March Madness is in full swing and I couldn’t be happier! Between this and daylight saving time (hooray for this news) it’s hard not to be in a good mood by the end of March. The seasonal transition has made it weird for my reading habits, but my pop culture isn’t lacking, I promise.

Reading

Like I mentioned, not a ton of reading lately, but a sunny weekend helped! Over the past couple of weeks I listened to Vanderbilt by Anderson Cooper and loved it! I wasn’t expecting to like it that much but was sort of interested in Cooper’s take on his family (his mom is Gloria Vanderbilt). As I listened to it I started thinking – if you like Bridgerton you may want to try this…It also makes me want to watch HBO’s The Gilded Age next. I also finally finished The Secret to Superhuman Strength a graphic novel from Alison Bechdel. It was good, but the way it was formatted made it easy to put down, which I evidently did since I started reading it in August… whoops!

I finally read The Atlantic’s great article on friendships that I’ve seen pop up over the past month on social media. It was really great and made me think about a lot of relationships. Check it out here. For a complete 180 (okay maybe 90?) this piece about cancelling The Baby-Sitters Club on Netflix was really interesting to me (a member of a very specific age demographic here).

Besides books, I also read a ridiculous amount of newsletters each day/week/month. My favorite right now is Culture Study from Anne Helen Petersen. The topics are all over the place but in a fascinating way, and her most recent piece on childcare/eldercare will sit with me for a very long time. Culture Study lead me to Meg Conley and homeculture which is really fantastic as well. The Audacity from Roxanne Gay always has a great wrap up of things she’s reading and tweets that make me laugh and cringe. I recently discovered that the amazing Samantha Irby (read her books they’re all great!) has a newsletter that is so ridiculous you just have to subscribe. It’s not books, but it is pop culture happiness delivered to your inbox!

Watching

Folks, we went to LIVE THEATER this month and it was glorious! My friend Cassie was in a two person world premier play – Svetlana! Svetlana! and it was wonderful! I felt safe in the theater (all masked and vax cards checked) and it was funny and smart and I had no idea the life or story of Stalin’s daughter who escaped to America, but I did immediately find a book from the library to learn more! While the world premier was just two days long, I was excited to learn that the show will be featured in a local theater in the near future.

Besides March Madness and trash talking with my brothers, I caught up on Abbott Elementary which you need to be watching, it’s so great! I loved this season of All Creatures Great and Small, which continues to be just a sweet and nice show that we all need these days. The After Party was hilarious and clever and I’m excited it’ll be back for Season 2!

I loved Inventing Anna and I am really enjoying (probably not the right word…) The Dropout although I wish they would just release all the episodes at once. Top Chef has returned and I couldn’t be happier to have my favorite foodie show back! If you didn’t watch the first season of Upload you should since the second season just start and continues to be clever and enjoyable.

My husband and I watched Race: Bubba Wallace on Netflix last week. It was fascinating. Wallace is the only black driver in NASCAR and the series (just 6 episodes) talks a lot about the Black Lives Matter protests and race discussions that Wallace has pushed and encouraged within NASCAR. You do not need to be a NASCAR fan to watch (because I am not!) I promise!

We are one episode into Severance on Apple+ and we’ll take it day by day, but…woah. I’m going to need to talk about it when we’re finished.

Listening

Besides Anderson Cooper’s book, I have been appreciating What a Day for keeping up on all the current events. I finished listening to The Trojan Horse Affair which I didn’t like as much as I wanted to. I am however loving Offline with Jon Favreau, each week he talks to someone about the relationship with social media and constantly being “on.” His interview with Taylor Lorenz was fascinating to me.

Alright, that’s what got me to spring this year, how about you? What pop culture are you consuming right now? Besides the final season of Ozark what else are you excited for in April?

There’s nothing quite like getting on an airplane and flying away on vacation. It’s been more than two years since we had a real vacation, thanks to the pandemic, and it did not disappoint! We spent our days on the beach reading, then happy hour on the lanai playing Qwirkle and evenings binging TV. Here’s the pop culture I enjoyed this month…

Reading

Finally people, I had time to read some books! And with only one VERY TERRIBLE CHOICE, it was great. I finished Jo Koy’s Mixed Plate on audiobook and it was a really great memoir. His mom is a hilarious character and I know that his new show Josep will reflect that!

My first book of vacation was the beach read I needed, People We Meet on Vacation. It was light hearted and an easy read, exactly what I needed to get me into vacation mode. Then I read the worst book I’ve read in a very long time, and then I finished the trip with Detransition, Baby which is a great book and one that I know made a lot of year end lists in 2021.

I had been meaning to read Kitchen Confidential ever since I found an autographed copy years ago, it’s been on my bookshelf. After watching Road Runner last month (FYI, it’s going to be on CNN in March if you haven’t watched it yet!) I decided to try the audio version which Bourdain reads. It’s hard and also calming to hear his voice. I miss his tone and sarcasm. It’s so weird to remember that he wrote this BEFORE he made it big. If you’re an Anthony Bourdain fan and haven’t read this book, grab the audiobook for your next read.

Listening

Vacation didn’t make for a lot of podcast time, but I did try to keep up on What a Day while we were gone. The Joe Rogan episode of The Daily was really interesting too if you missed it.

There’s a new season of Sounds Like a Cult and the first episode was about Trader Joe’s, I felt seen…

I downloaded The Trojan Horse Affair but haven’t started it yet. Too many audiobooks, might be time for a podcast binge…

Watching

While visiting my niece last month I watched part of Encanto but that kid decided to finish the movie without me, SO a week later I ended up watching again, and it was wonderful. I will always talk about Bruno…

My dad texted me to tell me I needed to watch Encanto (check!) and Coco which hadn’t made my list – we aren’t big movie watchers at my house and my husband really isn’t a cartoon guy. Luckily on our flight to Hawaii Coco was available and you better believe that the movie finished just as we were landing and I am sure my seatmates thought I was crying about the landing, but it was the perfect ending that got me.

Vacation seemed like the right time to finally watch Season 4 part 1 of Ozark. It was dark and crazy and we decided that before the final part comes out, we’ll have to rewatch the series since there are so many moving pieces that we had a hard time keeping track. Back home we finished up Yellowstone which I didn’t expect to like as much as I did. It’s a crazy story with lots of moving pieces, and of course I love the local politics stuff! If you liked Succession or Righteous Gemstones, try Yellowstone, trust me.

The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window is the most ridiculous title I’ve ever had to type. Kristen Bell can do no wrong in my book, when I was 2 episodes in and on the fence, my sister in law texted to keep watching. I am so glad I finished this series on the flight home. The over the top-ness of the series and the final whodunit reveal were the exact amount of insanity I didn’t know I would love.

I am LOVING The After Party on Apple+. That every episode is a different movie genre is such a clever idea. There are a ton of great characters, and obviously so far my favorite was the musical ep! For a complete 180* TV experience, I also really enjoy All Creatures Great and Small  – it’s a really sweet show where nothing bad happens and the squabbles are very British. And to continue the boomerang, I loved this season of Real Housewives of Salt Lake, and I am so glad that Real Housewives of New Jersey are back!

Okay, vacation or not, what pop culture did you enjoy this month?

When it’s cold outside in winter, it’s easier to stay inside and binge TV. It’s a little harder for me to listen to more podcasts when I’m not typically driving as much (thanks Omicron) but we made due this month. Here’s what has helped me kick off 2022!

Reading

My first book of the year was a great mystery – All Her Little Secrets. This book would make a GREAT miniseries and definitely keeps you on your toes. I was reading this book while I finished Succession and the two family owned/operated businesses had eerily similar characteristics. (Wait – did Roman do that or the CFO?)

I had about 45 minutes left in Jo Koy’s memoir Mixed Plate before the library returned the audiobook for me. So, I’ll finish it when I get it back in a couple of week. I REALLY enjoyed the book and learning more about Chelsea Handlers boyfriend – and a fellow pacific northwest guy!

We went to visit my brother’s family this month and I thought that The Housewives would be a good book for the plane – which it was. Very easy reading and gossipy behind the scenes stuff. If you’re a fan of any of the housewives, this was a fun companion book. I do want a new chapter or revised edition that includes the Housewives of Salt Lake City and the Ultimate Girls Trip included.

I am currently reading Anthem by Noah Hawley who is an author and show creator that I always enjoy. I’m also listening to Kitchen Confidential after finally watching the Bourdain documentary earlier this month. Hopefully more on both of those next month!

Listening

Besides not finishing Jo Koy’s book, I’ve been appreciating the usual mix of OPB Politics Now, What a Day, The Daily and Majority 54. Nothing else too exciting has popped on my podcast radar lately – any good suggestions?

Watching

Norm had his TPLO surgery 5 days before Christmas which forced us to lay low and chill with our dogs. It was GLORIOUS, even with the snow and below freezing temps. We finally binged Succession and loved it as much as I expected. I read a NYT review about how The Righteous Gemstones is a great compliment to Succession and I have to agree.

We just started Yellowstone after everyone I talked to about tv and Succession said “we’re watching Yellowstone too, have you seen it?” Seriously. So. Many. Of. You. So we’re on Season two and LOVING it! All three shows have a similar format – wealthy family with a single older father who has the PERFECT daughter (who is probably not) and a few sons who varieties of evil/screwups/disappointments. If you’ve watched two or more of these shows, you can’t unsee it.

Sex Lives of College Girls was such a fun show that I binged over the break. We rewatched it with my brother and sister in law while visiting, it’s that good. Mindy Kaling created this show and it does not disappoint. Neither does the new season of Queer Eye which was just the new year gift I needed.

My favorite show we’ve finished in 2022? Dexter: New Blood. Yes, it was perfect. We also discovered that we don’t do violence and really scary stuff like we were able to handle with the original series. This was the finale we should have had 10 years ago. LOVED it.

I’ll continue to keep my TV show spreadsheet updated for 2022 along with my Goodreads. I’m off on a big vacation next month and looking for a couple good paperbacks to make the trek with me. Any suggestions are welcome!