Podcast to Catch: Serial

I'm not alone in raving about this particular offering, but if for some reason you ARE a person who likes podcasts and you have not yet checked out Serial, you really need to do so right away. I'm aware that raving about an NPR-related podcast like this is squarely in the

The first spin-off from the consistently good, rightly beloved This American Life, Serial has been buffed to a high sheen by one of my favorite TAL personalities, Sarah Koenig, as well as the paragon of men, Ira Glass, and it's really wonderful. It is a discussion of a fifteen-year old murder case, and one of the strengths of the writing and the format of the story line is that it continues to raise valid questions for both the defense and the prosecution of Adnan Syed. I am up-to-date, and while I do have an opinion (a strong one!) on the case now, I do occasionally waver in my certitude as Koenig unspools what she's learned in digging deeper into the murder of Hae Min Lee.

The only downside I can think of for picking it up right away is that they are still in production, so there will be no chance to binge-watch these. In fact, the Serial site has a statement up currently in the face of what I can only assume were strenuous calls to release all the episodes at once for binge-consumption:

We’ve been getting lots of questions about why we’re only releasing one episode per week instead of the entire season all at once for those of you inclined to binge-listen. The reason is: We're still making them. As I write this, in fact, Sarah is re-writing Episode 5. 

I guess you could say we didn’t get all our work done ahead of time. We’re reporting this story as we write it. We’re still pinning down information, doing interviews, following leads. So when you listen each week, the truth is that you’re actually not all that far behind us.

 I sympathize. If all the episodes had gone up on iTunes all at once, Orange Is the New Black style, I would have made it to the end already. I love it, and I really need some people I know to watch it so I can ~talk~ about it.

Anyone seen it? What have you thought so far?

If you haven't tried it yet, you can find it here.

Review: The Goldfinch

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Dark and sad, but beautifully written. Like The Secret History, a lot of this is people behaving badly, but it's impossible to turn away from.

Weighty and serious, it expects attention from its reader, but it rewards a close reading.



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Hundred Days of Happy Day Two

A small thing today, but my lunches at work are really short: just thirty minutes. I'm learning how to bring quick things that let me get a goodly amount of reading on in that time, as well as get a healthy-ish meal that staves off the hangry. Today, it was a Santa Fe Chicken salad dupe, a Coke, and Attachments by Rainbow Rowell.

This prompted my decision to do the 100 Happy Days Challenge

My 17.5-year old cat, Calamity Jane. She's old, strange, and willful as hell. I love her more than I knew was possible when I got her all those years ago.  I was reading this morning, and she came and stretched out over my arm, between me and my book.

Isn't she cute?

As she's gotten older, she gotten really insistent about being able to sit right on me or my husband, even in summer time. The only thing that makes an acceptable substitute for sitting on her people is the heated cat bed we bought her for wintertime, and sometimes she still prefers a quilt-covered human lap to the sheer bliss that is the cat bed.

She's been with me since just a couple weeks after I got my first place alone. I've had her now almost as long as I hadn't had her. She's outlived two other cats I got not long after I got her, and she really loves being an only kitty. I promised I wouldn't get any other cats until she's gone. I can't imagine a life without her in it. 

I'm glad she's healthy for her age; she's a huge part of my daily happiness.

Review: Red Rising

Red Rising by Pierce Brown

My rating: 5 of 5 stars




If we define young adult novels as those with an absence of graphic sexual encounters, I will agree that this is YA. Otherwise, there's a lot more rape, murder, pissing on people, and dirty dealing than you would find in any other YA novel, including the ones referred to on the cover of the book. I'm not sure I would recommend it for younger teens as a result.

That said, I LOVED this book. It hits a lot of my sweet spots: hidden identities, revolution, the underdog striving to better the life he (and his people) have been dealt. There are several sad plot developments, but this book does occupy (and knows it) a space where Ender's Game overlaps with The Hunger Games.

I'm already looking forward to the next one in the series.



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Review: Eleanor and Park

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars


A sad book, but one that is age-appropriate, lacking in a love triangle (Thank god!) and that's paced in a way that hums along when a lot of this genre tend to wallow in the emotions of its protagonists. I didn't expect to love this like I did, but there it is. I thought Fangirl was okay, but this one was deeply enjoyable.

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Letter for the man at my polling place on primary day

Dear dude with the “When the people fear the government, that's tyranny; when the government fears the people, that's freedom.” bumpersticker at my polling place:

You're parked in the fire lane.

Kisses, Kristen