Mitch's Blog

I read about 13 books this year. Here are my favorites:

“Nobody’s Fool,” “Somebody’s Fool,” and “Everybody’s Fool," a trilogy by Richard Russo, set in the small town of North Bath in upstate New York, following the lives of a dozen or more characters over 20 years. There are two murder investigations in the series, but the novels aren’t plot-driven; they are a series of episodes. The action covers most of a century, including generous flashbacks,

I first read “Nobody’s Fool” when it was published in 1993, and the characters have inhabited my brain for most of my life. The main character of “Nobody’s Fool,” Donald “Sully” Sullivan, is 60. I was young enough to be his son when I first read the book; indeed, he has a son in that novel who is older than I was then. Now I’m a little older than Sully himself, though my knees are in much better shape than his.

The second book in the series came out in 2016, and the third in 2023, and I read them both as they came out and loved them so much that I listened to the whole series on audiobooks in 2024.

I love living in North Bath with these people, which is weird because North Bath is dying, and the people are kind of broken.

“Nobody’s Fool” was made into a movie starring Paul Newman as Sully, Jessica Tandy as his friend, landlady and former schoolteacher, Mrs. Peoples; Bruce Willis in a rare non-action role; and Melanie Griffith. The movie features talented character actors, including Pruitt Taylor Vince and Margo Martindale and, in a very early role, the late great Philip Seymour Hoffman, as the idiotic and headstrong policeman, Doug Raymer. Hoffman’s casting was a stroke of luck; he’s fine, but it’s a small, one-dimensional role, and it didn’t tap Hoffman’s enormous talent. However, Raymer is the main character of the two sequel novels, where we learn he’s a much more sympathetic and intelligent character than he appears to be in the first book. There was some discussion of making the second book into a movie starring Hoffman, which would have been fantastic. But I haven’t heard anything about the movies since Hoffman’s death.

I love the movie “Nobody’s Fool,” although the writers tacked a shmaltzy, wholesome ending on it. The novel’s ending is hopeful and upbeat but darker; the characters' victories are smaller than in the movie and achieved with greater difficulty. I like the novel’s ending better.

“Elsewhere: A Memoir,” by Russo (again). Most of Russo’s novels are autobiographical; he grew up in Gloversville, a small town in upstate New York, which had once had a factory manufacturing women’s leather gloves. If you watch many old movies, you’ll know that women used to wear gloves routinely every day, and if you live in the world, you know they don’t anymore unless it’s cold. And gloves aren’t made in the USA anymore. Like North Bath and other towns in Russo’s work, Gloversville struggles to stay alive. In “Elsewhere,” we learn that Russo’s father was a charming small-town rogue, much like Sully and characters in Russo’s other work; his mother raised him, and Russo left Gloversville to go to college and rarely returned in later life. But Russo has returned to Gloversville again and again in his writing.

Spoiler (sorry): We learn in this book that Sully’s mother was a formidable woman who succeeded professionally working for an engineering company, very much a man’s world in the 1960s. However, she struggled with obsessive-compulsive disorder, which eventually poisoned her life. Russo’s father was a compulsive gambler. Russo tells us that he himself has the same disorders — as a young man, he was a compulsive pinball player (!) and gambler, but he eventually turned his compulsiveness to writing stories. Russo reflects that if his compulsiveness had taken a less socially acceptable turn, his life would have been very different, perhaps much like his father’s. But instead the world lavishly rewarded Russo, who has won a Pulitzer Prize.

Russo won the prize for “Empire Falls,” but the North Bath trilogy are my favorite of his books.

I have known two people with connections to Gloversville — surprising because Gloversville is such a small, remote town. One, a woman, grew up there. I was excited when I found out and questioned her about the town, but she seemed to find my questions creepy, so I dropped it. I got the impression that, like Russo, this woman put Gloversville in her rearview mirror as soon as she was old enough to get out of town and, unlike Russo, she never looked back afterward.

“Mohawk,” by Russo (again). Another story of feckless, charming fathers and a sprawling cast in a struggling small town in upstate New York. Russo’s first novel. I listened to the audiobook.

“Alas, Babylon,” by Pat Frank, about an American small town struggling to survive after a nuclear war. Another struggling small town — this one in Florida — another feckless, charming hero coming of age and taking responsibility for the people around him. I loved this book and read it many times as a boy, read it again during the pandemic and thought it was still great, and listened to the audiobook in 2024 to prepare to discuss the book on the “Hugos There” podcast. I loved doing that podcast; I did it once before, several years ago, to discuss “A Canticle for Lebowitz,” by Walter M. Miller. Both novels are post-apocalyptic. I have no special love for that genre; it just worked out that I love those two books, and those are the ones I discussed.

“Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear,” by Elizabeth Gilbert. Nonfiction about learning to live a creative life in the real world. Gilbert is the author of the wildly bestselling “Eat, Pray, Love,” and for years I dismissed her books as New Age women’s self-help nonsense with a lot of crystals and scented candles (yes, I know that’s awful of me). But I have heard Gilbert interviewed on a couple of podcasts (including Design Matters, hosted by my childhood friend Debbie Millman — thanks Debbie!) and I learned from those interviews that Gilbert is tough, smart, hard-headed and pragmatic. Yes, she dips deeply into occult waters, but I think of that as metaphor and go with it. I highly recommend Gilbert’s novel “City of Girls.” And I guess I need to read “Eat, Pray, Love.”

“A Son of the Circus,” by John Irving. A successful Indian doctor splits his time between Toronto and India and doesn’t feel at home in either world. This is a very long, sprawling novel and, like the North Bath trilogy, it doesn’t have much of a plot — though it does have murders to solve — and focuses on the rich cast of characters and Indian locations.

“The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet,” and “A Closed and Common Orbit,” by Becky Chambers. These are hugely popular books of a genre known as cozypunk, which means they’re about the characters and their interactions rather than the plot. This story is set in the distant future on a small merchant starship.

I grew up reading science fiction and branched out into crime fiction in my 20s. I read fiction for plot — the characters have a problem and solve it with their wits and violence. I often struggle with more episodic novels, where a part of me thinks nothing happens. I struggled with the Chambers novel and “Son of the Circus.”

“Joyland,” by Stephen King. A young man leaves college to take a summer job in a carny. Does he encounter horrors? Of course he does — a serial killer, which is pretty tame as King horrors go. But “Joyland” is mainly about a character who finds community and connection in a small town. I sense a trend in my reading.

“The Closers,” “The Narrows” and “Lost Light,” by Michael Connelly, who has devoted his career to about 35 crime novels, mostly focused on present-day Los Angeles. Connelly’s novels have different main characters — Detective Harry Bosch, defense attorney Mickey Haller (the Lincoln Laywer), a retired FBI agent, a crime journalist — but, interestingly, they all inhabit the same universe. Minor characters in one series turn up in another, and sometimes, two of the main characters cross over. I’m reading the books in order — 11 down and much more to go! Connelly is a master of writing a sentence that compels you to read the next and doing it again and again and again.

Currently Reading

“Storm Front,” by Jim Butcher. Book 1 of the Dresden Files.

“The Infernal Machine,” by Steven Johnson. A history of dynamite, anarchist terrorism, and the rise of professional policing at the turn of the 20th Century.

The Hill:

The Constitution provides that an oath-breaking insurrectionist is ineligible to be president. This is the plain wording of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. “No person shall … hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having previously taken an oath … to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.” This disability can be removed by a two-thirds vote in each House.

Disqualification is based on insurrection against the Constitution and not the government. The evidence of Donald Trump’s engaging in such insurrection is overwhelming. The matter has been decided in three separate forums, two of which were fully contested with the active participation of Trump’s counsel.

Never going to happen, of course. The US is sliding into autocracy and the Republican majority is pushing it downhill.

ht @davew

Like many people, I canceled my Washington Post subscription when the Post declined to endorse a Presidential candidate this year. At the time, I thought I might come back if I missed it. But I didn’t miss it. The Post is not what it was during Trump’s first term; it’s replaceable.

That leaves the US with one good national newspaper, the New York Times. And that’s not healthy. Local journalism is dead in the US, too — also unhealthy.

@manton says he will never resubscribe to the WaPo. I’m not so rigid; I’ll come back if the Post starts doing work worth paying for again.

Meta wants to fill your social media feeds with AI-generated characters. They’ll have bios and profile photos and generate content, but they’ll be bots.

Nick Heer:

A big problem for Meta is that it is institutionally very dumb. … There are lots of smart people working there and its leadership clearly understands something about how people use social media.

But there is a vast sense of dumb in its attempts to deliver the next generation of its products.

I’m still very active on Facebook, but getting less so as Meta overthinks its products and my real-life friends and family wander away. I just want Facebook to just get the hell out of my way and let me see posts from the people, groups and pages I follow. That’s it. I’m fine with them throwing me the occasional ad to make money; Facebook ads are entertaining.

I don’t post these links to Facebook anymore because nobody sees them.

h/t @manton

Man on the Inside. Ted Danson plays a retired and widowed engineering professor who answers an ad from a private detective to go undercover in a fancy San Francisco retirement home to find out who stole a resident’s valuable ruby necklace. Danson’s character approaches the job with verve and gusto. He falls in love with the community. He’s never in any physical danger (it’s not that kind of mystery). 

The show is funny, entertaining and also philosophical and wise about aging, which I’ve been thinking a lot about lately because it is something I’m doing and plan to continue. 

Sally Struthers stands out among many good performances, a reminder that she is a fine actor. Her career and reputation got done dirty after “All in the Family.” Yeah, she got fat. So what?

Ted Danson’s character lives in a beautiful house, immaculately kept. Every day, he puts on nice pants, a nice shirt, and often a neatly pressed sports jacket and tie with matching pocket square. This has inspired me to start dressing better every day — no, I’m not going as far as Ted Danson’s character, but lately I’ve been putting on a shirt with a collar rather than a T-shirt, and I’m easing out the sweatshirts in favor of sweaters and a flannel shirt. Hey, it’s a start. 

Evil. A Black priest, Muslim-American atheist science wiz and lapsed Catholic woman psychologist investigate a Satanic cult in New York, on behalf of the Catholic Church. Scary, dramatic and funny. Watching it, I was many times reminded of an interview by actress Dee Wallace Stone, in which she said she loved doing horror because of the range it gave her as an actor: You got to do all the emotions portrayed in comedy and drama, plus terror (obviously) and murderous rage. 

Katja Herbers plays the psychologist Kristen Bouchard, and she goes from wholesome Mom to professional psychologist, cool-headed demon hunter and occasional sex vixen when the role demands it. She’s a Dutch actor, but she believably plays an educated native New Yorker. Mike Colter (“The Good Wife,” “Luke Cage”) plays David Acosta, who is at first studying to become a priest and then becomes one. He’s a big, handsome fellow, and of course there is much sexual tension between him and Dr. Bouchard. Aasif Mandvi, formerly a correspondent on The Daily Show, plays Ben Shakir, the Muslim-American atheist and science wiz. Also watch for the four Bouchard prepubescent daughters who are almost always together and talk at the same time; Christine Lahti as Dr. Bouchard’s hot Mom; Michael Emerson, known to me from “Lost,” playing a smarmy villain in that actor’s excellent, smarmy style; Andrea Martin, known to me from SCTV and “My Big Fat Greek Wedding,” as a tough nun; and Wallace Shawn as a priest.  

The show is surprisingly smart on the conflict between faith and science, and on portraying the Church as a corruptible human institution and also a vessel of God. As I become more spiritual, one of the characters' throwaway lines about religion and science has become a touchstone for me — that God exists and loves us, but reveals Himself entirely through the workings of the universe. 

The Lincoln Lawyer. Mickey Haller, a high-priced Los Angeles lawyer, defends murder suspects who happen to be innocent and also happen to have scads of money to keep him in fancy suits and Lincoln cars. Becki Newton steals the show as Lorna Crane, Haller’s ex-wife, friend and office manager, who looks, dresses and talks like a Real Housewife but is smart and ruthless in defense of the innocent. It’s a lighthearted, unchallenging show. 

The Diplomat. Keri Russell, ex of “The Americans” and “Felicity,” plays a U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain, and Rufus Sewell plays her husband, a former diplomat who can’t stop meddling in state affairs. Light, complexly plotted and fun, with a “West Wing” vibe. 

High Potential. A quirky former cleaning lady for the LAPD turns out to be a genius and helps them solve crimes. 

Slow Horses. I loved the first season, but Julie hated it, so I’ll either find time to watch it on my own or forget about it. I’ve got two ten-hour flights in February and March, and I’ve already got about 73 hours of TV lined up for them. 

Bad Monkey. Based on a Carl Hiaasen novel, and the only thing I’ve ever seen onscreen that captures Hiaasen’s dark humor — one gag in the show involves a severed arm — his big heart, quirky characters and keen sense of Florida locations. The show stars Vince Vaughn. Gen X irony seems to be the extent of his acting range, but he’s great at that, so he’s cast pretty well here. 

Doctor Who.

Fallout. A gross-out post-nuclear apocalyptic science fiction comedy-drama. Walton Goggins has a dual role, in flashbacks as a handsome, wholesome cowboy actor of the late 1950s and early 1960s, who becomes a murderous mutated ghoul with a missing nose. Goggins is such a great actor he doesn’t need a nose.  

Shogun.

Manhunt. A 19th Century procedural about the hunt for John Wilkes Booth in the days following Lincoln’s assassination. Oligarchs take advantage of the power vacuum following Lincoln’s assassination to ensure they get their payday and that American Blacks get Jim Crow instead of true emancipation.

Resident Alien. Comedy science fiction starting Alan Tudyk as an alien trying to blend in in a present-day American small town and slowly falling in love with the community. It’s “Northern Exposure,” but it’s an alien in Colorado instead of a New York Jew in Alaska. Hey, both main characters are doctors. 

All Creatures Great and Small. Life in a country veterinary practice in rural Yorkshire, England in the 1930s. Peak comfort TV. Lots of people wearing sweaters. 

Funny Woman. Based on a Nick Hornby novel and set in the 1960s, a beauty contest winner from England’s Blackpool comes to London dreaming of becoming a comedy star like her idol, Lucille Ball. After some struggling actress travails, she stars in a hit sitcom of the era and rubs shoulders with the beautiful people on Carnaby Street. Season Two is currently airing in the UK, but I’ve seen no indication of its coming to the US. However, I’m in no rush; much as I loved the show and novel it was based on, the story seemed complete in one season. 

Julia. A historical drama about Julia Child’s cooking show launch in the early 1960s and her rise as a celebrity chef. Disappointingly canceled after two seasons. 

1923. Angst and gunplay in 1923 Montana, starring Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren, and created by Taylor Sheridan. A prequel series to “Yellowstone.” The characters are miserable and violent all the time, and any joy they feel is fleeting and merely a setup for more misery and violence. So we loved it.

For All Mankind 

Currently watching

The Rockford Files. The 1970s TV series is finally streaming without commercials, on Amazon Prime. It still holds up. The dialogue is fast and witty, the plots are complex and twisty, James Garner as Rockford is as dry and cool as a good martini. Yeah, the clothes are goofy but the cars are cool. 

“Columbo” is on Amazon Prime too, also presumably without commercials. I’m looking forward to watching that. 

Shetland. Season nine of the murder mystery set in the remote, desolate and beautiful Shetland Islands in northern Great Britain. If you didn’t get enough people wearing sweaters in “All Creatures Great and Small,” you’ll get even more here. So much wool it makes me scratchy to watch. 

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew Pew pew pew.