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…

This list is always a bit of a challenge – I get stuck in my podcasting ways and don’t branch out. I get a TON of suggestions on podcasts to listen to but finding the time, along with my increased audiobook consumption this past year has been a struggle. Okay, enough excuses – in no particular order, here’s what kept my ear holes happy this year…

1. What a Day – Every morning while getting ready for the day, making my smoothie and heading to my workout, I guarantee I am listening to WAD. I am sad that Akilah Hughes left the show, but am proud of her for standing up for her mental health. (Side note, her audiobook is great!) This podcast has kept me sane and given me helpful insights into national issues from the insurrection to unionizations and of course the latest on COVID. 
2. OPB Politics Now – Locally I love having this podcast each week keep me up to date on what’s going on in Salem and with our state elected officials. I do my best to stay on top of this, but the weekly recaps are always so helpful. Honorable Mention to Think Out Loud also by OPB for their daily podcast which I listen to at least one or two stories a week. 
3. Late Night Lit – When your favorite late night host (Seth Meyers) is a voracious reader (and fun fact – big comic book fan like me!) and then starts a monthly podcast about reading? SOLD! Each month one of the producers talks to authors and share great book recommendations. If you are a book nerd like me, add this to your list!
4. The Turning – Spoiler alert: Mother Theresa was maybe not that great a person. I mean sure she’s a saint, but this podcast was a fascinating look into The Sisters of Charity order that she founded, and the nuns who left. It’s fascinating if you’re a big fan of religion gone wrong (like me.)
5. In God We Lust – Having attended a Christian college I understood some of the rules/regulations that Liberty University has. Which was why it was an even MORE bonkers story about Jerry Fallwell Jr. and his wife …and the pool boy. Oh and don’t forget the Trump of it all. This shorter (6 eps) podcast would be a great holiday binge. 
6. Parks and Recollection – I am loving this deep dive into each episode of Parks & Rec, my favorite TV show of all time. The behind the scenes stories and trivia have been super fun! 
7. Offline – I have always appreciated Jon Favreau’s interview and conversational podcast style. While I stopped listening to Pod Save America a while back, Offline is a great conversation about how to handle issues in the real world. If you like Jason Kander’s Majority 54 you need to add this to your list. 
8. Foo Fighters – Yes, I also listen to music! We bought tickets to see the Foo Fighters next summer and I am VERY excited! Although a variety of music makes its way through our house, we will always rock Foo. AND if you missed it – The Hannukah Sessions on YouTube are fantastic! 
9. The Rise & Fall of Mars Hill – Yes you ARE seeing a trend in my podcast tendencies. We lived in the Puget Sound region when Mars Hill was becoming THE mega church in town. We had friends who attended, and as I listened to the podcast I kept thinking of one colleague who was a young recent college grad, single and working in a bookstore, that went to Mars Hill and was clearly the target demographic. 
10. Lake Street Dive – I really should listen to my brothers music recommendations more than I do. Both brothers (and my dad) have great music taste (well no, the youngest likes country…) but when earlier this year my brother mentioned Lake Street Dive, I added them into HEAVY rotation this year. I’m sorry it took me so long.

What podcasts kept you moving on dog walks? What music kept you company while cooking? 

Over the River and Through the Woods… that’s right, I’m heading off to see the in-laws for Thanksgiving and incase you too need some pop culture inspiration to break up the football, chasing dogs around the farm, and seeing your 98 year old grandpa for the first time in 3 years (thanks vaccines & boosters!), I am HERE for you!

Reading

As you well know, I read in the summer when I can be outside, and when I travel. Thanks to my first flight since January of 2020 I picked up White Ivy at the library. I’d heard about the book since it came out and had been meaning to grab it. It was the perfect kind of travel book for me. Good juicy fiction with the right amount of chaos thrown in. I don’t want to spoil anything, just read it and we can discuss when you’re done.

I am currently listening to Cultish on audiobook. It’s really interesting if you’ve watched any of the recent cult documentaries, or are concerned that my workout routine is cult-ish. Hopefully I’ll have a full review next month. I picked up a few audiobooks for our road trip so hopefully next month I have some additional memoir recommendations and a book or two. You can always keep track on Goodreads.

Watching

Daylight saving time puts me into a funk and what can fix that funk? ALL the Real Housewives. This season of Salt Lake is finally getting bonkers with Jen Shah running from the law (OMG the van ride where they’re still figuring all the news out was so crazy!) and to top it off? Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip. I started this over the weekend for something to have on in the background while on my iPad and it is too good to not watch the hot drama unfold. Excited to re-binge it with my MIL this week.

With the Diana docuseries on CNN wrapping up (loved it) and the end of Impeachment: American Crime Story it was time for a new drama and we have finally started the second season of The Morning Show. It’s off to a good start and I am curious how it will continue to unfold. I’m not totally thrilled with a Covid storyline, but we will see…Hopefully we can catch up in the next week or two and wrap it up!

I am happy to return to the world of Dexter Morgan on Dexter: New Blood – the show needed a better ending and I am hopeful we’re going to get it this time around. It’s off to a great start, although I am worried that I have become more squeamish and softer with age and not sure I’m going to be able to handle the missing girl plot line…

Listening

I’m appreciating Offline with Jon Favreau from Pod Save America where he interviews people about social media and how to live/behave/survive “offline.” The Monica Lewinsky interview was fantastic after finishing American Crime Story.

I’m still enjoying Parks and Recollection and the penultimate The Rise & Fall of Mars Hill really helped to explain why it all went down. The Daily had a 2 part series last week (November 16 & 17) on what’s really going on with school boards across the country. If you’re curious about how hyper local politics are affecting your community, this is a great starting point to better understand it all.

What pop culture is going to help you survive the holidays or are you looking forward to as a reward on the trek there and home? I can’t wait to hear…