Recommended Stuff Summer 2014 Edition: A TV Mystery, Hunger Games-like thriller, superhealthy tasty drinks

Here's a few items that I seem to be telling people about quite a bit lately. You may want to check them out.

The Magic Bullet – Tasty, Healthy Drinks!

I had a juicer for many years and barely used it because it was so difficult to prepare the food and to clean. A NutriBullet creates a different kind of drink which is more like a smoothie, but without the Yogurt. Here's a few other key differences:

• It takes maybe 20 seconds to clean after you make a drink.
• It is much smaller and easier to store.
• It is MUCH cheaper. I got one for $83. My juicer cost about $300.
• It is healthier as you are getting all the fiber with the drink where juicing leaves all the fiber out.

Here's the Magic Bullet site with more information.

You can buy it here at Amazon.

 

TV Show: "The Killing" – Cool, Interesting Mystery

I had heard this was good and finally got to see season 1…. and I really liked it. The season covers one murder investigation in Seattle, WA. There's plenty of plot to go around, but this is really a character driven show. The 2 lead detectives are very interesting characters for totally different reasons. And for a show centering around a murder, it is not a depressing show like so many are now. Its damn good, and very interesting.

It is streaming on Netflix.

 

TV Show: "Borgen" – Great Political Drama from Denmark

I've written about this in detail before… Borgen is the best show I've seen in quite a while. 

 

​Fiction Book: "I am Pilgrim" – A Refreshing and Exciting Spy Thriller

There was something about this spy thriller right from the start that set it apart from most of the rest of the genre. Partly it is that the characters are not these one dimensional stereotypes, and partly because it doesn't follow any of the usual patterns to get to the story.  It also has some some Michael Crichton like moments where there's lots of interesting details about a specific technology.

Here's the NY Times review. 

Here it is on Amazon. 

 

Fiction Book: "Red Rising" – Hunger Games Like Thriller

This one starts off a bit slow, but turns into a battle of survival that rivals "The Hunger Games." Its not quite that good, but the 2nd half is quite a page turner. Its got much more a sci-fi feel and its more brutal, but its another survival of the fittest story that will keep you interested.

Here's it is on Amazon.