Reading Time: 5 minutes

Weekend Picks Ideas For Your Weekend – Netflix Top 10 NY Times Best Sellers & a Book Review by Kevin

Weekend Watch & Read

Welcome to Weekend Watch & Read, your Friday guide to what everyone is talking about before the weekend begins.

Every Friday I’ll round up the Top 10 Netflix shows in the United States and the Top 10 in Brazil, giving you a glimpse into what audiences on both sides of the equator are binge-watching. Sometimes the lists will overlap; often they won’t, and that’s part of the fun. It’s a fascinating look at how culture, language, and storytelling shape what captures our attention.

For readers who would rather turn pages than stream episodes, I’ll also feature The New York Times Best Seller lists for both Fiction and Nonfiction. Whether you’re looking for your next thriller, biography, historical account, or thought-provoking read, you’ll find plenty of inspiration for your weekend reading list.

Finally, I’ll share one book from my own bookshelf. It won’t necessarily be a bestseller or the latest release. Sometimes it will be a forgotten classic, a hidden gem, a work of history, or simply a book that made me stop, think, or see the world a little differently. Along with it, you’ll get my honest review and whether I think it’s worth adding to your own reading list.

So pour yourself a cup of coffee, settle into your favorite chair, and see what the rest of the world is watching, what readers are buying, and what one retired American living in Brazil thinks deserves a little more attention. Your weekend entertainment starts here.

Netflix Top 10 United States

1. Death of the Pastor’s Wife | Documentary, Crime | premiered 2026-08-26
2. Beauty in Black | Drama | premiered 2024-10-24
3. Outer Banks | Action & Adventure, Drama, Mystery | premiered 2020-04-15
4. Talamasca: The Secret Order | Drama, Horror, Fantasy | premiered 2025-10-19
5. Danny Go! | Kids, Music | premiered 2019-08-21
6. Leanne | Comedy | premiered 2025-07-31
7. Raw | Reality | premiered 1993-01-11
8. Blood Sacrifice | Drama, Crime, Mystery | premiered 2026-08-20
9. Salish & Jordan Matter | Reality | premiered 2026-04-11
10. Let’s Marry Harry: The Reunion | Reality | premiered 2026-08-27

Netflix Top 10 In Brazil

1. Blood Sacrifice | Drama, Crime, Mystery | premiered 2026-08-20
2. Beauty in Black | Drama | premiered 2024-10-24
3. Outer Banks | Action & Adventure, Drama, Mystery | premiered 2020-04-15
4. The Early Spring | Drama, Family | premiered 2026-08-22
5. Death of the Pastor’s Wife | Documentary, Crime | premiered 2026-08-26
6. My Name Is Farah | Crime, Drama | premiered 2023-03-01
7. Mom Knows Best? | Comedy, Drama | premiered 2026-08-20
8. The Mentalist | Crime, Drama, Mystery | premiered 2008-09-23
9. Our Sticky Love | Drama, Comedy | premiered 2026-08-07
10. Salish & Jordan Matter | Reality | premiered 2026-04-11

NY Times Top 10 Hard Cover Fiction

1. BIG LITTLE TRUTHS by Liane Moriarty
2. THE CALAMITY CLUB by Kathryn Stockett | Fiction | published 2026-04-07
3. YESTERYEAR by Caro Claire Burke | Fiction | published 2026-04-07
4. WHISTLER by Ann Patchett | Fiction | published 2026-06-02
5. HEART OF GLASS by Jennifer Hillier
6. DELUSIONAL by James Patterson and James O. Born
7. THE DUNGEON ANARCHIST’S COOKBOOK by Matt Dinniman | Fiction | published 2024-10-22
8. THE POISON DAUGHTER by Sheila Masterson | Fiction | published 2026-08-18
9. DAGGERBOUND by T. Kingfisher | Fiction | published 2026-08-25
10. THE CORRESPONDENT by Virginia Evans | Fiction | published 2025-04-29

NY Times Top 10 Paperback Fiction

1. THEO OF GOLDEN by Allen Levi | Fiction | published 2025-10-03
2. BRAIN DAMAGE by Freida McFadden | Fiction | published 2026
3. DUNGEON CRAWLER CARL by Matt Dinniman | Fiction | published 2025-12-30
4. PROJECT HAIL MARY by Andy Weir | Fiction | published 2022-10-04
5. THE WEDDING PEOPLE by Alison Espach | Fiction | published 2025-06-24
6. VERITY by Colleen Hoover | Fiction | published 2026-03-03
7. CARL’S DOOMSDAY SCENARIO by Matt Dinniman | Fiction | published 2026-08-04
8. RED RISING by Pierce Brown | Fiction | published 2014-07-15
9. A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES by Sarah J. Maas | Fiction | published 2020-06-02
10. THE LOVE HYPOTHESIS by Ali Hazelwood | Fiction | published 2021-09-14

NY Times Top 10 Hard Cover Non-Fiction

1. GOING FURTHER by Ted Cruz | Biography & Autobiography | published 2026-08-25
2. REGIME CHANGE by Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan | Political Science | published 2026-06-23
3. STAR OF THE SHOW by Dolly Parton with Tom Roland | Biography & Autobiography | published 2025-11-11
4. THE RISE AND FALL OF THE ARTIFICIAL STATE by Jill Lepore | Computers | published 2026-08-25
5. THE SERVICEBERRY by Robin Wall Kimmerer | Nature | published 2024-11-19
6. BEHIND THE SEAMS by Dolly Parton with Holly George-Warren | Biography & Autobiography | published 2023-10-17
7. STRANGERS by Belle Burden | Biography & Autobiography | published 2026-01-13
8. THIS IS ME by Hayden Panettiere | Biography & Autobiography | published 2026-05-12
9. THE NERD REICH by Gil Durán | Business & Economics | published 2026-08-18
10. LONDON FALLING by Patrick Radden Keefe | Family & Relationships | published 2026-04-07

Book Review: Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family A heart Breaking Look of schizophrenia in America

By: Robert Kolker

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5)

Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family
by Robert Kolker

This is quite a remarkable book. Kolker does an excellent job telling the story of one family with a shocking history of mental illness while also weaving together the larger story of schizophrenia research and the long search for treatment and understanding.

The book follows a young couple as they begin their lives just after World War II, with all the hopes and dreams of a growing American family. Over two decades, the family expands to twelve children, ten boys and two girls, before tragedy slowly takes hold. Six of the sons develop schizophrenia, each during their mid-to-late teens or early adulthood.

What makes the story so compelling is how it balances the deeply personal suffering of the Galvin family with the evolving science surrounding mental illness. For decades, much of the thinking around behavioral disorders centered on the nature-versus-nurture debate. At the time, there were few effective medications, limited therapy options, and a prevailing belief that family dynamics, particularly the role of the mother, were to blame.

Because so many members of one family were affected, the Galvins became one of the most significant case studies in schizophrenia research. Their participation in studies stretched from the first diagnosis well into the twenty-first century, helping researchers better understand the disease and its many forms.

The book also refuses to romanticize the damage schizophrenia caused within the family. Beyond the illness itself, the story reveals the emotional strain, trauma, abuse, molestation, violence, suicide, and shattered relationships that affected nearly everyone connected to it. For the sons diagnosed with schizophrenia, there is a constant sense of lost potential and lives interrupted before they ever had the chance to fully begin.

One of the strongest aspects of the book is how accessible it remains despite the complexity of the subject matter. It does not dive too deeply into technical science, but it explains the timeline of treatments, medications, institutional care, and changing medical theories in a way that is easy to follow and understand. You see both the progress made and the painful reality that there is still no cure, even as researchers continue to move closer to fully understanding the illness.

In the end, Hidden Valley Road is not simply a book about schizophrenia. It is a story about family, endurance, guilt, survival, and ultimately some measure of healing and redemption. It is heartbreaking, frustrating, and deeply human.

★★★★★ 5/5 Stars

I used ChatGPT for the critical reception because I could not know what was said when the book came out.

Critical Reception

When it was released in 2020, Hidden Valley Road received widespread acclaim from critics and readers alike. The book became a bestseller and was praised for its compassionate storytelling, historical depth, and ability to make a complicated psychiatric subject accessible to general audiences. Many reviewers highlighted Kolker’s balance between investigative journalism and emotional storytelling, calling it one of the most important nonfiction books written about mental illness in recent years.