The Week in Entertainment

DVD: A couple more The Girl From UNCLE eps. And a few from a rather good German series called Marie Brand (aka Marie's Mind For Murder), about a fiftyish detective pulled back into working homicide (from burglary); her new partner is a younger cop who doesn't value her at first, but soon learns she's got her own way of looking at things - and that they actually make a good team. It's well done, and Köln is a new setting, and an attractive one.

TV: The Mentalist continues to offer up good episodes. I'm now sorry this is its last season. The Middle was a little predictable (of course no one would notice that Frankie wasn't on the train!) but good. Modern Family was amusing. Grimm continues interesting, though I think Juliet doesn't really need to hide from Nick. Cutting off his head doesn't seem to be his first instinct when it comes to Sean Renard, after all, and he's not in love with him. Also, Juliet is going to find being a hexenbeast useful, I think, especially if the Wessen Council keeps coming after Nick.

Read: Two excellent YAs, Stranger and Hostage, part of a series called The Change, set in a future dystopia that's filled with odd animals (squirrels that can teleport food away from you, rabbits that can mentally hide themselves, horses with prehensile tails...) and people who have Changed - in many various ways. One thing that's nice about the world is the sense of hope that fills it - the people of Las Anclas are building a better world, or trying to, and there's love and community. Another thing is that the POV characters are not your standard teens, they're black and Asian and some of them are - gasp! - gay. Nothing graphic, but there is kissing and plenty of references to married couples who are gay, too. The books are great and I'm really looking forward to the next one.The Great Beckleswaithe Mystery, written in 1896, about a man murdered by a tiny bomb hidden in a chocolate. The author's notions of Russian anarchists were probably accurate for the time, but fortunately we didn't ever meet any. Another, The House by the Common, from 1891, which was probably quite innovative for its day though it was quite obvious to me what was going on. The detective, young Mr. George Up-to-date, as he was called, was a bit annoying, but the book wasn't bad.