Thursday, January 1, 2026

What’s On?


What’s On?

A Guide to Movies and TV Shows


Hardcover

ISBN-13: 9798342696098

Paperback

ISBN-13: 9798341177307

Kindle

ASIN: B0DJTZ8T58

Back cover description:

What’s On? … is the timeless question we have all asked ourselves almost every day of our lives, as we reach for the remote control and settle in front of the TV screen.

Jack Kost, a life-long movie buff and coffee addict, offers his choice of favorite movie and television masterpieces.

Providing possible answers to the question of What’s On? with over 1,900 titles, from golden oldies and timeless classics, to more recent releases, all meticulously logged and summarized.

An invaluable and collectable go-to source for discovering new favorites and revisiting old ones.

Perfect for film enthusiasts and casual viewers alike, this guide will spark conversations, bring back memories, and help you navigate the ever-evolving world of screen entertainment.

A wealth of recommendations and insights from a passionate movie buff to enrich your viewing experience, complete with personal reminiscences and nostalgic reflections, told with a world-wise critical eye, sardonic dry wit, a healthy dose of cynicism, biting observations, and a well-founded rant here and there.

Just don’t challenge or get him started on his personal favorites, like The Shining, Point Blank, Jaws, The Exorcist, The Duellists, Romeo Is Bleeding, or The Ninth Configuration. His opinions on these and other iconic titles are as intense and unyielding as the movies themselves.

All compiled by an author who not only watched the movies, but also read the books on which they were based, did his research, drank a lot of coffee in the process, and advocates for the importance and value of reading.

A glimpse into the over-caffeinated mind of a writer with a passion for great stories.

What’s On? is a celebration of the intersection between page and screen, and a reminder that great on-screen adaptations often start with a great book and a strong cup of coffee.

Kick back, grab your coffee, and enjoy the show!

As author Jack Kost says:

“Happy viewing … and do yourself a favor … read the books.”

Slipped Masks:


Slipped Masks

ISBN: 9781719330640

Description:

I can’t call you because if he hears me talking on the phone he’ll hit me again. He scares me. I know sooner or later he’s going to kill me. I’ll text you again when I can. I love you, Casey. I’ll spend the rest of our lives proving to you how much I love you. Please come. Please save me …

With only text messages to guide him, Casey Byrne is on the hunt, racing across five states to save his ex-girlfriend, Madison.
Casey loves Madison deeply and wants desperately to save her life and rekindle their relationship.
But the closer he gets to her, the more surreal his journey becomes as the dead bodies pile up in his wake.

Clinical Lycanthropy: the delusion that a human can physically transform into a wolf.


If you were insane, would you know it?


How would you see the world if you were convinced you could transform into a wolf?


The hunter … and the hunted.


Slipped Masks is a dark neo-noir thriller about how the need for love and companionship becomes twisted into obsession, possession, jealousy, violence and murder.

A horrifying portrait of Clinical Lycanthropy.

Amazon link:


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Themes:
Sociopathy, narcissistic abuse, personality disorder, Clinical Lycanthropy, crime, murder.

Book available in hardcover, paperback, and Kindle.

A percentage from sales of this book is donated to Multiple Sclerosis (MS) research.

Work in progress:


My next books are Triangulation and Stinger.

Books 4 and 5 in The Breaker series.


Set in the year 2001, the story continues from Mall Maze.



Themes:


Crime, detective, hardboiled, heist, murder, narcissism, narcissistic abuse, neo-noir, psychopath, sociopath, thriller, vigilante.

 

A percentage from book sales is donated to Multiple Sclerosis (MS) research.


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The Breaker is an on-going series.


I’m outlining other stand-alone thriller novels.

Several coffee table books on my photography and my wife’s artwork.

A humorous book, based on the antics of our crazy pet Ragdoll cat, entitled: It’s That F****** Cat Again!



Here’s a GIF I made of our cat, settling down for another of his daily naps:

On this day in the Star Trek universe:

Star Trek: The Next Generation (1990)


Star Trek: The Next Generation
Season 3. Episode 10.
Episode entitled: The Defector.
Released January 1, 1990.
Directed by Robert Scheerer.
Written by Sam Rolfe, Richard Danus.
Created by Gene Roddenberry.
Music by Ron Jones.
Cast: Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, LeVar Burton, Michael Dorn, Marina Sirtis, Brent Spiner, Wil Wheaton, Gates McFadden, James Sloyan, Andreas Katsulas, John Hancock, Simon Templeman, Rachen Assapiomonwait, Majel Barrett, Jeremy Doyle, James McElroy, Oliver Theess, Natalie Wood.

On this day in music history:

Woodlands by Eric Tingstad, Nancy Rumbel & David Lanz (1987)
Mozart Requiem (1991)
Nightscenes by Michael Whalen (1996)
Cecilia Bartoli: Live in Italy (1998)
Cecilia Bartoli Sings Haydn (2001)
Wayfaring Stranger - A Spiritual Songbook by Kristin Asbjørnsen (2006)
Wildfire by Rachel Platten (2016)


Woodlands
Album by Eric Tingstad, Nancy Rumbel & David Lanz,
released January 1, 1987.
Track list: Willow; Magnolia; Oaks; Cypress; Cottonwood; Deodora; Sequoia; Woodlands; Bamboo; Madrona.


Mozart Requiem
Directed by Humphrey Burton, Michael Weinmann.
Cast: Georg Solti, Arleen Augér, Cecilia Bartoli, Vinson Cole, René Pape, Chor der Wiener Staatsoper / Konzertvereinigung Wiener, Wiener Philharmoniker.
Released January 1, 1991.


Nightscenes
Album by Michael Whalen,
released January 1, 1996.
Track list: Evening Blurs Into The Neon; Close Your Eyes, The Right Approaches; Acquainted With The Night; Part One: Light-Sky-Stars; Part Two: Passages; Part Three: Faces; Part Four: Love; Into The Darkness Part One: The Heart Of Midninght; Into The Darkness Part Two: Journey Towards The Sunrise; It Happened On A Sunday.


Cecilia Bartoli: Live in Italy
Directed by Brian Large.
Cast: Cecilia Bartoli, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Sonatori de la Gioiosa Marca.
Released January 1, 1998.


Cecilia Bartoli Sings Haydn
Directed by Brian Large.
Cast: Cecilia Bartoli, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Concentus musicus Wien.
Released January 1, 2001.


Wayfaring Stranger - A Spiritual Songbook
Album by Kristin Asbjørnsen,
released January 1, 2006.
Track list: Trying To Get Home; I’m On My Way; Ride Up In The Chariot; Now We Take This Feeble Body; In That Morning; Come Go With Me; Wish I Was In Heaven Sitting Down; Going Up; Don’t Be Weary Traveller; I Am A Poor Wayfaring Stranger / Going Over Jordan; Oh Glory.


Wildfire
Album by Rachel Platten,
released January 1, 2016.
Track list: Stand by You; Hey Hey Hallelujah (feat. Andy Grammar); Speechless; Beating Me Up; Fight Song; Better Place; Lone Ranger; You Don't Know My Heart; Angels in Chelsea; Astronauts; Congratulations; Superman.

On this day in television history - M Squad (1960):


M Squad

Season 3. Episode 15.
Episode entitled: The Twisted Way.
Released January 1, 1960.
Directed by Marc Lawrence.
Written by Adam Williams.
Music by Benny Carter.


Cast:

Lee Marvin, Paul Newlan, Joanna Barnes, Charles Cooper, Walter Coy, Virginia Christine, Tetsu Komai, S. John Launer, Eddie Parker, Don Turner.

On this day in movie history - The Phantom Carriage (1921 movie & novel):


The Phantom Carriage

a.k.a. The Stroke of Midnight & Thy Soul Shall Bear Witness,
directed and written by Victor Sjöström,
based on the novel Thy Soul Shall Bear Witness, original Swedish title: Körkarlen,
by Selma Lagerlöf,
released in Sweden on January 1, 1921.
Music by Eric Westberg.



Cast:

Victor Sjöström, Hilda Borgström, Tore Svennberg, Astrid Holm, Concordia Selander, Lisa Lundholm, Tor Weijden, Einar Axelsson, Olof Ås, Nils Aréhn, Simon Lindstrand, Nils Elffors, Algot Gunnarsson, Hildur Lithman, Josua Bengtson, Emmy Albiin, Helga Brofeldt, Mona Geijer-Falkner, Signe Wirff, Anna-Lisa Baude, Arthur Natorp, Carl Harald, Fridolf Rhudin, Elof Ahrle, Julia Cæsar, Edvin Adolphson, John Ekman.

Recommended reading:


Thy Soul Shall Bear Witness

By Selma Lagerlöf.

Translated by William Frederick Harvey.

Published by e-artnow.
First published 1912.
ISBN-10: 8027340209
ISBN-13: 9788027340200

Description:

Thy Soul Shall Bear Witness is a result of a collaboration between Selma Lagerlöf and the Swedish association. The novel was written as a means of public education about tuberculosis. It is set in a small town in Sweden at the beginning of the 20th century. Edith, a young "Slum Sister" (social worker) in the service of the Salvation Army is on her death bed dying of tuberculosis. She requests that before she dies, she would like to again see David Holm, one of her charges. It becomes apparent that the two have a special relationship.