The World's Common Tater

I was away last week so I had a week of mostly reading and relaxing. Now that I have returned and my daughter is back at school I’ve been spending time catching up on TV shows we watch without her. Movie viewing is still basically nonexistent. Here is my last couple of weeks.

Movies

I almost forgot that I did watch one movie in the plane, I was happy to find Nobody with Bob Odenkirk as an option. I’ve been wanting to watch it. Odenkirk plays a seemingly ordinary man with a boring life. We learn there is more to him when someone breaks into his house and events lead to him being targeted by a Russian mobster. It is an action movie, but it is well done with interesting musical choices for the action scenes. Odenkirk is good in the role. I enjoyed it.

TV

We have watched quite a bit of TV this week. I’m watching the final season of The Walking Dead. I’m kind of hoping for a big crossover of the three shows before the end. Maybe I’ve watched too many of the Arrowverse crossovers.

I’m still enjoying Heels on Starz.

We finished season 1 of Kung Fu. I’m happy they kind of wrapped up the main story of the season and set up something new for season 2. I tend to like the “crime of the week” stories more than the big mythology story. I’m hoping we get more of those next season.

We are watching the new season of Coroner. It’s weird to see a show still doing Covid stories when others have addressed it and have gone back to non-Covid stories.

We finally finished the last season of SWAT. I think they did a good job with dealing with the police issues. They show there are racist cops and that the people in charge will cover it up to protect officers, but also showed that there are good cops who want to fix it. I thought it was a good balance.

I still watch Ted Lasso first thing every Friday morning. I still love it.

Books

All of these were included in my August in Books post but I have copied and pasted them here in case you missed that one.

A Matter of Life and Death by Phillip Margolin

After struggling with the previous book it was nice to have a legal thriller to go to. This is the fourth of his books featuring Robin Lockwood, a former MMA fighter turned attorney. In this one, she takes the case of Joe Lattimore, a homeless former boxer who agrees to an illegal fight. The fight leads him to circumstances that end with him being accused of the murder of a judge’s wife. I’ve always liked Margolin’s work and I enjoyed this one, I think I missed some of the Lockwood books. I will go back and read them. I love a good legal thriller.

In the Wild Light by Jeff Zentner

Zentner is one of my favorite YA authors. I was happy to have this one as my first vacation book. Cash and Delaney are best friends in a small Appalachian town in Tennessee. Both are from homes broken by opioid addiction. When Delaney discovers a mold in a cave that can tell fight antibiotic-resistant bacteria she is offered a scholarship to a boarding school, in Connecticut. She secured one for Cash as well since he was with her at the discovery. Can Cash leave his ailing grandfather? Can he accept an offer he doesn’t think he deserves? I loved this one almost as much as I loved Serpent King. One of the best books I’ve read this year.

The Unwilling by John Hart

Set at the height of the Vietnam War. The French family has sent two of their three sons to war. One didn’t return. The other returned a hardened, decorated killer. After he is released from a three-year prison sentence, Jason wants to reconnect with his younger brother Gibby. A day out for the brothers leads to the murder of a young woman and Jason being accused of the crime. When another woman disappears, Gibby is also a suspect. The dad, a cop, has to deal with balancing his job and his family. I enjoyed this one despite the weird super-rich serial killer who is obsessed with Jason and is the one manipulating the case behind the scenes.

The Guncle by Steven Rowley

Patrick is a once-famous, gay sitcom star who lives a reclusive life in Palm Springs. When his best friend/sister-in-law dies and his brother goes to rehab, Patrick is left in charge of his niece and nephew. I loved this book. It is funny. It is heartwarming. It makes you think. I might do a blog post about one of the questions that comes up in the book, if you need a feel good book, this is a good one to choose.

On Deck

We are going to watch The Suicide Squad this weekend before it leaves HBO Max. News of the World is on HBO tomorrow night. We have now moved on to New Amsterdam in our attempt to finish shows before the new season starts in a couple of weeks. I’m currently reading Not a Happy Family by Shari Lapena.