The Weekend Read No. 27
Let the distractions begin!
FILM
The Christophers
NEON
With a cast that includes Sir Ian McKellen, Michaela Coel, Jessica Gunning and James Corden, this estranged family drama in the world of art forgery is something which I feel I need right now.
Merrily We Roll Along
Netflix
The Tony-winning Broadway revival is finally available to watch in the comfort of your own home. Jonathan Groff, Daniel Radcliffe and Lindsay Mendez is quite possibly the friend group we need to insert ourselves into this week to leave the world behind.
Hamlet
Universal Pictures UK / Vertical
Normally a “modern imagining” of anything Shakespeare would make me cringe, but Riz Ahmed and director, Aneil Karia is another story all together.
TELEVISION
The Audacity
AMC
Perhaps we don’t need another send-up of Silicon Valley culture but Billy Magnussen has the chops to entice us regardless. With some writer/producer DNA from Succession and Better Call Saul, this will be worth at least a peak…
Big Mistakes
Netflix
Many of us have been waiting less-than-patiently for a new series from Dan Levy. The comedy centers on “two deeply incapable siblings become the most disorganized duo in organized crime.” Yes. Yes, I will.
THEATRE
Cats: The Jellicle Ball
Broadway
Andrew Lloyd Weber has never been so effusive. This is certainly the most talked-about show of the season and a wonderful homage to (and departure from) the classic musical.
BOOKS
This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me
Tor
With vibes that bring to mind The NeverEnding Story, this new novel (the first in a planned series) immediately hit the New York Times best-seller list. Our friends at Book Curator Book Club chose this one early on. Friends with taste!
I LOVE this premise. If you call me this weekend and I don’t answer the phone, this is why…
When Maggie wakes up cold, filthy, and naked in a gutter, it doesn't take her long to recognize Kair Toren, a city she knows intimately from the pages of the famously unfinished dark fantasy series she's been obsessively reading and re-reading while waiting years for the final novel.
Her only tools for navigating this gritty world of rival warlords, magic, and mayhem? Her encyclopedic knowledge of the plot, the setting, and the characters' ambitions and fates. But while she quickly discovers she cannot be killed (though many will try!), the same cannot be said for the living, breathing characters she's coming to love―a motley band that includes a former lady’s maid, a deadly assassin, various outrageous magical creatures, and a dangerously appealing soldier. Soon, instead of trying to get home, she finds herself enmeshed in the schemes―and attentions―of dueling princes, dukes, and villains, all while trying to save them and the kingdom of Rellas from the way she knows their stories will end: in a cataclysmic war.
For fans of Samantha Shannon, Danielle L. Jensen, Sarah J. Maas, and isekai and portal fantasy, This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me is the beginning of the most epic adventure yet from genre powerhouse author duo Ilona Andrews.
MUSIC
Niall Horan: Dinner Party (After Hours Version)
Light and easy, so it’s an immediate yes.
Bon weekend, all!