A few years ago, when the new-and-better-resourced movie version of Stephen King's IT was about to come out, I was talking with my mom about, well, it. She and my sister had both re-read the book and then gone to see the movie. I mentioned that I was planning to do the same and my … Continue reading Going Off Book-ish: The ‘Shadow and Bone’ TV Series, a.k.a. What to do when “the book is always better”?
Going off Book
Going off Book: Inauguration Fashion and Bernie’s Mittens Memes
I promise this is not going to become a blog of "Sarah's random thoughts about miscellaneous things." It is, primarily, a blog devoted to books and the reading life. And I've been reading things. Great things. Stephen Graham Jones' The Only Good Indians blew my mind. It's super fun and scary and you should read … Continue reading Going off Book: Inauguration Fashion and Bernie’s Mittens Memes
Going Off Book: Gorogoa and The Shady Part of Me
I have really bad hand-eye coordination. I blame my parents (because, why not?) who did not allow us to have a video game console in the house when we were kids. However, this was during the golden age of the Nintendo and Super Nintendo so, of course, I still found ways to dabble. I played … Continue reading Going Off Book: Gorogoa and The Shady Part of Me
Going Off Book – ‘Mank’ and ‘Great British Bake Off’
I remain in the throes of the painter-centric behemoth but I have broken away from it to intake some other media from time-to-time. For today's post, some brief conversation around two pieces: David Fincher's newest film, Mank, and the quarantine season of Great British Bake Off. MankFor his newest film, director David Fincher made a … Continue reading Going Off Book – ‘Mank’ and ‘Great British Bake Off’
Going Off Book: I kind of want a ‘Neverending Story’ remake?
I stare at the boxed faces of 60 traditional-aged college students. I speak to them about David Foster Wallace and Audre Lorde, urging them to pay attention to this precious, weird, fleeting time period, to determine how they will use their power—collective and individual—to improve the world. It is impossible to know if I am … Continue reading Going Off Book: I kind of want a ‘Neverending Story’ remake?
Going Off Book: ‘Do the Right Thing’
There's a moment in Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing (1989) that sticks with me. It's the hottest day of the summer and Mookie (Lee) sails down the sidewalk, pizza delivery in hand. He's halted by Da Mayor (Ossie Davis), who he first tries to brush off until Da Mayor insists on being listened to. … Continue reading Going Off Book: ‘Do the Right Thing’
Going Off Book: Quarantine Celebrity-ing, + Notions, Late April Edition
Celebrity-ing While Quarantining During the COVID-19 pandemic, while most of us #shelterinplace, celebrities have been putting out elaborately orchestrated videos to entertain the troops, as it were, and keep up morale. And generally speaking, call me "curmudgeon" if you must, I loathe what feels to me like being pandered to by rich and famous people. … Continue reading Going Off Book: Quarantine Celebrity-ing, + Notions, Late April Edition
Going Off Book: My Christmas Movies
Holiday traditions abound and that includes the various sub-traditions within the larger ones. Sure, most of us give and open presents to celebrate Christmas but whether you do so on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning has divided many a newly-joined couple. We have food traditions but whether you and your family prioritize cookies or dinner … Continue reading Going Off Book: My Christmas Movies
Going Off Book: Memorial to a Glacier
In August, Iceland unveiled the world's first memorial to a dead glacier. Okjökull was thousands of years old but succumbed to fatal warming in less than a century. She is survived by countless sisters and brothers, all of whom face the same fate. Her memorial plaque reads, in Icelandic and English, "Ok is the first … Continue reading Going Off Book: Memorial to a Glacier
Going off Book: Midsommar
There are a couple of different ways to do smart horror movies. The first explores a specific topic, what the film is “about,” and the plot serves as scaffolding to unpack that theme. Ari Aster’s first feature, Hereditary, falls into this camp. It’s a movie about grief and how our parents’ worst traits can be … Continue reading Going off Book: Midsommar
Dogs, Coffee, & Books 