BookAuthorGenreType of ReadRanking/Goodreads
Take My HandDolen Perkins-Valdezwomen’s fiction/loosely inspired by true events/histpricalbook club1/4.39
Happy PlaceEmily Henrychick lit/friendship/relationships/growing upbeach read2/4.31
Romantic ComedyCurtis Sittenfeldchick lit/women’s fiction/rom com/beach read3/3.78
Super BloomMegan Tadychick lit/grief/overcoming thingsbeach read4/4.12
The Bandit QueenParini Shroffwomen’s fiction/dark comedy/not a farse, but stretches things a bitbeach read but could work for book club5/3.94
The Seven SistersMargaret Drabblewomen’s fiction, alternate narratorbook club6/3.35
Final TouchstonesLinda Romanowskinon fiction/memoir/Italian Americanugh7/3.62
  1. Take- Sad and beautiful loosely based on a true story about what the government was and is capable of doing. Well written story of a nurse who just wants to do good and help. Fluctuates between the early 1970s and 2016. I felt that the book missed part of the story and the author tried to rush to a conclusion, and there were some things that I felt fell flat, but on the whole well done.
  2. Happy- I am a big fan of Emily Henry. She writes stories with likeable characters whose experiences are real and honest. There is a lightness to her work, but she doesn’t shy away from the feels. If you want a lightish read that isn’t too trite, give this a whirl
  3. Romantic- I like rom coms and this is a decent one. About a woman who is a writer on an SNL type show and a guy she meets on the show. It has some funny moments, but the main character is a little irksome, and the plotline is somewhat formulaic, but on the whole I thought it was an pretty good read.
  4. Super- Book about a woman coming to terms with losing her boyfriend unexpectedly, and about what it takes to get through tough times. This is not a heavy book though, just a heavy topic. I appreciated the writers charming delivery in certain places, but there are plot holes so it’s not a great book, but at the time that I chose to read it, it worked for my head
  5. Bandit- Story about a bunch of women with some not so great men in their lives, and how they try to remedy that. There’s some really off the wall, funny moments in this book with a bunch of quirky characters. It has some good moments but was a little slow in parts.
  6. Seven Sisters- This book is told in four parts- first person, third person omniscient, third person objective, and first person. Because of the way the story is written, we get varying angles, but I’m not quite sure the parts add up to 360. While the conceit could be clever, here it falls flat and leaves us with too many questions, but not the right kind of questions. Discussing it for book club today so hoping I get some more out of it.
  7. Final- Memoir about a women’s memories of her immigrant grandparents. Poorly organized book that meanders with no thread tying anything together. The stories are more like little pieces of memory, but the author is not skilled enough to make these fragments into a cohesive book.
MovieGenreWhere SeenRanking/Rotten Tomatoes- critic/audience
It Ain’t Overdocumentary/Yogi BerraTheater/AMC1-97/96
Polite Societyaction comedy/strong womanTheater/AMC2- 91/84
BlackBerryabout the rise and fall of the Blackberry deviceTheater/AMC3- 98/92
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3action/adventure/Marvel/sequelTheater/AMC4- 82/94
Are You There God, It’s me Margaretcoming of age/Judy BlumeTheater/AMC5- 99/95
Love Againrom comTheater/AMC6- 24/91
Book Club The Next Chapterfemale friendship/sequel/women of a certain ageTheater/AMC7- 45/84
Chevalierdrama/historical/based on personTheater/AMC8- 81/97
Carmendrama/musical/immigrationTheater/Angelika9- 62/60
  1. Ain’t- really fun and interesting doc about Yankee Legend Yogi Berra. Yogi was known for his yogiism’s, and this might have overshadowed his storied career as a baseball player. Lovingly discussed by his eldest granddaughter, this is just a lovely tribute to a man. Worth a look if you have any interest at all in sports, and I am an ardent Met fan, so you know this is me saying a lot…
  2. Polite- story of young woman who wants to be a stunt woman, but is sort of stymied by the polite society of her family and surroundings. This is a clever, funny, and charming film about resilience, belief in oneself, and not letting anyone get one over on you. Light hearted fun.
  3. BlackBerry- I knew what a blackberry was (who didn’t) but never knew the story behind it. While this is highly fictionalized, it still makes for an interesting story, highlighted by fun dialogue and solid chemistry between the characters
  4. Guardians- i am a big fan of the Marvel universe, and the Guardians franchise is just fun. I thought this installment was the better than 2, but not as good as 1. If you like the Guardians and Marvel, see it- if you don’t- pass. The big plus of the franchise is the soundtrack- very fun classic rock and pop tunes that will have you tapping your feet if you’re in my age range
  5. Margaret- I am a huge Judy Blume fan so I was thrilled that they finally made a movie of one of my favorite books. Charming and real and brought me right back to being in sixth grade…If you loved the book you’ll love the movie
  6. Love – this is not a good movie. There are plotholes and inconsistencies and whatever that I can’t get past…However, I like the genre and this was a good time waster for me. But please, unless you have a movie pass, wait for streaming.
  7. Book- Sequel to Book Club- fun story about female friends, bonding and hijinks. I am all about going to see movies with female leads who are over 50, so I was all in for this flick. Not a great movie, but fun if you like the genre
  8. Chevalier- The story of the man, Joseph Bologne, is quite interesting- Black man (son of enslaved woman) who received critical acclaim as a violin virtuoso, composer, fencer, etc. This story should have been amazing. Unfortunately, the movie is not- I nodded off for a few minutes because the direction is so underwhelming.
  9. Carmen- When my friend and I left the theater we nodded at each other and said – it was like a surrealist painting. Visually stunning but I’m not exactly sure what I’m looking at. With Benjamin Millepied directing I expected more dancing and less bizarre camera angles. Very limited resemblance to the opera Carmen.

22 thoughts on “My Month in Books and Movies”

  2. I’m reading Crow Planet- naturalist from Seattle focused on her study of crows and why, and Hester- another in the line of Salem witch stories but this one tosses in Nathaniel Hawthorne and family as main characters jumping between the 1600’s to the 1800’s. Movies have included Renfield, Paint, A Good Person, and the doc on Michael Keaton Still

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      1. Meh! I suppose I should have known from the title it was going to focus on Hoult’s Renfield character but I wanted more Cage. Gory and a redemption movie for Renfield. It kept my attention but won’t win any awards so entertaining enough but not to pay $$ for.

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      1. I liked it quite a bit, but I do see your point, although I like Morgan Freeman in anything. I can’t do Molly Shannon in a dramatic role- too many SNL memories!

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    1. One woman read part 1 and didn’t continue because she didn’t like it, but then after hearing our thoughts wished she’d finished it. We wished we knew more about the myth of the seven sisters because we think that guided much of the book. We had a great discussion about fables and legends and how reliable the narrator is, and about how one’s perfection is one’s reality. It was a boon for me because it was the same day I discussed truth vs lie vs exaggerate on my blog, so it gave me all sorts of new insights for another post

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