Following a fresh stream of summer reading

It may be early in the summer season but the vibe is definitely giving off halfway point there.

What with questionable weather,dreary news updates and lackluster  blockbuster films, the tone is decidedly more in the dog days zone than the good old summertime scene.

A good way to push back against such overheated weariness is to cool off with a great read and a streaming show that ties in together nicely. For example, the new season of Outlander has begun on Starz, airing on Friday nights.

As the Revolutionary War fast approaches, Jamie and Claire find themselves having to make choices that will not impede history yet also protect their loved ones from serious harm. The consequences for all are all the more dire for knowing what is supposed to be.

The Diana Gabaldon novels that this show is based upon have gained new readers while pleasing the already loyal fans for the most part, not easy to do at all. Nevertheless, this new season is truly a welcome sight to see on screen.

I’ve been a fan of the show ever since it started and yes, the books are long(I have only read a couple of them) but just one of them should tide you over nicely during many a heat wave to come:

If you’re more in the mood for something a bit shorter and snappy, Amazon does have the adaptation of Naomi Alderson’s The Power fully available.

This story is set in our world where across the globe, young women and girls are discovering that they possess an electrical energy that literally changes the power balance between the sexes.

The possible impact of this sudden shift is explored through various characters such as a politician (Toni Collette) who wants to see how this can alter her path of ambition to a journalist (Toheeb Jimoh) getting the ultimate story of the century and the daughter of a crime boss(Ria Zmitrowicz) looking to being truly in charge of her life.

The novel was amazing and hopefully, this series has lived up to such the embarrassment of riches that the source material provides:

However, for those of you looking for some book club fare, Reese Witherspoon and company have something right up your literary alley.

Jennifer Garner takes the lead in Apple + TV ‘s miniseries, The Last Thing He Told Me, based on Laura Dave’s bestselling novel chosen for Reese’s Hello Sunshine Book Club. Garner plays Hannah, a woman who discovers that she doesn’t know her husband Owen(Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) as well as she thinks she does, especially when he disappears seemingly without a trace.

In order to find him along with some answers, Hannah has to team up with Bailey(Angourie Rice), her teen stepdaughter who is just as confused and concerned about her father. Can they locate him before those out to destroy their family unit do so?

I really like how Reese Witherspoon has been very forward thinking in bringing good books to cinematic life, whether it’s a big Hollywood movie or a made for streaming showcase. I haven’t read every book that’s been highlighted in her club but many of them I have enjoyed and anticipate seeing sometime soon on screen:

Of course, it’s going to be awhile before many of our favorite shows return due to the Writers Guild strike (which may be followed by an actor’s strike as well). It’s ridiculous that these top executives refuse to properly pay the people who are making these vast fortunes for them but selfishness and greed know no bounds, it seems.

Frankly, it will be worth the wait as not only will many of us find time to catch up on shows that we haven’t seen before (Only Murders in the Building and The Mandalorian are on my list!) but catch up on our reading as well. 

For now, we still have some book based entertainment to engage in and here’s to the fall season where back to school time starts off with Lessons in Chemistry, courtesy of author Bonnie Garmus and Brie Larson: