Reading

When the weather changes and brings us inside, my reading habits dwindle. Luckily more audiobooks in my life are helping me push towards exceeding my Goodreads goal for 2023. I had really enjoyed Anderson Coopers book Vanderbilt a couple of years ago so was excited when he was going to write a book on the Astor’s. Astor was almost as interesting (Cooper is a Vanderbilt so he had a bit more of himself/family in it) but I still really enjoyed the storytelling style and learning about this fascinating family that had drama up in till very recently. I had no idea.

I finally read Yellowface which I wanted to enjoy more than I did. It was great and deserves all the praise it has received. The incredibly vain and self absorbed main character was a bit abrasive for me. Still a great story even if I might have liked it better in third person than first person.

I just finished We See Each Other: A Black, Trans Journey Through TV and Film on audio and loved it. Tre’vell Anderson is on a podcast I listen to regularly so I know their voice well and was excited to check it out. The book was a great way to learn more about trans visibility, and my favorite part were the recommended viewing list at the end of each chapter (see more notes below!)

I get on an airplane and a train in November which should lead to some good reading time, I promise. And I’m hoping that Britney’s memoir is finally ready for me from the library on audio…

Listening

I am devastated that Into It has wrapped up as a podcast. I talked about the pod a lot in my roundups, I checked out so many books and shows thanks to Sam Sanders. I’ll continue to listen to Vibe Check which he hosts with two friends but I really enjoyed Sam Sanders in my ears three times a week and now I’m down to one.

I plowed right through Grapevine which was a fascinating podcast about what happens when conservative Christians are elected to school boards in Texas. Teachers leave, kids aren’t allowed to be who themselves and communities are torn apart. You know my feelings on getting involved in local politics (do it! I’ll help!) and this podcast is a microcosm of what’s going on in towns all over the country. Read it, be scared, get involved. It’s only 6 episodes.

Multiple friends have sent me Say More with Dr? Sheila and I have it saved but haven’t started it yet. I promise it’s up next, getting through an audiobook first.

The new season of The Dream came out last month and a newsletter I subscribe to reminded me of it. I enjoyed the first season on MLM’s and this season is all about coaching, which I find fascinating (fun fact, a lot of my clients are coaches/consultants) but this… this is different.

Watching

Thanks to We See Each Other, my to watch list is out of control at the moment with shows and movies I missed over the years. A great starting place however, was the Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness episode on the binary. I found it fascinating and helpful.

I really enjoyed the ridiculousness of the latest season of Only Murders in the Building. Paul Rudd can do no wrong in my book and he was all in with his character this season which I loved. We finally binged the final season of The Wonder Years reboot. I loved the reboot concept for this and think it could have played for years in different iterations, I’m bummed that the strike (and BTS drama) caused it to end early.

I took my friend to see Little Shop of Horrors in the theater this weekend, she’d never seen it before and it’s one of my favorite musicals. It was the directors cut which I hadn’t seen before and WOW is it different! The directors cut models the musical ending, which test audiences HATED so they completely changed the ending. The original version is currently on MAX so I came home and had to rewatch those last 20 minutes to remember what happened. If you haven’t seen it in a while, or have never seen it both versions are great.

I really liked the Pete Davidson episode of SNL, especially this. However, the Nate Bargatze episode is one that I will happily rewatch on a regular basis, it was fantastic.

What pop culture is consuming you these days? What are you looking forward to?

Listening

The Michael Jackson podcast Think Twice was a good challenge to think about the artist v. the art. Which is a conversation we’ve been having a lot of over the past few years. I think we can all agree MJ was incredibly talented, but wowza was he a bad person. There were pieces to the story I didn’t remember, or know so it was good to get that recapped.

I finally started listening to Murder in Oregon about the murder of Michael Franke back in 1989. I didn’t realize that the murder has never been solved. I grew up in Salem when this happened and I remember hearing his name a lot. I also forgot until the podcast that the DA’s kids went to my elementary school and I remember a couple of times that our school would go on lock down because of threats to the family. If you grew up in Oregon or just enjoy some good true crime, this is (so far) a great podcast.

Reading

It’s been a long time since I stopped reading (or listening) to a book, but I can not finish Pageboy. I know it’s the “it” memoir of the summer but it’s jarring in its storytelling style. If you’ve read it, you know what I mean. If it’s on your list or you’ve read it I’m curious to know what you thoughts!

I did really enjoy Megan Rapinoe’s memoir One Life which was a great audiobook. It was a quick and interesting story about her life, and although not intentional, it was perfect timing with her final match coming up.

I finally read This is How You Lose the Time War, which is this book that no one will tell you anything about except to say YOU SHOULD READ IT. I agree, you should read it, and I will also say, it’s a perfect weekend quick read – just keep going it pays off I promise.

I really enjoyed Nora Goes Off Script last year and worried her next book wouldn’t stack up, but Same Time Next Summer was a great end of summer rom com that I needed! I also really enjoyed The Celebrants but didn’t love the section v. chapter style (I know, just give me chapters, the shorter the better).

Watching

Last month my husband and I got sucked into a Sister Wives binge and we are finally caught up to live. There’s a lot to be said about reality TV and the choices that people make, but after 18 seasons, it’s still wild that Kody thinks the camera confessionals are therapy and not going to make him sound like a horrible husband and human. I’m glad that some of the wives have found the support to leave.

Speaking of polygamy… I finally watched Under the Banner of Heaven and it was really good, intense, but good. If you like a good Mormon polygamist sect story, this is for you. Then I read this piece from my favorite journalist Leah Sottile about Tim Ballard (of the “popular” film Sound of Freedom) and it all sort of came together that these two stories were connected. WILD.

We’ve binged the final season of Reservation Dogs and just have the finale left. Every episode this season has been fantastic and I have loved the stories of the elders and parents and these amazing three generations (and beyond of course) of people.

What have you been reading/watching/listening to lately? What are you excited about as we head into fall? The final season of Big Mouth? A new Naomi Alderman book? Britney Spears memoir? Yeah, me too.

Reading

August was a good book month for me! I didn’t read as much as a I expected, but I read good stuff! Daisy Jones and the Six was just as fun and fantastic as everyone said it would be. I do NOT recommend watching the show adaptation immediately after, I did and ended up super angry at how many (dumb, weird, unnecessary) changes they made. I bet in six months I would have forgotten a few more things and liked it.

A friend of mine texted and asked if I’d ever read The Giver, yes the book you may have read in elementary school about children being told what they do with their lives (super Hunger Games vibes). Anyway, I hadn’t and so picked it up at the library for a quick read. It was GREAT, and the reason I read it was because of this article interviewing the “highest grossing female director”, Greta Gerwig about her inspiration for Weird Barbie. If you’ve seen Barbie, check out this article and maybe give The Giver a read, I thought it was great.

I Have Some Questions for You has been on my to be read list for a while, and I was so happy when it showed up just in time for a trip to the coast where I could get in some good reading time. It was GREAT. An excellent mystery and great twists along the way. I highly recommend it if you are a true crime podcast junkie.

Listening

Someone (and I can’t remember who – if it’s you please respond in the comments to get proper credit!) suggested Think Twice the new Michael Jackson podcast to me, and it is a slower burn than I expected but still excellent. It starts as the child sex abuse charges are unfolding and then goes back to his childhood and through his whole career. It’s a fascinating reminder of ALL that Michael Jackson accomplished in his life, and all the flags and warnings that were ignored. Side note: if you haven’t watched the Brooke Shields documentary on Hulu, it’s great and she talks about her relationship with Michael.

I have had a big ole crush on Timothy Olyphant since Justified was first on, so when I saw he was a guest on Family Trips with the Meyers Brothers I was super excited. He was so funny and the conversation between the three was very entertaining and made for a quick trip home from the coast.

Watching

I need you all to stop what you’re doing to watch the two seasons of Somebody, Somewhere on Max. There’s only seven episodes a season, this is an easy weekend binge of this sweet, funny, raunchy and wonderful show about a woman in Kansas dealing with her aging parents, the death of her sister and the quirky characters in Manhattan, KS. I loved it and should not have watched it on a train, people were concerned with my laughing.

We FINALLY watched Season 2 of The Bear and loved it/maddened by that finale. Each episode is really intense and really fantastic and if you’ve ever enjoyed a dining experience you need to watch this series, it’s so great.

I’m finishing up a few other shows that I’ll hopefully remember to talk about next month. What pop culture have you been consuming this summer? Anything I missed?