Okay, when this thing started we had no idea how long it would last. Sadly, it looks like social distancing will be a part of our collective lives for more than a year. Fortunately, many of our group activities continue on Zoom, and many of us are finding this prolonged downtime a good excuse to read and binge watch Netflix. We’ve asked our members to send us their recommendations on what they have enjoyed. Please feel free to send more to Website Administrator and I will update this page.
Available on Netflix:
“The May Saints of Newark” movie: crime drama origin story of Tony Soprano, prequel to “The Sopranos”
“Beckham”: Four part documentary
“The Devil’s Plan”: South Korean reality game show involving puzzles
“Physical 100”: South Korean survival show with physical challenges
“Lupin” – New season. French thriller about a gentleman thief
“The Great British Baking Show”: many seasons
Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016)
Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom (2019)
Tour de France: Unchained (2022): 8 episodes Mini Series
Lupin – Coming Soon: Season 3
All The Light We Cannot See: Mini Series – Nov 2
Aftershock – Nepal and Everest Earthquake: 3 episodes
The Dig: The excavation of the Sutton Hoo burial site, arguably the greatest medieval treasure ever found in England. Many of the artifacts from this dig can be seen in the British Museum, but the story behind how they were found is also fascinating and the subject of this film.
Schitt’s Creek: Hang in there for episodes 1-3 because after that it just gets so funny you may have to ration the episodes so you don’t forget to eat! The premise is loosely based on, “What if the Kardashians lost all of their money and were forced to live like the rest of us?” The quirky townsfolk and the funny main characters worm their way into your heart. It is a comedy with some laugh out loud moments as well as some heartfelt ones as well.
Unorthodox: A fascinating look into an ultra conservative Jewish sect living in New York City. It’s riveting.
The Great Hack: This documentary tells the story of a brilliant young woman who starts her career doing great work for humanity but turns to use her skills to manipulate elections through social media after falling under the influence of a charming CEO of Cambridge Analytica. It was eye opening to hear someone actually admit how they can influence populations all over the world to vote the way they want them to. It was a shocking wake up call.
The Family: This documentary is a miniseries that examines the conservative Christian group, known as the Family-or the Fellowship, its history and investigates its influence on American politics. Similarly frightening to “The Great Hack,” no one is immune to these quiet forces in government and it doesn’t matter which party you subscribe to because Washington insiders are under their thumb and have been for decades.
The Trial of the Chicago 7: This movie was such a surprise. If it wasn’t true, you wouldn’t believe it happened. Aaron Sorkin is a master of intelligent dialogue. Who doesn’t love a courtroom drama?
The Queen’s Gambit: A true outlier, no one is as obsessed as the main character in this series about a young chess prodigy who dances with danger in her pursuit to be world champion of chess.
Broadchurch: A British crime series about a seemingly calm and friendly seaside town which becomes a town wrapped in secrets when the death of an eleven year old boy sparks an unwanted media and everyone suspects everyone else.
The Good Place: Okay, this is just silly and Kristen Bell is brilliantly funny. Episodes are short and will give you a good laugh if you need it.
Available on Amazon Prime:
Air: About Nike’s pursuit of Michael Jordan for an endorsement deal
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel: Hard to believe that you may have not already watched this, but just in case. The fourth season will be out soon.
Streaming online PBS.org:
Gloria a Life: Play about Gloria Steinem. Deep dive into her life story.
Celebrating Trailblazers for women’s suffrage centennial: “And She Could Be Next.”
Available on Hulu:
“Crime Scene Kitchen”: with host, Joe McHale of Mercer Island. A fun series of 2 where teams have 2 minutes to figure out what was baked in a test kitchen and then have to make it.
Shrinking:
The Bear: Two Seasons, cooking series
Only Murders in the Building – Season 3
Available on Apple TV+:
The Afterparty: 2 seasons
Lessons in Chemistry: Oct 13th
Favorite Books:
“The Huntress” by Kate Quinn. Historical fiction at its best. “The Huntress is about the hunt for a female Nazi war criminal and the lives that intersect during that hunt. It has a great plot and strong female characters. The Audible narration is excellent too.
“The Emperor of all Maladies: A Biography of Cancer” by Siddhartha Mukherjee. I know what you might be thinking . . .why would I want to read about the worst illness in the history of the world during a pandemic? Trust me on this one. The book is intelligent, he writes with a beautiful rhythm, and you get the 10,000 foot view down to the microscopic details about the challenges of curing cancer.
“Unbroken” by Laura Hillenbrand. If you missed this one, go get it now. An amazing story with images that I will never forget about overcoming more obstacles than anyone could ever imagine. Especially important for someone whose father fought in WWII and didn’t want to talk about it.
“Into the Wild”, “Into Thin Air” and “Eiger Dreams” by Jon Krakauer. Okay, I’m not going out to climb a mountain anytime soon, but if you want to understand what compels folks to put themselves in life or death situations, read this book. He brings you right out on the ledge and you experience it from the safety of your couch.
“The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” by Rebecca Skloot. This in-depth nonfiction story chronicles the cell line used in medical research referred to as HeLa cells. This book combines science, history, and ethics told in a very personal way as we learn about the Lacks family.
“The Big Over Easy” and “The Fourth Bear” by Jasper Fforde. Nursery crimes (I didn’t know that was a genre)-an excellent whodunit. Fforde is brilliant, his stories are absurd, hilarious and you won’t want to put them down.
“Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell” by Susanna Clarke. A fantasy novel about magic in 19th century England. A “Harry Potter” for adults.
Trilogy by Gillian Rubinstein under the pen name Lian Hearn: “Across the Nightingale Floor,” “Grass for His Pillow” and “Brilliance of the Moon.” Historical fantasy set in feudal Japan. The main character struggles between avenging his adoptive father’s death, submitting to his biological father’s clan, and following his heart to marry a young princess from a different clan. The love story is epic.