Rivals

At the start of a new year I like to make a note of all the TV series and films I've been meaning to watch and chip away at the list right away. I'm brutal and if I'm not feeling it after 15 minutes - buh-bye! With zero regrets. Looking to cancel a bunch of my subscriptions, I headed first to Hulu and discovered a show called Rivals in my watchlist. "When in the fug did I add this and why??" Had no clue what it was about other than David Tennant was in it, so I clicked to see more, fully expecting to be uninterested and thereby uncheck it and move on. Then I saw Katherine Parkinson was in the cast. (She was so good in The IT Crowd and Doc Martin.) "Well then I'll definitely watch Rivals on Day One!" Foolishly, I watched it last (Previously viewing and disliking: Murder in a Small Town, Broad City, and Grotesquerie.) and only caught part of the pilot. But yesterday I watched the whole thing. First impression, I love the male nudity. I'm so over men being afraid to bare all. I really respect actors who unabashedly get their kit off and let it all (no I won't say it!) show. Then it was the familiar faces: "oh wait, isn't that Aidan Something [Turner] from Poldark? Ooo! And is that? Oh my gosh, it is! That's Danny Dyer. And there's the girlfriend from Mum [Kelly played brilliantly by Lisa McGrillis]. Ahhh!!! It's one of the nuns from Call the Midwife [Bryony Hannah]!!" So I came for Parkinson and stayed for the rest of the cast. Honestly, though, it was the way Danny Dyer's Freddie looked at Katherine Parkinson's Lizzie that left me swooning and watching each episode one right after the other in the hopes of more Freddie/Lizzie screen time. I can't wait for the next season to see what is in store for those two! A solid series with sensational acting. 

(fab photo kidnapped rom myweekly)

NOTE: Thankfully I was able to clickety-click the 10 sec fast-forward button during the rape scene in episode 5 and also when David Tennant started to get mean and I thought it might end up there. Thus allowing me to fully enjoy the series and not just shut it off entirely. 

December 2024 Books

* The Best Christmas Pageant Ever ¹ by Barbara Robinson - Lucy and I listened to Elaine Stritch's brilliant performance of this classic holiday novel on the first night of the Books & Cooks Tour and it was so good that we listened to it the next day with Jackson.

♥ A Christmas Story ¹ by Jean Shepherd - I was in constant hysterics listening to Dick Cavett narrate this group of stories from Jean Shepherd. The one about the Bumpus family was so hilarious that once it was over I replayed it and died laughing all over again.

* Holidays on Ice ¹ by David Sedaris

* Secrets in the Attic by Carol Beach York - This was a book from when I was in grade school that takes place over Christmas vacation. It was a sweet, light read, and I'm so glad I hung on to it after all these years.

* Damn Glad to Meet You ¹ by Tim Matheson - This was such a great memoir with the only drawback being that it lacked a full chapter on his working with Ann Jillian in Little White Lies. Maybe he's saving that for a future book dedicated entirely to Annie's talent and how much he adored working with her...

♥ Narwhalidays by Ben Clanton - I am so bananas in love with Narwhal and his pal Jelly. I can't wait to get the whole series in hardback so that I can read them again and again.

* When the Marquess Falls by Lorraine Heath - This novella that tells the back story to a beloved character takes place at Christmastime and I felt the need to re-read it and escape in to a little romance.

¹ - audiobook

² - abridged version
* - liked
♥ - loved
Any unmarked titles were, in my opinion, so-so.

Farewell, Jimmy

Stopping at one of the county library's dropoff boxes, I noticed their flag flying at half-mast and was reminded that the world has lost the best president ever, Jimmy Carter. His compassion will be missed.

One Last Look

What's the best way to start a new year? Picking up Jackson and driving around, looking at the remaining Christmas lights, and cracking up listening to David Sedaris narrate Santaland Diaries.