Well folks, we’ve made it to the end of January. In Oregon we have been incredibly lucky to have a gorgeous sunny winter which is helping EVERYONE’s mood a bit. I started the month being sworn in to office and ended the month with a weekend getaway with friends, where games were played and long walks were enjoyed. Here’s a few things that kept me sane along the way this month…

Reading

I finished the year sneaking a couple more books into my goal but nothing that was worth writing home about. I started the year listening to Kelly Bishop’s memoir The Third Gilmore Girl. I highly recommend this as an audiobook so you can hear Emily Gilmore again. I was in the midst of a GG rewatch while I listened to it which was super fun. Bishop’s life was crazy and the way she tells stories like it’s no big deal is fascinating.

I really enjoyed the sweet rom-com The Book Swap, it got me back into a good reading mood. My husband and I have booked a trip to Spain for his sabbatical so I am on the lookout for fun books that take place/travel through Spain (please comment with your suggestions!) I just started The Pairing and I think it’ll be a great fit for this hunt.

Listening

My brothers and dad have great musical taste and I am in a music rut. I mean the answer is always Steely Dan or The Beatles, but I know I can diversify. Earlier this month I created a 2025 family playlist in Apple Music where we can all contribute our favorite music of late. If you have a group of friends of family members with good musical taste, I highly recommend this. Although my youngest brother listens to WAAAY too much country for my taste (which is zero country please).

A client and fellow pop culture enthusiast recommended Hysterical last month and I binged right through this podcast about a group of girls in upstate New York who all come down with a mysterious illness. The story was wild and although I remember hearing about it when it happened a few years ago, I never heard the resolution. It was a great listen. Also, if you haven’t listened to The Good Whale yet get on that ASAP.

I am still figuring out my news podcast dosage for the year. It is currently What a Day and then NYT The Headlines to start my morning. If I need more information on the topic of the day I’ll listen to The Daily and depending on my tolerance level I’ll listen to the newest episode of Pod Save America. PSA is also doing a new Sunday show and Favs interviewed Rachel Maddow for the first episode. It was great to hear them talk about how they are going to cover this administration. I am also keeping an eye on new episodes of Think Out Loud for local news – especially now as an elected official to hear what other cities are doing to work on issues we all share. And to decompress, I am enjoying The Sam Sanders Show and The Wirecutter Show.

Watching

I watched the 3 hour Ladies & Gentlemen… 50 Years of SNL Music and it blew my mind. I thought I’d start it and finish over the course of the week but no, we stayed up later than planned to finish this incredible documentary. It already wins the best documentary I’ll watch this year. And the amount of friends and family I texted while watching it to recommend was more than I expected. The 50th anniversary of SNL is next month and I am SUPER excited. The 4 part documentary on Peacock is great, not to be confused with the amazing SNL music doc! AND I still need to watch Saturday Night which is now on Netflix so will probably happen this weekend.

We don’t watch a lot of movies around here as you’ve probably noticed. But we did watch Conclave and holy crap it was fantastic. I will try to get in another Oscar nom or two (Real Pains is on Hulu so that’ll probably happen, and maybe Emilia Perez) but we will see. My niece is very excited to watch Wicked when I go visit in a few weeks, so I’ll finally watch that too…

I have been deep in a Gilmore Girls binge for the last few months and finally finished it. Are those women their own worst enemies? Yes. Do I care? Not really. Season 7 was terrible and I wish I’d just stopped after 6 when the creator left.

Over the holidays I watched the second season of Bad Sisters and it was great, not as great as the first season but still smart and funny and better binged. Pop Culture Jeopardy has been a fun weekly show that makes me feel so smart and so clueless all within a category or two. With the upcoming Spain trip Jose Andres & Family in Spain was a great recent watch, and we’ve been re-watching a few select Anthony Bourdain episodes which are great/occasionally don’t age well/make me miss Tony…

Alright – what pop culture is coming up that you’re excited for in February?

What a wild month November has been! From winning my election (hooray!) to escaping to the coast to celebrate (and sleep!) It’s been a busy month! Before we all head off and unplug for Thanksgiving, I have a great podcast series for the road trip, a great TV series to watch with your parents, and an audiobook suggestion to help you unplug and dream about food.

Reading

I mentioned last month that I didn’t read or listen to a single book in October. It was the first time in forever that I can remember not reading a book. I’m a little slow on the uptick again but I’m getting back into my groove. I started after the election with Stanley Tucci’s new memoir – What I Ate in One Year. It was DELICIOUS. Tucci’s voice is EXACTLY what I wanted to hear after the election as I re-entered reality. The book was a diary of what he ate (and where and with whom) for 2023. If you miss Searching for Italy this will help fill the void.

I was able to unplug and read while we were at the coast for a few days (and sleep, I slept so much it was glorious…) I enjoyed How to End a Love Story which is written by Yulin Kuang who is writing the screenplay for two upcoming Emily Henry books. I think we’re in good hands with her!

Listening

I was born and raised in Oregon and one of the greatest (I thought) stories that happened when I was a kid was bringing the orca from Free Willy to the Oregon Coast Aquarium to “save him” just like the movie. I had no idea what happened to Keiko, but luckily the folks at Serial (always a good podcast series!) were interested enough to create The Good Whale. The story is devastating. I had no idea how sad it would be, but also that so many people cared for this animal and truly wanted what was best for him. The series is perfect for your holiday road trip, older kids would like it too I think. And do NOT skip episode five, it is possibly the best podcast episode I have ever heard.

Watching

I will watch anything that Mike Schur does because he’s a genius. When I saw that Man on the Inside was his show I binged it in a weekend (honestly, if I’d planned better I could have done it in an evening!) Ted Danson is a national treasure and he is perfect as a widower who goes undercover at a retirement home to help figure out who stole something. The characters are wonderful, the story is lovely, and as always you’ll laugh a lot and also think about life more than you’d expect.

I loved the first season of The Diplomat and the second season did not disappoint! Make sure you watch the recap from season one, there’s a lot of names and places and actions that occurred in the first season you’ll be expected to remember. I’m not sure why we only got six episodes this season instead of eight but I’ll take what I can get from Keri Russell and her team!

A few more shows to recommend you catch up on this holiday season…Secret Lives of College Girls is back for a new season and it’s still great! This season of Shrinking is also wonderful, and I totally agree with this review of the show’s MVP of the season. You know I love the Real Housewives, and I am currently in the midst of New York, Salt Lake City and the new season of Beverly Hills just started. Somebody, Somewhere is so wonderful and I’ve talked about it before, this could be a perfect holiday binge watch show… My binge list this week includes Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, My Old Ass, Babes and catching up on the new season of Bad Sisters.

What pop culture are you excited for this holiday season?