Well July flew right by! I started and ended the month on the Oregon Coast which is always where I like to be this time of year. We took Cliff to the coast for our anniversary at the end of June and enjoyed a few days of running around on the beach, watching the World Cup, and reading a ton. Then back home for baseball and softball games (Go Cascade!) and then back to the coast (without Cliff this time) for my birthday weekend! Books were consumed, podcasts made the drives go quickly, and the warm summer nights mean my TV watching has been low. ‘Tis the season…

Reading

I read four books this month, it would have been five but I changed my library card and lost my audiobook hold which was a bummer. So I wait and try to find my next audiobook. BUT, the book I keep thinking about the most from this month was The Fountain about a woman who is over 200 years old because she and her brother and their mother all “drank from the fountain of youth” and now can’t die. I know the premise sounds weird, but I keep thinking about it – this book was really great.

Sex on Murder Island was as ridiculous as I had hoped it would be. Jo Firestone is hilarious and I really enjoyed Murder on Sex Island and this sequel didn’t disappoint. The characters are so quirky and off the rails. If you enjoy a good murder mystery AND enjoy a good laugh, these books might be right up your alley.

Listening

Apple Music came out with celebrity summer playlists and Dave Grohl’s Summer Cookout Jams is on heavy rotation around the house. You’re welcome.

The Last 12 Weeks was a really interesting new season of the Serial podcast. It was all about a man on death row with 12 weeks until his execution and the Marshall Project team trying to argue his innocence and stop the execution. It’s only five episodes and was really fascinating!

This season of Good Hang has had more people with something to promote than last season, but the Mindy Kaling episode was great, and I really enjoyed the Matt Damon episode even though they talked a lot about The Odyssey (which I still need to go see!) I also discovered The Book Review podcast from The New York Times and needed to hear their take on Yesteryear (speaking of books I can’t stop thinking about…)

Watching

We are very excited for the new season of Ted Lasso coming out next week, so decided a rewatch was in order this month. That’s most of what we’ve been up to, that or the World Cup kept us busy in July.

Thanks to the fireworks on the 4th of July we stayed up late with Cliff and I did a late night rewatch of The House which is a very funny movie that not enough people watched. I keep trying to watch The Hawk and it’s not happening for me…

What pop culture is keeping you going this summer?

June has been a whirlwind! From graduations to baseball, the start of professional softball in Hillsboro, and a trip to visit family go to Yellowstone, it’s been a great month! Here’s the pop culture that has helped me get through it all…

Reading

I’m about to finish Under the Influence which I am really enjoying. If you liked Yesteryear and wonder what it would be like to work for her, this is the book for you. I also read Wild Dark Shore which people have raved about since it came out. It was a great book, BUT as many of you know, I have a wildly irrational fear of whales (I blame Jonah) and I wasn’t expecting my deepest fears to come to life as I read “just one more chapter before bed” and proceeded to toss and turn for an hour. If you don’t have a fear of whales, it was a great story.

I’m halfway through Jenny Hagel’s memoir Advice No One Asked For and I am loving it! Hagel is a writer on Seth Meyers who I have enjoyed for years, especially her Jokes Seth Can’t Tell set, and this book is very funny. As always, a celebrity memoir is best listened to as an audiobook so you can get their tone and inflection.

Listening

Road trips with my nephews will always include a lot of Earth Wind & Fire (we’re taking them to their first concert in September to see EWF!) I also am enjoying Dave Grohl’s Summer Cookout Jams, it’s a great playlist for driving through Yellowstone, or hosting a summer cookout.

Colman Domingo and Greta Lee have been my two favorite episodes of Good Hang this month. Besides that there hasn’t been a good podcast to jump out at me lately.

Watching

It was a busy month of good TV shows wrapping up! I enjoyed the second season of Your Friends and Neighbors, and think we need more James Marsden in shows. If you haven’t watched Widow’s Bay it’s worth getting Apple TV to binge this horror comedy show. We absolutely loved it and I am THRILLED it’s getting a second season. That finale was almost perfect, and Ruth is amazing (he made a pass at me, she made a pass at me) it was a show I didn’t know I needed.

I blew right through The Four Seasons second season and then went right back and did a rewatch of both seasons. Tina Fey can do no wrong in my book, and she nails it with adult friendships, marriage, and that time of life. I love this show, even baby Gino. We also really enjoyed Office Romance, which was the light weekend rom com movie we needed. Brett Goldstein is so smart and hilarious.

Documentary wise, we really enjoyed Marty which I wasn’t honestly expecting. Martin Short isn’t my favorite but this documentary was wonderful, he is an awesome dad and a wonderful friend (and spouse). Highly recommend if you have ever laughed at his jokes, and bonus: Catherine O’Hara. In a completely different tone – I did watch Maternal Instinct and that woman is horrible. Someone on Threads mentioned if you like it you should watch/listen to Scamanda which I was enthralled with a while back and recommended on the blog. And yes, if you enjoyed the Scamanda podcast/documentary series, this is in that same vain of horrible young woman doing unthinkable things.

Okay, off to the coast for a few days with a large stack of books and a Roku stick to catch up on a few shows, I’ll be back with that recap in July!