What are YOU watching?
I have to admit, I am not a big TV watcher.. but in these last few months of Covid I have definitely watched more than usual. And it seems I'm not alone, but did you know that a lot of what you are watching started out on the bookshelf? Here are a few examples- and ideas on what to read next...
Hillbilly Elegy... this 2016 memoir by JD Vance immediately hit the best-seller list and then STAYED there for 73 weeks. The movie was terrific- Glenn Close deserves that Golden Globe- but a lot of what I liked about the book was the social commentary and I learned so much about the culture of where JD grew up and lived. If you liked the movie, you gotta read the book.
The Queen's Gambit..
did you know that the author of this 1983 novel, Walter Tevis, also wrote the books that became The Hustler and The Color of Money? Tevis died in 1984... thirty-six years later his stories still captivate us.
Firefly Lane.. here's a brand new one to binge, brought to you by Kristin Hannah, who also wrote The Nightingale and whose latest novel, the highly anticipated The Four Winds, just released on February 2. Set during the Dust Bowl, Hannah's heroine in this story must decide whether to try and weather the storm that is the Great Depression at home in Texas, who strike out to see if she can find a better life in California. Advance reviews were very complimentary.
Life after Bridgerton... yes, there eight novels in all, plus a few prequels, that make up this Regency Romance series (RR is actually a genre now).. but if you want to try more in this vein look to Bethany Bennett's Any Rogue Will Do, the first in her Misfits of Mayfair series in which Lady Charlotte Wentworth endures exactly one season of playing the lady she is expected before deciding to take control of her own destiny, look for book two, West End Earl, in June.. or try Grace Burrowes' Rogues to Riches series- the latest being #5- The Truth About Dukes.. Burrowes' Dukes series features the somewhat unconventional Wentworth family, headed by Quinn Wentworth who went from facing execution to being declared heir to a dukedom. The first in the series is My One and Only Duke .
Virgin River... if you like your romance a bit more present day and set among the California redwoods, then you've probably discovered this show.. if you're hooked and want more, just know that author Robyn Carr has penned 22 Virgin River novels which you can explore just by clicking on the title above.
Salt Fat Acid Heat... I'm always a bit late to TV trends, so am just now catching up with this but as an amateur foodie and a person who loves to cook vicariously through others, I'm hooked... plus it starts in Italy so yea, it had me at Ciao. I think I'm gonna have to go back just to watch them harvest and press olives again- fascinating!
Okay, time to put down the remote control and pick up a book.. I'll be back mid-month with lots of staff picks, new winter releases, what I'm loving and more...
Jamie
