Kristin McTiernan

A world once modern and learned condemned to repeat the dark ages after demons rise from the earth's core every night to feast on humans.

Peter V. Brett starts off the Demon Cycle series in a single small town and grows to world-size proportions. Frankly, it's a master class in high fantasy world-building. It's never explicitly said in the books, but I think the Demon Cycle series takes place in our own distant future—after all our technology failed us in the face of demons. It's that subtlety of world building and the intricacy of plot that makes the Demon Cycle books so outstanding... at least the first three.

Because I love this world and these characters so much, I became truly angry with the direction the series took and my perception of why the author made these choices. As with all my reviews, there will be spoilers, but nothing that should prevent you from reading these books. Your life will be better for it, even with its flaws.

The Warded Man: The Warded Man …

I will start this review with a mandatory disclosure: I love me some Vinnie D. That's Vincent D'Onofrio to you normal folks. I love him in everything he has ever done. I loved him as the sweet yet prideful young man in Mystic Pizza, I loved him in his small role as "Thor" in Adventures of Babysitting, I loved him when he wore an Edgar suit in Men in Black, and I loved him the mostest in Law & Order: Criminal Intent. So while I'll be telling you the strengths and weaknesses of the show, don't be concerned when I seem to love the villain more than the hero.

Though Kingpin AKA Wilson Fisk had a small cameo in the Defenders, Season 3 of Daredevil marked his triumphant return to the status of Big Bad. And make no mistake, Wilson Fisk is as Big and Bad as they come. Obey him or he will kill you. Though he might kill you even if you do obey him. Hypothetically, he might savagely crush your head in if you are simply the bearer of bad news. Hypothetically.

Though…

"I would rather die as Daredevil than live as Matt Murdock."

As I mentioned in my review of Daredevil Season 2,  I love this show, so I didn't want to simply write another review. Instead, I chose to write three articles on what I saw as the three main strengths of this season: its honest depiction or faith and the struggles of mere mortals to live it; the effects of psychopathy and the morality of treating people who have it; and the ability of friendships to fill the hole left by a missing family. In my Season 2 review, I mentioned how the show's writers have stayed true to the spirit of the comic in their characters, in the actors they cast, and the direction of the plot. Season 3 begins with another strong and unapologetic nod to the original comic: its focus on Matt's faith, or in this case, his loss of it.

In the last episode of The Defenders, a building fell directly on top of Matt Murdock, AKA Daredevil, as well as Elektra, the love of his life whose sou…

If you've spent any time on the internet, you've probably seen the meme below or something similar.

Most of us chuckle at it because we've all been there. Someone asks you a question you have no way of knowing off the top of your head, even though they have the same phone you do, probably right there in their hand. I suppose this meme is great for coworkers or other people you wouldn't speak to if you had a choice.

But a few weeks ago, I said that to my spouse. He asked me a question, one no doubt designed to start a conversation (we were getting ready for dinner, after all), and my reaction was one of irritation. What was I doing that I was so annoyed at being interrupted? I was looking at Pinterest. Yes, I'm serious.

That episode was a wakeup call, one bolstered by my iPhone letting me know that on any given day, I have six to seven hours of screen time. Let that sink in. I'm awake for about ten hours. And for eight of them, I'm glued to that stupid, time…

Sally Field recently said in an interview that she was relieved her former partner Burt Reynolds had passed away prior to her memoir coming out because "It would have hurt him." It was one of those stories where I read the headline and dropped down immediately to the comments. Predictably, there were two camps: the Anne Lamott camp, who said, "Girl, that story is yours. Tell your truth." And then there were those I agreed with, who I will dub the reasonable and responsible camp.  We were the ones scratching our heads saying, "If you didn't want him to read it, why did you write it?"

Memoirs are a tricky thing, which is why I will never write one. Never. Not when I'm old. Not even when all of my relatives are dead. Despite my staunch fixation on fiction, I sure do have some strong opinions on memoirs, which largely comes from my work as an editor. I've been working as a professional editor since 2008 and in that time, I've edited A LOT of m…

Peak Performance: Elevate Your Game, Avoid Burnout, and Thrive with the New Science of Success by Brad Stulberg
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

In an age of “Fitspiration”—YouTube and Instagram personalities talking about their 3 and 4 am wakeup calls for their workout and/or business routine—Peak Performance serves as a straightforward and refreshing reminder that long-term success does not come from missing sleep in pursuit of your goals. Quite the opposite actually.

Authors Brad Stulberg and Steve Magness, a health and science writer and running performance coach, respectively, have compiled the science on what research has shown us about people who have achieved long-term success in their fields. This is a thoughtful, well-written book starts off with the stories of two young hotshots and their punishing routines: early wakeups, practicing several times a day, foregoing socializing, and even breaking up with a girlfriend to better focus on their goals. These are the sacrifices some entre…