Top Picks: 'Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life,' Neil Diamond's 'Acoustic Christmas,' and more
Christmas tunes
It鈥檚 that time of year and new Christmas albums are hitting the shelves: In the pop realm 鈥� senior division鈥� there is the appealingly laid-back , by Neil Diamond, and a gently rocking new collection, by Jimmy Buffett, done parrot-head style, of course. Red-hot country singer Kacey Musgraves presents the playful (with guest stars Willie Nelson and young sensation Leon Bridges) and the mighty-voiced Jennifer Nettles goes pop country with .
Math and friendship
In , 鈥淪lumdog Millionaire鈥� actor Dev Patel portrays mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan, who grew up in India and attended England鈥檚 Trinity College after mathematician G.H. Hardy saw his theorems. Monitor film critic Peter Rainer writes that 鈥渢he film鈥檚 core is the deep friendship that developed between Hardy, the tweedy Oxbridge atheist, and his devoutly religious disciple, who believed that his equations expressed thoughts from God.鈥� It鈥檚 now available on DVD and Blu-ray.
Thrilling novel
Thriller writer Martin Cruz Smith returns with a World War II stand-alone novel, . Nazi-occupied Italy is in disarray in 1945 as the Axis alliance comes unwound. The novel centers on Giulia, an escaped Jewish orphan who turns up floating in a lagoon. Cenzo discovers Giulia. Their uneasy alliance takes shape while peril closes in. Il Duce himself, Mussolini, makes a few cameos and Smith navigates the murky waters of unreliable authorities 鈥� and friends and family 鈥� with the smooth precision of a seasoned pro.
Street view
In Hanoi, Vietnam, street vendors carry goods from flowers to bananas on their bicycles. Photographer Loes Heerink captured images of these vendors from a bird鈥檚-eye view and presents an intriguing portrait of everyday life in Vietnam. Find her series at .听
Girls return
The girls are back with the Netflix series , which brings back mother Lorelai, daughter Rory, grandmother Emily, and more almost 10 years after the original acclaimed show went off the air. The new episodes are now streaming.
