Summer Camp Is Over

Last Friday was the first day of Orientation week at RIT, at least I think. I have never been happier to not be going to school, sure I have no friends and I'm very lonely but I don't have to go to class!!!!

Books I've Read Recently

The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix→ I was listening to an interview with him on the podcast Books In The Freezer, you can listen here. And it made me not want to read this book, but I did anyway.

This book was fine, it was a running book. It became pretty confusing at times but that's a me problem. Overall I feel like the killer's unmasking was much like Scream but not as homoerotic or fun.

Making the main girl a Christmas killing final girl was kinda odd and I didn't like it, once again a me problem. Though I do like that she was not a real Final Girl, it gave the story a little more juice I guess. Her f*cking the cop that saved her life despite the 30-year age gap, it didn't give juice, it gave ohhh no I don't like that. Overall, I think his message was good it was "think about the victims, not the fun little story, also men are bad." And that's a good message don't get me wrong but I don't believe slasher films are based on real-life murders so it didn't really make sense in its context. Also, was that not the whole message of the Scream franchise but with better characters and references?

The moral of the story is to read it if that sounded interesting, he wrote female trauma better than Stephen Graham Jones but that's not saying much. Watch Scream 1-5 instead. Out of the 3 books I've read of his I would say that this is the best but that's cus the first one gave me an ick and the second one was boring.

Black Tide by KC Jones→ Mike was the authors self insert character and I hated him. First of all, he was so vague about his wife leaving, second of all how did she f*cking drown in the serf of the ocean? You have a beach house and you don't know how to swim, get it together. The dog was the best character and I don't like dogs all that much, he does die tho.

*a moment of silence for Jake*

This book would have made a great two-part first episode of a tv show and I would have eaten it up. My casting you ask of course. Mackenzie Davis as Beth and Chris Evans as Mike (it's the only way to make him likable) and he has to play it in the least serial killer way possible.

The Lake by Natasha Preston→ The end of this book should be punishable by death. I read this because I wanted a little summer camp fun plus murder, I was not given what I wanted.

Let's talk romance. Just kidding no, sure she and Ollie shared one whole kiss but at what cost, at WHAT COST! How many deers died to make this book? One too many gives me a variety of dead animals.

What was that plot twist? I mean really was there one? Cus not really, that's some bullsh*t. Also, imagine being killed for something you kinda didn't when you were 10 years old, was I even conscious at that age? Brings a whole new meaning to the bystander effect jeez.

Read it if you want it was a YA book so nothing crazy.

Stolen by Elizabeth Gilpin→ I'm still reading this and it gets returned tomorrow so I probably won't finish. This is a memoir about the "troubled teen industry" and it's juicy. Let me tell you if my parents did this to me we would never speak again.

She was a very angry teen and to that, I do relate. Though she did a great deal more sneaking out and drinking than I did, also she swore at her parents (my mother would have beat me if I did that.) Personally, I think mothers need to get over being told their child hates them, it's just words.

This industry is crazy they just torture these kids for months and for Elizabeth, two years. It's really good and I am not very far into it. I recommend it highly.

On A Lighter Note

Films and shows I have watched recently that I recommend.

Ocean's 11, 12, and 13: Watch them all. They are heist movies and they are directed so well and they are so funny. Star-studded I mean look at that cast! They are good movies but they are long and you have to use your eyes.

I don't mean to condescend but some movies you can watch while playing on your phone and some you have to actually pay attention to and these are them. To enjoy them use your eyes.

Avalibale to watch on HBO Max.

Leverage: This is a T.V. show that came out in 2012. Found family and a new heist each episode. What more could you ask for? They are the ultimate steal from the rich and give to the poor squad and I love them.

Last year they released new episodes called Leverage Redemption and they are also very good. This show was so good at heists they got yelled at by the government for making heists that were actually doable and could be pulled off.

Available on Prime Video or IMDB.

Psych: We all know and love this show. This is your gentle reminder you should rewatch it.

Available on Prime Video.

The Nice Guys: This is a movie with Ryan Gosling as a funny bad Private Investigator (and father) and Russel Crowe as a gruff, not private investigator who beats up people for money. They team up to find a missing girl and figure out why a porn star was murdered.

It is so funny, like deeply hilarious. Once again I recommend you watch this with your eyes.

Available to watch on Netflix.

Reservation Dogs: This is about a group of indigenous teens in Oklahoma who are living their lives and trying to make money to go to California a year after their friend killed himself.

This show is very funny but also sad. I recommend you watch it because these teens are real reservation kids and they are so good! Also created by Sterlin Harjo and Taika Waititi.

Available to watch on Hulu.

Podcast Corner

What on Earth has Maggie been listening to?

Books in the Freezer is a podcast that talks about specific books or specific book categories. They are full of book recommendations and chats with authors. Sometimes it can be boring but sometimes the episode is really good. This is definitely a pick and chose episode podcast.

I really like Episode 121: Southern Gothic Horror with Lauren P. Dodge. You can listen here. Lauren P. Dodge makes miniatures and I think that's cool, also she recommends Sharp Objects and I love that book.

Pod Meets World is a podcast about Boy Meets World, hosted by three of the stars of the show. I was a big fan of Boy Meets World and this podcast shines a lot of light on the behind-the-scenes of it. I like this because they talk about the pressures of making the show. How daniel started smoking at 15, they talk about how awkward it was to make out on screen and in front of a studio audience as children, and other really interesting aspects of '80s/90s sitcom tv. You can listen here.

The Final Girls podcast is a podcast that talks about horror movies. It's hosted by women and I think that's neat. But they have some really good discussions on this podcast, like deep, research discussions. So I like that. I would pick and choose episodes based on movies or shows you have seen. I like the Yellowjackets episode and the Black Christmas episode.

This is a YA podcast, I don't really know what that means either but they talk about YA books and shows and movies. They are both millennials or at least that's how they sound but I think they bring good context to the media and I enjoy hearing them speak about things I think they are funny. I haven't listened to a lot of the episodes but I would say listen to episodes with titles you have seen or read.

Parting Words

Next week I get to go on VACATION!!!!