We hope you had a nice Thanksgiving! Now that we’ve digested all that turkey we’re back with another look at what has us the most excited this week! Here’s a look at the shows, music, and games we can’t stop talking about right now!
Gone Before Goodbye by Harlan Coben and Reese Witherspoon
Gone Before Goodbye is an engaging read that blends Reese Witherspoon’s approachable, character-driven style with Harlan Coben’s talent for fast-paced suspense and witty dialogue. The result is a story that’s easy to dive into and keeps a steady pace.
The story follows a woman whose carefully rebuilt life is disrupted when an old secret resurfaces. The tension unfolds gradually, with an emphasis on mysteries from her past coming to a head in the present. It’s more about steady intrigue than big reveals (although those are there, too), which makes it a great option for readers who enjoy suspense that feels character driven.
I didn’t connect with this the way I have with other books by Coben (I’m a longtime fan of his Myron Bolitar series), but if you liked The Last Thing He Told Me or his more recent standalones, this one is likely to appeal. And if you haven’t read the Myron Bolitar series – check it out! – Erin Brown
Landman
If you’re looking for a character-focused drama to settle into, and don’t mind violence/intense scenes, Landman is a solid pick. Set in West Texas, the show follows people whose lives intersect with the oil industry—families, workers, and locals just trying to keep up with all the change happening around them. As with most Taylor Sheridan vehicles, it’s the characters you come back for, but the story definitely pulls you in.
If you’ve enjoyed shows like Yellowstone, Longmire, or even Friday Night Lights for their community setting, family dynamics, and drama, Landman will likely appeal. – EB
Season 2 has just started airing, so it’s a good time to catch up. Check out Season 1 at the library.
John Field: Complete Nocturnes by Alice Sara Ott
German-Japanese pianist Alice Sara Ott’s performances of Irish composer John Field’s nocturnes was just named the album of the year by Apple Music Classical and having given it a listen, I can see why. These are lovely pieces that envelop the listener in a soothing romanticism, allowing calm to wash over you while still inspiring deeper listening. Ott brings a great deal of emotion to the works, making them feel personal and moving. A perfect escape from the chaos of our modern world. – Sean Farrell
Blossoms Shanghai
Acclaimed Chinese filmmaker Wong Kar-Wai tries his hand at television with this sprawling 30-part miniseries about the reopening of the Shanghai stock exchange in the 1990s. It’s largely held to be not quite as good as his movie work, but most critics are still enamored enough with the show to make it worth checking out. – SF
Semantle
The New York Times has come to dominate the daily puzzle game market thanks to hits like its long-running crossword and Wordle, but the recent success they’ve seen with those products has spurred nearly everyone else to try and get in on the action, from Apple to Netflix to The New Yorker. Social media website Reddit recently decided to launch their own minigames, including the word-guessing game Hot and Cold, which sees players entering words with the aim of figuring out the day’s answer. Each guess is ranked as, you guessed it, “hot” or “cold” based on its similarity to the desired result. It sounds fun in theory, but unfortunately, the AI that Reddit has designing each day’s puzzle has a rather deranged and impenetrable method of determining these similarities (you tell me what “spoon” has to do with “door” that would make it a warmer guess than “house”).
Luckily, Semantle exists. It’s the same basic idea but with relationships between words that make sense. It’s still challenging, especially thanks to the inclusion of words outside of just nouns, but it feels exponentially more satisfying to solve. Completely addictive this has me checking back throughout the day as I try to work out each answer. – SF
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