Started: Foundation and Earth by Isaac Asimov

Monsters at Work Season 1 Episode 1: Welcome to Monsters, Incorporated--TV Show Review

I didn't realize this, but it turns out there's a Disney Plus TV show that's a sequel to Monsters, Inc. and Monsters University.  It came out in 2021, but I'm just finding out about it now.  (I stumbled upon it while searching for the Monsters, Inc. movies on Disney Plus).  Wikipedia article HERE.  

So, after having just rewatched Monsters, Inc. and Monsters University, I checked out the first episode of this TV show with my kids.

I don't plan on continuing with the series, so here are my thoughts on just the first episode.

If you want a TV show that will reward your attention to the previous 2 movies, then this is it.  There's lots of references to events and characters from both Monsters, Inc. and Monsters University.  

Considering that the original Monsters, Inc. came out all the way back in 2001, my initial thought was that this was a bit of a gamble to assume that people still remembered the original movie so well.  But, of course, they're not assuming you remember it from 2001.  They're assuming that you just streamed it again last night.  That's the beauty of a streaming service, I suppose.  When everything is at your fingertips, nothing gets old, and it doesn't matter when the original movie came out.

The other problem with so many references to the previous 2 movies is that the episode is in danger of becoming nothing but Member Berries.  And this episode is definitely in danger of doing that.  But then, it's just the establishing episode of a series.  Presumably the subsequent episodes probably break into fresh territory.

Speaking of breaking into fresh territory: after checking in with our old friends from the movies (Sully and Mike Wazowski) we then follow the adventures of a brand new monster: Tylor Tuskmon.  I guess the showrunners must have decided that the character arcs for Sully and Mike Wazowski were already completed, and they needed to bring in a fresh character.  Either that, or maybe John Goodman and Billy Crystal were too expensive to base the whole series off of?  

Either way, hopefully the rest of the show does a good job of balancing the old established characters with the new ones.

The first episode showed some of the whimsy that made the previous two movies so enjoyable, but it also was setting itself up as an animated office sit-com.  And I don't have a lot of interest in sitting through 2 seasons of that.  (Well, maybe if the jokes in the first episode had been a lot better, I might have considered it.  But I wasn't grabbed by the first episode.  It wasn't terrible, but it didn't grab me either.)  Certainly my kids were not at all interested in an office sit-com, so they didn't ask to see any more episodes once we finished watching the first episode together.

And so, I think we'll leave it there.  Probably neither me nor my kids will be continuing with the rest of this series.  

Started: Elementary Vietnamese [Fourth Edition] by Binh Nhu Ngo

In a previous post, I made a promise to myself that I would add no new materials to my language study plans until I finished some of the stuff I am currently working on.  However, I've come to realize that the Vietnamese textbook I'm currently using, Essential Vietnamese Grammar by Tri C. Tran, is unsuitable for a beginner textbook.  So I'm going to swap this book out for Essential Vietnamese Grammar.  (I'm not going to completely abandon Essential Vietnamese Grammar. I'm still going to keep it on my shelves and work through some of it slowly.  But Elementary Vietnamese will now be my main textbook.)

Audio HERE

* Quizlet for Chapter 1

This Week in Booktube: February 15, 2026

(These are the Booktube videos I watched this week. As always, I encourage you also to check out each of the videos I've linked to down below.  Support Booktube.  And let me know what you've watched this past week.)

Google document: docs, pub

Derek Green: The Best Ivan The Terrible Book?

Bookish We Need To Talk

Nicole's Bookish Nook Book Reviews on BookTube Are KINDA Dying (It's Not What You Think)

Steve Donoghue Epic Comic Book Wednesday: Wonder Woman by George Perez!

Derek Green To specialize or to read widely? What is the solution?

Mayberry Bookclub BookTube Etiquette

James Holder 2026 Library Tour: Gachiakuta, Zom 100, Choujin X, Record of Ragnarok, The Summer Hikaru Died,

Bucky749 Toytube : Frankenstein supercycle unboxing

Michael K. Vaughan Five Years on BookTube!

Monsters University: Movie Review

My review of Monsters, Inc. here: https://youtu.be/QLn5RYTc8gI

This is part of my so-called "Scripted Review" series, in which I make a Youtube video based on an old blogpost.  For more information on what this is and why I'm doing it, see HERE:

https://youtu.be/HgneyXvRI04  

and HERE: https://joelswagman.blogspot.com/2018/12/vlog-scripted-book-reviews-i-ramble-on.html

In this case, the old blog post is here: https://joelswagman.blogspot.com/2014/02/monsters-university.html

Related Playlists:

Movie Reviews playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x6N06WoIoV2fLb6xRYrepTk&si=EDHi2_Y41ACLnCmA

Scripted Movie Reviews playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x49ts8TV1DbXQo8zN_e65us&si=_gzqGAmaz337NVCP

Scripted Reviews Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x5BKcEIufNKlS58JHU_glyL&si=Pje0KQqIqOgWGGUI

Movies I Saw in 2014 Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x4WRnfM_TDQClWj8OOCg9f_&si=Uu6SYX9o1qm1Ndhc

Disney Animated Films Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x4bGfYBjBlEYy_drlZaXp5S

7 Stars Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x6c43OnKT_AjWtENJ2ixmRC

The Veteran by Dorothy Parker: ESL Listening

(TESOL Worksheets--Poems ESL Listening)

Transcript: docs, pub
Video: HERE

The Veteran by Dorothy Parker: poems

Video: https://youtu.be/AwGZkQlEDe4

When I was young and bold and strong,

Oh, right was right, and wrong was wrong!

My plume on high, my flag unfurled,

I rode away to right the world.

“Come out, you dogs, and fight!” said I,

And wept there was but once to die.

But I am old; and good and bad

Are woven in a crazy plaid.

I sit and stay, “The world is so;

And he is wise who lets it go.

A battle lost, a battle won—

The difference is small, my son.”

Inertia rides and riddles me;

The which is called Philosophy.

Related Playlists:

Poems ESL Listening Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x7ReDXIOlVgC1Ci0mGdDWqd

ESL Listening Exercises Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x7xq-zLjulU2DRTjg2TNmAx

https://sites.google.com/view/reading-and-listening-practice

Manhattan Park (in Winter)

(Travelogues--West Michigan)

Manhattan Park (in Winter)

Address: 331 Cascade Rd SE, East Grand Rapids, MI 49506

Related Playlists:

Travelogues Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x71JnPJ1gs_uaswSALX-7V9

West Michigan Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x4D-0HPmovcbB6cCqlVVGEL&si=IEFmZ3UMgJxI0F4F

Kent County Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x5EOMa9ZWDBtdpQFwtlk_ev&si=t8952PnDfrJQTvBY

East Grand Rapids Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x4KzrY_X3Lrj6zpoVK-mjuu&si=BLTDWllEWDlf4MaU

Started: The Brothers Karamazov: The Original Manuscript by Fyodor Dostoyevsky Narrated by Geoffrey Giuliano & The Bell.  Audiobook

This is an audiobook.  It is also a reread.  I originally reviewed this book on February 28, 2017.

New Audiobook Project

I've gone through several different opinions on audiobooks over the years.  When I first started my book reviewing project, many of the books I reviewed were audiobooks.  (e.g. In 2006, a full 3rd of my reading list was audiobooks.)

I've gradually moved away from audiobooks over the years for a number of reasons.  Partly for lack of access.  (When I was living abroad, I couldn't get free audiobooks from the public library).  Partly because I worried I wasn't absorbing audiobooks as fully as I did when I was reading words off the page.  And partly because I discovered the wonderful world of podcasts, and podcasts quickly took over my listening time.

So, for the past 10 years or so, I've only been listening to podcasts, and haven't been doing any audiobooks.

The past few months, however, I've begun rethinking my relationship to audiobooks.  Partly this is the influence of booktube--there's an ever present debate on booktube over whether audiobooks constitute "real reading", and so people are always making videos on the subject of audiobooks.  Some of these videos have been praising audiobooks, and mentioning who a talented voice actor on an audiobook can help to bring the book to life.  It reminded me of how much I used to enjoy a good audiobook.  

I also within the last year caught an NPR program talking about audiobook narrators and their craft, and it also made me think it was time to start revisiting audiobooks.

And yet, I still do worry that when I listen to an audiobook, I might get distracted and miss stuff.

So, I've decided a good compromise is to enfold audiobooks into my rereading project.  

The idea is partly stolen from booktuber Dane Cobain who once mentioned to me that he only does audiobooks for rereads.

So, here are the rules:
* I can only do audiobooks for books I've already read and reviewed on this blog.  (If I haven't read a book since high school, then I'll need to physically reread it once first before I can do it as an audiobook.)

* For books that I've reviewed on this blog as audiobook, I'll need to read them first physically, before they are eligible to do again as an audiobook.  

* The goal will be to listen to each audiobook twice before I review it.  But in cases where I can only get through it once before it's due back at the library, I'll be flexible with myself on this.

* I'm going to try to alternate audiobooks with my podcasts.  However, because most podcasts are much longer than most audiobooks, I'll do 2 audiobooks in between every podcast.  (i.e. podcast, audiobook, audiobook, podcast, etc.)  All of this is contingent on my having continued access to free audiobooks.  (i.e. If for some reason I lose access to audiobooks at the public library, then I'll just go back to only podcasts.)

* As I complete audiobook rereads, I'll review them, and then index those reviews at the top of this post.

Calvin University Ecosystem Preserve and Native Gardens (in winter)

(Travelogues--West Michigan)

Calvin University Ecosystem Preserve and Native Gardens (in winter)

Address: 3201 Burton SE Grand Rapids, MI 49546 USA

Related Playlists:

Travelogues Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x71JnPJ1gs_uaswSALX-7V9

West Michigan Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x4D-0HPmovcbB6cCqlVVGEL&si=IEFmZ3UMgJxI0F4F

Kent County Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x5EOMa9ZWDBtdpQFwtlk_ev&si=t8952PnDfrJQTvBY

Grand Rapids Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x73ypfpMOZfYbKtensuu4B_&si=96WBxbMtcrLrVFp3