Day 25 - My Xmas Month Countdown - A Book, a Song and now a TV Show

Well, it's Christmas Eve here on the West Coast of Canada but it's either Christmas Day or almost there back east so before I go to bed, I'm going to post my final book, song and TV show of 2019.

Book 1

Elie Wiesel

Elie Wiesel - Night.

Elie Wiesel was born in Romania in 1928 and died in Manhattan in 2016. He was a writer, political activist, Nobel Prize winner and a Holocaust survivor. He authored 57 books, including Night, which details his experiences as a prisoner (as a child) in both Auschwitz and Buchenwald concentration camps. My review of Night is below.








"I've just finished Night by Elie Wiesel, the true story of how he and his family were taken from their home in Sighet, Transylvania, along with all of the other Jews of his town, to Auschwitz, in 1944. As I think about what I've read, today's news headlines state the following; 'Trump Vows Mass Migrant Arrests Starting Next Week', 'Trump Plans to Turn the 4th of July into a Political Rally in Honor of Himself', 'Ocasio - Cortez - Trump Detention Centers 'exactly' like Concentration Camps'. Those are just US headlines.

What to say about this short, succinct book? It's terror, plain and simple. Scarier and harder to conceive than any horror story. The evil of people to just dismiss another group as animals, nothing more. It's scary and even scarier as it seems the lessons may not have been learned and that we are just as capable nowadays of doing the same thing.

As I mentioned, it's a short story but a story that grabs you viscerally and holds you tight until you can't breathe. Elie Wiesel was not even 16 when he and his family were put on a train and taken to Auschwitz. When they got there, he and his father were separated from his mother and sisters and never saw them again. He and his father survived Auschwitz and then the trip to Buchenwald in winter and his father died there.

It's a terrible story but it's a story that needs to be read and believed and thought upon. There is deep within mankind this type of evil that is often stoked and brought to the surface. We need to learn from this book and others so we can fight it. Sorry for preaching. Just read it. (5 stars)"

Song 1

Mabel

Mabel - Fine Line.

Mabel Alabama-Pearl McVey is an English singer - songwriter who was born in Spain. She is the daughter of Swedish singer Neneh Cherry and Massive Attack producer Cameron McVey. Her debut album was released in 2019. Fine Line, which features Not3s was released in 2018. The song peaked at #11 on the UK charts. I've had it on my USB for awhile now and love it every time it pops up.

TV Shows #1A and 1B

1a. The Brokenwood Mysteries.

I've said it previously in one or two of my earlier posts in this thread, that our local Public broadcaster, Knowledge Network, has discovered some excellent quirky mysteries, especially from Down Under. The Brokenwood Mysteries, from New Zealand, was one such show. Over the past year they showed all of the first five seasons. We loved it right from the get-go. The synopsis, a la imdb, is -

"Detective Inspector Mike Shepherd arrives on assignment in Brokenwood, a small town where memories - and animosities - run deep"

It's a sort Midsomer Murders with a twang. Mike Shepherd is a country music fan, especially Kiwi Country so the episodes are interspersed with great bits of music. The show is funny, with a great cast and also with neat little mysteries. Because all of the episodes are set in the little town of Brokenwood, you get to meet the same characters over and over. And they are quirky and fun. The main three cast members are Neil Rea as Mike Shepherd, Fern Sutherland as his DS Kristin Sims (show gets all of the good lines) and Nik Sampson as DC Breen. Another of our favorite cast members is Maori, Pana Hema Taylor, who works on Mike's vineyard and does other odd jobs around town and seems to always know something about what's going on. He disappeared for some reason in Season 3 and was replaced by his cousin, Rawiri Jobe (Kahu). We were so disappointed when we came to the end of season 5. It seems that Fern Sutherland moved to Vancouver to try her luck there. I've since read that they have filmed four more episodes and they came out in November. Jo and I will be finding those and watching. Great show!

1b. A Discovery of Witches.

If you enjoy fantasy, then Discovery of Witches is your thing. It's sexy, has vampires, witches, werewolves and demons, and has a battle between all of the races. It's also very dramatic and has a great cast; the fantastic Teresa Palmer as Diana Bishop (witch), Matthew Goode as Matthew Clairmont (vampire and love interest), Owen Teale as Peter Knox (scary bad guy), Alex Kingston as Sarah Bishop (Diana's witchy aunt), etc. The synopsis is below

"Diana Bishop, historian and witch, accesses Ashmole 782 and knows she must solve its mysteries. She is offered help by the enigmatic Matthew Clairmont, but he's a vampire and witches should never trust vampires."

The series was based on books by Deborah Harkness. I have the first book and will try in 2020. I'm happy to say there is a second season coming in 2020. I can't wait.

So there you go folks. I hope some of my Top 25 interest you. Merry Christmas to all of you. Best wishes for 2020.