Behind Her Eyes: Is An Adaptation Only As Good As Its Source Material?

February 21, 2021 Emily

Is the book always better than the movie/tv adaptation? There are a few exceptions to this rule. And obviously everyone is going to have their own opinions about this. Personally, I think the Hunger Games movies are better than the mediocre books. Fight Club the movie is also much better than the book. From my experience, when a book is really great, it can be a difficult feat attempting to improve upon it for the screen (be that screen big or small). And when a book is great, sometimes adaptations feel too beholden to the sacred source material.

So then it seems like, surprisingly, maybe the most promising adaptations are the ones that come from source material that is either not so great or even… bad? Which is maybe why I was so interested in watching Netflix’s adaptation of Sarah Pinborough’s novel Behind Her Eyes. I read the book shortly after it was released in 2017, and well, it was kind of a mess. Enjoyable, but ultimately ridiculous. What would a six-episode Netflix series be able to do with this material? I was curious to find out.

Spoilers to follow!

The Bachelor S25E7: I'm a Long-Term Investment

February 20, 2021 Susan & Emily

Susan: Once again, before we get into the recap, we must address the updated foolery going on in Bachelor Nation. In the time since last week’s recap, Chris Harrison issued a statement announcing that he will be “stepping aside for a period of time.” From what we can tell, this means he won’t be hosting this season’s After the Final Rose special, but it’s unclear what it means after this season. It appears his Instagram account has since been deactivated or deleted. Here is his full statement:

Todd's Fantasy Series Corner Part 2

February 19, 2021 Todd Osborne

Hello all. I am back with some more fantasy series (?) to recommend (or not), but before I jump into all that I want to do a quick catch-up of the series that I mentioned last time (besides the ones I quit reading).

The Bachelor S25E6: Weak Bitch Energy

February 12, 2021 Susan & Emily

We start where we left off last week, which seems like a given, but it’s actually not. Remember two weeks ago, we ended in the middle of a group date. And then when we came back last week, we just started in the middle of some power walking like group dates and group date roses don’t even matter. But no, ABC is honoring my sanity this week, and we’re starting where we left off, which is with MJ talking over Jessenia about how she represents PEACE and LOVE. “My actions speak louder than words,” MJ says. “I lead by example,” she says again. And again, I have to stress that these words don’t inherently MEAN anything. What actions are you speaking of, MJ? Who are you leading? What is your example?

YA Book Club: This is Not the Jess Show by Anna Carey

February 11, 2021 Mary & Emily

For February’s YA Book Club pick, we talk about This is Not the Jess Show by Anna Carey. We’ve waited on this one for a long time, so let’s just jump right in.

Emily: This is Not the Jess Show by Anna Carey is one I’ve been excited to talk about for some time, but we decided to wait for a bit to cover it because the publication date got pushed back. Thanks, Covid. But it’s finally out, and we’re both ready to tell everyone our thoughts! Woo! Thanks to Quirk Books for the advanced copies of this book. These opinions are our own. Oh, one more disclaimer: this book is hard to discuss without spoilers, so spoilers are coming.

Mary: The novel follows Jess, a teenage girl living the 90s dream. She’s got it all: posters of Scott Wolf on her wall, lots of YM magazines, two best friends, and a big choice on her hands. Two boys—yes, two!—want to date Jess. One is friend Tyler, who she accidentally bonked in the head with a ball in 4th grade, and the other is Patrick, the popular soccer star at Swickley high. Jess’s friends keep pressuring her to give Patrick a chance, but why? Jess just doesn’t get it.

The Bachelor S25E5: I Lead By Example

February 6, 2021 Kelli & Emily

Kelli: Hello! This week is Susan’s birthday, Susan’s husband’s birthday, and their anniversary, so she is taking a well-deserved break. I am stepping in to fill her shoes, and let me just say: what a week it is.

Emily: You really picked a doozy of an episode to sub in on, Kelli. But it should give us plenty to discuss. So let’s get to it.

Sorrow, Empathy, and Irish Wolfhounds: A Conversation with author Tiffanie DeBartolo

February 2, 2021 Kelli

Tiffanie DeBartolo has followed many artistic pursuits throughout her life: she is the founder of the independent record label Bright Antenna, cofounder of the ShineMaker Foundation, a filmmaker, and the author of three novels.

Her most recent book, Sorrow, follows musician Joe Harper, a man quite unlike Tiffanie in that his life has been a series of intentionally-missed opportunities, artistic and otherwise. Tiffanie spoke to me about Sorrow, the inspiration behind it, and what it takes to write from a truly empathetic perspective.

(Warning: spoilers for Sorrow to follow!)

Queer Girl Book Club: The Mercies

January 31, 2021 Kelli & Emily

Emily: It's round 4 of lesbian books for lesbians. JK lesbian books are for everyone.

Kelli: It's true. Today we are talking about my pick, The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave!

(Spoilers ahead… or should we say spoilers ahoy?)

The Bachelor S25E4: I Love My Vibrator

January 30, 2021 Susan & Emily

Emily: Hi everyone! Before we get into the episode, we want to acknowledge two things. First of all, this blog post is late, we know. Susan and I both have normal jobs that we unfortunately have to prioritize over these Bachelor recaps because we actually get paid to do this other stuff. So sometimes real life gets in the way, and these recaps won’t happen on time. We’re sorry.

Thing #2: Yes, there were five new women added to the show this week. We drafted the new women onto our teams at the end of the episode, so stay til the end to see who we picked. We won’t start counting their points until next week’s episode. And with all that out of the way, let’s jump in to WEEK 4 of The Bachelor!

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