Bingeworthy TV: Kim's Convenience

When I find something that makes me smile, I just want to share it with everyone. This means that I've told pretty much every friend and family member I have about how great Kim's Convenience is.

Kim's Convenience is a Canadian comedy series focused on the Kim family and the convenience store that they own and live above. And yes, it is based on a real Toronto convenience store that you can visit in real life (a possible road trip I have really considered).

Mr. and Mrs. Kim immigrated to Canada from South Korea and are often referred to by the Korean terms Appa (dad) and Umma/Eomma (mom). Janet, their youngest child, lives at home while attending art school and working part-time in the store. Jung, their oldest, left home as a teenager after clashing with his parents and the law. He's since turned his life around and works at a local car rental, but is still estranged from his father.

There's plenty of inter-generational and intercultural conflict and confusion to explore, and the series does so with care and humor. The series also allows its characters to grow and change from episode to episode, which gives an overall lighthearted show depth.

~Sarah, adult services

Bingeworthy TV: Great British Baking Show

I'm not going to pretend I have any talent for baking, but I do enjoy it when I somehow manage to follow a recipe and turn out something edible. I like eating good food; I'm just not invested in learning how to create it for myself.

But somehow, in watching the determined, talented bakers of The Great British Baking Show, I've found myself thinking, "Hmmm, maybe I could make that..." Despite not always quite understanding what they are talking about.

With the judges and bakers throwing around words like "choux," "lamination," and "baps," it can be hard to tell where the technical cooking terms end and the quirks of British English begin. More ambitious viewers can seek out cookbooks and how-to videos from the judges, the rest of us can just enjoy the atmosphere.

The humor is sometimes a bit adult, but I think it's probably still a good choice for families to view together as the show's overall warmth and good spirit override the occasional innuendo. It's so very heartwarming to watch the bakers try their absolute hardest to achieve seemingly impossible tasks, while still taking the time to cheer on and assist their competitors.

I highly recommend The Great British Baking Show to anyone looking for a sweet escape from the hassles of real life that won't add inches to your waistline.

~Sarah, adult services

Staff Review: Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

When a book I've read becomes a movie or a TV series, there's one important question I ask myself: will they do the story justice or will everything be changed and ruined? I'm here today to (hopefully) help you answer that question for one book turned movie.

If you read an enjoyed Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan, should you go see the movie? Yes.

If you've seen and loved the movie, should you check out the book? Maybe.

I had Kevin Kwan's Crazy Rich Asians on my To Read list since I first saw the (original) glittery cover five years ago. I finally found the time to read it this summer because a) I've reached peak wedding season in my social group and b) I really, really wanted to finish before seeing the movie. It can be frustrating to watch a movie and have events or characters you loved in the book removed or changed, but I find that if I watch a movie first, I'm less likely to read the book since I more or less already know what's going to happen.

Crazy Rich Asians combines rom-com and soap opera plots with descriptions of extreme luxury, and just a touch of modern fairy tale fantasy. As a reader, the numerous mentions of luxury brand names could be a little bit exhausting, and this is one area where the movie surpasses the book. It's much easier and less distracting to show a character wearing a gorgeous, expensive outfit (or car or house) than it is to read several sentences describing that outfit.

As a reader, it helped that one of the main characters, Rachel Chu, was equally out of place in this world, and that several of the characters more intensely invested in over-the-top consumerism were used as comic relief. Not that Kwan was arguing that wealth = bad, more of conspicuous wealth = bad manners.

Some of the other changes between page and screen were more significant, but I felt like they made sense for the story and characters. I don't want to spoil anyone, so I'll try to be general. The book explores the ways that extreme wealth and unequal power balances can harm relationships by comparing several different characters' experiences, while the movie narrows its focus primarily to Rachel (our average woman) and Nick (our dashing prince).

Born in China, but raised in America by her single mother, Rachel has created a comfortable life for herself in New York City as an Economics professor. When her handsome, fellow-academic boyfriend, Nick Young, invites her to spend their summer break visiting his friends and family in Singapore, she's happy to join him on an adventure. Nick, however, did not tell Rachel that his family and friends are the elite of Singapore, nor did he warn his family about their relationship, leaving his mother to assume that Rachel is a gold-digging embarrassment.

I enjoyed Kwan's descriptions of his native Singapore, the foods, places, peoples, and hints of its history and culture. I'm also a sucker for a good love story, and I feel like Rachel and Nick earn their happy ending, but that Kwan left enough potential for drama to justify the two sequels. In fact, it's fairly likely that I'll be picking up China Rich Girlfriend (book two) to read next summer.

~Sarah, Adult Services