Beyond the Throne

 

The actors on "Game of Thrones" did such a terrific job, especially in the last season with the absolutely awful material they were given to work with. 

Kristian Nairn, who played Hodor (HODOR!!) was such a great actor who brought a challenging character to life. Hodor only spoke one word, "hodor", over and over again, and yet Nairn was able to convey his sweetness and loyalty. 

Nairn himself is an interesting person. He grew up in Ireland, raised by a single mom. He worked (and actually continues to work) as a popular DJ. I enjoyed hearing his story and his experiences working on the show. 

Why We Love Football; Dark Tide

 

Posnanski counts down the top 100 moments in football history. He had a lot of good ones on here, ones I fondly remembered. He did, however, miss the first Lambeau leap, and I think that should have been included. Of course it's impossible to include everything. Football is full of amazing moments. There are definitely more than 100 reasons to love it. 

On that note...GO PACK GO!! 😊

"Dark Tide" was not what I was expecting, and yet I really couldn't put it down. It was very well written and compelling. 

Edna Cowell is Ted Bundy's cousin. They were close when they were children, Ted being the same age as Edna's older brother. When Ted was arrested for the kidnapping, rape, and murder of the young women that had gone missing around their Washington homes, Edna and her family were sure it was some horrible mistake. Their Ted would never do anything like that. 

It was hard for her to come to terms with the truth. I appreciated hearing about the experience from a family member, we don't normally hear their side of things. Even though we disagree about the death penalty, I found her story engaging. 

Last Night at the Hollywood Canteen

 

"Last Night at the Hollywood Canteen" was pretty good. Set during WWII, the Hollywood Canteen was a place where studio stars and workers volunteered their time to entertain servicemen. 

Annie Laurence is a writer who's new to Hollywood. She followed her former boyfriend and girlfriend out after they left New York for a contract at MGM. Obviously they had to keep their relationship hush hush, but critic Fiona Farris reviewed the last play that Annie wrote and made a joke about her sleeping with both the main stars. Fiona is killed one night at the canteen and Annie is a suspect, along with the rest of the group of friends known as the Ambassador's Club. 

It was a good mystery, I didn't see the ending coming (but then again, I rarely do). I liked the historical element of it, too. Reading about old Hollywood, even in fiction, is usually fun. 

IT

 

I haven't reread "IT" in ages. It was just as engaging as I remembered. 

Seven kids, who call themselves the "losers", come together in Derry, Maine, during the summer of 1958. Bill, Richie, Eddie, Ben, Beverly, Mike, and Stan are the kids who are always being picked on by the bullies: Bill stutters, Richie wears glasses, Eddie has asthma, Ben is overweight, Beverly is poor, Mike is Black, and Stan is Jewish. Henry Bowers and his gang torments them, but there's something much worse going on in Derry. Kids are being brutally murdered, including Bill's younger brother, George. And the losers know what is doing it: an evil entity they call "IT". They go after IT and fight it. The murders stop, and the losers part ways. 

Twenty-seven years later, IT is back and the losers who made a vow to return if IT wasn't really dead are being called home to once again face off against the eternal evil. 

This was the first Stephen King book I read. I was thirteen. It had a very lasting impression on me, and I'm still amazed at what an awesome storyteller King is when he's good. This is one of the great ones.