Reading and Roaming
BINGEING ON CRIME DCI Banks (Amazon Prime) This detective series is a BBC production from several years ago. I think it is excellent. Alan Banks is a middle-aged chief inspector in Yorkshire with a dour demeanor and a sometimes-sour look. You’d think he’d be hardnosed, but underneath that façade, he is compassionate toward victims and diplomatic when necessary. Yet, he …
Continue reading “Tidy Tidbits: Escaping in Place”
RECENT VIEWING Soldier Father Son This New York Times documentary is moving and extremely well crafted. Brian Eisch is a single parent of Isaac and Joey and a career soldier fighting the war in Afghanistan. When he sustains a serious leg injury, he returns home to a life very different from the one he had envisioned. He’s in constant pain, …
Continue reading “Maine Time: Viewing & Reading”
UPSTATE NEW YORK MYSTERY Hid from Our Eyes by Julia Spencer-Fleming My favorite mystery writers include Elizabeth George, Deborah Crombie, and Jacqueline Winspear, but I think Julia Spencer-Fleming is my most favorite. Her mystery novels are so much more than crime procedurals and almost always insert a contemporary social issue into the mix. Clare Fergusson is an Episcopal …
Continue reading “At Home: Reading & Viewing”
ON STAGE The Sound of Music You’ve probably seen at least one stage production of The Sound of Music or the movie starring Julie Andrews, but did you pay attention to the year and the context? I don’t think I did until we saw the superb performance at the Asolo Theater. This is a darker, more nuanced play and …
Continue reading “Tidy Tidbits: Culture Notes”
