While we do love us some books, believe it not, we do have a life outside of reading. So to highlight our other pop culture interests, on the last Monday of each month, we each will highlight three other “happenings” from the last month. Big events on favorite TV shows, new movies we’ve watched, old movies we’ve “discovered,” etc. Pretty much whatever we found of particular interest outside of the book world during the last month. Share your own favorite things in the comments!
(We’re posting this one a week early since next week we are devoting our Monday post to a re-cap of ALA 2025!)
Serena’s Picks
Show: “Outlast”
Ever wonder what would happen if you mixed the serious, skilled approach to outdoors survival that is required for “Alone” and mixed it with the social “strategy” trash heap that is “Survivor?” Well boy, oh, boy, do I have the show for you! My husband and I binged this over a few nights, hating it, and ourselves, for every bit of it. This is a show that tries to take itself seriously while also being so incredibly ridiculous that you can’t help but laugh at almost all of the people involved. It’s also a whiplash experience from some of the actual hardships of living in the wild (the cold, for example) and the extreme craziness that is some of these peoples’ “strategy” towards the teamwork portion of it. I can’t really recommend it unless you’re looking for trashy tv. But if you are, this is a perfect example of it!
Video Game: “Mass Effect”
I only got into playing video games fairly regularly in the last ten years or so, so there are several older RPGs (my favorite type) that I haven’t gotten around to. And as I’m in a bit of a lull before my next anticipated release comes out, I decided to try out the Legendary version of “Mass Effect.” I’m still finishing up the first game but am definitely enjoying it. Yes, it shows its age with the repeated layouts for buildings and such, but the main story is compelling and I like a lot of the companion characters. That said, I think the next two games are supposed to be even better, so I’m excited to get through this one and see what comes next in the story.
Movie: “Mission Impossible – The Final Reckoning”
It’s been soooo long since the first part of this movie came out. So long in fact that they dropped the “Part 1/Part 2” bit from the title altogether! But if there’s ever a movie franchise to prioritize seeing in the theaters, it’s these. And this one came through as always! Nonstop action, nonstop stunts! It’s also the first time that Tom Cruise was starting to look a bit older. Not in the quality of his stunt work, mind, just generally. I was also a bit sad to see that the balance between action elements and the other characters felt a bit off. Tom Cruise is great, yes, but what has made this franchise so fun has also come down to the team he works with. And here, there just didn’t seem to be as much time given to them as I would have liked. That said, it was still well worth the ticket price and I’m sure most fans of the series will be happy with it!
Kate’s Picks
TV Show: “Criminal Minds: Evolution”
Man, I never thought that I would still be into this reboot of a procedural that I didn’t REALLY get into when it was on, but lemme tell ya. The moment the first episode of the new season of “Criminal Minds: Evolution” dropped, I made a NIGHT of it. The BAU can’t seem to catch any breaks, given that Elias Voight, aka rampant serial killer Sicarius, was attacked in prison and now has legit amnesia, and they have to help him recover his memories in hopes that he can help THEM catch more serial killers. But since he has NO recollection of how he is or what he’s done, his (seeming) helplessness is making the team feel conflicted. Oh, and J.J. is also going through it when a horrible tragedy hits her family. Is it all a little melodramatic? Yes. Do I care? Not really! Melodrama is my jam, and this show is over the top in its sinisterness but I still find it to be a guilty pleasure watch. I’m not sure what I think about Voight’s sudden memory loss and supposed redemption arc (he’s murdered dozens of people, he can’t be redeemed can he?), but hey, if it gets more Zach Gilford on my screen, I’m not complaining.
TV Show: “King of the Hill”
It’s that time again! That time where I devote one of my non-book highlights to something that I’ve talked about before. But I decided to revisit one of my all time favorite shows “King of the Hill” for a couple reasons. One was that I was trying to stave off a huge anxiety spike like I had last summer, and a comfort show seemed like the perfect reason. Another is that the reboot is coming out in August (I will admit I’m skeptical; I just don’t know if it will hit the same way all these years later, especially with a few cast members no longer with us – see the next point), though I wanted to get in the right mindset. And 3), which is the saddest reason, Jonathan Joss, who voiced one of my favorite characters John Redcorn, was murdered at the start of the month, which is so awful and sad that it just felt right to keep watching. So I’m rewatching. And it’s still great, even if some of it feels bittersweet.
Documentary: “Titan: The OceanGate Submersible Disaster”
The Titan Submersible Disaster happened about two years ago (almost to the date: Serena and I were starting our 2023 ALA trip when it was all going down and we leave for Philadelphia on Thursday for ALAAC25), and I remember being totally enthralled and horrified as it was happening. Because of this I was obviously going to watch a documentary about it, and now “Titan: The OceanGate Submersible Disaster” is out and I jumped right in. This documentary is a pretty good examination of the history of OceanGate, its ambitious (and borderline sociopathic) founder Stockton Gates, and the disaster that claimed multiple lives and captured the world’s attention. I thought it was a solid background that gave a lot of good history and context, while also critiquing not only the capitalistic greed and cost cutting with Gates in charge (as well as a need for fame and his abusive treatment of anyone who would get in his way), but also the people left behind to mourn the deaths of their loved ones. I also liked the way it framed how so many people around the world are still so interested in the Titanic, and how far people will go to get a piece of that fame.
The Library Ladies 