Review: The Glass Hotel

From The Glass Hotel, by Emily St. John Mandel:

Begin at the end: plummeting down the side of the ship in the storm’s wild darkness, breath gone with the shock of falling, my camera flying away through the rain—"
	Amazon

A novel like shattered glass reassembled at random. Read it all the way to the end and you eventually get the full story of rootless characters whose lives seem repeatedly shattered and reassembled. Does anyone find peace in the end? Maybe a little.

POTD: Camel Caravan

From 2019 11 19 Aswan

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Nile River near Aswan, Egypt.

Bonus photos after the jump.

Dash & Lily (TV 2020)

Rotten Tomatoes

Dash & Lily (TV 2020): Lily leaves a notebook on a bookstore's shelf, with clues and dares challenging the finder to get to know her. Dash finds it and is hooked on the game, or is it a courtship? Whatever, it is a sweet rom-com. Christmas in New York never looked so inviting. A-

POTD: Arrested Development in Egypt

From 2019 11 19 Aswan

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Nile River near Aswan, Egypt. As for the "Arrested Development" reference, well, you have to be a fan of the TV show.

I Hate Suzie (TV 2020)

Rotten Tomatoes

I Hate Suzie (TV 2020): So do I. Leaked sex pics ruin an actress's career and marriage. Eight episodes take her through the stages of grief (shock, denial, fear, shame, I skipped episodes 5-7, acceptance). Great acting, but more like acting exercises than an interesting story. C-

Roadkill (TV 2020)

Rotten Tomatoes

Roadkill (TV 2020): British cabinet minister juggling crises: cabinet infighting, financial scandal, infidelity, an adult daughter he didn't know he had. Four episodes go too fast to develop all the subplots and give the characters their due. Hugh Laurie makes a good rogue. B-

Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey (2020)

Rotten Tomatoes

Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey (2020): Too long at beginning and end, and the bad guys aren't bad enough, but it scores as a feel-good, old-style, Christmas musical with showstopping song and dance numbers (not enough of them). Crazy costumes. Could be a classic. B+

POTD: The Gift of the Nile

From 2019 11 19 Aswan

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Nile River near Aswan, Egypt. Egypt is called the "gift of the Nile." This photos shows why. It shows the river, the green river bank, and behind, stretching all the way across Africa, the desert. Egypt captured in one photo.

Random Thoughts: Ballsy Move by Linda Koop

Tweets from November, 2020:

• 2020-11-01: Ballsy move by Linda Koop.
• 2020-11-01: Linda Koop throws Trump under the bus (but with plausible deniability).
• 2020-11-01: Tonight's the night to set our clocks back. I just realized that because of coronavirus we don't use our cars enough for it to matter. Wait six months and hope it'll be under control
• 2020-11-01: "Boris Johnson accused of 'giving in to scientific advisers' as England heads for lockdown." Sounds like something a medieval cardinal might warn the Pope against concerning Galileo. "Giving in to science." Let that sink in.

After the jump, more random thoughts.

Between the World and Me (2020)

Rotten Tomatoes

Between the World and Me (2020): Documentary. Readings from Ta-Nehisi Coates' 2015 letter to his son, passing on his wisdom of what it means to be Black in America. Faithful to the book, even more relevant in this year of Black Lives Matter. See the movie, then read the book. B+

See what I thought of the book: "Between the World and Me".