The World's Common Tater

Before I recap the week – a milestone.

Thanks for following! Now the week.

Movies

Another week of not watching a movie. A combination of being home alone, a DVR full of shows I need to watch, and multiple baseball games to watch limited my chance to watch movies. I’m sure this will change at some point, but it has been weeks since I have watched a movie.

TV

I once again watched all of the shows I watch alone in a desperate attempt to make room on the DVR. Those include Fear the Walking Dead, Walking Dead World Beyond, Survivor, Queens, The Wonder Years, The Big Leap, Chucky, and Ordinary Joe.

I watched and reviewed the new 4400 show.

I watched a lot of baseball. My team is still in it, so I still have at least three more World Series games to watch.

I needed a new show to watch alone. I needed one that was light and easy. I opted for Doogie Kamealoha, MD on Disney Plus because I thought all of the episodes were available. I was wrong and didn’t realize it until I got to the end of the last available episode. This is inspired by the old Doogie Howser series. Lahela is a teenager who breezed through school and is now a doctor. They mention in the first episode that some doctors call her Doogie because of “that old TV show Doogie Howser” She lives in Hawaii. Her dad is a laid-back surfer who runs a shave ice truck. Her mom is also a doctor. It is basically a little bit higher quality Disney Channel show, but I enjoyed it.

Books

I finished two books this week

14 Days to Die by Vincent Ralph – Ten years ago Jess’s mother was murdered. She was the first victim of a serial killer now called The Magpie Man. he has now killed 13 people. Now a teenager, Jess agrees to star in an online reality show where cameras will follow her 24 hours a day. She wants to use the series to lure the Magpie Man to her so she can catch him.

First the weird – the main character has the same name as my daughter. Her two best friends have the same names as my daughter’s two best friends from high school. Interesting coincidence. The book was a good, teen mystery book. I liked the main character even though she tended to think no one else’s problems were important because they were not as serious as your mom being murdered. It had nice, short chapters so I always felt I could read just one or two more. I was satisfied with the ending and the reveal of the murderer. I would recommend it to teens and adults.

The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes – Avery Grambs has lived with her sister(and sometimes in her car) since her mom died. She is very smart and has a plan to win a scholarship and go to college. Her life changes when a billionaire she has never heard of dies and leaves almost his entire estate to her. The only catch – she has to live for a year in the family estate with the family he disinherited before she gets the money.

I wasn’t sure where this book was heading. I read it after seeing a positive review online. It turns out it is the first in what will be a series. This one deals with Avery and the four grandsons of the billionaire learning to live together while also solving puzzles left behind by the grandfather that they hope will lead to answers to why he left his money to Avery. I enjoyed it. Avery and the grandsons are well-drawn characters. The mystery surrounding the will is interesting. The reveal at the end that leads to the next book was interesting. Probably most appealing to older teens.

On Deck

I have at least three more baseball games to watch.

I will get the DVD of The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard back from my son and will watch that.

I will continue my desperate attempt to keep my DVR from getting so full that it starts deleting old shows to make room.

I am currently reading The Night the Lights Went Out: a Memoir of Life After Brain Damage by Drew Magary.