Category: Watchlist

Movies, TV shows, Dramas, Videos in the queue. (Have I missed anything?)

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Best of List Books Watchlist

Mid-Year Check In: Best of 2024 So Far

I am ready to write bad angsty poetry on my never-ending reading/ blogging slump! Still, somehow, pushing myself to do this mid-year 2024 blogpost on stuff I have liked till now.

Let’s all pledge to move out of Slump Valley! And just in case these recs reach you, hope you’ll like some of these.

1 / The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo

    I have not been a great fan or follower of the Grishaverse, so was hesitant in picking this up. But what a marvelous story this turned out to be. We peer into the ages of 16th century when anti-semitism was rife. Luzia is desperately trying to escape her confined pitiful life with her displays of magical craft… but soon ends up getting embroiled in a larger political net. Everything in this book was so impressive – the Spanish Golden Age/ Renaissance feel, the worldbuilding, the writing, the prose, the characterizations. Aaaaand, it is a standalone. If you’ve liked Mistress of the Art of Death, you’ll love this one too.

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    Books Watchlist

    Mini Reviews / Last Quarter(s) Wrap-Up

    Mini Reviews

    What’s been cooking for the past few months? Er, past few quarters (since my last mini reviews date back to pre-July)? At least for me, the last 2 months fared way better for my reading than the rest of the year, so I am thankful for that. All in the name of conquering Mount TBR!

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    Miscellany Recommendations Watchlist

    First Quarter Wrap-Up +Movie Recs

    Well, it’s been more than a quarter, but it’s just easier to sum up that way! I’m still not getting much reading done, but at least I managed to find some really good movies. Here’s a wrap-up for the first quarter.

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    Books Miscellany Recommendations Watchlist

    Last Quarter 2022 Wrap-Up

    Here’s a quick wrap-up of what I read and watched in the last quarter 2022. I found a few great shows even though I read very little. And now we are already gearing up for 2023. How time flies!

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    Recommendations Watchlist

    Movie Review: The Inugami Family

    The Inugami Family (Japanese Movie)
    Year of Release: 1976
    Director: Kon Ichikawa
    Based on the Book: The Inugami Curse by Seishi Yokomizo
    Recommended for fans of: Gothic, Foreign Period Dramas, Eerie Mysteries, A touch of Horror, Brilliant Plot, Golden Age of Detective Fiction

    Some time back, Words & Peace had recommended The Inugami Curse and I’d wanted to read the book ever since. I decided to take the shortcut when I accidentally discovered there was a subtitled movie adaptation too.

    It’s a superb plot. The patriarch of the Inugami family clan dies, leaving behind several competing successors and a really crazy will. I don’t think it’s giving away spoilers to say that the will goes along the lines of “If A dies, B gets the property. If B dies, C gets the property….” It’s like the dreadful old man was setting them all up to murder, starting with A! Along the way there are some red herrings – the challenge is to identify which ones are red herrings and which ones are not.

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    Books Music & Poetry Recommendations Watchlist

    Tri-Monthly Wrap-Up/ Mini Reviews

    Is “tri-monthly” the right word? June, July, August — loads of books and shows that I discovered and even liked (wonder of wonders)! Interestingly, in pretty much all of these, I also found that the blurb or the trailer had been misleading. Here’s a (long post) wrap up.

    Castle Barebane by Joan Aiken

    Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

    A rather strange and underrated historical fantasy work set in the 1880s involving a “road trip” from New York to Scotland. The journalist heroine sets out to help her odd brother (and also escape her marriage). Then she finds herself embroiled in a blackmail plot and with her young nephew and niece in tow. This book really defies genre and age groupings. The suspense is slow to build-up, the “fantasy” part is very, very subtle. I even thought there was some LGBTQ representation in this 1976 book. Also historically accurate, as can be expected from Aiken.

    Why didn’t they ask Evans?

    Rating: 4 out of 5.

    A very quirky new adaptation of one of Agatha Christie’s more complex mysteries. This cryptic question changes every time: Why didn’t they ask Evans? Why didn’t they ask Evans? Why didn’t they ask Evans? Wait at least till Episode 2 for the show to really get going.

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    Music & Poetry Watchlist

    Four for Poetry Friday

    It’s been a while since I cross-linked to old favorite poems. But here are a few to keep the week going. The videos add to the beauty of the poem, so hope you watch those even if you’ve read these pieces before.

    The Astronomer by Walt Whitman
    We Real Cool by Gwendolyn Brooks
    Because I could not stop for Death by Emily Dickinson
    The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost
    More Poetry
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    Memes Watchlist

    10 Recent Book to Screen Adaptations

    Since most books these days have both prologues and epilogues, this week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic didn’t really ring a bell for me. Instead, I’m just gushing about 10 recent screen adaptations of books. Just in case you want to add to your watchlist….

    [1] The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry ⎮ Apple TV

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    Books Recommendations Watchlist

    Mini Reviews & Recs: Feb through April 2022

    Work in the past 3 months was like Godzilla. I read very little, and got nowhere on the 10 Million Reading Challenges that I had over-ambitiously planned. But I binged on mystery and detective stuff a lot, and here are a few things that kept me going.

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    Books Recommendations Watchlist

    January 2022 Wrap-Up / Mini-Reviews

    January saw work at the office pile up, but I still managed to get in a lot more escape reading and watching. Here are some of the books and shows that I like particularly and I hope you’ll give these a shot as well.

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