2026 Books, TV, & Movies

Books

Control Freaks

Interesting STEM book. This kid wants to win!

Project Hail Mary

All life on Earth is going to die; stuff eating the sun. A ship is sent light years away to find out a way to save everyone. A MS science teacher is the only hope.

Badass Magic Moms Club Book #1

Fast Forward 7 years, Harper & friends all have kids... they meet up to stop the ghost of a dude long dead from getting a relative to kill more people.

Lower Decks

(ongoing)

Lower Decks fun!

Number finished: 4

Voyager: Homecoming

(ongoing)

Voyager comes home.

Number finished:

Star Trek: The Last Starship

(ongoing)

The Burn era. Kirk is brought back.

Number finished: 1

Operation Frog Effect

Grabbed randomly from new library. Loved the different writing styles and how these kids learned valuable lessons and saved their teacher.

Simon Sort of Says

Great book, horrible horrible horrible situation. Seriously the body count and what happened before the book timeframe. Cute town & folks.

A Time for Mercy

Dirt poor kid kills an abusive cop. Set in Clanton.

Millionaires for the Month

A tech billionaire challenges 2 kids to spend $5 million in a month. The restrictions make it kinda crazy. Excellent story.

Son

All about the little boy in The Giver that gets saved by Jonas and his mother, Claire. Wraps up the 4 book series. It was OK, but the 2nd of 3 parts seemed unnecessary.

Gathering Blue

This is Keira's story. She is in a rough town with a little friend called Matty. He helps her reconnect with family that she didn't know she had. And he finds her the color blue!

Messenger

Matty from Gathering Blue is grown up into a teenager. There are problems in his new town and he's the one that needs to solve it with his Gift.

Cedar Cove #1

Introduced to judge Olivia, her mom Charlotte and lots of town people. Olivia stops a divorce, the couple eventually falls back in love. Olivia gets a boyfriend, newspaper dude, former drunk Jack.

Cedar Cove #2

We find out what happens to Dan, but there's another mystery brewing about a dead man at the B&B. Jack messes up with Olivia. Babies born. A new family is introduced and gets divorced.

Cedar Cove #3

Focuses on divorced family from previous novel, plus everyone else too. Jack & Olivia will-they-won't-they now for years? Bleh.

Cedar Cove #4

The mystery around the dead guy found at the B&B owned by Bob & Peggy finally gets solved at the end of this book. More misunderstandings between relationship people. Getting boring.

Cedar Cove #5

The detective and his family finally learn all about who's been sending them messages all year when their daughter moves to town. The Lighthouse burns down.

Cedar Cove #5B

A short novella about one of Charlotte's friends and the role she played in World War II. Oh, and also about her daughter falling for a marine.

Fowl Play

A girl in Charleston inherits a parrot from her favorite uncle upon his death. Was he sick, or was he murdered? She's set to find out!

Play the Game

The Orlando setting is hilarious, I know all the places and references they make. OK story about basketball, doing poorly, getting better.

Curlfriends: New in Town

Graphic Novel about a girl moving to a new town and making friends. A quick read, outside my zone, but a Sunshine State one that I enjoyed!

Cedar Cove #6

Maybe time to quit this series. The same people have the exact same relationship issues each book. Plots are just completely dropped & characters disappear.

The Firefly Summer

A girl who never knew her mom's family gets a full summer jam packed with them & solves a mystery to boot. Really enjoyed this. 400 pages gone in a day. Excellent finish to the 25-26 SSYR MS books.

Cedar Cove #7

Maybe time to quit this series. The same people have the exact same relationship issues each book. Plots are just completely dropped & characters disappear.

Bailey Book #1

The Bailey family is the heartbeat of a small Alaska town. The oldest, Austin, raised most of his family after the parents died. He falls for a new principal. Way better than Cedar Cove stuff.

Baileys Book #2

Left at the alter, a Bailey girl falls for her secret new boss that moves in next door. Love the world-building in small-town Alaska.

Baileys Book #3

Twin Rome is a baby-daddy. Surprise! Also, he opens his restaurant... and has even more kids!

Baileys Book #3.5

A novella about Austin & Holly's wedding. Told from freaking everyone's point of view!

Baileys Book #4

Savannah finally finds love with Liam, the guy who's had a crush on her for like 10 years now.

Baileys Book #5

Rome's brother Denver takes over an outdoor company with his boss's daughter who doesn't do outdoor. Of course they fall for each other.

Baileys Book #6

The first young twin, Phoenix, wants to sing but failed. Then she falls for Denver's buddy a record producer. It works out all around.

Baileys Book #7

The last three are all about long-time loves. Juno finally gets together with her friend of a dozen years, parents' death trama put behind.

Baileys Book #8

Again, friends from 5th grade finally get together 15 years later and a mystery building in every book gets explained about why Kingston didn't do college.

Baileys Book #9

Sedona loved a dude since the first book, they had a baby, he took off. He comes back and reunites the family.

Greene Family #0.5

The patriarch & matriarch of the Greene family get together, blending their family of 9 kids and having another!

Greene Family #1

Oldest son in the Greene family falls for the girl inheriting the store next to his brewery. Kinda by the numbers, but nice.

Greene Family #2

Adam's wife left him, he was devistated in the previous book. Now she's back with amnesia and they fall for each other again. I saw the plot twist coming half a book away, still got me.

Greene Family #3

Nikki marries MMA Logan while they're drunk in Vegas. He follows her back to Alaska to win her over/stay married.

Greene Family #3.5

The summer bash that is mentioned in other stories, but here told from a dozen perspectives. Sets up future books nicely.

Baileys Book #6.5

Three of the Bailey girls all go into labor on the same day as another gets engaged. Cute novella.

Greene Family #4

Molly gets with the owner of the brewery that she works at. This was interesting because it intersected with book 3.5 at one point. Another good book.

Greene Family #5

More fallout from the Summer Bash! Sherrif Fisher knocks up Nurse Allie with twins. Recall listening through Colorado drives! Good one.

Greene Family #6

Posey and Gavin. Again, set up way back in the Summer Bash book. This was was OK, mainly setting up Hank's illness is what I recall, and listening in Utah.

Greeen Family #6.5

Summer Vacation to Hawaii for a bunch of the Greenes. Sets up the next few books. Listened during drive to South Arizona.

Greeen Family #7

Another one set up FOREVER. Xavier is the NFL hottest QB, best friend of Clara. They finally sleep together and then take 2 years to get together. Had to read this, no audio!

Greene Family #8

Mandi and Noah. Set up in The Greene Family Vacation, we get to hear about a 3-year courtship, a fake marriage, and a real one! This got a little implausible, but ended well.

Greene Family #9

Finally get to the Cam & Chevelle story. They both had some good character growth here and it was a good ending to the Green family saga.

Lake Starlight #1

After hearing about Rylan Greene and Calista Bailey for like a dozen other books, they get their story told. Time for the next generation.

Lake Starlight #2

Had some really sad moments in this and never imagined the twist that was thrown in there near the end linking her two men together. Excellent book.

Lake Starlight #3

This plot just seemed like the same one we've heard a few times before. Misunderstandings between former HS lovers overcome. But it was decent enough.

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Movies & TV

Wedding Season

Eh, so-so. She goes home because 3 of her friends are going to get married in a whirlwind month. She finds love, not all marriages happen.

Enterprise Season 2

About the title

Starfleet Academy Season 1

The character moments are amazing. And the worldbuilding answers so many questions. OK, pretty darn excellent first season, a few AMAZING episodes too, all quite good.

The Paper Season 1

Follow-up to The Office. I smiled a lot, loved the interplay and documentary stuff yet again. Couple great call-backs.

All Things Valentine

Cute movie about a blogger who ends up falling for her biggest troll.

Love on the Amazon

Meh movie. Moved as slow as going upriver. Sweet premise, but the actress oversold it and was really just boring.

D&D Honor Among Thieves

Funny. Cute. Wish I'd have stayed awake for all of it.

Welcome to Mama's

Owner & chef fall in love. Lots of memories back in time to the history of the woman (Mama) that, in death, brought them together.

Caught by Love

Interesting things to do a a retreat when they're looking for a stolen necklace but somehow also find love.

A Melbourne Match

A travel reporter travels and gets guided around to report on Melbourne by a footy star. It was decent.

Lost in Paradise

OK, this was a TOP movie. Ian Harding was freaking hilarious with every line he delivered. Absolutely laughed a lot. Now for more with him.

Our Little Secret

EXs end up dating siblings that don't know they knew each other. Messed up family Christmas hijinks ensue.

Along Came a Nanny

There are robberies in the neighborhood. He's a detective that goes undercover as a manny. Pretty good, I liked this one.

A Valentine's Match

Exs reunite to help their mothers put on the local Valentine's Day dance and auction. Surprise, rekindle! Very awkward first half.

Missing the Boat

Cruise line and business mishaps happen. Nice views of the Mediterranean and around Italy. Decent movie.

Skin Deep

John Ritter is a drunk former writer with legal and women problems. He gets divorced and through the wringer before figuring it out.

Sisterhood, Inc.

Rich, powerful sister tries to run her down-on-her-luck younger sisters life like a business. It fails, but they get close. Oh, and there's a guy. It's good.

Letterkenny Season 1

It grew on me. Very crude, very dry, very fast dialogue. The reoccuring "alledged" incident with the osterich cracked me up each episode.

Letterkenny Season 2

The Ag Hall stuff was great; Melanie Scrofano showed up there! Good throughlines & dang, that final scene with Wayne & his girls.

People We Meet on Vacation

Best movie of the year so far. Based on a novel. Friends travel every summer for many years, then fall in love.

Suburgatory Season 1

New York girl gets dragged to the suburbs by her dad. She's from Zoey's Extrodinary Playlist. Humorous little show.

A Perfect Pairing

She quits her job as a wine buyer and travels to Australia to try to land a huge contract. She meets a guy. Love + wine = an excellet move in the Australian wild.

Letterkenny Season 3

It's winter! Lots of ice fishing, Bonny McMurry is a waitress at the new bar, Modeans II. There's a girl joining the meth group. Damn Up-Country Degens.

Neon Genesis Evangelion

All 26 episodes. Eh, I guess it was too exestential for me. Definitely not big robot trope at all. Hero doesn't want to be. Last 2 episodes were WTF.

The End of Evangelion

A movie about what was really happening during the events of the last 2 episodes of the anime. Was even more WTF than the episodes were. Good place to hard stop.

Letterkenny Season 4

Nothing really seemed to hold this season together, but lots of funny moments and episodes individually. Still enjoying it.

Project Hail Mary

Just as amazing as the book. Absoutely loved it and so did my wife, kids, and parents. We all went to see it together on vacation.

Virgin River Season 7

I think this show is running out of steam. After reading 21 novels about it last year, then coming back to the show, I'm confused about people and where and who they are! It finished strong.

Tacoma FD Season 1

It rains a ton in Tacoma, so there's not many fires for them to have to put out. Instead, tons of hilarious stuff happens.

ParaNorman

What an excellent movie. Going to be honest, the first half was a bit of a slog, but then a plot point hits and everything turns and it's an amazing last 30 minutes!

A Royal Setting

She works with gems. He needs his royal jewels polished. Well, that's what happens.

Tacoma FD Season 2

This time 20% more mustache. Heck of a season and some jokes ran between episodes. Really quite hilarious!

Suburgatory Season 2

Dallas dates George.
Mom briefly returns to the picture. Carmen moved homes. She's dating the boy across the street. Dallas & George break up.

Pulisic Docuseries

Wow, is he super shy. Watched the first episode. Never heard him called Captain America before, but it fits.

The Andromeda Strain

A small town is wiped out by a extra-terrestrial organism. 4 scientists rush to stop it from spreading. They do. Was an interesting movie! Would recommend.

Suburgatory Season 3

Wow, they really stripped down the cast for this season. And the freaking show ended near Christmas-time, halfway through the season. Weird.

The Secret: Dare to Dream

A woman is drawn to a man that just acts nice to her and her family. He's got a connection to her past though. This was just really sweet.

Ladies First

Dude transported to world where women & men's gender roles are flipped. Didn't like the actors, movie was so-so.

The Iron Giant

Cute movie. Set in the simpler times of the 1950s, a boy finds a robot and makes an amazing friend.

The Lost Husband

Her husband died and her mother is a pain, so she moves in with her Aunt to raise goats. Family secrets are slowly revealed. Slow movie, sweet. Good, not amazing.

That's Amor

She gets fired and cheated on in the same day, and breaks her ankle. That's OK, she moves in with mom and falls for the local Spanish chef. Cute and nicely done all around.

Tacoma FD Season 3

Just more goofy fun and 13 episodes this time, bonus!! Love how things are reoccuing gags from previous seasons too!

Tacoma FD Season 4

They got a new Andy this season, a new, nicer Station 24 and a lot more laughs. Binged while building LEGO, loved it.

A Cowboy Christmas

I loved Jana in this! She's great in country western settings. Small town turned big city girl heads home to convince old neighbor to sell his failing land. They fall in love, duh.

Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between

They dated Senior year of HS with a plan to break up before college. Cute look at their wild final night together and a tad bit of the consequences of after.

Anonymously Yours

Cute movie dubbed from Latin America Spanish about two high school seniors that have a blind texting relationship, but also meet and fall for each other IRL.

Letterkenny Season 5

Sometimes I laugh out loud, sometimes I wonder what that episode even meant, it was 20+ minutes of almost nothing going on.

Letterkenny Season 6

Ah, the season mostly about dating the French girls. This at least had a little bit more story and the final episode started with a long Star Trek gag.

Letterkenny Season 7

The crew starts a local access TV show where they answer questions from people that call in.

Letterkenny Season 8

About the title

The Life List

Daughter is challenged by deceased mother to complete a bucket list she made when she was 13 to get her inheritance. Very cute movie.

Voicemails for Isabelle

A woman falls for a guy she doesn't realize is getting voicemails she's been leaving for her dead sister on his new work phone. They fall in love. Again, very cute.

The Threesome

He hooks up with two girls. Both girls get pregnant. A very cute look at what happens next.

The Wrong Paris

Been targeted for this forever. I laughed. It had genuinely funny moments poking fun at reality TV but also had a nice love story.

A Tourist's Guide to Love

Really great seeing all the sights of Vietnam in this movie, that was the best part. The romance was a bit forced, never felt it.

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight

From a book. Absolutely freaking loved this story. Was obsessed with the way it was presented/told/filmed too with lots of closeups and silly antics.

Office Romance

OMG OMG OMG. I wanted something less sweet, more hilariously raunchy. This delivered actually on both parts. Absolutely fucking nailed it!

I Give it a Year

OK, gotta admit, was more than a bit disappointed in the premise of the first 70-80% of the movie before it picked up and I really enjoyed the ending. But kinda a slog to get to it.

Look Both Ways

A 5-year look at what happens after college graduation if a hookup with a friend ended in pregnancy or not. This was very cute.

Strange New Worlds Season 2

A fascinating rewatch. I'd forgotten a lot of the little details in many of these episodes that I thought I knew by heart.

You, Always

Friends from high school had to decide if after divorces they'd be friends or she'd find someone new. Some cute moments, a bit slow.

All of You

This sucked. Kept waiting for the happy ending. There was none. Science told her to love someone else, but they loved each other.

Waitress

Again, maybe not the best movie, but at least it had some cute moments. Didn't care much for most of the ending, but it wasn't supposed to be that kind of romance.