Category: Entertainment

Fiction's newest genre: up lit

Five weeks ago I blogged about my favorite television series, Call the Midwife, and lamented that literary novels don’t share its mix of realism and uplift. “Qualities that I think are hard to find in a literary novel — such as hope, warmth, gladness, and change for the better — are present in spades in... Read more »
By Marianne Goss,
March 29, 2021 at 10:49 am
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Why can't novels be more like my favorite TV show?

No surprise in a recent WTTW announcement that Call the Midwife is viewers’ favorite show. As was clear when I wrote about it in 2017, it’s an all-time favorite of mine. When I started rewatching Call the Midwife a few weeks ago, it was going to be one episode a day. That quickly grew to... Read more »
By Marianne Goss,
February 22, 2021 at 2:28 pm
• 2 comments

An overdue list of pandemic diversions

Since we’re in month 12 of the pandemic, a post suggesting diversions is more than a little late. But until recently, I had not felt bored. Perhaps it’s not only the pandemic but also the usual February doldrums that have me looking for newness now.  Listmaker that I am, I came up with some ideas... Read more »
By Marianne Goss,
February 15, 2021 at 10:16 am
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Is Hamilton on screen as good as on stage?

I’m one of the few among my acquaintances who haven’t seen Hamilton on stage. I wouldn’t pay the extravagant ticket price, contending that nothing is a must see. Besides, I expected there would be a movie eventually. Now there is a screen version — not an adaptation but a film of the actual 2016 New... Read more »
By Marianne Goss,
August 3, 2020 at 10:09 am
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The West Wing is an ideal binge watch now

Fourteen years after The West Wing ended its seven-season run on NBC-TV, the hit series looks especially inviting now as we endure its antithesis in real life. I recently watched all 156 episodes on Netflix. I’m not sure why I didn’t catch The West Wing the first time around but was glad to be watching... Read more »
By Marianne Goss,
July 27, 2020 at 8:33 am
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Are Democrats behaving like they want to win?

Full disclosure: I voted for Bernie Sanders in the 2016 Illinois primary. When I thought he didn’t have a chance at the Democratic presidential nomination, I wanted to show support for his positions. That was before we had a President Trump. Now I’m fearful that Sanders will get the nomination. I like Sanders. I find... Read more »
By Marianne Goss,
February 24, 2020 at 9:22 am
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In the minority about Little Women ending

Had I not read that Jo marries Laurie in an upcoming Little Women spinoff, I may not have admitted that I’m one of the readers who want that ending. Ours isn’t the enlightened position today. In author Louisa May Alcott’s day, it was the majority wish. Now, you can find plenty of online comments that... Read more »
By Marianne Goss,
January 20, 2020 at 8:13 am
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Is it the movie, or am I dense?

The following contains spoilers, but I’m hoping that giving away the ending of a 2003 movie won’t matter to most people in 2019. The point isn’t about the movie anyway but about feeling dense after watching a movie. Do you ever wonder whether you’re lacking some brain cells because it didn’t make sense to you?... Read more »
By Marianne Goss,
December 17, 2019 at 8:46 am
• 6 comments

Trendy vs. tried and true

Game of Thrones sure is in our faces as its final season begins. Whether it’s the greatest television show of all times, I couldn’t judge. I haven’t seen a single episode. I never was good at keeping up with what TV shows are in. ER was several seasons along before I became a fan. Neither... Read more »
By Marianne Goss,
April 15, 2019 at 9:53 am
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Focus on the Bauhaus: an exhibit and a film

If you pay any attention to Chicago architecture, you’ve probably heard of the Bauhaus in connection with Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, its last director, who came to Chicago in 1933 when the school closed under pressure from the Nazis. For someone who associated the Bauhaus with Mies and modern architecture, the current exhibit at the... Read more »
By Marianne Goss,
March 11, 2019 at 10:45 am
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