Month: April 2019

I’ve not been reading much the last couple of months and when I have, I haven’t been reviewing them. Even this book I waited a number of days before remembering that I should review it. I am hoping I get back into the flow of reading and reviewing as the weather warms up.

I really like Sedaris and I think his writing is getting more personal and better as he gets older. I think his humour and writing style is polarizing. I am not sure exactly why I enjoy his writing so much. In many ways, we are not similar at all. I am much more of an optimist and sometimes do find what he says and does to be rude. On the other hand, there is an honesty in his writing that feels real and human.

I laugh out loud at the weird situations him and his family are in. He writes in this book about getting a small tumor removed in the middle of the night by a fan. It’s so odd. It’s stranger than fiction really. There’s a lot of weirdness and absurdity to the stories, but there is also pain especially in regards to his departed sister Tiffany and his ageing father. It’s fascinating and painfully human.

I guess one of the reasons I like his personal essays are that while he does want to make you laugh and there is an aspect of him that wants to show off, I do get a sense of rawness with humor in his writing. There isn’t a lot of personal essay writers I feel that way about.

Read April 8-11, 2019.

“Dix pour cent (Call my Agent!)” Season 3 (05-07 03 2019) – French comedy series on Netflix that I have been following. My French has been dropping off lately and I haven’t been watching as many French things. I try to do it while knitting so this helped me finish the Pavement sweater.

“Russian Doll” Season 1 (07 03 2019) – I like the time loop trope. I went in unspoiled and am so glad. I like how well written and acted it was. While it was sometimes crass and crude, the heart of it is about empathy and human connection. Good stuff.

Ant-Man and the Wasp (07-08 03 2019) – Enjoyable largely because of the cast. Wish it had more Pffeifer!

“Plan Coeur (The Hookup Plan)” Season 1 (11-12 03 2019) – Not as good as Dix pour cent. So many unlikable characters but at least the two leads and some of the supporting characters are OK. They hooked me with the cliffhanger ending. I wouldn’t recommend it to everyone though.

Le Jeu (Nothing to Hide) (12 03 2019) – French film that about boring middle aged French married couples having problems stuff. Mostly boring and full of unlikable characters. It was short at least.

Bienvenue a Marly-Gormont (The African Doctor) (19 03 2019) – Better than the last French movie but had some second hand embarrassment from the first hour or so.

Le Monde est a toi (The World is Yours) (19 03 2019) – I need to take a break from these French movies. I think I’ve watched most of the ones available on Netflix now. This one also had a bad start and the script is not great. The actors made it bearable. Vincent Cassel and Isabelle Adjani are in it. The best thing about this movie was the small moment of genuine friendship between an older guy and a little girl who experiences being abused by their parents.

Your Name / Kimi no Na wa (24 03 2019) – Beautiful. I’ve been meaning to watch this for awhile. I use to grow up watching a few anime series but I feel like the best ones lately and for most part are the movies.

Hidden Figures (30 03 2019) – A nice period piece with lots of good acting. There is aspect of feel good Hollywood but at least it’s about Women of Colour.