Bingeworthy TV: Broadchurch

The British crime drama Broadchurch has an impressive cast of talented actors, and viewers are likely to recognize several faces including David Tennant and Olivia Colman, who play the main investigators. The series is set in a fictional coastal town of Broadchurch whose small community is rocked by the murder of an 11-year-old boy.

Ellie Miller (Colman) has recently returned from a family vacation to discover that she's been passed over for promotion in favor of Alec Hardy (Tennant), an outsider with a poor reputation. So tensions are already high when Danny Latimer's body is discovered. The ensuing investigation uncovers painful secrets and divides the town.

Broadchurch is an incredibly tense and rather depressing series, so the use of striking natural visuals (and occasional bits of humor) helped greatly. After the emotional roller coaster of the first season, it took me some time before I was able to pick up the second season, which delves into the trail of Danny's murderer. And while it's hard to revisit these characters and their pain, the compelling storytelling provides a rewarding experience.

~Sarah, Adult Services

Staff Review: "The Wanderers" by Meg Howrey

The Wanderers by Meg Howrey was one of the books I most enjoyed reading in 2017, and like The Martian by Andy Weir, I think it's a book that will appeal to readers who ordinarily wouldn't pick up a book described as "science fiction." However, unlike the fast-paced survival story of The Martian, The Wanderers is a quieter, more character-driven book.

In the near future, the multinational company Prime Space (think SpaceX) is in the final stages of preparing a manned mission to Mars. They've selected a crew of potential astronauts who will undergo an incredibly realistic 17-month simulation called Eidolon. Eidolon will serve as a test of both the equipment and the humans involved. The three astronauts serve as our primary narrators, but chapters are also told from the perspectives of four other characters tied to the project.

Helen Kane is a well-respected and experienced American astronaut (I couldn't help but picture Iowa's own Peggy Whitson), and her adult daughter Mireille (a struggling actress) also narrates. Sergei Kuznetsov is a stoic cosmonaut whose ex-wife and teen sons recently moved to the United States, one of whom also narrates. Yoshihiro Tanaka is our third and youngest astronaut and his wife Madoka is the sixth narrator. The final narrator is a Prime Space employee involved in monitoring Eidolon.

Howrey's writing is poetic or dreamlike, and I greatly admire her ability to explore the internal workings of her characters' minds while creating a sense of tension. It's interesting to experience a significant scientific achievement from such an emotional and psychological perspective. There's a lot to chew on in this book, and I think it would make a great selection for a book club discussion.

~Sarah, Adult Services

Bingeworthy TV: The Good Place

When I saw the previews for The Good Place I figured it would last five or six episodes and then be cancelled. A show about people dying and then waking up in a utopia doesn't sound very exciting or funny.  But, I love Kristen Bell so I thought I would give it a chance.

Wow, this show is just a fantastic way to spend 30 minutes.  The cast is incredible, especially Kristen Bell as "Eleanor" and D'Arcy Carden as "Janet."

Eleanor Shellstrop wakes up in the The Good Place and is so confused.  She wasn't a good person, why is she in The Good Place? Michael, the architect of The Good Place (essentially an angel), has her confused with another Eleanor Shellstrop, one who should be in The Good Place.  He introduces her to Chidi, Tahani, and Jianyu, other recent additions. They all seem to have been wonderful people when alive, or were they?  Then there is Janet. Janet is basically the computer that runs The Good Place.  In The Good Place, everything is wonderful, you find your soulmate, you live in your dream house, everything is coming up sunshine, roses, and unicorns.

Except it isn't. The Good Place seems to be broken so Eleanor and crew try to figure out how to
fix the problem.  To that end, Eleanor decides that she has to learn to be a better person, with Chidi as her teacher.  The alternative to The Good Place is The Bad Place and nobody wants to end up there.  I'm so glad this show was picked up for a second season, because season two has been every bit as fantastic as season one. 

As a side note, one of the things that makes this show so amazing is that nobody can swear in The Good Place.  Eleanor, in particular, likes to swear and the words don't come out as she intends (e.g., mother forking shirt balls). It seems so effortless for Kristin Bell that I find myself wondering if the swearing system from The Good Place has seeped into her real life. 

~Amy, Adult Services