If you need a break from all things coronavirus, here are entertainment diversions for you. 

Stream tip

Dolemite Is My Name

This raucous Netflix movie is wildly profane but oh-so-hilarious. Eddie Murphy plays comic Rudy Ray Moore, a real person who, back in the 1970s, created a character named Dolemite that became a success on the standup stage. Moore decided he wanted to make a play for the big screen and star in his own movie. Murphy is not only wonderful in the role, but he also seems to be enjoying the hell of it. The cast has a deep bench, including Wesley Snipes as an actor with pretensions, and Da'Vine Joy Randolph as a woman realizing her worth as one of Moore's team. All that, and one of the other great joys of the film is the 1970s vibe.

— Kristina Dorsey

CD tip

Rivers Arms

Balmorhea

In a state known for brisket, an eternal "who's more loathsome" competition between Jerry Jones and Ted Cruz and ZZ Top, the existence of minimalist neo-classical, post-rock bands like Explosions in the Sky and Balmorhea is perhaps not well known. Pity. I find both to be moody, lovely, creative and very therapeutic as soundtrack-providers during the pandemic isolation. But I reached way back recently and heard "Rivers Arms" for the first time. Originally released in 2008, this is an incredibly pretty recording that should not be confused as simplistic or facile. There are elements of Max Richter and Sigur Ros if they were improvising music whilst on a balloon ride over an autumn meadow in New Hampshire.

— Rick Koster

Book tip

The Library Book

Susan Orlean

The "Orchid Thief" author has created another fascinating work of nonfiction. The centerpiece is the hugely destructive 1986 fire at the main branch of the L.A. public library. That blaze fell off the front pages almost immediately because it happened the same week that the Chernobyl nuclear reactor melted down. Orlean doesn't confine herself to examining the fire itself. She delves into all sorts of library-related story threads, from the characters who worked there and were suspected of arson (spoiler alert: Orlean doesn't leave us with a "So HE did it!" moment at the end); to the history of that library and libraries in general; to her own love of libraries. It may sound scattershot, but she makes it all meld beautifully. Orlean remains a master of finding telling details and describing them in rich (but not tortured) prose. "The Library Book" was released in 2018; if you, like me, missed it then but have extra time for reading now, this is a great choice.

— Kristina Dorsey