While Oregon has been in the midst of an insane heat wave this past week, it’s been a good time to enjoy a cold beverage, a LOT of water, stay inside and enjoy some pop culture. Here’s a few things that kept me cool and relaxed over the past month…

Reading

I finished Project Hail Mary at the very end of May – and it was a very fun read. If you liked The Martian you’ll also enjoy this science fiction.

I picked up The Vanishing Half from the library after all the rave reviews and I have to say – it did not disappoint! I’ve heard that Brit Bennett’s first book The Mothers is even better, so I may have to add that to my never ending list.

I decided that I really wanted to LISTEN to Obama’s memoir A Promised Land instead of read it, which was an excellent choice. AND I got it on audio from the library which was great, but came with a 3 week time limit on a 30 hour book. SO I am now half way through (up to part 4!) and waiting for it on hold again (just 5 weeks to go!)

I am now listening to Persist by Elizabeth Warren. She spend the first 20% of the book talking about childcare in America. While I knew a lot about the issues of childcare, she really really really gets into the details of why it’s such a crisis in this country. It’ll make you angry and maybe have some hope…

I picked up The Final Revival of Opal & Nev after some fantastic reviews and I really enjoyed it! It’s a work of fiction told in a journalist/interview style which I enjoyed. I had a hard time getting through the “editors notes” at the beginning, but once you get into the story, it’s GREAT. It’s a fictional “Behind the Music” kind of story about a 70’s duo and the journalists life is a bit more intertwined than is probably ethical.

Listening

In an effort to get through Obama’s book I haven’t listened to as many podcasts lately, but I have been keeping up on What a Day and I’m looking forward to getting back into The Turning: The Sisters Who Left, about a nun who left the Missionaries of Charity – Mother Theresa’s order. It’s WILD. I also ALWAYS love Late Night Lit from Seth Meyers podcast!

Watching

My list of shows never ends, but this month I finished two shows that couldn’t be more different. The season finale (and this season) of The Handmaids Tale wasn’t quite what I expected. I am curious what they will do with The Testaments spinoff since the series handled some plot points different. To say that I “enjoyed” the season is not the right word, but it moved in a direction that I am curious to continue watching, even though I think it could have easily wrapped up with this season.

I also finished the finale season of Younger which is a fun series that I enjoyed binging this winter and am glad to see wrap up. The final season was not nearly as great as the rest of the series, but it was still nice to wrap it up and make sure that Liza ended up where she belongs.

I continue to LOVE this season of Top Chef in Portland. The Tillamook creamery episode was super fun since we just visited the creamery this spring! My two favorites didn’t make it (Sara & Jamie) but I am excited to see how it ends. And I am LOVING the Oregon love!

My husband and I are huge Anthony Bourdain fans and would record Parts Unknown and binge on occasion. When he passed away 3 years ago we had most of Season 11 on our DVR and couldn’t bring ourselves to watch it, and then there was a 12th season that’s been sitting at the end of our DVR list for longer than anything else. The heat dome was the perfect time to remind us of this mans genius.

How did you survive the Heat Dome? What pop culture has kept you sane on road trips and family vacations so far this summer?

Baseball season has arrived in Hillsboro, and my nights are now a mix of up late nights after a game letting the dogs run around before bed, or a chill night at home catching up on the TV I’ve missed from the last week (or more). I love this time of year when the days get longer and we can comfortably visit outside with friends (and without masks for those of us who are vaccinated!) When I’m not cheering for the Hops or the Vancouver Canadians this month, here’s what’s been keeping me busy.

Reading

I am making my way through Project Hail Mary the latest book from Andy Weir who wrote The Martian. I am really enjoying the book and hopefully can push through this weekend with the warm weather to finish!

Between baseball and local elections this month I didn’t get as much reading in as usual, hopefully June will make up for it!

Listening

Besides the usual podcasts I discovered The Turning which is about Mother Theresa’s convent – Missionaries of Charity (MC). It’s pretty dark and crazy what was, and still is, going on for nuns in this organization. If you like a good cult story (as we all know I do) this will maybe fit that niche…

Most weekends we watch the latest episode of SNL with our friends in our quarantine pod. For the first time ever, the 13 year old DEMANDED we skip the musical guest two weeks ago when Olivia Rodrigo was on. He rarely asks to skip anything so we did it, sounds like we didn’t miss anything. And luckily we did catch Lil Nas X in the finale.

Watching

I am caught up on The Handmaids Tale and I really need to talk about it. WOAH. What a season. I am curious – if you read The Testaments are you enjoying this season more or less than previous seasons?

I also finally am catching up on the final season of Younger which I really enjoyed binging this winter.

Tis the season for Real Housewives! We just wrapped up Jersey (loved it, and Joe Gorga needs to CHILL), started New York – which is my favorite (really loving Eboni!) and finally the return of Beverly Hills – I can’t WAIT for all the Erika Jayne drama to unfold…

If you haven’t discovered Hacks on HBOMax you need to stop what you’re doing and jump on it. Jean Smart is a national treasure and she is as funny as ever in this smart series! On the other end of the funny ladies scale, I devoured Girls5Eva on Peacock earlier this month. It’s a sweet and funny series from Tina Fey. If you liked Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, this is for you.

My husband and I are really enjoying The Story of Late Night on CNN. I knew a lot of the stories since my dad is an uber Letterman fan, but I still didn’t know a lot of it. It’s GREAT. We’re also enjoying this season of Top Chef which had it’s best Restaurant Wars to date!

What pop culture got you through this prequel to summer? What pop culture are you excited for this summer?

Spring has arrived here in the Northwest and I am so grateful for it! My husband and I were able to get away to the coast for a few days last weekend. It was so nice to look at different walls and an amazing ocean view for a few days! I read a book in a weekend and almost finished a puzzle and then purchased a puzzle tray so I never have to experience that again!

Here’s the pop culture that got me through these April showers…

Listening

A few years ago I caught a Dateline story (FYI: I’m not a Dateline person) about a woman in Rexburg, Idaho who had remarried and her 2 kids hadn’t been seen since before the marriage. I happen to have a lot of family in Eastern Idaho so the story intrigued me. The episode was really crazy but the story was ongoing at that point. So when Mommy Doomsday popped up on my podcast radar, I was ready for it. The story goes into more details than I remember and yowza, it’s nuts. If you love cults and mysteries this is for you.

Each month on the Late Night with Seth Meyers Podcast he has a “Late Night Lit” episode where one of his producers interviews an author or two, someone who might have appeared on the show over the past month or someone connected to the show. Staff give their recommendations and all around I leave with a few new book ideas.

My brother made a comment about Lake Street Dive a few weeks ago and I didn’t realize what a large musical gap was missing in my life! If this is a reminder that you love this band, or the nudge you need to check them out, I highly recommend them as an excellent background to dinner or work.

I am also loving the new Nick Jonas album – especially Delicious. Trust me.

Reading

I got through 3 books this month, which means one thing: warm sunshine and outside reading has resumed!

I loved Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas. The Hate You Give was such an incredible book and this prequel about her father is really fantastic. Plus it takes place around the same time I was in high school and the references were great.

I tried out Powell’s Indiespensible book club for a couple of months and realized I have TOO MANY BOOKS to get books suggested to me blindly each month. But, before I stopped, I ended up with Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam. I took it on vacation back in January and realized that reading a book about a family on vacation in the middle of now where and then the (maybe) home owners show up in the middle of the night telling them about a potential major power outage was a bad vacation read. I was wrong – you’d be fine to read this fantastic story on vacation. And it’s a GREAT book, I devoured it in just a few days and can’t wait for you to read it so we can talk about it!

A while ago Nothing to See Here was recommended and I added it to a list to read and forgot about it until it showed up at the library for me just in time for our weekend getaway. Boarding School friends who keep in touch by letters and then reconnect over twins that can burst into flames PLUS politics? This book is exactly what I needed for a very funny rainy weekend read.

Watching

Top Chef Portland is here and I am SO excited. My dad has been visiting over the past month so Top Chef viewing parties have been part of the weekend activities – and we all have bets on who will win – winner picks any restaurant in Oregon and losers have to pay. I am very excited for Sara to win this for me! It’s also great to see them feature Oregon and work their way around the pandemic.

My dad watched Mank in advance of the Oscars and I didn’t (and don’t plan to).  But when he wanted to watch Citizen Kane again,  I watched it with him since I had never seen it. I get why it was such a big movie at the time, but with a 2021 lens on it, I mean, it’s good… What I really want now is a good podcast or biography about William Randolph Hearst please!

The coast had spotty wifi so we did a rewatch of I’m Sorry on Netflix which has just popped up on a list of “if you’ve already rewatched Schitt’s Creek” recommendations and I was reminded how HILARIOUS this show is. Just watch it and trust me.

Alright, those are my highlights for April! Here’s a few other things I’ve been watching lately – share your favorites in the comments and then get excited for this and this.