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Karin Slaughter recommended Complete Stories in Books (curated)

 
Complete Stories
Complete Stories
Flannery O'Connor | 2016 | Fiction & Poetry
(0 Ratings)
Book Favorite

"A teacher gave me Flannery O’Connor’s short story collection in the ninth grade. I grew up in a small town where girls were taught to be polite and not laugh too loud or talk too much or show interest in anything that might scare away the boys. It was a revelation to read O’Connor’s work. Here was a woman from a small Georgia town (like me!) who in direct contravention to her sex and social class was writing the kinds of stories that I was not only interested in reading, but wanted to start writing myself. Her bravery and clarity of vision laid an early foundation for my own work."

Source
  
The Muppets  - Season 1
The Muppets - Season 1
2015 | Comedy, Family
Intelligently funny
The Muppets is a 2015 mockumentary style series that aired for only one season, and is currently available on Disney+ . It follows the personal and professional lives of the Muppets behind the scenes of Miss Piggy's late night talk show.

The Muppets are an institution. There won’t be many people that don’t know of the Muppets, and most will have grown up with them in some form whether it be the original tv show, the earlier films or the most recent film reincarnations with Jason Segel. For me, my fondest memories of the Muppets come from the films (The Muppet Christmas Carol is by far the best Christmas film) and from the Muppet Vision 3D show in Disney World, so I had no preconceptions over what this show would be. And it’s an absolute hoot.

This is a wonderfully funny and smart show, and the mockumentary style similar to The Office and Parks and Recereation works very well. It manages to bring clever adult humour without reducing itself to crudeness. It’s whip smart, witty and full of relevant pop culture references that are often laugh out loud funny. There are so many instances in these 16 episodes where I couldn’t stop laughing, although a particularly highlight involved Bobo the bear and The Revenant. And not only is this funny, it’s also full of heart. It features some fairly meaningful and important topics and for the most part it deals with these well with an appropriate amount of humour.

The great thing about this show is that it isn’t just the Kermit and Piggy show. All of the other Muppets are featured in equal measure and for me personally I loved this as some of my favourite moments were with the likes of Rizzo, Pepe and Chip the IT guy. I also now have a new found love for Uncle Deadly, I never realised how brilliant a character he was before! This show also brings in some fantastic guest stars, from the likes of Reese Witherspoon and Joseph Gordon-Levitt to Liam Hemsworth, Ru Paul and Josh Groban, all of whom have no problem in sending themselves up and being the butt of the jokes.

It’s a shame then that this show falters two thirds of the way through due to the storyline and relationship between Kermit and Piggy. I’ve never been a fan of Piggy as I find her very irksome, but she’s bearable in small doses. However the show seems to do a complete u-turn on their storyline midway through and suffers because of it, as it becomes dull and predictable and nothing we haven’t seen before for Kermit and Piggy. The rest of the show and characters are still hilarious, but Kermit and Piggy really bring down the tone.

If you’re an adult and a fan of the Muppets and are looking for some adult, intelligent laugh out loud humour, you can’t really go wrong with this. Just try not to concentrate on the storyline too much.
  
13 Reasons Why  - Season 1
13 Reasons Why - Season 1
2017 | Drama
The acting (1 more)
Engaging
Potentially triggering (1 more)
Extremely controversial
While I found the show interesting and binge watched it over a few days, I agree that it is highly controversial and definitely not for everyone. There are some scenes that are extremely difficult to watch and if you're in a dark place yourself, I would not recommend watching this.

I personally admire how Thirteen Reasons Why was willing to tackle such a sensitive topic that needs more light shed upon it. Depression, bullying and generally feeling hopeless is something that cannot be ignored. Teens and others in these situations need to know that it's okay to talk to someone about these feelings before they get too much; before they end up in the place Hannah did.

Personally, I did enjoy Thirteen Reasons Why and look forward to seeing what season 2 brings, however, I do believe the direction in which this show goes could, perhaps, be fairly damaging some.
  
Underground  - Season 1
Underground - Season 1
2016 | Drama
10
7.5 (4 Ratings)
Talk about a historical drama! (0 more)
It got cancelled!!! It must be saved! (0 more)
Blown away!!!! Save Underground from Cancellation!
Holy crap! There I was, innocently minding my own business on Hulu. Saw the actor from Leverage (older than series) pop up on the screen, have always loved him, figured hey let's give it a go. I had never even heard of this series. I can not believe more people aren't talking about this freaking series man!!! It's a portrayal from the eyes of the slaves during slavery. Very much like Roots, but in my opinion, just as life altering, without ever truly repeating the story. The actors and actresses are just breathtaking. The costumes and soundtrack are mesmerizing. The cast literally just gets better from one season to the next. So incredibly impressed with this show. We need this show, its a shame WGN cancelled it. I really hope Hulu picks it up.
  
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DOUBLE SPEAK STUDIOS (8 KP) created a post

Jun 17, 2019  
DJ and April are back to stream with you for this week. We have 3 movies 2 TV shows and of course as always we talk the latest episode of Jailbirds. Guys this is a good one. We not only tell you what to stream but we also pack this episode with facts about those very movies and TV shows. We really appreciate all the support and views. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the show. Make sure if you haven’t subscribed yet that you go ahead and push that button. We will catch you on the next one.As always the time hacks are below so that you can watch the whole show or just see the movies that you’re interested in.

ALWAYS BE MY MAYBE-1:05
WHEN THEY SEE US-10:12
ALL THE DEVILS MEN-18:16
BASH BROTHERS-20:28
BLACK MIRROR-26:09
JAILBIRDS-45:17



     
The Goldbergs  - Season 1
The Goldbergs - Season 1
2013 | Comedy
Quoteable lines (2 more)
Nostalgia galore
Likeable characters
The Goldbergs looks and feels like the American family based sitcoms I grew up with in the UK, this is the big appeal from this show, the familiarity and soundtrack of simpler days. The characters are clearly defined from the start and you can identify each of their strengths and vulnerabiltes and how these are used as the season progresses.

When watching this with my daughter aged 11 she gets the humour and she has a sense of wonder at how technology used to be and how the fashions have changed. It gives us more to talk about and shows the universal appeal of the Goldbergs.

Sometimes there is no need to reinvent what works and with the clever writing in this show makes it enjoyable and each episode can be viewed repeatedly. This is the benchmark I use for sitcoms and this works for me. Long live the 80s and all who use mind deloreans to travel back there.
  
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DOUBLE SPEAK STUDIOS (8 KP) created a post

Jun 28, 2019  
WHAT TO STREAM THIS WEEK is back again. This week we have 3 movies and 2 documentaries that we want to talk about. I will warn you we did not agree on these choices a lot, but we find a way to work it out and still have a great show. As always we encourage you watch the whole show but have also included the time hacks so that you can check out the reviews of the stuff you already had your eye on. Make sure you subscribe and hit that like button so that you know about everything that we are doing. Hope you are having a great week and we hope to help make it better with WHAT TO STREAM THIS WEEK.

TAG-1:29
BAD TIMES AT THE EL ROYALE-11:58
MURDER MYSTERY-25:05
THE CENTRAL PARK 5-35:28
THE CASE AGAINST ADNAN SYED-48:35
JAILBIRDS-1 HOUR