I recently saw The Testament of Ann Lee in theaters (Japan getting it 9 months later yippee...) and holy shit does the soundtrack have a hold on me. I also watched Vertigo for the first time the other week and the soundtrack is slapping as well.

Does anyone have a certain movie soundtrack they love to have on as background noise whether while reading or doing other activities?

(Some movie composers I already know and love: Hans Zimmer for Interstellar, Joe Hisaishi for all the Studio Ghibli movies, etc.)

I have a hard time reading when I’m having a bad anxiety day and usually end up watching movies instead. My go to is Crazy Rich Asians. Does anyone else have movie recs for when the world and your brain seem like a ticking bomb?

This summer I’m working as a camp counselor, and one of the kids I was in charge of this week was a major Harry Potter fan. It made me realize that Harry Potter is still a huge franchise, especially among little kids who are unaware of who J.K. Rowling really is. I don’t support J.K Rowling at all and frankly believe her prejudices are present all throughout her writing, but I’d hate to discourage the love of reading I see in children like this one, and nobody should be mad at a nine-year-old for not knowing the details of J.K. Rowling’s horrible actions, which is why I thought it might be nice to compile a list of books to hand kids that aren’t Harry Potter.

I know there are already some lists like this, and I don’t want to copy anyone else’s idea, so I came up with some specific criteria:

• The book must be middle grade/for children (not YA or adult)
• The book must be a series starter
• The book should have some sort of fantastical element (like the gods in Percy Jackson or the elves in Keeper of the Lost Cities)
• I’m less interested in graphic novels for this list, but they aren’t strictly forbidden

Basically any series that’s just as much fun and not nearly as problematic as Harry Potter will do. I really just want any series that could get a kid hooked on reading the way Harry Potter successfully has for decades. It would be great to have some books with better representation as well!

... I'm a bit amazed at how bad writing can make such an interesting plot line that boring. so much of this book is hearing about action in a flat monologue after the fact instead of (1) being in the action or (2) hearing about it in a compelling conversation. it often reads like a rough draft with placeholder text. the writing in the first two books is much more dynamic but this one is an absolute slog. not sure how I finished it the first time and even Andy Serkis can't breathe enough life into this drab writing to keep my attention.