‘Penny Dreadful’ Is Perfect for Your 2016 Hangover

If you know me, you may be shocked that I only just now started watching Penny Dreadful from Showtime. As a writer, dark, Victorian horror has long been a staple for me. My husband is often amused at how very creepy and strange my own writing is, considering I generally avoid traditional horror in film. It’s true, I’m not a fan of slasher films or dismemberment movies. But give me something profane, Victorian, and steeped in the influence of the Romantic poets and Mary Shelley, and I am all over it.

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Luke Cage

Luke Cage Is a Hero We All Need to See

I’ve been a fan of Netflix’s Marvel series since day one when ‘Daredevil’ totally blew my mind. Since then, I’ve followed along through all their releases, sometimes staying up way too late, always on the edge of my seat, crying, cheering, shouting, getting into long, drawn-out discussions with my husband about the importance of these characters.

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How ‘The Great British Baking Show’ Saved Reality TV

Full disclosure: I kind of hate reality television. Sure, I grew up in the golden age of ‘The Real World,’ but I got that voyeur stuff out of my system pretty fast. Okay, maybe I tuned in briefly when Corey Feldman was on ‘Celebrity Big Brother’ for about five minutes, but since then it’s been pretty far out there in terms of my television hierarchy of needs. Having just come down off a week’s worth of ‘Daredevil’ viewings, I can tell you the bar is set pretty high when it comes to what I’m going to spend time watching. Enter ‘The Great British Baking Show.’

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Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge: And Back to School We Go

It’s hard to believe, but it’s true. Summer is waning. Even here in North Carolina, where the hot season tends to linger a little longer than I’d like, we’ve had hints of autumn. My daughter just started preschool, and my son is back to school next week. But they had some great times this summer—we traveled, we relaxed (well, at least they did), and we immersed ourselves in some great books.

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