There’s less than 40 days to the election so my pop culture consumption this month was waylaid by weekend canvassing and evening events. BUT I am still getting in some good pop culture to keep me sane through it all. Here’s what I really loved this month…

Reading

I may have grabbed a few too many books at Powell’s a couple of weeks ago which I will get to at some point I SWEAR. I just need a vacation… BUT I am trying to get some time outside to read the past couple of weeks while the weather is nice. I am really loving French Exit by Patrick DeWitt. He is a quirky author who wrote a book I loved a few years ago – The Sisters Brothers (yes it’s a movie, no I haven’t seen it yet, yes I want to!) According to Goodreads I am 51% of the way through – let’s see if I can finish it before the election!

Listening

I really like Chelsea Cain who wrote the Mockingbird comic series a year ago. I knew there was some drama and social media harassment but I didn’t realize the extent until I listened to the Revealed podcast episode with her. It was fascinating (and makes me not happy with Marvel, wow you suck giant media company). The episode is about not meeting your (super) heroes and talks about white supremacy in comics and only harassment of female comic book writers. The whole episode is interesting, even if you don’t read comics.

Watching

I am having a hard time watching much TV with a strong story line these days. I finished a rewatch of Parks & Rec and didn’t cry at the finale for the first time. Then I rewatched The Good Place in anticipation of the new season – YAY I can’t wait!

I did find some time for Netflix of course. Why oh why do I watch Orange is the New Black? I don’t know how many seasons they’ll keep going with but there was some storylines wrapped up so I may just treat it as my series finale and be done with this series (some one please remind me of this next summer when it’s back).

I LOVED the first season of Atypical on Netflix and the second season was a welcome surprise to my viewing schedule. I binged the season and once again loved the series. If you haven’t watched it, get on it please.

The Quincy documentary was FANTASTIC. His daughter directed it and the intimate family details included were great. I knew he was prolific but good grief it makes you love him and all that music all over again. We may have gone down a Michael Jackson music video rabbit hole after finishing…

The Emmy’s mean the return of fall TV and I’m most excited for the return of The Good Place and Crazy Ex Girlfriend (side note – when is Jane the Virgin returning?!). I’ll try out the Murphy Brown reboot but am a bit anxious about it. I have Manifest on the DVR but we will see if I get around to it.

What fall TV are you excited to see return and what other pop culture are you loving recently?

August has been a whirlwind around here. With trips and visits from family and friends, it’s been a great month for pop culture consumption and enjoying time with friends and family. I hope you enjoy these last few days of summer before we get back into school mode – or election mode in my case! Here’s what’s been keeping me sane this month…

Reading

I really enjoy Marisha Pessl’s writing and her newest book Neverworld Wake was great! I didn’t realize until I was almost done that it was a YA book. I did notice it wasn’t quite as dark as her past two books and it was shorter but still a fantastic read. Lots of twists and turns which is the authors style.

I also finished Dan Pfeiffer’s Yes We (Still) Can: Politics in the Age of Obama, Twitter and Trump. I listen to and read/watch a lot about politics and so I had to take a break from this book for a bit and when I came back could only read a bit at a time. Lots of ranting about the current state of politics BUT a lot of hope and thought about how we got here and how we move through the current state of affairs we’re in. (Side note – if you read it and enjoy it make sure to listen to The Wilderness podcast…)

I also caught up with some comics lately! The new Nancy Drew series by Kelly Thompson (she wrote the Hawkeye series I gushed about earlier this year) is pretty awesome so far. I also am loving the new The Life of Captain Marvel by Margaret Stohl. Read it before the movie with Brie Larson comes out next year… I’m excited to start West Coast Avengers by Kelly Thompson too!

I’m on a cookbook binge right now and recently picked up Appetites, the final Anthony Bourdain cookbook. It’s so gorgeous and full of fantastic stories and his love of food. I really miss him. Another cookbook fan friend also recommended Eat a Little Better by Obama White House chef and food policy advisor Sam Kass. I can’t wait to dig into it!

Listening

Since adding Apple Music to my life my music is going down some different roads, which is nice. I’m really enjoying the new Chance the Rapper singles and listening to The Roots a lot after the concert last month. Obviously Aretha is on heavy rotation as well.

As for Podcasts – thanks to a road trip with my husband at the beginning of the month we finally listened to Caliphate which was fantastic (I think we have one ep left actually…) The Daily continues to be incredible, especially their work on family separation stories. I’m also enjoying The Wilderness – although similar to reading Dan Pfeiffer’s book, I need it in moderation.

Watching

I have found this summer I’m outside more and not watching as much TV at night which is a nice change. I have been binging Parks & Rec (when am I not?!) as a safe happy place from the news and chaos these days. A few weeks ago we watched Believer on HBO and it was fantastic. It’s the lead singer of Imagine Dragons and his fight for gay rights within the Mormon church (sorry, I meant The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). I thought it was really fascinating to learn more about the history and the work going on within the church.

I’m almost through this season of Orange is the New Black and I have no idea why I keep watching this show but I do. It’s OK. But, meh. I have a lot of my DVR and maybe when the weather turns and I need a break from campaign work I’ll get caught up. Or maybe those last 5 episodes of Westworld S2 will live on my DVR forever…

What are your summer pop culture obsessions?

The longer summer days make pop culture consumption a no-brainer for me. Sit outside with delicious beverage, read, throw ball for Norm, repeat. July has been busy with friend and family visiting, along with my BIRTHDAY and a trip to the coast for some cooler weather for a few days. A lot of pop culture has been consumed, here’s a few of my favorites…

Listening

I love The Roots, so when I saw they were coming to the zoo the night before my birthday you’re darn right I was not going to miss out! I had a great birthday -eve listening to great music with a fantastic live band and ELEPHANTS walking around behind us. Zoo concerts are my new favorite. If you want to go, my answer will always be YES please.

This means I’ve been listening to a lot of The Roots lately and I’m also enjoying the new Chance the Rapper singles that came out a few days ago. And I’m going through a big The Beatles phase again.

As for podcasts, the usuals still stand (that Roe v. Wade 2 parter on The Daily was awesome!) For a mental break I’m really enjoying The Good Place Podcast still. And The Wilderness from Jon Favreau is really great and I’m learning a lot.

Reading

I’m still making my way through Dan Pfeiffer’s book Yes We (Still) Can. While I love the foot notes in the book they’re kind of distracting!

I love Marisha Pessl, she’s a fantastic and kind of weird author. Her first book Special Topics in Calamity Physics is one I think about when recommending books to avid readers. Her second novel Night Film was also fantastic and weird and had me up till 3 am reading it on vacation a few years ago. So I was THRILLED to learn she had a new book that came out just in time for my birthday! I started Neverworld Wake on vacation this past weekend and hoping to get some good patio time to finish it in the next week or two!

In comics, I have the new Nancy Drew series from one of my favorite comic writers, Kelly Thompson. And FINALLY the return of Captain Marvel! I can’t wait to dig in to these two series…

Watching

I finally finished the second season of The Handmaids Tale and it was crazy dark. I saw a lot of reviews that didn’t like it and didn’t think it was redemptive, which is true, but they have a 7 year plan here, not 2…

I enjoyed this season of Colony as a good summer sci-fi series. I always love a show that takes place in Seattle and the ONLY reason you know that is because the streets are wet because it “just rained” on a backlot in Vancouver…

I’m halfway through the new season of Orange is the New Black and it’s OK. I didn’t totally remember what happened last season so trying to remember what I should know and what’s still unknown is always fun. The abuse and darkness are getting a little tiring. I’m hoping somehow it redeems itself this season – I am excited to see how things come together with Frida.

What else are you reading, watching and listening to this summer?