With the excitement of the holiday season now firmly in the rear-view mirror and COVID-19 continuing to impact our daily lives, it’s all too easy for cabin fever to grab hold during the darkest days of winter. Shereen Siewert welcomes Marathon County Public Library Marketing Specialist Dan Richter and University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point films expert Cary Elza to offer their recommendations for the best books, movies and streaming shows to help get you through the long months ahead.
Shereen’s Book Picks
Walking with Ghosts, by Gabriel Byrne (January 12)
Just As I Am, by Cicely Tyson (Jan. 26)
Let Me Tell You What I Mean, by Joan Didion (Jan. 26)
A Shot in the Moonlight: How a Freed Slave and a Confederate Soldier Fought for Justice in the Jim Crow South by Ben Montgomery (Jan. 26)
A Bright Ray of Darkness, by Ethan Hawke (Feb. 2)
Girl A, by Abigail Dean (Feb. 2)
Mike Nichols: A Life, by Mark Harris (Feb. 2)
Dark Horses, by Susan Mihalic (Feb. 16)
No One Is Talking About THis, by Patricia Lockwood (Feb. 16)
The Beauty of Living Twice, by Sharon Stone (March 30)
Dan’s Book Picks
The Mystery of Mrs. Christie by Marie Benedict
Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas
Just As I Am by Cicely Tyson
Let Me Tell You What I Mean by Joan Didion
The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
A Bright Ray of Darkness by Ethan Hawke
Girls with Bright Futures by Tracy Dobmeier and Wendy Katzman
The Project by Courtney Summers
Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
Later by Stephen King
The Beauty of Living Twice by Sharon Stone
Shereen’s Movie/TV Picks
The Crown – Netflix
The Sopranos – HBO
Watchmen – HBO Max
Russian Doll – Netflix
The Queen’s Gambit – Netflix
The Last Dance – Netflix
Ozark – Netflix
Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness – Netflix
The Undoing – HBO
The Great British Bakeoff – Netflix
I Know This Much is True – HBO
Cary’s Movie/TV Picks
For children/families:
How to Train Your Dragon series (Netflix)
Super Hero Girls (Netflix)
Hilda (Netflix)
Musicals on Disney Plus:
Newsies
Annie
Sound of Music
Sister Act
Into the Woods
High School Musical
Encore (series where folks reenact high school musicals)
Other musicals/family:
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (Hulu with Starz)
Soul (Disney Plus)
Enola Holmes (Netflix)
West Side Story (Prime)
Series:
Bridgerton (Netflix)
Grey’s Anatomy (Netflix)
Scandal (Hulu)
Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Prime)
Outlander (Netflix)
Queen’s Gambit
Snowpiercer (HBO Max)
Lovecraft Country HOB Max)
Classic films:
Citizen Kane (HBO Max)
Mank (Netflix)
American Experience documentary The Battle Over Citizen Kane (YouTube)
Classic and more recent films new to Netflix this month:
Bonnie and Clyde
Catch me if you can
Cool Hand Luke
Enter the Dragon
Mystic Pizza
Superbad
The Departed
Hook (will be released next week)
Other films:
A Monster Calls (new to Netflix this month)
Emma (HBO Max)
Upcoming films:
Promising Young Woman (coming to Prime 1/15)
First Cow (Hulu with showtime add-on)
Nomadland (theaters in February)
Minari (theaters in Feb
Episode Credits
- Shereen Siewert Host
- Rick Reyer Producer
- Joy Ratchkramer Producer
- Cary Elza Guest
- Dan Richter Guest
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