SMALL SCREEN
Shetland (Amazon Prime & BritBox)
We recently watched Seasons 5 and 6 of this Scottish detective series and it’s excellent. One of the best of its kind! Each season consists of six episodes and there is only one case that’s ongoing across the entire season. More than most, this is a character-driven series, and Douglas Henshall as DI Jimmy Perez is superb. He’s a compassionate man who is determined to find out who is responsible for any murders. He knows the island residents very well and thus proceeds with a mix of delicacy and diplomacy combined with the drive to see that justice is done. As viewers, you become acquainted with his colleagues Tosh and Sandy as well as with his now college age stepdaughter, Cassie, and with Duncan, her biological father and Jimmy’s co-parent. Duncan is a particularly interesting character. He means well, but is often hapless and unfocused and there is frequently tension between him and Jimmy. But they both love Cassie and want to protect her. If you haven’t discovered this series yet, try it and see how quickly you are addicted!
The Resident (Amazon Prime)
This medical series from Fox is the opposite of Shetland. It’s brash and bold, gory, and in your face. Subtlety is not in resident Conrad Hawkins’ vocabulary nor that of Randolph Bell, the egotistical chief of surgery. Add in the arrogant, talented surgeon Mina Okafor, newbie intern Devon Pravesh, and capable nurse practitioner Nic Niven, and you’ve got a larger than life cast of characters at the fictional Chastain Memorial Hospital in Atlanta. The surgeries are full of blood and guts, the medical crises all too frequent, and the pace mind-bending. I watch it on the treadmill and it keeps me treading past my allotted time.
READING PLATFORMS
I read books in paper and on my Kindle Paperwhite . I bought my first Kindle in 2009 before we went to Madagascar for three weeks. Smart packing and minimum weight were key, and I knew I would need some reading material for that long a trip. I still prefer reading on paper, but for titles I have no desire to keep forever, e-books are an advantage.
I have a card for our local public library, but being acquisitive when it comes to books, I procrastinated a long time before getting it. Not a good advertisement for a retired librarian! Recently, I decided I should really investigate borrowing e-books instead of buying all of them. Turns out it was easier to do than I anticipated.
Our library’s selection of e-books is somewhat limited, but I made the maximum number of recommendations for purchase and put holds on a few titles. In the library’s defense, some of my recommended titles they have in hardback. I was both surprised and pleased when over the past few days, three of my holds were honored. I have read one novel, returned the nonfiction book which I found preachy, and am in the middle of an excellent mystery. Success! What format do you prefer for your leisure reading?
ITALIAN MYSTERY
Shadows on the Lake by Giovanni Cocco and Amneris Magella
This is the first mystery by this Italian husband-wife team and it’s a perfect summer read. Set in the Italian Lake District around Lake Como, it features Stefania Valenti, a divorced mother with an 11-year old daughter who’s also a detective. When human remains are found near an old villa owned by a prominent family and adjacent to a construction site for a new tunnel, she must investigate. Valenti is an intriguing character and the best developed one. She’s a chain smoker, and like many Italians, is always up for a coffee and a pastry. Focused on her job, she occasionally runs late in picking up daughter Camilla, who is remarkably understanding. Her two lieutenants, Lucchesi and Piras, are less well drawn and almost indistinguishable one from the other. How the investigation plays out and its links to WWII make for an engaging story, but not a suspenseful one. The authors spend almost as much time describing the beautiful scenery as they do on the mystery. Given everything, I will likely read the next installment when it becomes available in English. (~JWFarrington)
DINING IN SARASOTA
We walked past this Sarasota restaurant many times, but it took a date with a friend to get us inside. Although the season is over, the dining room was full on this Saturday night. The cuisine is Peruvian and the menu includes a long list of ceviches as well as other small plates and some tasty-sounding entrees. Entrée prices are higher than some other local restaurants, but there is so much choice, you don’t have to spend a lot. Among the three of us, we ordered the Spanish Caesar salad (a stacked version with manchego instead of Parmesan), shrimp and corn soup, beef and spinach empanadas, salmon, and their fish and chips special. Most everything was very good, and we look forward to a return visit for either a ceviche or the mouth-watering beef our table neighbors had.
Note: Text and header photo ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved).
