Lifetime Film Review: Sorority Secrets (dir by Damian Romay)

Posted on January 6, 2021 by Lisa Marie Bowman

I’ll just be honest here. Trying to balance receiving reports of the U.S. Capitol being stormed by rioters with watching and reviewing the 2020 Lifetime film, Sorority Secrets, was not easy. In fact, I’m not really sure that I succeeded.

Most Lifetime films work best if they’re watched in just one sitting. You sit down on the couch. You watch the film. Assuming that you’re watching it on your DVR, whenever a commercial pops up, you hit the fast forward button and you skip over it. (That’s especially true if you’re watching something you recorded early in 2020 because there’s seriously only so many Michael Bloomberg commercials you can sit through. Fortunately, Sorority Secrets aired in late August, after Bloomberg had dropped out but before the presidential campaign commercials really fired up.) By skipping those commercials, you also manage to maintain a sense of narrative momentum. You get wrapped up in the story and you don’t get distracted by the semi-annual sale and, as a result, you don’t spend too much time thinking about plot holes or anything like that. The important thing is not to let your momentum get disrupted. Unfortunately, earlier today, it was a bit more difficult than usual to maintain that momentum.

Still, I enjoyed Sorority Secrets. Perhaps I would have enjoyed it more if I hadn’t been worried that a revolution was about to break out but still, it was an enjoyably over-the-top melodrama. Lifetime is well known for airing films about cheating husbands and stalker ex-boyfriends but it’s also aired its share of dangerous sorority films. In a dangerous sorority film, a smart young college student from a poor family always ends up getting a chance to join the biggest sorority on campus. The student is always hesitant until she finds out that she’ll get free room and board and she’ll also get a chance to get a summer internship out of it all. Of course, the sorority always turns out to be full of secrets. There’s usually a murder or two, along with scenes of the student’s overprotective mother worrying that her daughter has gotten in over her head. These are fun movies.

In Sorority Secrets, the student is Cassie (Bryntee Ratledge) and she’s shocked when she’s invited to join the snootiest sorority in campus. She’s not even into the whole sorority thing but, you know …. free room and board and a chance to connect with influential people. Cassie decides to go for it but she eventually discovers that her sorority is basically just a front for an escort service. If that’s not bad enough, it appears that someone has murdered Cassie’s sorority sister, Kerrie (Shayna Benardo). Kerrie, who bore a resemblance to Cassie, was also wearing Cassie’s jacket when she fell in front of an train. Could she have been pushed? Well, we know that she was because we saw the hand that gave her a shove.

Anyway, the fun thing about Sorority Secrets is that members of the sorority all basically got their own personal clothing allowance and, as a result, everyone in the film was absurdly overdressed. Both the clothes and the sorority house were to die for and really, that’s probably the most important thing when it comes to a deadly sorority film. Though the plot undoubtedly had its holes, the film embraced the melodrama and went happily over the top and it provided a nice distraction for a few hours. What more can you ask for?

Artwork of the Day: Cockpit (Artist Unknown)

Posted on January 6, 2021 by Dazzling Erin

Artist Unknown

Cockpit was published in 1953. In Britain, it was published under the title Image in the Dust. In the U.S., it was called Cockpit. Considering the book’s cover blurb — An Auto Racer …. A Drug Adddict … And The Woman They Shared — I think it’s possible that the title might have had a double meaning.

The book was written by a British writer named Elleston Trevor. Warick Scott was one of the many pseudonyms that Trevor used. Cockpit was the first of three books which Trevor wrote as Scott. The other were called The Doomsday Story and The Naked Canvas.

The identity of the artist who did this cover is not known. The woman they shared bears a strong resemblance to Marilyn Monroe while the two men in her life look like generic pulp cover men. I’m worried that one of them appears to be standing in the middle of the track. That’s probably the drug addict.

Music Video of the Day: Ant Rap by Adam and the Ants (1981, directed by Adam Ant and Mike Mansfield)

Posted on January 6, 2021 by Jedadiah Leland

You learn something new every day. Up until Monday, I didn’t even know this song existed but it does and it’s even got some historical importance as this was one of the earliest “rap” singles to chart in the UK. It reached number three on the UK charts.

As for the video, what you have to remember is that it was released shortly after the success of John Boorman’s Excalibur and knight in shining armor were suddenly very popular again. Terry English, who designed the armor in Excalibur, also designed the armor that Adam Ant wears in this video. Why does Adam turn into a football player? Why is the song’s co-writer, Marco Pirroni, dressed up like Liberace? How did they get Lulu to agree to play the princess that Adam rescues from the castle? When did Adam Ant turn into Bruce Lee? When Adam Ant is rapping, anything can happen. In the video’s final moments, we return to Excalibur as Adam loses his sword to a mysterious figure in the moat.

This video was filmed at Bodiam Castle, which has stood since 1385 and has been open to the public since 1921. (It’s currently owned and operated by the National Trust.) The video was co-directed by veteran music video director Mike Mansfield and Adam Ant, himself.

Enjoy!

For those curious, here are the full lyrics to Ant Rap:

Put some wax on the trax and slide on onta here
Hane hane hane hane hane
Hatchets in the corner ears to the ground
Improve to the groove get down to the sound
Buttons and bows and bleu blanc rouge
All things lively must be used
Liberte, egalite, au jour d’hui see’est tres tres tres
Voici l’opportunite nous incroyables
I got the moves they got the grooves
Summoned the gods and they all approved
Bad vibes akimbo on the shelf
Bit of a rap thing going for myself
This gold on the teeth’s no sense at all
It only matters when it’s on the wall
I’m standing here with my four men
Let’s start that rapping thing again:
Marco, merrick, terry lee, gary tibbs and yours truly
In the naughty north and in the sexy south
We’re all singing I have the mouth
In the naughty north and in the sexy south
We’re all singing I have the mouth
I have the mouth
So tired of anarchists looking at me
Don’t need their credibility
“Destroy, ” they say, “defy! Condemn! “
As long as you don’t destroy them
With twenty years of drugs and drink
I thought the time had come to think
About standing up and saying that
It’s tragedy and such old hat
I’m standing here with my four men
Let’s start that rapping thing again:
(I got) marco, merrick, terry lee, gary tibbs and yours truly
In the naughty north and in the sexy south
We’re all singing I have the mouth
In the naughty north and in the sexy south
We’re all singing I have the mouth
I have the mouth
These happy feet are all we need
Summoned the gods and they all agreed
These feet won’t stop they’re in such a hurry
I knock it on the head and I go for a curry
Staying sober can be neat
Get drunk on these here happy feet
Keep on trying to pin me down
“Why a title for your sound? “
I’m standing here with my four men
Let’s do this rapping thing again:
I got marco, merrick, terry lee, gary tibbs and yours truly
In the naughty north and in the sexy south
We’re all singing I have the mouth. ..
And I have the mouth
And you have the mouth
And they got the mouth

Lifetime Film Review: My Daughter’s Psycho Friend (dir by Michael Feifer)

Posted on January 5, 2021 by Lisa Marie Bowman

My Daughter’s Psycho Friend aired in March of 2020 on the Lifetime. I DVR’d it. I’m not sure why I didn’t watch it when it aired. I’d have to go back and look through all my journals to piece together what I was doing on that date in March and, quite frankly, I’m feeling a little bit too rushed to take the time to do that. I’ve got a lot of movies to watch and review of the next few days and, in the end, it really doesn’t matter. What does matter is that I DVR’d it and I finally sat down and watched it earlier tonight.

Now, before anything else, I should point out that My Daughter’s Psycho Friend is a brilliant title. You see a title like that and you automatically have to watch, which makes it all the stranger that it took me so long to get around to it. It’s not just a good Lifetime title but it’s a good title period. I think anytime when you include the word “psycho” in the title, you’re going to catch someone’s attention. Psycho is just such an extreme term. The full title, “My Daughter’s Psycho Friend,” links it to what I assume would be every parent’s nightmare. What if your child’s best friend did turn out to be a psycho? What if they led them astray or, even worse, put them in danger?

Unfortunately, the title isn’t quite accurate. While Lexi (Avery Kristen Pohl) does invite Sierra (Taylor Blackwell) to hang out with her after Sierra transfers into Lexi’s high school, it’s a bit of a stretch to really call Lexi and Sierra friends. From the start, Sierra seems to be somewhat weary of Lexi and Lexi seems to know that eventually, she’s going to end up having to frame Sierra for all sorts of misdeeds. Also, though Sierra does have a mother, she’s really not that important to the plot. The film pretty much revolves around Sierra. A more proper title for the film would have been My Psycho Acquaintance.

However, the title does get the psych part right. Lexi has some definite issues that go far beyond just being a mean girl in high school. She lives in a nice, big house and she had a glamorous mother (albeit one who makes a big deal about always having to “clean up” after Lexi’s mistakes) and everyone at school wants to be her friend but Lexi still can’t be happy unless she’s playing a cruel joke on someone. For instance, at one party, Lexi drugs someone’s drink and then has a good laugh as that person stumbles away. Of course, once he turns up dead in Lexi’s swimming pool, it’s time for a cover up! And if Sierra is determined to discover the truth about what happened at the party …. well, Lexi’s just going to have to take care of that, as well.

Anyway, this was a typical Lifetime film about teenagers gone wild. Lexi’s house was nice and Avery Kristen Pohl did a good job playing up the whole psycho part of Lexi’s personality. If you’re into Lifetime melodrama, you should enjoy this one.

Four Color Apocalypse 2020 Year In Review : Top 10 Original Graphic Novels

Posted on January 5, 2021 by Ryan C. (fourcolorapocalypse)

Ryan C.'s Four Color Apocalypse

And so we’ve arrived at the final “best of” list of 2020, the Top 10 Original Graphic Novels, which basically just means full-length original works specifically designed as such, or put perhaps more simply : self-contained graphic novels that weren’t serialized anywhere, in print or online, previously. Let’s not waste any time —

10. Desperate Pleasures By M.S. Harkness (Uncivilized) – Not so much a sequel to Harkness’ earlier Tinderella as a response to it — the party’s over, welcome to the hangover that is adulthood without a road map. Illustrated in a breathtaking array of styles and told in a manner both frank and expressive, this is the contemporary memoir against which all others will be judged for the next few years.

9. The Puerto Rican War By John Vasquez Mejias (Self-Published) – Hey, fair is fair : my Top 10 Single Issues list featured a couple of comics…

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Artwork of the Day: Sea Nymph (by Paul Rader)

Posted on January 5, 2021 by Dazzling Erin

Cover by Paul Rader

Sea Nymph was published in 1963 by Midwood Books. Peggy Swenson was one of the many pseudonyms used by the writer Richard E. Geis. Gies wrote 15 books as Swenson. According to the cover, Sea Nymph is about a woman who “wanted to learn skin diving but she learned a warmer sport.” Water polo, maybe?

The cover is by Paul Rader. This site has featured a lot of Rader’s work and it will probably feature even more before the year ends. As usual for paperback covers of the era, the cover hints at more than it shows. I assume that the hairy arm with the huge hand attached belong to her diving instructor. The violet tattoo is an interesting choice.

Music Video of the Day: No More Words by Berlin (1984, directed by Evan English and Paul Goldman)

Posted on January 5, 2021 by Jedadiah Leland

On Friday night, I watched Thank God It’s Friday with Lisa Marie and the Friday Night Flix gang and I’ve been in a Terri Nunn mood ever since. Before she joined Berlin and became their lead singer, Nunn was an actress. Along with appearing in a small but important role in Thank God It’s Friday, she was also a finalist for the role of Princess Leia in Star Wars. According to what I’ve read online (as with all things that I’ve read online, take it with a grain of salt), the casting came down to Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, and Harrison Ford vs. William Katt, Terri Nunn, and Kurt Russell. Carrie Fisher got to be Leia but Terri Nunn got musical superstardom. I’d say it was a fair trade for both of them, though it is tempting to imagine Terri Nunn singing the Life Day song at the end of the Star Wars Holiday Special.

No More Words is one of Berlin’s most enduring songs. (I know a few people who are still convinced that the song’s title was No More Worlds.) Produced by Giorgio Moroder and Richie Zito, No More Words was the first single off of Berlin’s 1984 album, Love Life. It was also the band’s first Top 40 hit in the States. It was later used in the film Vision Quest and re-released as the B-side of Madonna’s single Crazy For You.

The video pays homage to the 1967 film, Bonnie and Clyde. Taking place during the Great Depression, it features the band robbing a bank and then fleeing from the cops. Terri Nunn is dressed-up to resemble Faye Dunaway in the role of Bonnie Parker. Despite the fact that they appear to be robbing a small town bank in the South, there are Thomas Dewey campaign posters on the buildings. In the 30s, Dewey was New York’s district attorney so it’s not likely that anyone living in the Dust Bowl would have been campaigning for him. The video goes on to loosely recreate several scenes from Bonnie and Clyde, though Terri Nunn seems far more conflicted about the violent bank robber life style than Faye Dunaway ever was.

This video was directed by Evan English and Paul Goldman. While this is Goldman’s only credit as a video director (according to the imbd), Evan English went on to direct the videos for Elvis Costello’s Veronica and Crowded House’s Nails in My Feet.

Enjoy!

Lifetime Film Review: Fatal Fiancé (dir by Ben Meyerson)

Posted on January 4, 2021 by Lisa Marie Bowman

It should be the perfect wedding.

The location is beautiful. The weather is nice. The romance is in the air. The bridesmaids dresses aren’t hideous. The groom, Mark (Greg Perrow), is handsome and charming and no one seems to be too concerned with his mysterious past. In fact, Mark is such a romantic that he even insisted on not seeing Leah (Brittany Underwood) the night before the wedding. He is that dedicated to making sure that they have both the perfect wedding and the perfect honeymoon! Even his future mother-in-law likes him, though that seems to have more to do with his abs than his romantic nature.

Again, it should be the perfect wedding. There’s only one problem. No one can find the bride! Leah has yet to arrive for her own wedding. Is it possible that she got cold feet and hopped on a plane for tropical island? (That’s what her father suspects, as Leah apparently has a history of doing impulsive stuff like that.) Or could it be something more serious? Leah’s friends are concerned enough to call the police.

And, indeed, Leah has no absconded to the tropics. Instead, she’s being held prisoner by Faith (Camila Banus), a mentally unstable woman who insists that Leah is making a mistake by marrying “Brian.” But wait a minute …. Leah is marrying Mark! Who is this Brian that Faith keeping going on about? Has Leah mistaken Mark for another ex-boyfriend or is there something more sinister going on?

Well, you can probably guess the answer to all of those questions. Apparently, this film was originally entitled A Deadly Bridenapping, which is a bit of unwieldy title but which, at the same time, doesn’t reveal as much about the plot as a title like Fatal Fiancé does. As you can guess from the new title, Mark does have some secrets of his own and there’s a bit more to the kidnapping than just Faith being hung up on an ex-boyfriend. You’ll figure all of that out long before Leah does but that’s okay. That’s one of the pleasures of watching a Lifetime film, after all. We always want to be a step or two ahead of the leading character, the better for us to our shake our heads whenever they make a big and obvious mistake. Leah makes quite a few of them over the course of Fatal Fiancé.

Fatal Fiancé was a fun movie to watch. If the best Lifetime films can be described as being about beautiful people finding themselves in ugly situations, Fatal Fiancé delivered. Leah’s wedding dress was to die for and so were all the houses. There was plenty of melodrama and plenty of eye candy and really, what else do you need? Brittany Underwood was a sympathetic main character and Camilia Banus did a good job as the unstable Faith. Greg Perrow was both charming and menacing as Mark and he got to deliver a rant about pine nut allergies that really had to be seen to be believed. All in all, this was an entertaining movie about a wedding gone wrong.

The Alliance of Women Film Journalists Honor Nomadland

Posted on January 4, 2021 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Alliance of Women Film Journalists have announced that their pick for the best of 2020 is Nomadland. Just as the AWFJ did with their nominations, they announced the winners in an exclusive for Variety. Fear not, though — my picks for the best of 2020 will be released exclusively to this site. Two can play at this game.

(I joke, of course. Ever since Clayton Davis took over, Variety’s Oscar coverage has been wonderful and the AWFJ deserves a lot of credit for having categories that are a bit more interesting than the usual stuff.)

Anyway, here’s the winners!

AWFJ BEST OF AWARDS

(These awards are presented to women and/or men without gender consideration)

Best Film

“Minari” (A24)
“Never Rarely Sometimes Always” (Focus Features)
“Nomadland” (Searchlight Pictures) – WINNER
“One Night in Miami” (Amazon Studios)
“Promising Young Woman” (Focus Features)
“The Trial of the Chicago 7” (Netflix)

Best Director

Emerald Fennell, “Promising Young Woman” (Focus Features)
Regina King, “One Night in Miami” (Amazon Studios)
Kelly Reichardt, “First Cow” (A24)
Aaron Sorkin, “The Trial of the Chicago 7” (Netflix)
Chloé Zhao, “Nomadland” (Searchlight Pictures) – WINNER

Best Actor

Riz Ahmed, “Sound of Metal” (Amazon Studios)
Chadwick Boseman, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” (Netflix) – WINNER
Delroy Lindo, “Da 5 Bloods” (Netflix)

Best Actress

Viola Davis, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” (Netflix)
Vanessa Kirby, “Pieces of a Woman” (Netflix)
Frances McDormand, “Nomadland” (Searchlight Pictures) – WINNER
Carey Mulligan, “Promising Young Woman” (Focus Features)

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

Sacha Baron Cohen, “The Trial of the Chicago 7” (Netflix)
Bill Murray, “On the Rocks” (A24/Apple TV Plus)
Leslie Odom Jr, “One Night in Miami” (Amazon Studios) – WINNER

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Maria Bakalova, “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” (Amazon Studios)
Ellen Burstyn, “Pieces of a Woman” (Netflix)
Amanda Seyfried, “Mank” (Netflix)
Yuh-Jung Youn, “Minari” (A24) – WINNER

Best Screenplay, Original

“Mank” (Netflix) – Jack Fincher
“Promising Young Woman” (Focus Features) – Emerald Fennell – WINNER
“The Trial of the Chicago 7” (Netflix) – Aaron Sorkin

Best Screenplay, Adapted

“First Cow” (A24) – Kelly Reichardt and Jonathan Raymond
“Nomadland” (Searchlight Pictures) – Chloé Zhao – WINNER
“One Night in Miami” (Amazon Studios) – Kemp Powers

Best Animated Film

“Over the Moon” (Netflix)
“Soul” (Pixar) – WINNER
“Wolfwalkers” (Apple TV Plus/GKIDS)

Best Cinematography

“Mank” (Netflix) – Erik Messerschmidt
“Nomadland” (Searchlight Pictures) – Joshua James Richards – WINNER
“One Night in Miami” (Amazon Studios) – Tami Reiker

Best Editing

“One Night in Miami” (Amazon Studios) – Tariq Anwar
“Nomadland” (Searchlight Pictures) – Chloé Zhao – WINNER
“The Trial of the Chicago 7” (Netflix) – Alan Baumgarten

Best Documentary

“All In: The Fight for Democracy” (Amazon Studios) – WINNER (tie)
“Athlete A” (Netflix)
“Crip Camp” (Netflix)
“The Painter and the Thief” (Neon) – WINNER (tie)
“Time” (Amazon Studios)

Best Non-English-Language Film

“Another Round” – Denmark – WINNER
“Beanpole” – Russia
“The Mole Agent” – Chile
“The Painted Bird” – Czech Republic

Best Ensemble Cast – Casting Director

“Da 5 Bloods” (Netflix) – Kim Coleman
“One Night in Miami” (Amazon Studios) – Kimberly Hardin – WINNER (tie)
“The Trial of the Chicago 7” (Netflix) – Francine Maisler – WINNER (tie)

EDA FEMALE FOCUS AWARDS

(These awards honor WOMEN only, excluding women who’ve won the category in the Best Of Awards.

Best Woman Director

Emerald Fennell, “Promising Young Woman” (Focus Features) – WINNER
Eliza Hittman, “Never Rarely Sometimes Always” (Focus Features)
Regina King, “One Night in Miami” (Amazon Studios)
Channing Godfrey Peoples, “Miss Juneteenth” (Vertical Entertainment)
Kelly Reichardt, “First Cow” (A24)
Chloé Zhao, “Nomadland” (Searchlight Pictures)

Best Woman Screenwriter

Radha Blank, “The Forty-Year-Old Version” (Netflix) – WINNER
Emerald Fennell, “Promising Young Woman” (Focus Features)
Eliza Hittman, “Never Rarely Sometimes Always” (Focus Features)
Chloé Zhao, “Nomadland” (Searchlight Pictures)

Best Animated Female

“22” in “Soul” (Pixar) – portrayed by Tina Fey – WINNER
“Mebh Óg MacTíre” in “Wolfwalkers” (Apple TV Plus/GKIDS) – portrayed by Eva Whittaker
“Robyn Goodfellowe” in “Wolfwalkers” (Apple TV Plus/GKIDS) – portrayed by Honor Kneafsey

Best Woman’s Breakthrough Performance

Radha Blank, “The Forty-Year-Old Version” (Netflix)
Sidney Flanigan, “Never Rarely Sometimes Always” (Focus Features) – WINNER
Helena Zengel, “News of the World” (Universal Pictures)

Outstanding Achievement by a Woman in the Film Industry

All female heads of film festivals who successfully transitioned from live to online events to sustain festival culture through the pandemic.
All indie female writers and directors who normalized abortion as a vital element in the cultural conversation in films such as “Saint Frances,” “Never Rarely Sometimes Always,” “Sister of the Groom,” “Once Upon a River,” The Glorias” and others. – WINNER
Emerald Fennell for creating a film that forces empathy to put an end to the toxic sexist rape culture pervasive through modern history.
Sophia Loren for a brilliant comeback at age 86 in “The Life Ahead,” the latest in her record-setting career. Loren won a Best Actress Oscar in 1962 for “Two Women” and was the first actor to win for a foreign language movie. She was also nominated in 1965 for “Marriage Italian Style.” If she’s nominated in 2021, it will be a 56-year span between her two most recent nominations – the current record is held by Henry Fonda, who had a 41-year gap between nominations.

EDA SPECIAL MENTION AWARDS

Grand Dame Award for defying ageism.

Ellen Burstyn, “Pieces of a Woman” (Netflix)
Tsai Chin, “Lucky Grandma” (Good Deed Entertainment)
Sophia Loren, “The Life Ahead” (Netflix) – WINNER
Frances McDormand, “Nomadland” (Searchlight Pictures)

Most Egregious Lovers’ Age Difference Award

“The Burnt Orange Heresy” (Sony Pictures Classics) – Elizabeth Debicki and Claes Bang (23 years)
“Devil All the Time” (Netflix) – Riley Keough and Jason Clarke (20 years)
“Mank” – Amanda Seyfried and Charles Dance (39 years), Gary Oldman (27 years)
“Tenet” – Elizabeth Debicki and Kenneth Branagh (30 years) – WINNER

She Deserves A New Agent Award

Rose Byrne, “Like a Boss” (Paramount Pictures)
Tiffany Haddish, “Like a Boss” (Paramount Pictures)
Katie Holmes, “Dare to Dream” (Gravitas Ventures)
Uma Thurman, “The War with Grandpa” (101 Studios) – WINNER

Most Daring Performance Award

Maria Bakalova, “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm’ (Amazon Studios) – WINNER
Haley Bennett, “Swallow” (IFC Films)
Vanessa Kirby, “Pieces of a Woman” (Netflix)
Elisabeth Moss, “The Invisible Man” (Universal Pictures)
Carey Mulligan, “Promising Young Woman” (Focus Features)

Time Waster Remake or Sequel Award

“The Croods: A New Age” (DreamWorks Animation)
“Doolittle” (Universal Pictures) – WINNER
“Rebecca” (Netflix)

Four Color Apocalypse 2020 Year In Review : Top 10 Contemporary Collections

Posted on January 4, 2021 by Ryan C. (fourcolorapocalypse)

Ryan C.'s Four Color Apocalypse

Moving right along with our next-to-last “best of” list, we come to the Top 10 Contemporary Collections of 2020. Simply put, this category is devoted to collected editions of work originally published, either physically or digitally, since the year 2000, including Manga, webcomics, and Eurocomics. In practice, though, I’ll be honest and admit it’s all fairly recent stuff. Read on and you’ll see what I mean —

10. Inappropriate By Gabrielle Bell (Uncivilized) – How the hell spoiled are we these days, anyway? The modern master of disarmingly frank autobio released one of her strongest collections to date and it seemed as though it hardly got a mention in critical circles. Like the Hernandez brothers, Bell’s work is so consistently good that I fear we as readers take it for granted. We shouldn’t — this is a book to be downright thankful for.