Here’s my latest roundup of what’s out there…

the great and the not so good…

books…

The Spy and The Traitor The true story about a Russian spy, who’s father was in the KGB. He worked for M16 in the 1980’s. It’s very good , it’s just a slow read. I started it about a month ago, and I’m still not done. It picks up as it gets more treacherous, and I can’t wait to see how it ends.

A Thousand Splendid Suns This is by the author of The Kite Runner. I have heard it’s as good or better. I have never read either. Like I said last time, I am going back and reading older books that I missed the first time around. It takes place in Afghanistan, and centers on two women living in Kabul. I have wanted to read it since all hell broke loose there last year. Now I will.

The Lost Vintage This takes place in Burgundy, France, where I am headed in a few weeks. I thought it would be a great read on the plane and while I’m there. It sounds a little like The Nightingale, which I loved. It gets great reviews on Goodreads.

ON MY RADAR… Mingo (still haven’t read it), The Paris Apartment, The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post (waiting for paperback), The Postmistress of Paris, Cloud Cuckoo Land, Black Cake, The Paper Palace and more…so many books, so little discipline…

SCreen…

Severence I thought this was great. It’s about a company that practices and promotes severance, where some of its’ employees elect to undergo a procedure that surgically divides their memories between work and their personal lives. A mysterious colleague shows up and they begin to discover the truth about their jobs. On Apple TV.

Ozark The second half of this final season is just as anxiety producing as the others. I mean Marty is just a walking bundle of nerves. Things just never seem to let up for them. Julia Garner as Ruth, is superb as always and I hated the series ending. Just sayin. On Netflix.

1883 If you haven’t seen this prequel to Yellowstone, then you need to start it tonight. It’s excellent. The narration by the Dutton daughter is amazing and she becomes your favorite character. It follows the Dutton family as they travel through untamed America from west to Montana from Texas. On Paramount+ .

Outlander This season follows Jamie and Claire as they continue to navigate life in colonial America. Every time I think I’m getting bored with it, it gets good again. Great end of season cliff hanger… On Starz.

Gilded Age Ok I wasn’t so impressed with this. It was entertaining and interesting, but not exciting and fun. Nothing like Downton Abby. One of the reasons I like period pieces is for the costumes. These were not great. Everything looked like cheap shiny polyester. On HBO Max.

Windfall This was a movie that I thought was well done. It’s not very long but it’s a slow burn. A man breaks into a tech billionaire’s vacation home and when he and his wife show up unexpectedly, things go sideways. It has a haunting conclusion. On Netflix.

We Crashed I liked this. Chip and I watched it and I was not familiar with this story. It’s about the uber eccentric couple who started WeWork, and its’ rise and fall. Jared Leto plays the charismatic narcissist really well, and Anne Hathaway plays his somewhat crazed wife. Based on the podcast of the same name by Wondery. On Apple TV.

Delicious I loved this little movie. It was a period piece about the first restaurant in France, just before the revolution. It’s about a chef who is sent packing, ends up in the countryside and decides to serve food near the highway, to passersby. With the help of a young woman he frees himself from servitude. Every scene looks like a painting and the acting was very good. On Amazon Prime.

Anatomy of A Scandal I liked this short series. Sienna Miller is so gorgeous and just the right amount of cool. She plays the privileged wife of a powerful politician, whose life starts to unravel after charges of a serious crime by her husband are alleged. Her husband is a handsome jerk, and the real stars of the show are the interior of her fabulous house and her wardrobe. It was somewhat predictable, but still entertaining. On Netflix.

Julia This might be my favorite of the bunch. It is about Julia Child and her marriage, and the beginning of her show on PBS, The French Chef. It is set in the 1960’s and tells how she pioneered the cooking show genre. The acting and costumes are just great. It stars Bebe Neuwirth and David Hyde Pierce from Frasier fame, and Sarah Lancashire as Julia. She’s got the voice down. On HBO Max.

👉🏼 If you haven’t watched (the final season of) Killing Eve, or The French Dispatch by Wes Anderson or Shining Vale (on Starz - started out funny), don’t bother.

ON MY RADAR… Gaslit, Shining Girls, Roar, The Flight Attendant, The Dropout, Hacks and more…

FEEDS…

Here are a few of my favorite instagram feeds… some are hilarious and some are gorgeous.

@sharonsantoni She runs the magazine, My French Country Home. Most of her feed is images of her home and the surrounding countryside. Gorgeous.

@itsslavik and @_aubreyfisher oh good god! I could watch them dance for hours, I mean minutes…

@jamiebeck.co She is a talented photographer who lives in Provence. She did a series of still lifes during COVID lockdown that are just phenomenal. She looks like a gorgeous model for Ruben. Her photos are breathtaking.

@celestebarber An Australian comedienne who pokes fun at videos of tall thin models doing silly things. She does photos and videos, but the videos are the best. LOL!

@tulipinadesign Crazy beautiful wedding florals and gorgeous bouquets. It’s the feed of Kiana Underwood, who wrote Color Me Floral.