Spring has arrived here in the Northwest and I am so grateful for it! My husband and I were able to get away to the coast for a few days last weekend. It was so nice to look at different walls and an amazing ocean view for a few days! I read a book in a weekend and almost finished a puzzle and then purchased a puzzle tray so I never have to experience that again!
Here’s the pop culture that got me through these April showers…
Listening
A few years ago I caught a Dateline story (FYI: I’m not a Dateline person) about a woman in Rexburg, Idaho who had remarried and her 2 kids hadn’t been seen since before the marriage. I happen to have a lot of family in Eastern Idaho so the story intrigued me. The episode was really crazy but the story was ongoing at that point. So when Mommy Doomsday popped up on my podcast radar, I was ready for it. The story goes into more details than I remember and yowza, it’s nuts. If you love cults and mysteries this is for you.
Each month on the Late Night with Seth Meyers Podcast he has a “Late Night Lit” episode where one of his producers interviews an author or two, someone who might have appeared on the show over the past month or someone connected to the show. Staff give their recommendations and all around I leave with a few new book ideas.
My brother made a comment about Lake Street Dive a few weeks ago and I didn’t realize what a large musical gap was missing in my life! If this is a reminder that you love this band, or the nudge you need to check them out, I highly recommend them as an excellent background to dinner or work.
I am also loving the new Nick Jonas album – especially Delicious. Trust me.
Reading
I got through 3 books this month, which means one thing: warm sunshine and outside reading has resumed!
I loved Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas. The Hate You Give was such an incredible book and this prequel about her father is really fantastic. Plus it takes place around the same time I was in high school and the references were great.
I tried out Powell’s Indiespensible book club for a couple of months and realized I have TOO MANY BOOKS to get books suggested to me blindly each month. But, before I stopped, I ended up with Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam. I took it on vacation back in January and realized that reading a book about a family on vacation in the middle of now where and then the (maybe) home owners show up in the middle of the night telling them about a potential major power outage was a bad vacation read. I was wrong – you’d be fine to read this fantastic story on vacation. And it’s a GREAT book, I devoured it in just a few days and can’t wait for you to read it so we can talk about it!
A while ago Nothing to See Here was recommended and I added it to a list to read and forgot about it until it showed up at the library for me just in time for our weekend getaway. Boarding School friends who keep in touch by letters and then reconnect over twins that can burst into flames PLUS politics? This book is exactly what I needed for a very funny rainy weekend read.
Watching
Top Chef Portland is here and I am SO excited. My dad has been visiting over the past month so Top Chef viewing parties have been part of the weekend activities – and we all have bets on who will win – winner picks any restaurant in Oregon and losers have to pay. I am very excited for Sara to win this for me! It’s also great to see them feature Oregon and work their way around the pandemic.
My dad watched Mank in advance of the Oscars and I didn’t (and don’t plan to). But when he wanted to watch Citizen Kane again, I watched it with him since I had never seen it. I get why it was such a big movie at the time, but with a 2021 lens on it, I mean, it’s good… What I really want now is a good podcast or biography about William Randolph Hearst please!
The coast had spotty wifi so we did a rewatch of I’m Sorry on Netflix which has just popped up on a list of “if you’ve already rewatched Schitt’s Creek” recommendations and I was reminded how HILARIOUS this show is. Just watch it and trust me.
Alright, those are my highlights for April! Here’s a few other things I’ve been watching lately – share your favorites in the comments and then get excited for this and this.
I LOVE this podcast and they did a great episode on Hearst awhile back (with the previous hosts) https://overcast.fm/+Kp52igRSU
So few people I know have watched “I’m Sorry” – I rewatched that that show this year too and loved it all over again. I was so sad Season 3 got cancelled due to covid. I hope someone picks it up as it was fully written and ready to go. Andrea Savage made a (very/too) brief appearance on Million Little Things recently and I yelped and paused the show out of excitement. I hope she becomes a bigger character!
Angie Thomas is an awesome author. I didn’t think I would get into Concrete Rose (I think I’m sexist and don’t like male leads in books as much?) but I ended up loving the story and characters. All her books are incredible. Have you watched the movie version of The Hate U Give yet? I have hesitated but I’m probably going to.
I hadn’t heard of the Seth Meyers segment – gonna have to look that up! Will also check out the other books you mention (oof my TBR list is so long right now!)