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!

I watched a LOT of great TV this year – some made me think, same made me smile, some made me hungry and a few even made me angry. It was a GREAT year for TV. Here in no particular order are my Top 10 things I watched in 2021…

1. Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist – Breaking into song, when done well, can be so much fun. I am sad this show didn’t get more seasons but am grateful for a holiday wrap up movie!
2. WandaVision – I love my superheroes with a side of TV sitcom history and this show was just what I needed last winter. It was clever and I appreciated that you don’t have to be really into the MCU to get all the references.
3. Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy – I will always love Anthony Bourdain and his style of TV. Last year I thought Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi might fill the Bourdain sized hole in my heart, and it does too (Taste the Nation Holiday Edition would have been 11 on this list), but Stanley Tucci’s love of Italy – the people and the culture was such a joy to watch each week. I can’t wait for the next season.
4. Brooklyn Nine-Nine – I have loved this series from the beginning and this final season was a perfect sendoff. If you somehow missed this show and you’re a fan of Parks & Rec, Happy Endings and smart comedies, add it to your holiday binge to do list.
5. Top Chef Portland – I was surprised how grateful I was that this season was not only in my home state, but also that they embraced the pandemic. This season was so much fun and even though the wrong person won (Team Sara all the way!) this was exactly what this Oregonian needed during the pandemic.
6. The Story of Late Night – Really any of the CCN “The Story of…” series from this past year could be included here. The Story of Late Night was such a great history of television and pop culture and race and gender. If you missed the series and miss Letterman like my dad does, this is for you.
7. Hacks – This show is perfect and Jean Smart deserves every award she gets. I wasn’t sure during the pilot if I was going to make it, but that final scene driving down the worlds longest driveway was EVERYTHING. And it just got better from there.
8. The White Lotus – The absurdity of this show was what I loved most. Molly Shannon should be in everything (and she was – honorable mention to The Other Two this season!) and Jennifer Coolidge is a national treasure. The spreading of ashes at sea is one of my very favorite moments of television, ever.
9. Ted Lasso – People love to hate on a sophomore slump, but I disagree! We got a Christmas episode in July that was an instant holiday classic. We had one of the greatest character twists over this season that I continue to think about. And we had to decide who to replace Earl Greyhound with: Tina Feyhound or Macy Greyhound. #teamfeyhound
10. Only Murders in the Building – Funny old white guys making themselves laugh is DEFINITELY what I thought this show was going to be. And I was oh so pleasantly wrong. Only Murders harnessed the craziness of Martin Short that can drive me crazy and used it to his strength. And holy crap did Selena Gomez hold her own with these two comedy legends. I can’t WAIT for the next season…

What shows helped you get though 2021? What shows are you excited for in 2022? Need my full list for recommendations over the holiday break?

If you’ve followed my pop culture roundup over the years, you know I like to read on vacation and in the summer when I can sit outside. This year I added audiobooks into my life and it was a GAME CHANGER. If you follow my Goodreads list, you know I crushed my reading challenge for the year, and then mostly came to a halt this fall. Here, in no particular order are my 10 favorite books I read or listened to in 2021…

1. Ready Player Two – I started off the year with Ernest Cline’s latest. Ready Player One is one of my top 5 (maybe 3…) favorite books ever. It was so fun to be back in OASIS with these characters.  
2. You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey – Amber Ruffin is one of my favorite things about Late Night with Seth Meyers. When she wrote a book with her sister about all the crazy racist things that have happened throughout their lives I had to listen! The audiobook is read by the sisters and it’s such a great way to hear this book.
3. Leave The World Behind – Just like Obama, I loved this book. I received it in a Powells subscription club I forgot to cancel (truth…) and am so glad it showed up. I was afraid to read this book on vacation (it’s about strangers showing up late at night claiming to be the owners of a rental house in the woods) and shouldn’t have been. It was a fast read and a fascinating look at race and trust. I now follow the author on Twitter and he is a great follow. 
4. The Singer’s Gun – I had suggested to a friend they check out Emily St. John Mandel over the summer. When they mentioned this older book I had missed by the author, I had to check it out. If you’ve read her other books make sure to not miss this great mystery set mostly on a small Italian island.
5. Nothing to See Here – I have had this book on my “to read” list for a long time, and when it showed up at the library for me I was pleasantly surprised at how FUNNY and clever and weird it was. I devoured it in a weekend at the coast. 
6. Project Hail Mary – I love Andy Weir as an author and his latest was another fun science-y fiction book. It was an excellent escape to space, and I now know for certain I’m okay without every going into space, no matter how much the price may change in my lifetime…
7. The Vanishing Half – Woah this book was fantastic. It’s about twin sisters whos lives go in drastically different directions. It made me think a lot about family and race and the secrets we keep.
8. The Wreckage Of My Presence  – I have loved Casey Wilson since her SNL days, and especially on Happy Endings. Her book is another excellent audiobook choice – and her stories are hilarious and sad and terrifying. And oh so much Real Housewives… 
9. White Ivy – I went into this book not knowing anything about it – which is exactly what you should do too. WOAH. 
10. All Over the Place – I have followed Everywherist on Twitter and Instagram for years. She is HILARIOUS and I don’t know why it took me so long to pick up her book and read it in a hot minute. When a recent blog post went viral this holiday season, I knew exactly why – everything she writes is ridiculous and amazing.

What books did you love and devour this year? Do you have a preferred format for how you read these days? I can’t wait to see what great books 2022 has in store…