Bite Size Reviews in 2024
#134 Get excited with me
Happy Friday!
It’s the time of year that I get so excited I can’t sleep. I think all my adolescent excitement around my birthday and Christmas has morphed into a still adolescent but slightly more adult excitement around year end “best of” lists and “most anticipated” lists for the coming year. I love year end compilations/listicles featuring anything from news stories and photographs to viral videos and pop culture moments.
Today I’m publishing a quick list of things I’m excited for in 2024 in the world of Bite Size Reviews. I hope you take the time to peruse the list and leave a comment if anything interests you.
Here is a peek at my drafts folder here on Substack. As you can see, there’s a lot cooking!
East of Eden - I read this with my favorite online book club The Big Read and watched the 1955 film version. The book is beautiful and life affirming. James Dean’s casting and performance in the movie are fascinating. I hope to finish writing up my thoughts soon.
Leave the World Behind - I’ve read the book by Rumaan Alam and seen the Netflix film directed by Sam Esmail. It’s interesting as a case study in adaptation. I didn’t love either thing but there’s plenty there to have a fun discussion.
Slow Horses Season 3 - We are 3 episodes in to the 6-episode season with new episodes releasing weekly on Apple TV+. This is based on the 3rd Slough House book Real Tigers by Mick Herron which I read earlier this year. I love this show and this book series. The changes from the book so far are really well done so there should be plenty to talk about.
Reacher Season 2 - The first 3 episodes of the 10-episode second season released yesterday! Based on Lee Child’s book Bad Luck and Trouble, I’m going to watch the series first then read the book and see how that goes.
Dune - I’m reading this with The Big Read starting in January. Part two of the movie releases March 1st! The completist in me wants to read every book in the series and even watch the 1984 film version. Too crazy?
Derry Girls - This will be a guest post by one of my favorite writers, Jenny Pate. Google her.
90s Adaptation Showdown: John Grisham vs. Michael Crichton - This is a silly idea I had when I realized that Grisham’s books were turned into movies at an alarming rate during the 90s (6 movies between 1993 and 1997) and Crichton’s books were adapted at an equally alarming rate over the same time period (7 movies between 1993 and 1999). So why not do a showdown?1
American Prometheus / Oppenheimer - I was so hyped about this book and movie but it’s an intimidating subject with so much to say. I need to watch the movie one more time before bringing this post home.
Lessons in Chemistry - I’m afraid to watch the series. I’ll get to it eventually, but I loved the book and am worried the show won’t live up to it. There hasn’t been any buzz in my circles so either I’m in the wrong circles or the show wasn’t the home run I was hoping for.
“The Movie & TV Diet I Grew Up On” and “40 Years of Reading Phases” - This idea has been bouncing around in my head since I’m turning 40 next year. When I look back on the movies and TV I watched as a kid, I have crystal clear memories of certain things. Example: My sister had a religious devotion to the weekly episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and she let me tag along. I remember watching it with her in my parent’s bedroom. I also watched and bonded over a lot of movies with my dad (First Knight, the Joel Shumacher Batman movies). Stuff like that is fun to remember and write about.
When it comes to reading phases over 4 decades, I can see a few patterns and it’s fun to remember the transition from young adult fiction to more literary fare.
And that’s it! Just a few ideas, not to mention all the new stuff in 2024 that I’ll want to talk about. Thanks for being here! Drop a comment so I know who you are and what you’re excited about!
And if you want to continue the conversation, go ahead and subscribe for free!
Why not do a showdown? For starters, Crichton’s Jurassic Park is the obvious adaptation champion of the 90s in every metric. It’s hard for courtroom dramas and legal thrillers to compete with dinosaurs eating people. But if we take out this outlier, it could be an interesting comparison. And as a child of the 90s who writes an adaptation newsletter, I feel like I owe this to the world.
Here’s the list:
Grisham: The Firm (1993), The Pelican Brief (1993), The Client (1994), A Time to Kill (1996), The Chamber (1996), The Rainmaker (1997)
Crichton: Jurassic Park (1993), Rising Sun (1993), Disclosure (1994), Congo (1995), The Lost World (1997), Sphere (1998), The 13th Warrior (1999).
Allow this to be some hype for your circle about lessons in chemistry. The show was great. How could a true Brie Larson fan such as yourself not rush to watch??
I always enjoy hearing about a writer’s influences. And Buffy is endlessly fascinating.