Book Chat 2/29/2024

Y’all! I have one Elin Hilderbrand book left to read and then she publishes her LAST book later this year. What will I do after I read that one???

Reunion Beach by Elin Hilderbrand and others

This book is a collection of short stories to honor Dorothea Benton Frank by several authors she mentored or inspired. All are good.

Endless Summer by Elin Hilderbrand

This book is a collection of Elin’s short stories; some published before and some not. I have previously read all the published ones, but it was nice to read them again.

MK out.

Book Chat - 2/16/2024

I’ve been trying to savor the last few books by Elin Hilderbrand, that except for the first couple, I’ve been reading them roughly in order of publication. I don’t want it to end!!!

28 Summers by Elin Hilderbrand

Mallory and Jake spend one weekend a year together, as in the movie Same Time, Next Year. For the rest of the year, they live out their respective lives apart. I loved this book so hard. I felt like I needed more…

And then…

The Sixth Wedding by Elin Hilderbrand

We get to hear what happens next with our beloved characters. It was a short story, but much needed, in my opinion. I loved how it ended.

MK out. 

Movie Monday - 2/12/2024

The last week was rather moody. The weather has been inconsistent and not very inspiring. I did watch a few movies, but I read mostly.

In Rustin, Colman Domingo plays the title character, who helped MLK, Jr. organize the 1963 March in Washington. It was good.

Fair Play examines gender roles. Phoebe Dynevor and Alden Ehrenreich play Emily and Luke, a recently engaged couple. They both work for the same hedge fund. It’s a rather cut-throat and toxic environment and only the best man can win. It was intense.

Good Streamers:

Upload Season 3 - Prime

MK out.

Book Chat 2/8/2024

I’ve read eight books so far this year, although one was that short story of which I talked last week. I am not planning on keeping this pace every month. I’ve got a dash I need to manage.

The Starfish Sisters by Barbara O’Neal

Oh my, what a story. Two longtime friends who’ve been estranged the last few years are thrust into close proximity by a situation. Long kept secrets and misunderstandings stand in their way. Will they be able to overcome the past and become friends again? Read it and see.

The Echo of Old Books by Barbara Davis

A rare-book dealer has the ability to feel the echoes that a previous owner imprints on a book. She comes across a beautifully bound volume that has no author or publication information. The contents are very personal and she sets out to find out more about it to return the book to its rightful owner. It was good.

MK out.

 

Book Chat 2/2/2024

January was a good month to read books around here…

Where Waters Meet by Zhang Ling

A woman travels to China to learn more about her recently deceased mother. I found it a little harder to follow than a previous book I’ve read by this author, but it was good.

Evidence of the Affair by Taylor Jenkins Reid

A woman discovers love letters from her husband’s paramour and shares them with paramour’s husband. Together, the two work to understand their respective marriages. It’s a short story and it’s very good.

The Better Half by Allie Franks

A woman is poised to have the successful and orderly life in which she worked hard to attain, until an unexpected event threatens to topple her. It was good.

Troubles in Paradise by Elin Hilderbrand

In the last installment of this trilogy, the FBI gets involved as the Steele family learn more about the husband/father they apparently didn’t know as well as they thought. It was a satisfying end to the story.

MK out.

 

Movie Monday - 1/29/2024

The Oscar nominations were announced last week and after seeing the following films, I only have a handful left to watch before the ceremony. I’m mostly happy with the field of candidates for Best Picture. As a whole, the other nominations clustered around those films; so, there weren’t many outliers I have to watch for the acting awards. 

A frustrated writer is tired of not getting the recognition he is seeking in American Fiction. He decides to write a stereotypically Black novel to mock the process. I so enjoyed the story and the acting. Jeffery Wright, Tracee Ellis Ross, Issa Rae, Sterling K. Brown, John Ortiz, Erica Alexander and Leslie Uggams (yes, Leslie Uggams!) all did a great job. I loved it.

Killers of the Flower Moon is adapted from the nonfiction book of the same name that chronicled the plot to kill members of the Osage community to steal their headrights earned from oil deposits found under their land. I read the book a few years ago. Leonardo DiCaprio, Lily Gladstone, Robert De Niro, Jesse Plemons, Brendan Fraser and Martin Scorsese star in this film and they were wonderful. It’s sad, but so good.

Poor Things - oh, what can I say about this film? It told a good story, but the method was intense. You get to see Emma Stone having a lot of sex; so, if that floats your boat, this movie is for you. Basically, a physician?/scientist? (Willem Dafoe) finds a dead pregnant woman (Stone) and conducts an experiment by taking out her brain and inserting her baby’s in its place.  Mark Ruffalo and Ramy Youssef also star. The theme is about women’s independence, which I’m all about, but that delivery…

Good Streamers:

Little Bird - PBS Passport 

MK out. 

Movie Monday - 1/22/2024

It’s been cold at Chez Merry Karma. That makes for good movie watching.

Rye Lane is a cute little movie about two people who meet while each are dealing with recent breakups. I loved the two actors who played the leads - Vivian Oparah and David Jonsson. Colin Firth has a small role. I really liked it.

Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan have standout performances in Maestro, a film about the complicated life of Leonard Bernstein. It was phenomenal.

Call Me Kate is a documentary about Katharine Hepburn. She was a force. I enjoyed watching.

Good streamers:

Fool Me Once - Netflix

MK out.