Paging through some bookish TV

If you’re like me at the moment, staying safe as can be inside with a seriously snowy blizzard wailing outside, then making plans to check out some upcoming book based TV sounds ideal indeed.

PBS is the perfect place to start here and set to debut on March 22 is The Forsytes , a new adaptation of the John Galsworthy award winning saga of novels and stories covering more than one generation of a wealthy Victorian family in life, love and loss.

The cast includes such notables as Francesca Annis, Stephen Moyer and Elinor Tomlinson and unlike prior versions, this series seems to be planning to cover all of the source material as a second season has already been announced.

If you’re a fan of The Gilded Age, this drama should quench that thirst rather nicely, I should think(maybe not in the HBO style but still simmering with  romantic intrigue nonetheless):

Starting even sooner than that is a new take on Alexandre Dumas’ classic tale of revenge, The Count of Monte Cristo, beginning on March 1.

Sam Clafin stars as Edmond Dante’s, unjustly imprisoned on a remote island institution for years yet with the aid of a clerical fellow prisoner (Jeremy Irons) is able to escape and claim a hidden fortune.

Now, in his new identity, Edmond seeks vengeance on those who wronged him but can he truly reclaim what was lost from his former life?

This is an eight part series , so plenty of emotional depth and detail from the original novel should be rather abundant here, not to mention the quest to avenge some grievous wrongs feels very much in the spirit of the times we’re living in these days:

Now, I don’t have BritBox but it might be worthwhile to check it out later this year because a new Jane Austen themed series is on their schedule for 2026.

Based on Janice Hadlow’s 2020 novel, The Other Bennet Sister does more than revisit Pride & Prejudice; it places Mary Bennet(Ella Bruccoleri) at the center of this story as she tries to figure out her own place in the world, not to mention the family line-up.

I know Mary isn’t the most favored Bennet sister amongst the fans but she does deserve a little bit of the spotlight and hopefully this ten part series gives her some moments to shine. Plus, having Richard E. Grant as Mr. Bennet is a true bonus, if you ask me(yes. he’s my favorite Austen parent and I will not be persuaded otherwise!):

In the meanwhile, I will continue to enjoy PBS programming and I do heartily recommend signing on to PBS Passport as it’s very reasonably priced as well as contributing to such a good cause like quality television in such times as these.

Most recently, my sibling and I watched the season six finale of All Creatures Great and Small, the kind of show that she would usually refer to as a “British coma” yet this heartfelt series set in a time and place far from our own has become one of our favorite shared experiences of late.

Public TV may not be everyone’s cup of tea but it does come in handy when looking for a relief from our everyday troubles and/or some insights into the wider world. Hopefully with all the strife going on all around us, one of the better things that gets us through and remains relatively intact is PBS with viewers old and new to keep tuning in:

 

Considering my BOTY bonus read

One of the benefits that I’ve enjoyed from Book of the Month Club is their Book of the Year(BOTY) prize which gives both authors and readers a nice little treat during this time of year.

BOTM members vote from a list of twenty titles from the past year from which five are chosen as the main contenders. The winner is announced by the end of February, which gives that particular writer a cash prize (the runners-up get one as well) as well as an extra bit of publicity.

For BOTM members, we get to choose a free special edition of either the winner or the other contenders for our March box.

 In my case, I have three of the nominees from Book of the Month but have only finished one. Layne Fargo’s The Favorites is stuck on one of my in progress reading piles ( got to unpause that book!) and Bury My Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab was a holiday gift so too soon for that book!

The book that I finished (and voted for) was First Time Caller by B.K. Borison, an enchanting novel inspired by the classic romcom Sleepless in Seattle. Single mom Lucie gets more than she bargained for when her daughter makes a call to a local radio show, asking for help in setting her mother up with a Mr. Right.

Since the radio show in question is in dire need of a ratings boost, DJ Aiden reluctantly agrees to make the search for Lucie’s perfect partner an ongoing series. 

As time goes by, however, both Lucie and Aiden find themselves tuning into each other’s hearts rather than seeking out a new love. Can this on-air romance become a n off the charts hit or be banished to the emotional ratings basement there?

It’s a delightful read, even if Sleepless in Seattle is not your favorite Nora Ephron movie(more of a You’ve Got Mail gal myself). Nonetheless, First Time Caller would make an excellent film about life, love and awkward moments between friends and lovers yet for now, it plays well in the mental matinee of your heart:

That being said, this leaves me with a choice of two books here; the first being Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy.

Set on a remote island used to house a seed bank(storage for seeds needed for replanting in case of food emergencies), Dominic Salt and his trio of children are now the only residents left due to the dangers of rising sea levels.

When a mysterious woman named Rowan washes up on shore, her arrival stirs up fear and tension. Even as the family helps their new guest to recover, a number of secrets and lies are battened down for their mutual protection.

As it turns out, Rowan has a few secrets of her own to look after as well. With the threat from the ocean putting them all in peril, can Rowan and Dominic work together to save what they all hold dear?

This does sound intriguing and I did hear plenty of critical praise from readers and reviewers alike about this book. Also, this story is from a newer genre called climate fiction (I think you can guess what that’s all about) and I would like to give that a try.

Plus, the island setting is actually based on a real research protected island (Macquarie Island, home to penguins also) which adds a realistic cherry on top of this saltwater story sundae:

The choice is Florence Knapp’s debut novel, The Names. The story is divided into three separate time lines as the newborn son of British couple Cora and Gordon experiences life with one of the three names available for choosing on his birth certificate.

If his mother had given him Julian, he would have been raised in Ireland with his  maternal grandmother yet if given his father’s name, would be living in his paternal home under rather harsh circumstances.

His older sister Maia wanted to name him Bear, which might’ve been the best choice of all but which name really does lead him and his loved ones down a future path that is best for all?

Debut novels are a weakness of mine and this one has a very creative premise indeed. The themes of family dysfunction combined with the notion that one’s name can make or break you is not an easy balancing act for any writer but from what I hear, Knapp achieves this with a rather deft touch.

Both of these books are quite literary in terms of style and happen to be celebrity book club picks(WDS is a Reese’s Book Club, The Names was a Read with Jenna selection). Choosing between them is tricky yet either one should provide some serious food for thought and a quality meal at that:

The choice between two well written books to get for free is a luxury these days to be sure yet I simply don’t want to grab at something because it’s readily available.

Choosing a book is an investment in your time and headspace( not to mention a shelf spot) and while I do read for fun , I also want to spend my mental coin wisely. No doubt either title will be well worth it. However, I will probably wait and see which of the five BOTY nominees win before making my final decision.

In the meanwhile, this does give me something to look forward to at the end of this short month and while I’m rooting for First Time Caller, my congratulations are for all of the books up for this award this time around.

The saying about so many books, so little time is totally true especially for folks with subscription boxes. When it comes to those monthly selections however, creativity is not just found between the pages-it can make bookish storage quite the art form worth admiring:

 

Falling in love with my library haul

While Valentine’s Day is nearly upon us, my big plans for this year’s celebration are all about reading.

Specifically, diving into my most recent library haul that included a nice surprise at my local Little Free Library (more on that in a moment). During this incredibly arctic winter, books have become more of a warm comfort than ever before, plus my best romances in life have always been page turners!

The excitement that I felt last week when finding Kelly Bishop’s delightful memoir The Third Gilmore Girl on the shelf was truly passionate in a pop culture sense there.

Being a fan of the now iconic TV series (which celebrated its twenty fifth anniversary last year), Emily Gilmore as critical mother and loving grandmother to Lorelai and Rory was a key component to the success of the show and one of my favorites.

Bishop, who had a thriving career on stage and screen beforehand, gives her personal take on the GG experience as well as her own life and times. While I am interested in seeing how she got along with co-stars such as Lauren Graham and the late great Edward Herrmann, learning more about this grand lady herself should be an adventure worth exploring indeed:

Another pulse pounding moment for me that day was finding a copy of Long Bright River by Liz Moore as well.

This Philadelphia set story follows a pair of sisters, one a police officer, the other an addict on the streets. Mickey hates running into her sister Kacey while patrolling but can’t stop looking out for her.

When Kacey goes missing for longer than usual, it is up to Mickey to try and find her, only to be caught up in a gruesome string of local murders that may or may not be connected to her sister’s situation.

While I haven’t seen the limited series adaptation of the book, I did get a brief start in Moore’s big bestseller The God of the Woods and wound up putting it on pause. I’m hoping that LBR might revive my interest in TGOTW before that book gets an adaptation onscreen:

Before I mention the last library book of this bunch, I do want to talk about the LFL find that I had there.

As I dropped off a Maeve Binchy title (Chestnut Street, which is fine but not a must have for me), my sheer amazement in seeing Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop tucked in there was palatable to say the least. This translated novel by Hwang Bo-Reum was all the literary rage a couple of years ago but I just never got a chance to read it for myself until now, that is!

This charming tale of Yeongju, who flees the corporate world to open up the small bookstore of the title, and the friends she makes along the way was well appreciated during it’s initial release yet with the way things are going these days, I have a feeling that the gentle sentiments of this story are more needed right now.

Plus, it sounds like the kind of low key engaging drama that folks would enjoy tuning into, with it’s takes on life, love and literature as a welcome relief from the hectic pace of reality in all forms:

Back to my haul, the last book that I added to the pile was the final entry in Nora Roberts’ Lost Bride trilogy, The Seven Rings.

Yes, I now have all three volumes on loan and this set combines two of my personal reading challenges for the year(finishing my library reads/Return to Roberts). 

However , that’s not the only reason for choosing this particular trilogy here; some of it has to do with the upcoming release of the new Wuthering Heights movie. I know that as of this writing, there’s a big debate over the merits of this film for better or worse (especially the latter) and I have two things to say on this subject:

1) I am not a big Brontë fan (read Jane Eyre several times as a kid and liked it) but do like some Gothic flair from time to time in my stories. The Lost Bride trilogy has a haunted mansion with ghost brides and a new owner dealing with the ancient curse that set this whole thing off and that is really more my jam at the moment.

2) I read WH once as an adult and honestly, found it rather dreary. Yes, it’s a classic worth reading but Cathy and Heathcliff are just too miserable both together and apart for me to  want to revisit them either on or off the page.

I have seen a couple of film versions of the book before (did like the one with Ralph Finnes and Juliette Binoche)so I suspect that I’m not missing out on much with what sounds like a very overheated and overdone production at best. 

If you’re looking forward to this new Wuthering Heights for your holiday weekend entertainment, I wish you well. Hope you find the fun that you seek from it and plenty of popcorn on hand. As for me, my library finds are the best Valentine and the best version of WH is the Kate Bush song:

 

Back in the BOTM groove

Since it has been decreed that six more weeks of winter are our weatherly lot, it’s a good thing that I started my Book of the Month Club subscription right back up this February!

Having a pile of good books on hand does make the colder seasons fly by indeed and while I was eager to get my BOTM groove back on, this month’s main selections weren’t really speaking to me.

Fortunately, they also offer Member Favorites (books from prior months) to choose from instead, so I went with The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark. The title character is Olivia Dumont, who is requested by her late father Vincent Taylor to complete his final book.

Vincent, in addition to being a popular horror writer, also has a past terror of his own dating back to the summer of 1975. His two siblings died tragically, with rumors insisting that Vincent was the one responsible for their mutual demise. No proof was ever found to make that notion true or false.

Olivia kept the fact of her connection to Vincent secret for personal and professional reasons but with this big assignment that could really help her out financially, she’s about to get way more than she bargained for here.

I’ve heard great word of mouth regarding this book and glad to have a chance to enjoy this chilling thrill ride for myself:

As for the add-ons, my first pick was How to Kill a Guy in Ten Dates by Shailee Thompson.

Jamie Prescott is a film student focusing more on her horror movie thesis than any form of social life when her roommate Lauren asks her to join in on a speed dating session.

Figuring it might be good to blow off some study steam, Jamie decided to go but soon enough regrets her choice of wardrobe and footwear. When a slasher strikes the dating event, she’s willing to use her scary movie knowledge to survive but a dress with pockets and comfortable shoes would certainly make this situation a little easier!

I like the notion of a horror romcom and with Valentine’s Day coming up, this dark comedy sounds ideal. After all, what’s more scary than speed dating, am I right?:

For something much more sentimental, my last choice was Libby Page’s This Book Made Me Think of You.

A few months after the death of her beloved husband  Joe, Tilly Nightingale gets a phone call from her local bookstore that there’s a birthday present waiting for her.

The owner, Alf,  explains that Joe had set aside twelve books for Tilly, each one with a handwritten letter included . Since she had stopped reading due to Joe’s illness, going back to books for pleasure seemed pointless. However, since this was his last gift to her, Tilly  decides to try again.

Between the books and a new found friendship with Alf, Tilly starts to appreciate both books and life once more yet she wants to do more. By setting out on a couple of book based adventures, can she connect more to the wider world or should Tilly know when to put a bookmark in her page turning progress there?

This just feels like a charmingly bittersweet read and with the author noting that one of her inspirations for this novel is You’ve Got Mail, how could I resist?:

 Between the bitter cold and the bitterness in our daily headlines, this is a hard winter for sure. It does good to have something positive to look forward to as well as keep your mind from getting too bogged down by stress.

For example, this year happens to be the 100 year anniversary of BOTM and they’re doing certain things to celebrate such as release special Centennial Editions of past picks- the first one out this month is All Quiet on the Western Front-and free bookmarks that highlight past favorites to boot.

The bookmark that I received this month was for a 1981 novel called Heading West by Doris Betts. It tells the tale of a small town librarian being swept up into a journey with a mysterious stranger and a hitchhiker that changes all of their lives in one way or another.

I don’t know if this particular book will be reissued by BOTM or not but I am curious about it and might see if my local library has a copy available. At any rate, it’s good to have a new interest on the horizon as we head towards warmer (and hopefully better) days to come: