantherOffice SpaceCharlie Chaplain moviesAs Good as It GetsAce Ventura, Pet DetectiveThe Royal TenenbaumsKingpinBest in ShowLaurel and Hardy moviesMr. Hulot’s HolidayThe Cable GuyThe Death of StalinTake the Money and RunWayne’s WorldA Fish Called WandaMidnight RunCluelessArsenic and Old LaceMrs. DoubfireThe Man with Two BrainsThe Odd CoupleRaising ArizonaIn the LoopThe King of ComedyAustin PowersThe ProducersRushmoreWoody Allen filmsHis Girl FridayNapoleon DynamiteComing to AmericaNuts in MayThe GeneralNational Lampoon’s Animal HouseWhen Harry Met Sally…Groucho Marx filmsThree Amigos!Shaun of the DeadSouth ParkDirty Rotten ScoundrelsZoolanderBlazing SaddlesThe CastleBridesmaidsPlay It Again, SamTootsieGhostbustersYoung FrankensteinFour LionsPlanes, Trains and AutomobilesTrading PlacesSome Like it HotDumb and DumberThe Naked GunAnchormanBoratTeam AmericaThe JerkLife of BrianAnnie HallGroundhog DayThis Is Spinal TapSome Like It HotSuperbadThe HangoverStepbrothersThe 40 Year Old VirginFerris Beuller’s Day OffHis Girl Friday



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ROM-COM and ROMANCE

The Philadelphia StoryIt Happened One NightEternal Sunshine of the Spotless MindBefore SunriseShakespeare in LoveThe Shape of WaterSlumdog MillionaireTitanicThe Big SickMoonstruckSilver Linings PlaybookDirty DancingLove and BasketballElizabethtownThe BodyguardCarolCrazy Rich AsiansWhen Harry Met SallyJerry MaguireNotting HillThe NotebookWest Side StoryGhostCasablancaJunoHerMy Best Friend’s WeddingBull DurhamCrazy, Stupid LoveSan JuniperoA Star is Born (2018)Bridget Jones’ DiaryPretty Woman10 Things I Hate About YouSleepless in SeattleValentines DayFour Weddings and a FuneralYou’ve Got MailHow to Lose a Guy in 10 DaysTo All the Boys I’ve Loved BeforeThe Wedding SingerThere’s Something About MaryWhile You Were SleepingThe ProposalForgetting Sarah MarshallRoman HolidayThe HolidaySet It UpLove ActuallyMy Big Fat Greek WeddingSomething’s Gotta GiveGone with the WindShakespeare’s Romeo + JulietKissing Jessica SteinSome Kind of WonderfulMuch Ado About NothingAmelieThe ApartmentDown with LoveBroadcast NewsLove JonesDesireSplashAbout TimeCold WarTo Catch a ThiefSliding DoorsCircle of FriendsBest ManIl MareMonsoon WeddingMoulin Rouge!All the Real GirlsPride and Prejudice (2005)I am LoveThe Broken Circle BreakdownTop FiveLovingLove AffairBrief EncounterSingin’ in the RainRoman HolidayVertigoThe ApartmentThe Last of the MohicansSense and SensibilityCrouching Tiger, Hidden DragonIn the Mood for LovePunch Drunk LoveBrokeback MountainAway from HerOnceAway We GoUp in the AirLike CrazyWeekendRuby SparksMoonrise KingdomCutie and the BoxerThe Spectacular NowThe LunchboxBrooklynTestament of YouthAnomalisaLa La LandSing StreetSouthside with YouCall Me By Your Name



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ANIMATED

Toy StoryUpBeauty and the Beast (1991)The IncrediblesSpirited AwayWall-ESnow WhiteInside OutThe LEGO MovieRatatouilleRangoCoralineCharlotte’s WebThe Lion King (1994)Fantastic Mr. FoxHerculesHow to Train Your DragonThe Fox and the HoundCloudy with a a Chance of MeatballsPaddington 2CocoThe Nightmare Before ChristmasInto the SpiderVErseBambiThe Triplets of BellevilleGhost in the ShellFrozenThe Secret Life of ArriettyErnest and CelestineAlladdin (1992)The Red TurtleThe Curse of the Were-RabbitPersepolisYour NameYellow SubmarineAntzWaltz with BashirSong of the SeaWho Framed Roger RabbitThe Iron GiantThe LEGO Batman MovieMonsters, Inc.TowerFantasia101 DalmationsMy Life as a ZucchiniChicken RunOnly YesterdayPonyoKubo and the Two StringsMoanaShaun the Sheep MovieFinding DoryPinocchioFinding NemoToy Story 2Toy Story 3ZootopiaWreck-It RalphShrek



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ADVENTURE

Raiders of the Lost ArkJurassic ParkLord of the Rings (series)Pirates of the Caribbean (series)The GooniesIndiana Jones and the Last CrusadeJawsBack to the FutureThe Avengers: EndgameStar Wars moviesRomancing the StoneCast AwayStand By MeLife of PiMoonrise KingdomThe Hidden FortressThe Peanut Butter Falcon2001: A Space OdysseyThe Treasure of the Sierra MadreCrouching Tiger, Hidden DragonAnnihilationThor: RagnarokSpyNorth by NorthwestTerminator and Terminator 2Alien and AliensDie HardThe Hunt for Red OctoberSpeedApollo 13Casino RoyaleInglourious BasterdsMission Impossible: Ghost ProtocolThe AvengersThe Man from U.N.C.L.E.John WickWonder WomanAtomic BlondeSpiderman: HomecomingKing KongThe 39 StepsSeven SamuraiThe French ConnectionBad BoysBraveheartThe MatrixKill Bill Vol 1OldboyThe Bourne UltimatumThe Dark KnightThe Hurt LockerDistrict 9RaidThe Hunger Games (series)SnowpiercerMad Max: Fury Road



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THRILLERS AND MYSTERIES

The ConversationInside ManRififiWidowsAssault on Precinct 13Berberian Sound StudioUncut GemsGaslightYou Were Never Really HereUtoyaRear WindowThe Manchurian CandidateNorth by NorthwestBlood SimpleThe Silence of the LambsSevenMomentoNo Country for Old MenPrisonersVertigoPeeping TomLockeSorcererThe Night of the HunterDuelThe French ConnectionNightcrawlerParasiteThe PrisonersMystic RiverTinker Tailor Soldier SpyGoodtimeDriveBurningSource CodeGood TimeBlue VelvetBlowoutTwin Peaks: Fire Walk with MeGone GirlThe GameFargoEx MachinaGet OutZodiacMulholland Dr.PsychoKnives OutDeath on the NileKiss Kiss Bang BangCharadeHappy Death DayChinatownGosford ParkSherlock Holmes (2009)The FugitiveA Simple FavorAnd Then There Were NoneMurder on the Orient Express (1974)The Mirror Crack’dClue (1985)The Big SleepThe Girl with the Dragon TattooThe Usual SuspectsDial M for MurderThe Maltese FalconPrimal FearWho Framed Roger Rabbit



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SCI-FI

AlienBladerunner2001: A Space OdysseyStar Wars (series)The MatrixEx MachinaThe TerminatorInceptionLa JeteeA Clockwork OrangeThe Andromeda StrainSolarisWestworldLogan’s RunClose Encounters of the Third KindStalkerAlienAltered StatesE.T.TronBrazilBack to the FutureRobocopAkiraGhost in the ShellMonkeysStar Trek: First ContactFifth ElementGattacaContactMen in BlackThe Truman ShoweXistenZA.I.Minority ReportPrimerSerenityChildren of MenA Scanner DarklySunshineCloverfieldWall-EMoonDistrict 9Source CodeRise of the Planet of the ApesLooperSnowpiercerHerGravityUnder the SkinEx MachinaThe Edge of TomorrowInterstellarThe MartianMad Max-Fury RoadArrivalMidnight SpecialAnnihilationClose Encounters of the Third Kind



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FANTASY

The WitchesLegendThe 5,000 Fingers of Dr. TExcaliburTime BanditsThe Neverending StoryLabyrinthThe Princess BrideThe Thief of BaghdadThe Dark CrystalThe Spirit of the BeehiveEdward ScissorhandsWilly Wonka and the Chocolate FactoryOrpheusMary PoppinsJason and the Argonauts (1963)The Shape of WaterDonkey SkinHarry Potter (series)UgetsuPan’s LabyrinthLa Belle at la BeteSpirited AwayThe Lord of the Rings (series)The Wizard of OzBeing John MalkovichBig FishThe Cabin the WoodsThe FallThe Happiness of the KatakurisHellboyThe Hobbit (series)JumangiMirror MaskThe MuppetsPirates of the Caribbean (series)The Nightmare Before ChristmasPrincess MononokeReign of FireThe Chronicles of NarniaKrullAlice in WonderlandThe Jungle BookKubo and the Two Strings

DOCUMENTARY

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Paris is Burning13thAmyThree Identical StrangersHoneylandThe WorkPinaThe Act of KillingThe Central Park FiveMan on WireKurt Cobain: Montage of HeckThe OvernightersBest Worst Thing That Ever Could Have HappenedI Am Not Your NegroCapturing the FriedmansGleasonJiro Dreams of SushiLife, AnimatedThe Fog of WarSound and FuryKoyaanisqatsiDear ZacharyBill Cunningham NYHow to Survive a PlagueO.J.: Made in AmericaThe Times of Harvey MilkHarlan County, USAThe Thin Blue LinesHoop DreamsUp (series)Man with a CameraShoahSans soleilNight and FogChronicle of a SummerNanook of the NorthThe Gleaners and IDon’t Look BackGrey GardensThe Sorrow and the PityGrizzly ManA Poem is a Naked PersonAmerican MovieBlackfishBowling for ColumbineThe Buena Vista Social ClubBurden of DreamsCamerapersonCrumbCitizenfourCity of GoldDark MoneyDon’t Look BackThe Smartest Guys in the RoomExit Through the Gift ShopF for FakeGimme ShelterGoing ClearHearts of DarknessJaneKate Plays ChristineKediMcQueenMetallica: Some Kind of MonsterThe Queen of VersaillesRestrepoRobin Williams: Come Inside My HeadSalesmanSearching for SugarmanThe September IssueSherman’s MarchSpellboundStories We TellSuper Size MeTwenty Feet from StardomWaltz with BashirWeinerWest of MemphisWhen the Leeves Broke



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HISTORICAL AND PERIOD DRAMA

Schindler’s ListBen Hur12 Years a SlaveBraveheartGloryGandhiApollo 13Lawrence of ArabiaSophie’s ChoiceJudySaving Private RyanLincolnJoyeux NoelThe MessengerAll the President’s MenBonnie and ClydeFridaGangs of New YorkElizabethAmistadGladiatorThe Great DebatersPattonSuffragetteBlack Hawk DownBorn on the Fourth of JulyHotel RwandaThe Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert FordJFKLetters from Iwo JimaMilkJackieMississippi BurningMunichTitanicSpartacusKingdom of HeavenThe King’s SpeechThe Iron LadyThe PatriotDas BootCold MountainMaster and CommanderAmadeusThe Last of the MohicansSense and SensibilityThe DuchessYoung VictoriaLittle WomenA Room with a ViewThe Other Boelyn GirlPride and Prejudice (1995)AtonementThe French Lietnetant’s WomanBrideshead RevisitedLife is BeautifulBright StarHacksaw Ridge

EPIC

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Apocalypse NowForrest GumpThe English PatientThe Last EmporerBen-HurDr. ZhivagoWar and Peace (1966)The Lord of the Rings (trilogy)Andrei RublevThe Good, The Bad and the UglyGone with the WindFitzcarraldoIntolerance (1916)Seven SamuraiLawrence of Arabia2001: A Space Odyssey1917MidwayDunkirkOutlaw KingInterstellarShadowPadmavaatExodusStar Wars (series)Indiana Jones (series)AvatarTitanicSpartacusDances with WolvesGladiatorGloryThe Godfather (series)Mi FamiliaThe Irishman



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FAMILY

Pee Wee’s Big AdventureThe Princess BrideSay AnythingThe IncrediblesInside OutShrekToy StoryThe SandlotFinding NemoThe Princess BrideBeauty and the BeastMary PoppinsThe Sound of MusicThe LEGO MovieAladdinThe Muppet MovieThe Lion KingHookJurassic ParkHomeward BoundWreck-It RalphBack to the FutureThe Little MermaidGhostbustersAkelah and the BeeETThe Karate KidRemember the TitansThe Land Before TimeToy StorySpirited AwayDuck SoupThe Iron GiantInto the SpiderverseSuper 8Earth to EchoJumanjiZathuraMatildaSchool of RockJourney to the Center of the EarthEdward ScissorhandsThe RocketeerPhineas and FerbCool RunningsSearching for Bobby FischerThe GooniesBigMrs. DoubtfireBrewster’s MillionsHomeward BoundHarry Potter (series)Back to the FutureUpPanFreaky FridayAll the other Muppet moviesCheaper by the DozenFrozenThe Emoji MovieBedtime StoriesAlexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad DayEvan AlmightyThe IncrediblesMoanaPaddington 2RatatouilleFlushed AwaySingThe Secret Life of PetsZootopiaWilly Wonka and the Chocolate FactoryTangledThe Addams FamilyAnnieThe Lion KingSpace JamThe Incredible Shrinking WomanMilo and OtisA Bug’s LifeArthurTotoroHappy FeetMarch of the PenguinsMy Fair LadySmall FootHotel TransylvanniaSingin’ in the RainBig Hero SixThe LoraxHomeThe Wizard of OzMighty Joe YoungOld YellerClose Encounters of the Third KindThe Princess DiariesSpellboundZarafaFiddler on the RoofHidden FiguresHolesChariots of Fire



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HOLIDAY

ElfA Christmas StoryHome AloneThe Muppet Christmas CarolIt’s a Wonderful LifeOne Magic ChristmasLast HolidayWhite ReindeerOffice Christmas PartyThe Night BeforeJack FrostFour ChristmasesBatman ReturnsJust FriendsHappy ChristmasThe HolidayLove ActuallyJingle All the WayPrancerMixed NutsDeck the HallsChristmas with the KranksThe Family StoneMetropolitanIt Happened on Fifth AvenueEdward ScissorhandsThe Santa ClauseHow the Grinch Stole ChristmasA Very Harold and Kumar ChristmasDie HardWhile You Were SleepingKiss Kiss Bang BangThe Shop Around the CornerA Christmas TaleBlack ChristmasEyes Wide ShutMeet Me in Saint LouisRudolph the Red Nosed ReindeerA Charlie Brown ChristmasThe ApartmentThe Nightmare Before ChristmasA Christmas Carol (1951)The Muppet Christmas CarolBad SantaMiracle on 34th StreetScroogedWhite ChristmasNational Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation



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TV SHOWS

Games of ThronesBreaking BadThe SopranosThe SimpsonsMad MenSeinfeldFriendsThe X-FilesThe Office (both versions)Saturday Night LiveThe WireDownton AbbeyUgly BettyArrested DevelopmentAll in the FamilyCheersThe West WingParks and RecreationTwin PeaksBuffy the Vampire SlayerThe Wonder YearsOrange is the New BlackCurb Your EnthusiasmDeadwoodI Love LucyThe Twilight ZonePhineas and FerbM.A.S.H.LostVeepEastbound and DownOzThe Golden GirlsPortlandiaGunsmokeThe Supersizers Go…The Great British Baking ShowNaked and AfraidMaking ItWife SwapPeele and KeyMST3KJeopardyAmerican IdolBroad CityThe Dick Van Dyke ShowHomelandParty DownDoctor WhoSherlockGood TimesThe Real WorldHouse of CardsThe JeffersonsDallasThe FugitiveIn Living ColorThirtysomethingsThe Walking DeadLate Night with Conan O’BrienThe People Vs. O.J. SimpsonThe Ren and Stimpy ShowDariaTransparentGirlsMr. ShowRoseanneThe Ed Sullivan ShowThe StateThe Odd CoupleSesame StreetHappy DaysChapelle’s ShowSex and the CityyYour Show of ShowsOprahThe Ellen ShowBeevis and ButtheadHill Street BluesRootsFawlty Towers24Six Feet UnderThe Muppet ShowThe Bob Newhart ShowThe Colbert ReportFargoVeepFriday Night LightsLouieThe Office (UK)Star TrekThe West WingThe Larry Sanders ShowLate Night with David LettermanFreaks and GeeksThe Daily ShowSaturday Night LiveBreaking BadThe Good WifeAvatar: The Last AirbenderDr. Katz, Professional TherapistHappy DaysWill & GraceJustifiedGolden GirlsFrasierGood TimesSoapRomeBoardwalk EmpireThe Real WorldOzRick and MortyAliasTheHannibalERI, ClaudiusSurvivorHouse of Cards (US)The Mary Tyler Moore ShowThe ShieldThe Andy Griffith ShowThe HoneymoonersSex and the CityLaw and OrderMr. Show with Bob and DavidIt’s Always Sunny in PhiladelphiaCowboy Bebop24Alfred Hitchcock PresentsBetter Call SaulVeepCommunitySanford and SonIn Living ColorThe PrisonerBatman: The Animated SeriesThe LeftoversMister Rogers’ NeighborhoodSix Feet UnderMonty Python’s Flying CurcusRootsFuturamaBuffy the Vampire Slayer30 RockNYPD BlueBand of BrothersThe Daily Show with Jon StewartThe Tonight Show with Johnny CarsonThe West WingFawlty TowersChapelle’s ShowBattlestar GalacticaThe Cosby ShowArrested DevelopmentSouth ParkI Love Lucy



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MY FAVORITE MOVIES

YesterdayThe FarewellSlumdog MillionaireRosencrantz and Guildenstern are DeadSafety Not GuaranteedMy Best Friend’s WeddingLife of PiFrances HaThe Truman ShowThe Incredible Burt WonderstoneAnna KareninaLes MiserablesEvitaThe Great GatsbyGirl Most LikelyFiddler on the RoofThe Sound of MusicBabette’s FeastLa Huitiemme JourMagnoliaRuby SparksWhile You Were SleepingRunaway BrideReturn to MeSmoke SignalsThe Best Exotic Marigold HotelAll About SteveEagle Vs. Shark500 Days of SummerAbout a BoyAbout SchmidtAmazing GraceAmelieAmadeusAngus, Thongs and Perfect SnoggingBeachesBend It Like BeckhamBig FishBilly ElliotBottle RocketBridesmaidsChicagoThe Chronicles of NarniaCloverfieldConfessions of a ShopaholicCoralineThe Corpse BrideCrouching Tiger, Hidden DragonDeath to SmoochieDonny DarkoDumb and DumberDuplexEvan AlmightyEver AfterForrest GumpGarden StateGhost TownGhost WorldThe Good GirlGood Will HuntingGreaseHairsprayHeroThe ImpostersThe Invention of LyingJunoKung Fu HustleLife is BeautifulThe Lord of the Rings and The HobbitStar WarsThe Neverending StoryThe MatrixMomentoA Midsummer Night’s DreamA Mighty WindMonsoon WeddingMoulin RougeMuch Ado About NothingMy Best Friend’s WeddingMy Big Fat Greek WeddingNapoleon DynamiteThe Nightmare Before ChristmasNotting HillNow You See MeO Brother, Where Art Thou?Office SpaceOncePenelopeThe Princess BrideRachel Getting MarriedRat RaceReturn to MeRomeo + JulietThe Royal TennenbaumsRun Lola RunRushmoreSchool of RockBend it Like BeckhamScott Pilgrim Against the WorldThe Secret Life of Walter MittySense and SensibilitySignsSmoke SignalsThe Station AgentStranger than FictionTommy BoyTrekkiesTwisterWaiting for GuffmanThe Wedding SingerYes ManCloverfieldLooperRemains of the DayWayne’s WorldBlack SheepSixth SenseUnbreakableThe Village



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MY FAVORITE KIDS/FAMILY MOVIES

Charlie and the Chocolate FactoryAnnieBeauty and the BeastBig Hero SixBook of LifeCloudy with a Chance of MeatballsThe CroodsHarry PotterFinding NemoFlushed AwayThe GooniesGoosebumpsHappy FeetHomeWillie the PoohHoodwinkedHorton Hears a WhoHotel TransylvaniaHow to Train Your DragonKubo and the Two StringsThe LoraxThe LEGO MovieMaleficentMegamindA Monster in ParisMirror MirrorMonsters Inc.The Muppet moviesPeanuts holiday moviesMr. Magorium’s Wonder EmporiumMr. Peabody and SHermanPonyoRamona and BeezusRatatouilleShrekSingTangledUpWreck It RalphJumanjiJumanji: Welcome to the JungleZathuraPanHookEarth to EchoSuper 8

MY FAVE TV SHOWS

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Ugly BettyLostThe Office (UK)The Office (USA)BlossomPunky BrewsterDariaThe SimpsonsThe Supersizers Go…WifeswapNaked and AfraidMaking ItIron Chef AmericaThe Great British Baking ShowSeinfeldGleeFreaks and GeeksThe X-FilesSherlockPhineas and FerbERDownton AbbeyFringeNew GirlFriendsModern FamilyMerlinBattlestar GallacticaKimmy SchmidtThe FlintstonesThe JetsonsStranger Things



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MY FAVE HOLIDAY MOVIES

Rise of the GuardiansArthur ChristmasRudolph the Red-Nosed ReindeerElfChristmas VacationHome AloneScroogedChristmas with the KranksA Christmas StoryLove ActuallyBridget Jones’ DiaryChristmas with the KranksThe Nightmare Before ChristmasA Charlie Brown Christmas