last-minute books and tv I'm not watching

I ended up reading another book by Chris Bohjalian: Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands. It's his most recent novel, the one that first piqued my interest when I heard an interview with him talking about it. ( v. mild spoilers, trigger warnings, and my reaction )

So there was a new episode of Doctor Who last night. I still haven't finished watching season seven. Somewhere along the way I lost interest, and I can point to Clara as the new companion as that moment: yet another woman with a mystery. How many mysterious women whose pasts are secretly entwined with the Doctor do we need? As someone who identified pretty strongly with the (ordinary human) companions, it left me feeling like an outsider.

I may watch the rest of season seven now that it's on Netflix... or I may not. I tried episode 7.06 the other day, and it wasn't an auspicious re-entry point.

Feel free to tell me why I should give season eight a try in real-time, if you wish.