August can be quiet when it comes to pop culture, but that seems to make it a great time to catch up on all that pop culture you’ve been meaning to get to. Or maybe that’s just me. I haven’t read as much as I’d like this month, but with a few road trips the podcasts are in full force and my Netflix queue is getting cleaned up this month!

Listening

When we were in Bend for my niece’s first birthday my brother recommended the ESPN 30 for 30 podcast. I’m not a big sports person, but sports stories (and the 30 for 30 series FYI) are great. I highly suggest The Queen of Sorts, a really great poker story…

I’m still really enjoying Ear Hustle and The Daily – which is becoming my go to podcast first thing in the morning. Due to the popularity of The Daily they’ve launched a new podcast that I’m also enjoying – The New Washington. The interview with Sarah Sanders was really interesting to me.

Reading

The older I get, the more I turn into my dad. Evidently this year that includes having multiple books going at the same time (a classic dad habit). On the book stack to take to the beach and finish by Labor Day are:

• David Sedaris’ diaries (it’s too easy to pick up and put down!)
• Fetch, a graphic novel about a woman and her dog that I’m really enjoying
• The Boy on the Bridge which I just started
• Fierce Kingdom – this was my latest Book of the Month and I haven’t started it yet but it’s next on the list
• Comics…I’m way behind on Outcast and I picked up a graphic novel called Rasputin I’m excited to check out.

Watching

Well that Game of Thrones finale sure was something! The juxtaposition of Bran’s big reveal with that scene on the boat was well executed but really high on the incest ICK factor for me. And holy ice dragon, WOW. WOW. WOW. I rewatched the entire season over the weekend and was glad I had so I was really ready for that finale. Waiting over a year for it’s return is going to be TORTURE.

I am really liking The Sinner on USA. It’s the Jessica Biel series about a woman who kills a guy she doesn’t know. I could do without Bill Pullman’s story line, but oh well. Also – I think the husband on the show must audition as “knock off Jon Snow” because he and Kit Harrington have to be related…

I’ve been on a streaming binge lately. I signed up for Hulu when The Handmaids Tale was on and discovered they have all of Happy Endings, which is a FABULOUS show! I just finished the rewatch of that series which holds up! I had heard great things about The Keepers so finally watched it. I don’t do well with sexual violence and molestation so half way through the second episode I was pretty sure I was out. But I kept with it and the way they wove the story together made you really really angry at a lot of people in authority in Baltimore. I had seen a preview for Atypical on Netflix and was happy when it arrived a couple of weeks ago. It is FANTASTIC. It’s clever and real and very funny. I love the ridiculousness of Wet Hot American Summer and the 10 year reunion had the stupidest ending yet, but the Adam Scott joke never got old! And I just rewatched one of my favorite new shows from last year The Good Place which is now on Netflix. If you never watched it, please get on that this holiday weekend!

I’ve been watching a few of the Princess Diana specials. The ABC one was really interesting and I didn’t remember, or know, a lot of things that happened and I don’t think I ever realized how incredibly young she was when she married Prince Charles or how large their age difference was. WOW.

Leah Remini‘s Scientology series has returned and continues to infuriate me (especially after finishing The Keepers), but it is very well done and fascinating. SNL’s Weekend Update Summer Edition has been exactly what I needed this August.

I know I should be excited for the return of Will & Grace this fall, but that series finale was so final that I’m ticked they’re going to pretend it didn’t happen…

What pop culture is getting you through the dog days of summer?

Remember when summer just had reruns on TV? Yeah, me too. I miss those days. July has been a great pop culture month – and some of that is because it’s my birthday month which means more pop culture gifts! The other reason July is awesome is because of San Diego Comic Con. I’ll get there some day… I have thoughts on a few announcements from SDCC at the end of the blog. Here’s a few things I’m enjoying (and a few things to come…)

Reading

Last month’s Book of the Month was the new David Sedaris Theft by Finding. It’s his journals from 1977-2002. I’m currently in the mid-80’s. It’s an easy read, which means it’s also really easy to put down and get distracted by other reading materials (or Twitter. Usually Twitter).

I did find some time to catch up on comics, which is always nice. I’m still really enjoying The Mighty Captain Marvel (fun fact – the writer lives in the Seattle area!) And I think Hawkeye is my current favorite series – if you liked the Jessica Jones Netflix series check this out! I’m also caught up on The Walking Dead for once, and was very happy to see the Season 8 trailer out of Comic Con this weekend that they’re going to do the time jump which I loved in the comics!

Birthday Gift Books included…Fetch, a graphic novel about a woman’s really bad dog, which I can’t wait to read (I liked her previous work). it sucked and then i cried – I really love the blog Dooce and didn’t realize she’d written a book a while back, I can’t wait to read it even if it’s about pregnancy which I can’t really relate to. I also just got Star Wars Super Graphic which is pretty fantastic so far! And I picked up The Boy on the Bridge which takes place in the same universe as The Girl with All the Gifts which is a great book I read a couple years back.

Listening 

My two new favorite podcasts are NOT political – you’re welcome. A Piece of Work is from Abbi Jacobson who is one half of Broad City (a show I can’t wait to return next month!) In this podcast mini-series (10 episodes I think) she talks about art and artists and chats with her famous friends about pieces of art. As an art nerd, this podcast has me searching for pieces of work I don’t remember or haven’t seen before. It’s great.

Ear Hustle is my other new favorite podcast. It’s created, produced and staring San Quinten inmates. And it’s really really interesting. If you’ve ever watched a show set in a prison and were intrigued, you should be listening to this podcast. My only complaint is episodes are every OTHER week. I can’t wait that long!!!

Watching

If you caught my newsletter this week you caught a sneak peak of what I’ve been watching. I also saw Wonder Woman again because it’s THAT GREAT.

I’m loving this season of Game of Thrones so far. They are very clearly preparing for the end of the series – and I’m excited for who all is going to die in the process (mostly because I’m in a survivor pool so it’s more interesting…)

I finally finished Master of None – it was off to a slow start but I’m glad I picked it up and finished the season. I especially liked the business story line and making tough choices to do what’s right over what will make you a success.

I am finally watching this past season of Fargo. I really loved the first two seasons, and I’m really glad that Carrie Coon got an Emmy nom for anything, but she’s great in this season.

After a lot of nagging from my dad and others I’ve watched two episodes of Chef’s Table on Netflix and they have been fantastic. I love good food porn and this show does NOT disappoint.

I was REALLY disappointed with Friends from College however. It has all the right people to be a fantastic show, and yet, it’s really really bad.

And I finally caught up with Catastrophe which was wonderful and amazing as always. I’m super curious how next season will play out, specifically with Carrie Fisher gone. If you haven’t watched this great show on Amazon, please get it together and watch right now.

Comic Con Excitement

San Diego Comic Con is always right around my birthday which means a LOT of fantastic trailers and movie/tv news come out, it’s a perfect gift. A few things showed up that I can’t wait for….

A Wrinkle in Time will be perfect. So will Episode 8 and not just because of my amazing birthday present.

Stranger Things S2 seems scarier than S1 (and I usually watched an episode of Parks & Rec after each episode so I could sleep…) The Defenders looks really good, and holy awesome villain! Atypical also looks really sweet and funny.

I think I missed the last Thor movie but Ragnarok looks pretty fun. Justice League is up on my list strictly because of Wonder Woman. Bright looks really interesting and like the kind of movie I’ll watch on a lazy Friday night.

But the movie I am most excited for is one of my all time favorite books…

What pop culture have you loved this month? What did you see at Comic Con that you’re excited for?

June 2017 seems to have been the culmination of amazing peak TV viewing. My DVR seems pretty happy that HBO is in a holiday mode till Game of Thrones returns next month because good GRIEF there was some amazing TV this month! And, thanks to sunshine and warmer weather (and joining Book of the Month) I finally read a book! Netflix seems to be exploding with new shows just in time for the summer, let’s get caught up…

Reading

Why yes, I read a book this month! A friend recommended I check out Book of the Month and since they have a bunch of books that have been on my list I decided to try it out. The first book I picked was Dennis Lehane’s Since We Fell. I LOVED IT. I’ve never read Lehane before, although I really enjoyed some of his movies (Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone) so my hopes were high. And it was a fantastic twisty-turny mystery, exactly what I needed this month! I’ll definitely read more books by Lehane and I’m excited to jump into my June pick which was the new David Sedaris book.

It was too hot to go outside this weekend, but too nice not to read. Once I finished my book I caught up on some comics. I’m now up to date on The Walking Dead and Hawkeye. Hawkeye is a LOT of fun and a fantastic female protagonist. I’m way behind on Outcast and I have the Princess Leia series from last year to read still.

Listening

The Daily is turning into a daily must listen for me. It’s an easy way to get a behind the scenes look at major news. Last week over two days (6/22 & 6/23) they talked about the opioid epidemic in the US. I knew we had one but it hasn’t personally touched me or my family so I wasn’t that familiar with it. I was shocked by what I learned. If you’ve been hearing about it and want to learn more, this is a great place to start.

I’ve needed more non-political podcasts lately so I’ve been especially grateful for The Watch this month. I’m also really enjoying some recent live interviews from Fresh Air where Terry Gross (the most soothing female voice in all the land…) interviewed Seth Meyers and Joe Biden (separate, but together would be mind blowing!)

Watching

On Father’s Day my dad was visiting so we went to do what any father and daughter would do – we saw Wonder Woman. And it was PERFECT. I can’t wait to see it again and I loved everything about it! Holy crap this is exactly the super hero movie I’ve wanted and it was so well executed, I can’t say enough great things about it! GO. NOW. Stop what you’re doing and go.

The series finale of The Leftovers was wonderful and spectacular. I really really loved this show. I know the first season was super dark, but you were rewarded for it in seasons 2 and 3. I was concerned they couldn’t answer all the questions and that we might feel disappointed, but no. Damon Lindelof nailed it.

The season finale of The Americans was good, I am super curious how the final season will go next year. There was no big “aha” like previous seasons, but if only half the questions get answered by the show’s end they have a season’s worth of work.

I loved the book version of The Handmaids Tale and the show did a good job, but I am curious what they’ll do with multiple seasons still. I’ll come back for next season and I really hope they don’t screw it up!

Season 5 of Orange is the New Black was a very easy binge a few weeks ago. The series taking place over 3 days of a prison riot was a creative way to slow down the timeline. I didn’t like any of the flashbacks and don’t think they’re needed, but I still enjoyed the season and I’m starting to wonder how many more seasons this show will last.

I also tried two episodes of GLOW on Netflix, and I can NOT for the life of me get into it. What am I missing? It should check all the boxes and everyone raves about it, but it is not my jam sadly.

Downward Dog sadly ended this week, and stupid ABC cancelled the show on top of it. This show is so perfect and hilarious and has the added benefit that Norm usually gets extra snuggles and treats during the show because of it. If you haven’t watched it, even if you aren’t a dog person, trust me. It’s awesome.

I have the entire last season of Fargo on my DVR and Orphan Black started up again a few weeks ago. I decided last season that I would binge Orphan Black so will start when there’s just a week or two left in the series. There’s way too many plot lines and too much science to follow on a weekly basis!

What have you been reading, watching and listening to so far this summer?