I don’t know why, but my pop culture consumption this month has been a STRUGGLE. I think the writers strike finally caught up with television, and the weather and snow/ice storm didn’t help with my desire to read or be productive at all. But over the holidays and into the new year I found a few bright spots in my pop culture consumption…

Reading

I really enjoyed listening to Keenan Thompson’s memoir, When I was Your Age. He does all the voices and a few goofy characters, so the audiobook version was the way to go! I also read a cute rom/com Behind the Scenes over the winter break. It’s by an Oregon author and takes place in Portland, a fun quick read to wrap up last year.

I’m half way through No One is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood and it is… a very different writing style than I’m used to. It was recommended by a client who has similar reading habits so I’m hoping to push through, it’s a quick read and I wonder if it would be better if I was reading it on vacation.

Watching

The most shocking television storyline of January is the season finale of the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City. Hey, judge not lest ye be judged folks. When a new woman joins the cast and spends all season being DRAMA only to be discovered in the finale that she is behind a social media gossip account that regularly harasses the other wives? It was WILD. And I watched every minute of the 3 part reunion, you better believe it!

Since I did a year end list I didn’t write about what I watched in December. I am so sad that Julia was cancelled on MAX. It was such a sweet and smart show. I wondered how the second season would do and loved the CIA story line.

I watched a lot of movies over the holiday break. I get the hype around Oppenheimer now. I didn’t think May/December was great, and finally realized that I don’t like Natalie Portman as an actor. The funnest movie we watched over the holidays was a cute movie on Peacock (I know!) If You Were Last. The cast is great, and the premise is very clever – two astronauts are cut off from NASA and stuck roaming around space. I especially loved how they spent no money on the “space” budget, just papier mâché which made me laugh ever time. The music and pop culture references were excellent.

I caught the latest season of Fargo on Hulu/FX after I read a great piece by Leah Sottile about how it touches on a lot of the extremest reporting she does. Jon Hamm plays a great bad guy, and Juno Temple as a Minnesota nice housewife was so great. A couple of years ago I read Nathan Hawley’s latest book and it was one of the worst books I have ever read. That was tainting my experience going into this season on Fargo (he is the creator of the Fargo TV series), and at the end of the season I realized that a diverse writers room would serve him much better.

We visited my brother and his family over the weekend and watched what I hope will be the worst movie I watch this year, Self Reliant. I really liked Jake Johnson in New Girl and Minx but holy wow this was not my jam. Again, maybe a diverse writing room would have served him better. I’d like my 90 minutes back please.

On the flight home I watched Past Lives and it was incredible. Such a lovely intimate film and I get what all the hype was about, it deserves every Oscar nom it received (and probably more, but I mean the Oscars didn’t seem to understand the point of Barbie based on their noms so…)

Luckily All Creatures Great and Small is back and continues to be such a nice piece of pop culture. We just started Chrissy & Dave Dine Out and the premise is great, the guests are fun and the food is awesome looking. I also started Death and Other Details and it will be a fun “beautiful people being terrible” show, that I think I’ll wait to binge when it’s wrapped up.

Listening

I watched American Symphony somewhere along the way this winter and it was lovely and will make you cry. That got me on a big Jon Batiste kick lately, which is never a bad thing. There was a NYT article that included Questlove’s NYT Energy Playlist and it is FANTASTIC. It’s on Spotify but I did find it on iTunes as well. A guaranteed crowd pleaser.

There’s a vacation coming up with long days of beach reading that I can’t wait for. My stack of books is piling up and needs some warm vitamin D and limited distractions to get me caught up! What pop culture are you enjoying this winter?

A couple of years ago I decided I wanted to read more but knew that I wouldn’t unless I started listening to audiobooks. What I discovered is that a celebrity memoir is best told in their voice, until this year when Michelle Williams changed my mind. A new book made my top 5 of all time list this year. Without further adieu, here’s the top 10 books I read that helped me hit my Goodreads Goal for 2023!

10. Spare – As I finish watching the final season of The Crown I am amazed at how poorly they’re treating teenage Harry. Having listened (and read) this fascinating memoir it gives the inside scoop on a family that has been so secret for so long. I can’t imagine having a family that treats rules and tradition before love and family.

9. Malibu Rising – Malibu beach in the 80’s? A generational family saga about surfers? It’s a perfect vacation book! I’ve loved Taylor Jenkins Reids other books (Evelyn Hugo was a favorite last year!) and Malibu Rising lives in that same universe which I really enjoy.

8. Quietly Hostile – Samantha Irby is one of the funniest writers out there and I was so happy that we got a new book of essays from her this year! Her dog mom stories are too relatable and her ability to be influenced by any social media trend always has me laughing. Plus, should a woman of our age still be this obsessed with Dave Matthews?

7. Romantic Comedy – I have discovered over the past few years that a good romcom book is an enjoyable way to pass the time. My favorite one this year was far and away Romantic Comedy. I am not ready to read books that are set during the height of the pandemic, but this book used it as a tool not an excuse. The main character writes for fake SNL and connects with the host/musical guest and then that falls apart and they come back together during the pandemic. It’s sweet and funny and an industry I enjoy reading about.

6. A Heart That Works – Rob Delaney is an actor I have enjoyed for years now (promise me you’ve watched all of Catastrophe!) and when I heard he wrote a hilarious memoir about the death of his 3 year old son I wasn’t sure that this was the book for me. It’s a book for everyone, especially if you’ve been around someone who’s sick and you don’t know what to say. I remember walking Cliff one morning and laughing SO HARD at this sad and inspiring story.

5. Did You Hear About Kitty Karr? – I don’t know why I’ve found myself enjoying books set in old Hollywood, but here we are. This story was NOT at all what I expected and I continue to think about it. A celebrated actress dies single and leaves her inheritance to the three daughters who live next door. I had an idea of why, but the story that developed took turns I couldn’t have imagined. Don’t read much about this book, just go and enjoy it. It’s great if you read all of Taylor Jenkins Reid or loved The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo.

4. The Woman in Me – Like many people I devoured Britney Spears memoir in just a few days. Michelle Williams performance as the narrator of this book was phenomenal. She will win the Grammy for this performance. Britney’s life was sad from such a young age and it is crushing to hear how at every possible step of the way she could be let down and disappointed by the people who were supposed to love and protect her. It doesn’t matter if you’re a fan of her music or her, this story is about what the media does to celebrities, especially young women.

3. I Have Some Questions for You – Another genre I enjoy is boarding school murder mystery. I know, weird right? A true crime podcast host goes back to her boarding school and the murder of her roommate comes up as a topic for the class she’s teaching. I devoured this book on vacation and really liked getting to know these characters.

2. Lessons in Chemistry – I’m currently watching the Apple+ adaptation and was thrilled that 630 has a voice (And BJ Novak was a genius choice!) here, I got worried when he first arrived. This story was amazing. It’s Julia Child-esque (also Season 2 of Julia is great!) but with rowing, and a mysterious benefactor, and an incredible love story.

1. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow – I hesitated on this book because I am not a video game person. That’s why this book is on my 2023 list, not my 2022 list. I loved this book. It’s now in my top 5 favorite books of all time. This story of a friendship that spans decades is sweet and sad and smart and fun and devastating. I loved it.

What were your favorite books this past year? What are you looking forward to in 2024?