As a director of Search at Microsoft, Stefan Weitz, in his book Search, focuses on the future of predictive search that cuts out the human action necessary to utilize current search options and applications. Now, one can search for services, but the user has to take action in order to obtain them. In the future, Weitz posits that the system will know the user well enough to cut out this middle step. Through the capable web, people will be able to “take action, not just find information” (pg. 8).
This Is Us is a dangerously addictive show about a family over multiple generations and the extreme challenges they face. The pilot episode hooks you into a compelling drama by intertwining the lives of all the characters in a unique way. The story continues with complexities that match real life and yet what we see seems more surreal than reality.
Paterson is a quiet, beautiful love story. It depicts a week in the life of a bus driver named Paterson (Adam Driver) and his wife, Laura (Golshifteh Farahani). They live in the town of Paterson, New Jersey, which William Carlos Williams immortalized in his poetry. In his spare time, our Paterson writes poetry, mostly love poems about his wife. He writes down his poems wherever he can: in a small cupboard in the basement, in the bus before he starts work.
Hoda Kotb, winner of a Daytime Emmy Award as part of The Today Show, has penned Where We Belong, a collection of stories about people who were feeling unfulfilled, yet were able to get things back on track by simply following their own desires and passions.
Having never experienced life in a rehab center I cannot speak to the authenticity or veracity of the setting Benjamin Alire Sáenz creates in, Last Night I Sang To The Monster. 18 year-old Zach is an alcoholic who comes out of a black out in a treatment center with no memory of how he got there. I can say the novel is populated by memorable characters who are engaged in emotionally resonant relationships in a visceral setting.
The Devil and Sherlock Holmes is not what I expected, but I wasn't disappointed, either. The twelve previously published magazine stories are similar to Holmes mysteries, but not all involve crimes. Grann immerses himself in his work, reporting on his subjects’ history, and detailing his own interactions with them.
I’ve probably packed for hundreds of trips - long and short, near and far - and I feel like I’ve done a pretty decent job, but after reading this short book by girl on the go, Hitha Palepu, I’ve learned or been reminded of a few tips that I hope will make packing and traveling on my next trip a bit easier and slightly more organized, like:
Ah, a story featuring the scary-looking, staff-sabered Sith apprentice, Darth Maul! If you are reading this review, you've most likely seen Star Wars Episode One: The Phantom Menace, so you'll no doubt recall Maul as the strong, silent type. Admittedly, I was more than a tad hesitant upon embarking on this book's voyage. Does Maul speak at all?
I love a good cookie and a good murder mystery. When I heard about Murder, She Baked, based on Joanne Fluke's Hannah Swensen series, I couldn't wait to check it out. I have been meaning to read Fluke's Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder, which is first in the series and is the plot for this Hallmark TV movie.
