Tuesday, July 28, 2020

110. The Perfect Escape by Suzanne Park

listened on Chirp
narrated by Kate Rudd & Raymond Lee
Unabridged audio (7:18)
2020
336 pgs.
YA RomCom
Finished 7/28/2020
Goodreads rating: 3.44 - 477 ratings
My rating: 3.5
Setting: contemporary America

First line/s: "I'd recited this blah script more than 50 times."

My comments: A very cute story about a super-intelligent Korean senior and the rich-girl actress senior from another school that meet as employees in a zombie escape room.  Bullies and crappy fathers, cute five-year-old sisters and a yearning for the future all come together in a story for a quick and easy read.  Nothing new, but a fun listen.  

Goodreads synopsis:  Nate Jae-Woo Kim wants to be rich. When one of his classmates offers Nate a ridiculous amount of money to commit grade fraud, he knows that taking the windfall would help support his prideful Korean family, but is compromising his integrity worth it?
          Luck comes in the form of Kate Anderson, Nate’s colleague at the zombie-themed escape room where he works. She approaches Nate with a plan: a local tech company is hosting a weekend-long survivalist competition with a huge cash prize. It could solve all of Nate’s problems, and Kate needs the money too.
          If the two of them team up, Nate has a true shot at winning the grand prize. But the real challenge? Making through the weekend with his heart intact…

Saturday, July 25, 2020

109. Thin Air by Lisa Gray

#1 Jessica Shaw, wandering PI
listened on Audible - have on Kindle, too
narrated by Amy Landon, who was excellent
Unabridged audio (8:44)
2019 Thomas & Mercer
288 pgs.
Adult Mystery, Series
Finished 7/25/2020
Goodreads rating:  3.87 - 39,273 ratings
My rating: 4.5
Setting: contemporary Los Angles area, CA

First line/s: "I park the car four streets away, and walk the rest of the way."

My comments: Jessica discovers herself as a stolen child  when she was three years old.  We start with her discovery of that information.  She had had absolutely no idea.  Her mother had been murdered, herself as a baby gone. Raised in NY, she is now on the road in California, just a year or two after her much-loved father's death.  Of course she jumps into the case, which proves very interesting.  She's pretty smart and tracks down many clues, of course solving it.  She likes to drink and hit the road for the unknown....and that's how the book ends, with her hitting the road for parts unknown.  Sort of a female Jack Reacher, but without all his physical skills (and brilliance, lol).  I'm going to definitely check out other books to come in this series.  Next one is called Bad Memory, with number three coming out in November 2020.

Goodreads synopsis:  She investigates missing persons—now she is one.
           Private investigator Jessica Shaw is used to getting anonymous tips. But after receiving a photo of a three-year-old kidnapped from Los Angeles twenty-five years ago, Jessica is stunned to recognize the little girl as herself.
          Eager for answers, Jessica heads to LA’s dark underbelly. When she learns that her biological mother was killed the night she was abducted, Jessica’s determined to solve a case the police have forgotten. Meanwhile, veteran LAPD detective Jason Pryce is in the midst of a gruesome investigation into a murdered college student moonlighting as a prostitute. A chance encounter leads to them crossing paths, but Jessica soon realizes that Pryce is hiding something about her father’s checkered history and her mother’s death.
           To solve her mother’s murder and her own disappearance, Jessica must dig into the past and find the secrets buried there. But the air gets thinner as she crawls closer to the truth, and it’s getting harder and harder to breathe.

Thursday, July 23, 2020

108. We're Not From Here by Geoff Rodkey

listened on Libby
narrated by Dani Martineck
Unabridged audio (6:56)
2019
256 pgs.
Middle Grade SciFi
Finished 7/23/2020
Goodreads rating: 4.05 - 1362 ratings
My rating: 3
Setting: planet Choom, relocated from Earth

First line/s: "The first time I heard anything about Planet Choom, we'd been on Mars for almost a year."

My comments: Told from the point-of-view of a middle schooler, one of about 1,000 that are in another galaxy trying to be accepted on the planet of Choom after Earth was destroyed.  The planet is currently inhabited by three species, huge mosquito-like beings, enormous marshmallow-like beings, and smaller, also bug-like beings.  Emotions are heralded by smells.  A swarm mentality seems to be easily transferred from being to being.  The humans have to figure out a way to get past the fake news and anger that it manifests to a place where they are accepted and trusted.  Half of the book is angry fighting, which I really didn't enjoy.  The premise of the story was thoughtful, and I always enjoy a good scifi.

Goodreads synopsis:  Imagine being forced to move to a new planet where YOU are the alien! From the creator of the Tapper Twins, New York Times bestselling author Geoff Rodkey delivers a topical, sci-fi middle-grade novel that proves friendship and laughter can transcend even a galaxy of differences.
          The first time I heard about Planet Choom, we'd been on Mars for almost a year. But life on the Mars station was grim, and since Earth was no longer an option (we may have blown it up), it was time to find a new home.
          That's how we ended up on Choom with the Zhuri. They're very smart. They also look like giant mosquitos. But that's not why it's so hard to live here. There's a lot that the Zhuri don't like: singing (just ask my sister, Ila), comedy (one joke got me sent to the principal's office), or any kind of emotion. The biggest problem, though? The Zhuri don't like us. And if humankind is going to survive, it's up to my family to change their minds. No pressure

Tuesday, July 21, 2020

107. Find Me by Ann Frasier

#1 Inland Empire
listened on Audible
narrated by Erin Bennett
Unabridged audio (9:16)
2020
282 pgs.
Genre/Level
Finished 7/21/2020
Goodreads rating: 4.14 - 21,189 ratings
My rating: 4.5
Setting: Palm Springs/Joshua Tree/29 Palms/High  Desert of southern California

First line/s:  "It was dark by the time Cathy Baker took off along the Southern California trail just outside the town of Redlands."

My comments: Anne Frasier is becoming one of my favorite authors in the mystery/murder mystery genre.  Always plenty to anticipate, never a dull moment; believable characters, and lots of twists and turns.  Psychopaths and sociopaths -- imagine being born into a family with these characteristices...and imagine living your whole life knowing that, as a kid, your much-adored father uses you as bait to reel in innocent young women to their deaths.  How do you live with that?  Anne Frasier takes you into the minds of her characters to allow you to hear their thoughts and feel their pain.  Couldn't put it down  Looks like there might be more in the series, too, yippee!

Goodreads synopsis:   A bone-chilling family history is unearthed in a heart-stopping thriller by New York Times bestselling author Anne Frasier.

          Convicted serial killer Benjamin Fisher has finally offered to lead San Bernardino detective Daniel Ellis to the isolated graves of his victims. One catch: he’ll only do it if FBI profiler Reni Fisher, his estranged daughter, accompanies them. As hard as it is to exhume her traumatic childhood, Reni can’t say no. She still feels complicit in her father’s crimes.

          Perfect to play a lost little girl, Reni was the bait to lure unsuspecting women to their deaths. It’s time for closure. For her. For the families. And for Daniel. He shares Reni’s obsession with the past. Ever since he was a boy, he’s been convinced that his mother was one of Fisher’s victims.

A five-hundred-mile road trip lies ahead. Thirty years of bad memories are flooding back. A master manipulator has gained their trust. For Reni and Daniel, this isn’t the end of a nightmare. It’s only the beginning

TV Series: Ray Donovan

Premiered: June, 2013
7 Seasons: 2013 - 2020
Number of Episodes: 12 per season
Length of Episode: 55ish minutes
IMBd: 8.3
RT Audience Score: 72/86
cag: Loved it so much!  6
Showtime

Characters:
Ray Donovan (Liev Schreiber)
Mickey Donovan (his father) Jon Voight
Abby Donovan (wife)
Bridget Donovan (daughter)
Conner Donovan (son)
Terry Donovan (brother: boxer, club owner, Parkinson's)
Bunchy/Brendan Donovan (brother: still recovering from being abused by a priest when he was a kid)
Daryl (half-brother, Black)
Lena & Avi wholehearted employees

My comments:  Violent, full of boxing (which I hate) and frustration at a horrible father....you'd think I'd hate this.  But Liev Schreiber NAILS this role.  Exquisitely.  Wonderful actors and for the most part great stories.  (I wasn't so crazy about season 4 as the others) Immediate addiction! Loved it.


 

Storyline from IMBd:
          Ray Donovan, a professional "fixer" for the rich and famous in Los Angeles, can make anyone's problems disappear except those created by his own family.
           Set in the sprawling mecca of the rich and famous, Ray Donovan does the dirty work for LA's top power players. The one-hour series stars Emmy® and Golden Globe® Award nominee Liev Schreiber in his first lead television role as the go-to guy who makes the problems of the city's celebrities, superstar athletes, and business moguls disappear.
     Ray Donovan is a man of many faces. He's a cool, sophisticated Hollywood player but also a ruthless south Boston thug. He's a devoted family man who has trouble resisting come-ons from attractive clients, and a consummate professional who is also easily pushed to violence. His job as a problem fixer for the Hollywood elite has helped lift him out of the working class to within reach of the wealthy and powerful. But no amount of designer suits, sports cars or gold watches can completely mask his shady line of work, or his humble, blue collar roots. With his brothers always calling for help, his criminal father out of prison and causing trouble, and the FBI watching him like a hawk, Ray might be unable to shake his past.

Sunday, July 19, 2020

95. One Last Lie by Paul Doiron

#11 Mike Bowditch, Maine Game Warden
listened on Audible
narrated by Henry Leyva
Unabridged audio (9:33) 
2020 Minotaur Books
310 pgs.
Adult Murder Mystery/Police Procedural
Finished 7/19/2020
Goodreads rating: 4.18 - 1139 ratings
My rating: 3.5
Setting: Fort Kent area, Maine

First line/s: "Before I left for Florida my old friend and mentor Charley Stevens gave me a puzzling piece of advice." 

My comments: Charley Stevens has disappeared, on his own, and Mike Bowditch is out hunting for him, following the breadcrumbs that he has left as a trail.  The story is a bit convoluted and involves a lot of people, and it seems to get a little bit disjointed at times.  Perhaps because it didn't hold my interest as much as the Bowditch stories usually do.  And I think he's going to get back with Stacy Stevens, I don't know what the attractions is with her, but his current girlfriend, Danny, doesn't want kids and he really does so that's probably the direction that Doiron want to take him.  He's 31 now, and ready to settle down, I think.  Well, it'll be another year before we discover the next episode.  I wish I'd liked this one a little bit better than I did.

Goodreads synopsis:  A sudden disappearance reveals a startling connection to a 15-year-old cold case in the new thriller from bestselling Edgar Award finalist Paul Doiron.
          “Never trust a man without secrets.” These are the last words retired game warden Charley Stevens speaks to his surrogate son, Warden Investigator Mike Bowditch, before the old man vanishes without explanation into a thousand miles of forest along the Canadian border. Mike suspects his friend’s sudden disappearance has to do with an antique badge found at a flea market — a badge that belonged to a warden who was presumed dead fifteen years ago but whose body was never recovered. On a mission to find Charley before he meets a similarly dark fate, Mike must reopen a cold case that powerful people, including his fellow wardens — one of whom might be a killer — will do anything to keep closed.

Saturday, July 18, 2020

Music

 
My favorite genres are rock, folk, Motown, and now, believe it or not, country.  Can't listen to opera or rap (except, perhaps Hamilton) and I really don't enjoy classical.  I've been trying and trying to remember all the songs I loved to listen to through the years.

Great-for-me background music: 
Dar Williams
David Mallett
Devonsquare

A stroll down memory lane....

6th Avenue Heartache by The Wallflowers (1996)
96 Tears by ? and the Mysterians (1966)
All Summer Long by Kid Rock (2007)
Alleluia by Dar Williams (1995)
Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not by Thompson Square (2011)
Bad Moon Rising by Creedance Clearwater Revival (1969)
Barbara Ann by the Beach Boys (1965)
Believer by Imagine Dragons
Blue Ain't Your Color by Keith Urban (2016)
Boomtown by Greg Brown (1994)
Both Sides Now by Judy Collins (1968)
Chicken Fried by Zac Brown Band (2007)
Cryin' by Aerosmith (1993)
Devil with the Blue Dress On by Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels (1966)
End of the Line by The Traveling Wilburys
Even Now by Caitlyn & Will (2008)
For What It's Worth by Buffalo Springfield (1966)
Foxy Lady by Jimi Hendrix Experience (1967)
Girls Like You by Maroon 5 (2017)
Good Lovin' by The Young Rascals (1966)
Grandmother's Name by Catie Curtis (1991)
Hey Joe by Jimi Hendrix Experience
House of the Rising Sun by The Animals (1964)
I Ain't Superstitious by Jeff Beck (1968)
I Feel Like I'm Fixin' to Die Rag (Fish Cheer) by Country Joe and the Fish (1968)
I Think We're Alone Now by Tommy James and the Shondells (1967)
I'm Still a Guy by Brad Paisley (2010)
It's Five O'Clock Somewhere by Alan Jackson & Jimmy Buffett (2009)
I've Been Around by David Mallett (1983)
Keep on Loving You by Steel Magnolia (2011)
Louie, Louie by The Kingsmen (1963)
Lover, Lover by Jared Neiman (2010)
The More I Drink by Blake Shelton (2007)
Mustang Sally by Wilson Pickett (1967)
Not Ready to Make Nice by The Chicks (2006)
Old Fat Women for Peach by the Righteous Mothers (2006)
One Day by Matisyahu (2009)
One of Us by Joan Osborne (1994)
Perfect by Ed Sheeran (2017)
Play the Song by Joey & Rory (2008)
Pontoon by Little Big Town (2012)
Purple Haze by Jimi Hendrix (1967)
Season of the Witch by Donovan (1966)
Something to Talk About by Bonnie Raitt (1991)
Spirit in the Sky by Norman Greenbaum (1969)
Spooky by The Classics IV (1968)
Summertime Blues by Blue Cheer (1968)
Sunny by Bobby Hebb (1966)
Suzie Q by Creedence Clearwater Revival (1968?)
Waltz for Arizona by Cosy Sheridan (2003)
You're My Soul and Inspiration by the Righteous Brothers (1965)

Wednesday, July 15, 2020

Big Day

Today was a big day.  I quite my job at the library.  After 3 1/2 years of prepping and presenting programs, helping patrons, working weird and crazy hours including nights and weekends, and more recently videoing live programming, all four of the youth services department "quit" together.  We have been cleaning all surfaces in the very large youth services section hourly as well as any computer after each usage, but today we were asked to clean the public bathrooms, including toilets, every two hours. This was not acceptable to any of us, and as a team we left together. 

Tomorrow I'm meeting with the rest of my team to talk about ways we can go forward together, serving the youth and parents of our town when it comes to literacy and schooling in our community.  I'm actually quite excited, even though I'm not sure how I'm going to eat, lol~

Wednesday, July 8, 2020

105. Jane Anonymous by Laurie Faria Stolarz

listened on Libby
narrated by Emily Bauer
Unabridged audio (8:11)
2020
306 pgs.
YA thriller
Finished 7/8/2020
Goodreads rating: 3.89 - 2504 ratings
My rating: 4
Setting: Contemporary New England

First line/s: "Before ten months ago, I didn't know that the coil spring from a mattress could be used as a makeshift weapon, or that the rod inside a toilet tank worked just as well as the claw of a hammer."

My comments: Oh my goodness, what a story.  Lots of emotions swirl about as I ponder all the things that happened.  I could tell early on what Mason was about, so many extra tragic feelings, insights, yearnings, anxieties...mental health issues...questions and more questions.  Why do some minds repair themselves and others stay ripped and torn?  These are my immediate thoughts after just finishing the book.  I feel so badly for the six main characters; the parents, Jane, Mason, Jack and Shelly.  I'd love more of an epilogue, maybe two or three or even four years in the future.  Can Jane's mind actually be repaired after all that's happened?  SPOILER ALERT:  Having Mason/Martin commit suicide and having so many questions about his motives and intentions, desires and longings, and falling in love with him on top of everything - I just can't imagine how those seven months wouldn't affect Jane for the rest of her life.

Goodreads synopsis:   “Jane” was just your typical 17-year-old getting ready to start her senior year. She had a part-time job she enjoyed, an awesome best friend, overbearing but loving parents, and a crush on a boy who was taking her to see her favorite band. She never would’ve imagined that in her town where nothing ever happens, a series of small coincidences would lead to a devastating turn of events that would forever change her life.
          Now, it’s been three months since “Jane” escaped captivity and returned home. Three months of being that girl who was kidnapped, the girl who was held by a “monster.” But, what if everything you thought you knew―everything you thought you experienced―turned out to be a lie?

104. Winter in Paradise by Elin Hildebrand

listened on Audible
narrated by Erin Bennett
Unabridged audio (
2018
320 pgs.
Genre/Level
Finished 7/8/2020
Goodreads rating: 2.5
My rating: 2.5
Setting: contemporary St. John Virgin Islands

First line/s

What I posted on Goodreads:  

My comments: I've always resisted reading this author's work, I just didn't think she would be my cup of tea.  I discovered that I was right and she wasn't (my cuppa).  This story is about two families, set in St. John Virgin Islands.  I loved the setting, and in a little bit of researching discovered that many of the restaurants s mentioned, and most of the attractions and places, were real, which was pretty cool.  You have to be really rich to go there even to visit, which means I never will be able to, but I sure would like to.  There weren't many characters that I liked.  The two grown sons were idiots.  The forgiving that the thwarted wife had was totally unbelievable to me, when I replaced her dead, philandering husband with my own dead, not-philandering husband.  If I had ever discovered what she did there's no way I would ever in a million years feel the way that she did, so her whole persona was really hard for me to take.  The mystery of what the dead husband, Russ, did for a living - and hinted at at the end, in my opinion - was horribly handled.  I kept rolling my eyes;  Nope not much of this book did it for me at all.

Goodreads synopsis:  

Tuesday, July 7, 2020

Picture Poetry Book - Days to Celebrate by Lee Bennett Hopkins

A Full Year of Poetry, People, Holidays, History, Fascinating Facts, and More
Illustrated by Stephen Alcorn
2005 Greenwillow Books
out of print, available used
112 pgs.
Goodreads rating:  3.97 - 39 ratints
My rating:  4
Endpapers: Bright yellow 

My comments: Another anthology of poetry for kids by super-poetry-guy Lee Bennett Hopkins.  This one includes a calendar for each month of the year before a handful of pages that represent that month, including birthdays and historical dtes with their information.  An eclectic group of poems, I found MANY that I truly enjoyed.  (See below


Goodreads:  In Days to Celebrate Lee Bennett Hopkins has collected an astounding array of information to show us that each day of the year gives us a reason to celebrate. For every month he has compiled a calendar of birthdays, holidays, historic events, inventions, world records, thrilling firsts, and more.
          And for every month he has selected surprising poems in honor of some of the people and events commemorated in the calendar. There are poems about the seasons and holidays, of course, but there are also poems about a "Flying-Man" (for February 4, Charles Lindbergh's birthday), birds (for April 26, John James Audubon's birthday), windshield wipers (patented November 10), and earmuffs (patented December 21).
          Beloved poets, such as Walt Whitman, Langston Hughes, Gwendolyn Brooks, and Christina Rossetti, are joined by new voices in sixty poems that take us on a remarkable journey through a year -- and through the years. Stephen Alcorn's illustrations, based on the style of art found in old almanacs, are airy, whimsical, and thought provoking. They perfectly match the breadth and depth of this volume.
          Brilliantly conceived and elegantly illustrated, Days to Celebrate is a book that pays tribute to the people, events, and poetry that make up our past and will inspire our future.

Groundhog

People shoo me
from their lawn,
scold me,
chase me,
want me gone,
treat me like some kind of pest,
a most unwelcome
garden guest.

Then one day,
for mysterious reasons,
they crown me ---

ME!---

King of Seasons.

Will spring come soon?
Will winter flee?
The world awaits
my royal decree.

            Maria Fleming

Weather

Whether the weather be fine,
Or whether the weather be not,
Whether the weather be cold,
Or whether the weather be hot,
We’ll weather the weather
Whatever he weather
Whether we like it or not.

            Anonymous
                                                                                                                                           
Prayer for the Lunar New Year

This is the day
you grow another year wiser.

This is the day
you forget what you know to be impossible.

The moon loves to play a game.
Play.

Sweep your grudges out,
scatter them to nothing.

Scrub your wishes pure,
wash your heart clear.

Open your windows wide,
let the new year begin.

            Janet S. Wong
            ]
Labor Day

First Monday in September
that’s when we remember
to honor workers who toil long.
Their efforts make our country strong.
We give a gift they all like best;
We give them all a day of rest!

            Marci Ridlon

Freedom!
Harriet Tubman
Auburn, New York, 1861

Before I rode “The Railroad,”
            I didn’t understand.
I thought that tracks were tunneled
            underneath the land.
The Underground Railroad
            runs out of sight.
The last stop is freedom
            if you ride it right.
Good peope gave me food
            and hid me all the way,
until I reached Pennsylvania
            at sunrise one day.
I stared at these black hands
            To make sure I was me.
I felt like I was in heaven.
            At last I was free!

I worked as a cook,
            saved my money
                 and then . . .
            I went down South
            again and . . .again
to lead others to the stations:
            women, children, men.
Yes, I worked and I saved
            and I kept going back.
I never lost a passenger
            or ran my train off the track.

Folks began to call me Moses.
            The though tickled me.
Moses!  There was a conductor
            who set God’s children free.

                        Bobbi Katz

Earth, What Will You Give Me?

Earth what will you give me
In summer,
In summer,
Earth, what will you give me
In summer
Serene?

I’ll give you my fields
Made of lilies,
Of lilies,
I’ll give you my fields
Made of lilies
And green.

And what will you give me
In autumn,
In autumn,
And what will you give me
In autumn
So bold?

I’ll give you my leaves
Made of maple,
Of maple,
I’ll give you my leaves
Made of maple
And gold.

And what will you give me
In winter,
In winter,
And what will you give me
In winter
So light?

I’ll give you my stars
Made of crystal,
Of crystal,
I’ll give you my stars
Made of crystal
And white.

And what will you give me
In springtime,
In springtime,
And what will you give me
In springtime
So new?

I’ll give you my nests
Made of grasses,
Of grasses,
I’ll give you my nests
Made of grasses
And blue.

            Beverly McLoughland

Treasure Words

Words are magic ---
quiet, loud.
Steady, strong
slow, proud.
Whisper, shout ---
let them out ---
hold words close,
toss afar,
see them sparkle ---
each a star.
Thread words on
a silver chain,
let words touch you
warm as rain.
written, read, said, heard ---
delight in, sip on,
treasure words.
           
                        Rebecca Kai Dotlich                                                                                                                               
Pencils

On my desk
In a small brown vase,
A bouquet of tall yellow flowers
Smelling of cedar.

            Beverly McLoughland

Monday, July 6, 2020

Poem - The Secret of My Art by Chris Harris

The Secret of My Art

"It's a beautiful whale," my teacher declared.
"This drawing will get a gold star!'

"It's a beautiful whale," my father declared,
"Your talents will carry you far!"

It's a beautiful whale," my mother declared,
"What a wonderful artist you are!"

Well, maybe it is a beautiful whale . . .
But I was trying to draw a guitar,

Chris Harris
from the book I'm Just No Good At Rhyming

Talk about "you can't judge a book by its cover! : 


Sunday, July 5, 2020

103. The Distance Between Us - Reyna Grande

Listened to Audio on Libby (TPPL)
narrated by Yareli Arizmendi
Unabridged audio (9:04)
2012
325 pgs.
Genre/Level
Finished 7/5/20
Goodreads rating: 
My rating: 4.5
Setting:

First line/s

What I posted on Goodreads:  

My comments: This story opened my eyes a bit.  A memoir, written by a self named "Mexican American" woman, who tells the story of being raised in extreme poverty in Mexico by two different sets of grandparents while her own parents were in Los Angeles.  The first half of the book tells intimate details about growing up in the kind of poverty that most Americans can't even imagine with one set of grandparents who not only didn't love them, but resented them.  Thankfully, the other grandmother with whom she lived for half her first seven years was very loving but lived in a one-room bamboo shack with a tin roof.  Reyna, three of her siblings, and sometimes her mother lived there with her grandmother.  No income.  Very little food.  Only the river in which to bathe.  Then crossing the border to LA to live with the father they've never really known, an alcoholic who is strict and aggressive with his fists and belt.  How do you come out of this upbringing with love and morality still in your cells?  Reyne Grande does.  This is an amazing story of courage and resilience and intelligence.  I must read at least one of her novels. 

Goodreads synopsis:  

Saturday, July 4, 2020

TV Show - Dark

First ever German language series on Netflix
Dubbed in English
Premiered: 2/1/17
Seasons:  3
Number of Episodes: 24
Length of Episode: about 50 minutes
IMBd: 8.8
RT Critic's Consensus Season 1:   Dark's central mystery unfolds slowly, both tense and terrifying, culminating in a creepy, cinematic triumph of sci-fi noir.
RT Critic's Consensus Season 2:  Dark's sumptuous second season descends deeper into the show's meticulously-crafted mythos and cements the series as one of streaming's strongest and strangest science fiction stories.
RT Critic's Consensus Season 3: Dark's final chapter is as thrilling as it is bewildering, bringing viewers full circle without sacrificing any of the show's narrative complexities.
: RT Audience Score:  94/95
cag: 4
Produced by: Netflix

Characters:  So, so many!  Four families:  Kahnwald, Nielsen, Tiedemann, Doppler (three generations of each).... Check out Wikipedia

My comments:  Loved Season 1, got terribly confused with seasons 2 and 3, even with making a family tree list.  By the time I got to the end of Season 3 I had pretty much figured everyone out.  Adding two worlds to the original world was hard on me, lol!  Satisfying ending. Loved the actors.  Loved that it took place in Germany.

Storyline from IMBdA family saga with a supernatural twist, set in a German town, where the disappearance of two young children exposes the relationships among four families.
 

 
 

Friday, July 3, 2020

Poem - Take a Number by Mary O'Neill

I think this is an excerpt from the original full poem, it was taken from the book Marvelous Math, edited by Lee Bennett Hopkins,  It was written by Mary O'Neill.

from
Take a Number

Imagine a world
Without mathematics:

No rulers or scales,
No inches or feet,
No dates or numbers
On house or street,
No prices or weights,
No determining heights,
No hours running through
Days and nights.
No zero, no birthdays,
No way to subtract
All of the guesswork
Surrounding the fact.
No sizes for shoes,
Or suit or hat . . .
Wouldn’t it be awful
To live like that?