#Angie Kim

[mostlyghostie]

New fiction! These are the 12 monthly picks from this year of the Belletrist website, I was commissioned by a book group who had been reading along with them!

I’ve only read a couple of these as I usually wait for paperbacks, but I liked both The Premonition and The Guest.

Shop / Instagram

[bangbangwhoa]

books I’ve read in 2023 📖 no. 108

Happiness Falls by Angie Kim

“For the rest of our lives, every time one of us goes somewhere and doesn’t return on time, doesn’t let the others know where we are, we will remember this time, what can happen. And we will fall apart.”

[elenichr]

Year of Lists

May Books

Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell *4.7/5 - the craft is just awesome. I had favourite sections and I had favourite people (shoutout to Sonmi, Sixsmith and Robert Frobisher). The tingling anticipation when I realised the sections would run backwards back to the start - yum. The threads connecting the stories through time; the mix of genres - ugh, so good.

Normal People by Sally Rooney *5/5 - I stayed away from this one during its peak, opting to read Conversations with Friends instead, which I loved. I still carry a lot of it with me, and for subject matter, I would probably pick it over this one; except that this is a perfect book. It does what it sets out to do so, so well.

It is one of the secrets in that change of mental poise which has been fitly named conversion, that to many among us neither heaven nor earth has any revelation till some personality touches theirs with a peculiar influence, subduing them into receptiveness. - George Eliot, Daniel Deronda (opening inscription to the book)

This is about those relationships that change you, connect you to another person in an immovable way, and mark you for life. I love the unapologetic awkwardness, the leaning into the, often, devastating turn of events, that is so true to life.

Happiness Falls by Angie Kim *3/5 (ebook) - went into this for a taste of mystery. It's mostly okay, a quick read, was thinking about Eugene for days after. There are ups and downs, some enjoyable, pacy bits but it left me unchanged, and worse, nonplussed.

Day by Michael Cunningham *3.2/5 - I've read some of Cunningham's work - The Hours, Flesh and Blood - both of which were five star reads. I didn't think this was a masterpiece, it read more like a writing challenge, as if Cunningham is still experimenting with Virginia Woolf's Mrs Dalloway, churning theme and structure to differing results. The characterisation is a great strength, giving life to an otherwise unremarkable book. What is undeniable is the writing talent. I wouldn't mind reading any of his work, ever. Bonus points for finishing this in a Day. sorrynotsorry

-- pic with summer flowers and Cassandra the centipede

[prosy-days]

December 26, 2023 - Day 190

My new books!

[el-oh-her]

What are the characters' names in Happiness Falls?

Mia (Narrator)

John: Mia's Twin Brother

Eugene: Youngest brother, has Angleman's Syndrome

Mom/Hannah: Mia's mother

Dad/Adam = Mia's Father

Shannon: Eugene's Lawyer

Detective Janice(?): Detective assigned to Adam's case.

Vik: Mia's ex boyfriend

Characters I have Forgotten the Name of

Eugene's Therapist

The Judge presiding over Eugene's case

Notes

(?) = denotes that the name might be wrong and if anyone reads this and can verify the correct name, please feel free to share.

I read on audiobook and I decided to start doing this on a whim becaues I am so frustrated that there just isn't a list of characters in the book so I wasn't paying attention to the names in order to remember them this time. So if you know a name, please feel free to share it.

[whatcha-reading-today]

Happiness Falls

This was VERY good. Kim's first book focuses on a murder trial in a courtroom while this follows a missing person's case and takes place mostly at the family's home. Both stories are told from multiple POV which I think makes the story more complex and spidery. I didn't like 'Happiness' as much as 'Miracle' but can appreciate both books for the depth of characters and complexity of the story.

I would absolutely recommend the audiobook which uses multiple voice actors, especially the one for Eugene.

Format: audiobook

Read in: February 2024

[crowdvscritic]

round up // NOVEMBER 23 + DECEMBER 23 + JANUARY 24: CROWD vs. CRITIC vs. CHRISTMAS!

November and December push me to the limit—how many movies can I fit in before the end of the calendar year? In 2023 (plus a few bonus days), the answer was more than 130 new releases. And who wants to skip all of their favorite Christmas movies? Because I extend my holiday viewing into January, I fit in almost 90 this year, adding a few more to my all-time must-watch list. Once the Oscar noms were announced, I was already back to my usual shenanigans and had watched my 400th unique movie on Turner Classic Movies. Whether these statistics are cool or pathetic (erm, don’t tell me), I’m grateful for the slowness of Dump-uary and the depth that comes with thinking about the same Oscar-nominated films for several weeks. (Too bad we need to revisit Melissa Villaseñor’s Oscars snub song from SNL.)

To help sum up these three packed months, I’m resurrecting Crowd vs. Critic vs. Christmas: five crowd-pleasers, five critic picks, and five Christmas treats. Who says you can’t make these holiday recommendations part of your February entertainment?

Holiday Crowd-Pleasers

1. SNL Round Up

Studio 8H is making up for lost time after those strikes: 

“Question Quest” (4906 with Emma Stone)

“Beep Beep” (4907 with Adam Driver) - #SoMidwest

“Weekend Update: Chloe Fineman’s Save the Last Dance Holiday Gift” (4907)

“Tiny A** Bag” (4907)

“Christmas Awards Cold Open” (4908 with Kate McKinnon)

"North Pole News: Killer Whale Attack” (4908)

“ABBA Christmas” (4908)

“Yankee Swap” (4908)

“Please Don't Destroy - Roast” (4910 with Dakota Johnson) - As one who still has yet to understand the appeal of the PDD guys, this resonated with me

“The Barry Gibb Talk Show: 2024 Election” (4910)

“Weekend Update: A Guy Named Ethan on the 2024 Oscars Snubs” (4910) - I am...probably only a few years away from turning into Ethan?

2. Triple Feature - Big City Crime Thrillers: No Way Out (1987) + Cop Land (1997) + Widows (2018)

The stars aligned on all of these! In No Way Out (Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 8/10), Kevin Costner is assigned to investigate the murder of his secret lover (Sean Young) in Washington D.C. The twist? The person who assigned him the case was also her lover, Secretary of Defense Gene Hackman. In Cop Land (9/10 // 7.5/10), Sylvester Stallone sheriffs a New Jersey town that houses a corrupt batch of New York City cops (including Harvey Keitel, Ray Liotta, and Robert Patrick) that Robert De Niro is investigating. In Widows (8.5/10 // 8.5/10), Viola Davis, Elizabeth Debicki, Cynthia Erivo, and Michelle Rodriguez are completing the heist that killed their husbands (including Liam Neeson) in a corrupt Chicago run by Robert Duvall, Colin Farrell, Brian Tyree Henry, and Daniel Kaluuya. All are twisty, gritty, and thrilling.

3. Godzilla Minus One (2023)

Oh no, there goes Tokyo—but at least it’s going to a spectacle as fun and well-crafted as this one. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 7/10

4. Double Feature - ‘90s Matt Damon Dramas: School Ties (1992) + The Rainmaker (1997)

Because Matt Damon has always been good! Though he’s not always been the good guy: In School Ties (Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 8.5/10), Brendan Fraser must hide his Jewish identity to survive at a prep school in the ‘50s, and bullies like Damon are who he’s most afraid of. In The Rainmaker (9/10 // 8.5/10), Damon is the good guy as a baby-faced lawyer who wants to protect Claire Danes, Teresa Wright, and Mary Kay Place from villains like slick lawyer Jon Voight. Here’s hoping Damon has another coming-of-age movie (as a teacher) and legal thriller in his future.

5. The Jerk (1979)

Not every moment of this movie would fly if made today, but Steve Martin’s episodic adventures in his first journey away from home gave me some of my biggest laughs in months. Crowd: 9.5/10 // Critic: 8/10

More Holiday Crowd-Pleasers: Three Men and a Little Lady (1990) reminds us how much fun it is to let three charismatic movie stars (Ted Danson, Steve Guttenberg, and Tom Selleck) cook // The Mrs. Doubtfire National Tour is fluffy fun // Maggie Moore(s) (2023) is a true crime story that makes me wish Tina Fey and Jon Hamm could become the new Myrna Loy and William Powell // Quiz Lady (2023) lets Will Ferrell live out his Alex Trebek dreams // John Mulaney in Concert Tour is making me count down till his next special is released to get memes about his grandfather, his bus driver, and his son // Reacher Season 2 is the perfect action show to watch with my dad // I’m not sure if Man of the Year (2006) was prescient about the future of politics or if it just understood human nature well enough to anticipate the populist movement and election fraud conversations we’re having today, but this Robin-Williams-as-Jon-Stewart comedy is underrated // The real-world implications of V for Vendetta (2005) are…confusing, but this literary-inspired adventure is still thrilling // Desperado (1995) is an over-the-top, shoot-'em-up Western

Holiday Critic Picks

1. The Best of 2023

2023: a year of products, greed, put-upon employees, and artificial intelligence—and not just in the actors’ and writers’ strikes! It was also a great year for movies, which is why I couldn’t narrow down my list to just 10. Read my top 10 picks for 2023 movies, as well as 28 honorable mentions at ZekeFilm, and then check out the accompanying list on Letterboxd.

I also dug deeper into some of the films mentioned in my Best of 2023 in these reviews:

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes - ZekeFilm review

Maestro - ZekeFilm review

Priscilla -  ZekeFilm review, KMOV review, Do You Like Apples discussion, updated Letterboxd Sofia Coppola rankings

2. Double Feature - New Baseball Documentaries: It Ain’t Over (2022) + The League (2023)

I am not a Yankees fan, so who would have guessed that the Yogi Berra documentary It Ain’t Over (Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 8.5/10) would make me cry? And my baseball history knowledge always has room for improvement, so The League (8/10 // 9/10) is a phenomenal fix to many of my blind spots. Both are now inducted in my Baseball Movie Hall of Fame.

3. Triple Billing - Come From Away + Tina: The Tina Turner Musical + Funny Girl National Tours

Looking for a true story turned into an excellent musical? Try Come From Away, which captures the chaos of flights rerouted on 9/11 with the pathos you expect (and the comedy you don’t). Or try Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, which is one of the best—if not the best—jukebox musical I’ve seen because the songs are integrated into the story instead of just as a musical revue of a a well-known career. Or catch Funny Girl, which captures comedienne Fanny Brice’s life with the help of a powerhouse singer channeling Barbra Streisand’s powers. Better yet, I recommend not skipping any of them when they come to town if you can swing it.

4. Happiness Falls by Angie Kim (2023)

What do you do when your dad goes missing in the middle of a global pandemic and the only one who was with him when he disappeared is your non-verbal brother? That’s the central mystery of Angie Kim’s latest novel. Instead of an edge-of-your-seat-thriller, it’s a story that propels us forward with the questions that plague its characters.

5. Hollywood Victory: The Movies, Stars, and Stories of World War II by Christian Blauvelt (2021)

The Turner Classic Movies Library has yet to miss. Hollywood Victory doesn’t just provide an in-depth overview of Hollywood from 1933 to 1945. It’s an exploration of Hollywood’s inextricable relationship with American politics, its contributions that helped the Allies win the war, and a unusual but informative lens of movies and the war itself. It’s also a long set of additions to my watchlist—of the 260+ films referenced, I’ve only seen a quarter. Thank goodness for TCM and a DVR with unlimited space!

More Holiday Critic Picks: American Symphony, Chevalier, Fallen Leaves, Freud’s Last Session, and Master Gardener were all films in consideration for my Best of 2023 // Wes Anderson’s Roald Dahl short film adaptations Poison, The Rat Catcher, The Swan, and The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (2023) are bite-sized, beautifully manicured delights // Debbie Reynolds paves the way the way for Kathy Bates’s Titanic role with her charismatic starring piece in the musical The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964) // Barbara Stanwyck is wonderful as always in the melodrama All I Desire (1953) // Hail the Conquering Hero (1944) is filled with some of Preston Sturges’s most fun mixups and hijinks

Holiday Treats

1. Ken The EP by Ryan Gosling and Mark Ronson

I don’t care if these are barely Christmas songs—let’s give Ryan Gosling seasonal updates of “I’m Just Ken” for all of 2024!

2. Mixed Nuts (1994)

Hot take: Steve Martin has not been in enough rom-coms. A kookier—but nonetheless delightful—brand of Nora Ephron stars Martin and Rita Wilson as co-workers at a crisis hotline who are clearly meant for each other. If only they—and Madeline Kahn, Juliette Lewis, Adam Sandler, Liev Schreiber, and Garry Shandling— could get out of their own way. Crowd: 7.5/10 // Critic: 6.5/10  

3. Fitzwilly (1967)

Christmas Ocean’s Eleven! Dick Van Dyke is as charming as ever and the vibes are as ‘60s as ever as he tries to pull off a heist at Gimbels on Christmas Eve. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 8/10

4. Metropolitan (1990)

Before Chris Eigeman was Jason Stiles on Gilmore Girls, he was essentially playing the same character in Whit Stillman’s comedy riff on The Great Gatsby. A young, bougie group is attempting to survive debutante season (also the Christmas season), debating the pros and cons of wealth and falling in and out of romance. Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 9/10

5. The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek (1944)

Hollywood Victory informed me I’m not the only who can’t believe this was allowed to play for audiences in 1944! Betty Hutton marries a soldier on a whim, but the next morning she can’t remember which one. Her BFF with an unrequited crush (Eddie Bracken) is the only one who can help her figure out who her husband—and the father of her child—is before the scandal gets out and destroys her reputation. Because this is a Preston Sturges feature, it’s actually a hilarious quest. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 9/10

More Christmas Treats: Klaus (2019) is a hidden gem on Netflix // Okay, the ick factor in Susan Slept Here (1954) is real, but Dick Powell and Debbie Reynolds are just so darn charming! // 8-Bit Christmas (2021) is a better-than-it-needed-to-be update of A Christmas Story featuring a Nintendo instead of a BB gun // How did I never see Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) all the way through before this year? Once I realized I’d missed some scenes in my umpteen cable watches over the years, it shot up on my John Hughes rankings // Pocketful of Miracles (1961) is a delightful Cinderella tale that proves Bette Davis always had it 

Also this Holiday Season…

I reviewed even more new movies, including Next Goal Wins (ZekeFilm), The Marvels (KMOV), and the new Mean Girls musical (ZekeFilm)

The St. Louis Film Critics Association nominated and voted on our Best of 2023 films. You can see every winner and every film we nominated on Letterboxd, and you can read my summary of how I voted here on Crowd vs. Critic. Keep scrolling if you’re on the home page to my last post, or read it here.

Photo credits: Funny Girl, Happiness Falls, Hollywood Victory. All others IMDb.com. 

[letmeiniwanttoread-blog]

happiness never falls

so I just finished happiness falls by Angie Kim and I’m honestly still shell-shocked. Every page leaves you guessing more and more and the finally is so beautiful but bittersweet. A 10/10 for me but I would definitely prefer a book/ebook over the audio again because Eugene’s voice actor felt a little too out of touch for me personally.

[shafershouse]

Books Read: 2019

January

The Silent Patient (Alex Michaelides)

February

Pillow Thoughts (Courtney Peppernell)

A Gentleman in Moscow (Amor Towles)

March

The Age of Light (Whitney Scharer)

The Winter Sister (Megan Collins)

April

Daisy Jones & The Six (Taylor Jenkins Reid)

The Kremlin Conspiracy (Joel C. Rosenberg)

The Municipalists (Seth Fried)

Nature (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

Miracle Creek (Angie Kim)

May

The Light of the Fireflies (Paul Pen)

Beyond The Point (Claire Gibson)

June

Lost and Wanted (Nell Freudenberger)

July 

The Flight Portfolio (Julie Orringer)

The Golden Hour (Beatriz Williams)

A Nearly Normal Family (M. T. Edvardsson)

August

September

Summer of ‘69 (Elin Hilderbrand)

October

The Gifted School (Bruce Holsinger)

November

The Haunting of Hill House (Shirley Jackson)

The Whisper Man (Alex North)

December

The Turn of the Key (Ruth Ware)

[thechanelmuse]

"That was the thing about lies: they demanded commitment. Once you lied, you had to stick to your story." 

What a debut with heavy scenes written by a lawyer. 

Miracle Creek is a twisty, layered, and compelling page-turner that takes us inside and outside of a Virginia courtroom to uncover the motive and individual behind a fatal explosion at a small HBOT (hyperbaric oxygen therapy) facility in a rural town. 

The characters (many of whom are unlikable) are complex people with flawed personalities who have probable motives due to the withholding of their own secrets, which drives this novel. They all seek a better life in different ways. But at what cost? 

The unfolding nearing the last couple of chapters gripped me. I don't read many courtroom dramas. But after reading this one, I def need to change that.

SN: I recommend this book with a caution. Some trigger warnings include treatment towards children with autism, sexual abuse, suicide references, description of burn victims and addiction. So heads up.

[wttnblog]

10 August 2023 Book Releases to Keep on Your Radar

There’s so many good books coming out this month, especially if you’re into fantasy or thriller. I compiled a list of the 10 best books coming out in August so that you can find them all in one place. Let me know which books you’re most looking forward to reading! Please use the Bookshop links below to purchase these books, and we will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Family…

[aring-king-king]

[dad-dumpster]

kim has this exact nightmare three times a week everyweek since martinaise

[surra-de-bunda]

Aaliyah's memorial service at St. Ignatius Loyola Roman Catholic Church in New York City (August 31, 2001). Hundreds of fans attended a memorial for Aaliyah at Cipriani restaurant, as the funeral service was held.

[eternallyangelina]

Angelina Jolie for Vogue Japan

[aphverse-confessions]

this fandom is full of misogynists in 2024, the year of our lord aphmau. like. ya’ll treat female characters like dog shit in order to promote ur mlm ships im juuuust saaayiing

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