☀️ Sunday Sharies: September 2024

the 3 best movies of the month, 9 book reviews, and 5 newly purchased clothing items

It’s the last Sunday of the month, and you know what that means. There’s a lot of stuff we’d like to share that won’t fit in our usual Thursday TV newsletter. Some of that stuff is here. Read on for a special monthly peek into what your trusty Double Take duo has been watching, reading, listening to, and more.

— Jess Spoll and Jenni Cullen

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Jenni: I’ve read so laughably little in September. I’m prewriting some of these blurbs halfway through the month because of the whole wedding/honeymoon situation in the second half, but I can almost guarantee I only finish a single novel in the next few weeks. This may be my sign to get back into audiobooks, honestly.

The one book I am reading and enjoying is The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden. It’s historical fiction meets fantasy set in the Russian wilderness, and the fact that my favorite author from childhood, Tamora Pierce, was quoted as loving it made me immediately excited. I don’t have a rating yet since I’m only a few chapters in, but so far, so good!

Late September update!! My hold on Tom Lake by Ann Patchett came through in the airport so I will at least start two books this month, if not finish them. I love Patchett’s writing and this novel - partially about the strange task of seeing one’s parents as people with lives and love stories before children - is wonderful so far.

Jess: I don’t have the excuse of getting married, but my reading also slowed down this month. But my running — and subsequent audiobook listening time — drastically increased in duration as I prepare for my next marathon. So skip down to the “what we’re listening to” section for more book reviews (five more, to be exact).

Despite my priorities being elsewhere, I was able to finish two books in text format this month: Middle of the Night by Riley Sager, and All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker. For Sager’s newest, I’ve given him plenty of chances since loving Final Girls and The Last Time I Lied years ago, and it’s evident now that my enjoyment of his early novels was due to my relative newness to the thriller genre. Having since consumed 100+ thrillers, I have to admit that his books don’t do it for me anymore. The melodramatic cliff hangers, the overly short paragraphs, and the reliance on plot twists at the expense of any character development are all attributes that have really started to irritate me. (2.5/5 stars)

As far as All The Colors of the Dark goes, it was a refreshingly well-written change of pace for me given my normal thriller fare. It may list itself as a thriller, but the mysteries take a backseat to excellent character development and a decades-spanning saga of found family, love, and the pursuit of truth and happiness. (3.5/5 stars)

Jess: Like Jenni, I also watched His Three Daughters — but in a movie theater rather than at home while packing — and absolutely loved it. It’s poignant, beautifully shot, and the kind of tearjerker that feels authentic rather than emotionally manipulative. The performances from the three leads are transfixing.

My 3 other favorite new movies of the month were: