Giving a Voice to the Voiceless: Author Kim Taylor Blakemore on 'After Alice Fell'

February 28, 2021 Kelli

At the beginning of last year I spoke with Kim Taylor Blakemore about her novel The Companion, a dark and sumptuous historical thriller set in nineteenth century New Hampshire. Her new novel, After Alice Fell, shares this same setting and roughly the same time period (1865, ten years after events of The Companion). The story follows Marion, a nurse recently returned from the war to discover that her younger sister, Alice, has died after falling from the roof of the asylum she’d been committed to in Marion’s absence. Wracked with guilt, Marion sets out to investigate her sister’s death, which she’s convinced was no accident.

Read on for my conversation with Kim Taylor Blakemore about After Alice Fell, wherein we discuss history, suspense, and the treatment of the mentally ill in nineteenth century America. The last time we spoke, Kim and I were entirely unaware of the pandemic that would hit in a few months time, so it was also great catching up with her about how her writing and research process has changed in light of our new reality.

(This interview is spoiler-free!)

Why We Won't Be Recapping The Rest of Matt James' Season of The Bachelor

February 27, 2021 Susan & Emily

We (Susan and Emily) have decided to not finish recapping this season of The Bachelor. We feel like we should explain.

If you’ve been following our recaps or following the Bachelor franchise world at all, you’re probably pretty up-to-date on the ongoing racism problems the show and its host are propagating. As the franchise digs itself deeper into a hole and has failed to protect or defend Rachel Lindsay, Matt James, or any BIPOC contestants, we felt compelled to say something. But first, let’s make one thing clear: The racism on this show is not new. Ali Barthwell, one of our favorite recappers, laid it out plainly a few weeks ago:

Late to the Game: Stardew Valley

February 25, 2021 Mary

Okay, so I might not be late to Stardew Valley per se, but when it was originally released in 2016, I didn’t give it its proper due. Sure, I played it a little, made it through a year or so, but I didn’t fully come to appreciate the joys of life in Pelican Town until recently. Until my digital world was the only one I could visit.

Anti-Racist Bachelor Alum You Should Be Following

February 23, 2021 Susan

Rachel Lindsay Image: Noel Vasquez, Getty Images — Rachel Lindsay
Image: Noel Vasquez, Getty Images

The Bachelor franchise has been embroiled in accusations of racism in recent weeks. Calls for season 25 frontrunner Rachael Kirkconnell to address her history of racially insensitive Instagram activity led to an explosive interview between Chris Harrison and former Bachelorette Rachel Lindsay that has many viewers and Bachelor Nation alumni calling for ABC to fire Harrison. If you’re a regular viewer of the Bachelor, you know that discussion of the show’s racism is not new. Yesterday, current Bachelor Matt James made a statement condemning the show’s failure to address this issue for years.

BSG #51: It's Our Podcast and We'll Cry if We Want to / Transcendent Kingdom

February 22, 2021 The Squad

Click through for summary, table of contents, and show notes!

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.

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