We’re going to take a quick break from our regularly scheduled programming to discuss the books (and movie) that we read (and watched) during this trip. Why? Because why not?

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot – book report by Chris / Link here

Henrietta Lacks was a young African-American lady living in pre-Civil Rights America who was diagnosed with cervical cancer, from which she eventually succumbed, and tissue samples were taken from her and were developed into not just an immortal cell line, but the immortal cell line. HeLa, as the cells were called, became one of the most transformative changes to human medicine of then century. And while that may sound like a heroic contribution to science and humanity, she died not knowing that anything had been taken from her for science. And it wasn’t until decades later that her family learned anything of what was going on.

Rebecca Skloot embarked upon a journey of science and humanity to find out not who HeLa was, but who Henrietta Lacks was. Who her people where, and to help them along the journey of understanding who their mother was, and who HeLa had become. It’s a tale of characters, of science, of civil rights, of politics and power. It’s a tale that needed telling.

This book came very highly recommended from two of the most veracious readers I know (interestingly both named Lisa) and now it comes highly recommended to you from Chris.

Summary: 5/5 stars, absolute must read.

Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness – cinematic summary by Chris / Link here

I never really encountered Dr. Strange when I read comic books, 30 years ago, but I enjoyed his first movie and his contributions to the Avengers movies, which was surprising to me. I found myself laughing at times I shouldn’t be laughing, because it was just so campy. There were a lot of references that I didn’t get, (e.g. It’s been a long time, I haven’t seen you since Berlin / I don’t know what happened in Berlin).

Part way through this movie, I actually realized I recognized the style and thought, this movie smells like Sam Raimi. Raimi is a long-time film director that’s had some fun movies, but I’d describe them as passing-fun. Nothing I’m going to be spending any money on, and something I’m probably not going to be spending much time on anymore, either. With movies like Evil Dead, Army of Darkness, and Darkman, he definitely has a style. He made a foray into primetime movies with the first Spider-man (2001 with Toby McGuire).

The highlight of this movie was that I watched it using a pair of noise-cancelling headphones which I’d owned for a while but not actually used. They are the Cowin E7 and I’d highly recommend them for anyone in the market. They’re not cheap but they are affordable, quality, highly rated, and worked really well. I was impressed with how much ambient noise (engine noise) they reduced.

Summary: Cowin E7: 5/5, highly recommended

Summary: Dr. Strange Movie: 1/5, don’t bother unless you have a crush on Benedict, Scarlet Witch, or Sam Raimi. 1 star given because I got to see Bruce Campbell punch himself in the face.

Sorry I’m Late, I Didn’t Want to Come: An Introvert’s Year of Living Dangerously by Jessica Pan – book report by Adrienne / Link here

I learned of this book via a Facebook friend’s post of the books she read in 2022. She said this was one of her favorites and being an introvert, I was intrigued. Jessica Pan is an introvert who spends a year trying to live like an extrovert. She even has a few extrovert mentors to help her with various tasks (talking to strangers, stand-up comedy, hosting a dinner party, traveling solo, etc). She did not see a problem with being an introvert, she just wanted to broaden her social circle and experimented with some extrovert tactics along the way.

The book was located in the humor section of Barnes & Noble, and there are parts of it that are laugh out loud funny. If you are an introvert, I highly recommend because you will totally understand her fears/discomfort with extroverting. And if you are an extrovert, I highly recommend so you can understand the rest of us.

The Mitford Affair by Marie Benedict – book report by Adrienne / Link here

This is a hot off the press (published mid January 2023) historical fiction novel. This novel follows three of the famous six Mitford Sisters. If you don’t know about the Mitford Sisters, check this out: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitford_family. They were six sisters born in the early 1900s. They were from a well known aristocratic family in Great Britain (they were famous authors, debutants, related by marriage to Churchill, etc.). As the Wikipedia link notes, journalist Ben Macintyre described them as: “Diana the Fascist, Jessica the Communist, Unity the Hitler-lover; Nancy the Novelist; Deborah the Duchess and Pamela the unobtrusive poultry connoisseur.”

This novel centers on Nancy, Diana, and Unity, and the chapters are told from their alternating points of view. The book begins in the early 1930s and ends in 1940, when Britain and Germany are at war. As the years go by, Nancy becomes increasingly alarmed by her sisters’ involvement in fascism and Nazism (Diana was married to the leader of the British Fascists and Unity lived in Germany and was in Hitler’s inner circle), and this book gives insight into the decisions Nancy had to make, balancing family loyalty and doing what she knows to be right.

I really liked this book. I had heard of the Mitford sisters before, but I actually knew the most about the youngest sister, Deborah, who became the Duchess of Devonshire (she’s only a bit character in this book). I really didn’t know anything about Nancy, but by the end of the book, I really liked her.

Daisy Darker by Alice Freeney – book report by Adrienne / Link here

Daisy’s grandmother, a famous children’s book author, is turning 80 and invites Daisy’s whole family to the birthday party. The setting is the grandmother’s gothic house on a tiny tidal island. Everyone arrives, the tide comes in, and no one can get back to the mainland for eight hours, when the tide goes back out. At midnight, Daisy’s grandmother is found dead, and each hour, another family member is found dead.

This book reminded me of Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None. However, there was a twist at the end that I was definitely not expecting, but once I finished the book, I couldn’t believe I didn’t figure it out. If you are a mystery or Agatha Christie fan, I recommend.

Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn – book report by Adrienne / Link here

This was a fun one. 4 friends (Billie, Mary Alice, Helen, and Natalie) have worked for the Museum, an elite network of assassins, for forty years. They are now at the mandatory retirement age. The Museum sends the four on an all-expenses paid vacation to celebrate their retirement. However, they soon realize the Museum is targeting them. Fortunately, these ladies are able to rely on their assassin skills and teamwork.