Monty Python's Spamalot

While I'm not a fan of Monty Python or similar style humour (yes, with a u in a nod to the British origins of the material), I did attend a performance of "Monty Python's Spamalot:  The musical lovingly ripped off from the motion picture Monty Python and the Holy Grail."  To expect more than mindless plots and absurd characters would prove disappointing.  All in all, this production holds together as light entertainment with several hum-able melodies and a share of laughs.

Love, Dishonor, Marry, Die, Cherish, Perish

Author David Rakoff deviates from his previously work in memoir to write a novel.  This is not any common novel, but one written in rhymed couplets.  Love, Dishonor, Marry, Die, Cherish, Perish was published posthumously after Rakoff died in 2012 of cancer.  While the form is intriguing, I found the substance to be lacking.  The novel follows several generations of family and relationships across many decades.  None of the characters seem to get much time for development in the slim 113 page volume.  This is a book better checked out from the library and read in a weekend, than purchased to keep on your bookshelf after several readings.