The World's Common Tater

Holiday week and my daughter being home for the week meant an excuse to relax more and watch TV and movies. It also meant a loss of sleep and a struggle to stay awake for some of the movies and TV.

Movies

I watched two movies this week. I struggled to stay awake for both of them. I can stay up late to watch basketball and football games but if I start a movie past 7 pm I am guaranteed to struggle to see the entire thing.

Dune – I have not read the book. I did not watch the earlier movie. I was going in cold. I still liked it a lot. It has a great cast and a great story. They did a good job with world-building. I wasn’t a fan of the fact that it will be two movies so there was no conclusion to the story here.

Red Notice – We watched this one last night. I did not do a good job with my fight to stay awake. I missed chunks of the movie. I might need to watch it again. What I did see was fun. The Rock, Ryan Reynolds, and Gal Gadot work well together. A nice, light, comedy-action movie with some of my favoeite stars.

TV

My daughter and I watched all of the episodes of Ghosts that aired since the first two. I liked all of them. It’s a fun show. We laughed a lot. I’m glad it was picked up for a full season.

We watched all of the Yellowstone episodes that have aired this season. It was the show that inspired my post about TV shows not killing characters. Last season ended with four people possibly dead and this season started with them all alive. At least they didn’t drag out the ‘who did it” story. It is still a very good show. I just wish we would do away with cliffhangers if they all end with everyone OK.

We watched the Great British Baking Show. I missed multiple episodes because I was asleep. I just need my family to wake up at 5 am to watch TV with me. Or I need to take naps. One of the two. I know a lot of people like the original hosts and Mary Berry more than who we have now. I disagree. I like Prue more than Mary and I like Noel more than the original hosts. I did like Sandi and Noel together, but I think Matt is funny. I did start late though, so that might explain why I am odd.

We started the newest season of The Circle. It doesn’t seem like a show we would all like, but this is the second season the three of us have watched together. The people on this season are all very loud.

I enjoyed having the full Macy’s parade back this year. Now I want to visit NYC again.

Books

I only managed to finish one book again. I’ve reached a point where I take breaks between books now. I finish one and take a day or two to do a crossword, watch TV, etc before I start a new one. That does not help with reaching my reading goal.

Tonight We Rule the World by Zack Smedley – Tonight We Rule the World tells the story of Owen in two parts. Present-day following the revelation that Owen was sexually assaulted by a classmate and the recent past via Owen’s journal entries. Owen is on the spectrum and has never had many friends when he meets Lily, an aspiring writer, who helps him find his voice. With Lily, Owen finds first love and a group of friends. The events following the assault could bring all of that crashing down.

This was not an easy book to read, but it was very good. In addition to the assault, Owen has to deal with the reaction of his dad, a veteran dealing with PTSD, and how this reaction affects his family. A lot of trauma in this book. I was shocked at the reveal of the assailant but loved how Smedley dealt with the issue. I would recommend it, but with the warning that it is not a light, easy book.

On Deck

My daughter will be home for two more days. We will likely finish the Great British Baking Show today. If we have time around the UK football and basketball games we will probably watch more of The Circle. While my wife is working, we will probably watch Home Economics.

We have Snake Eyes and The Protege on DVD.

I am reading Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune.