We’ve made it to 2021, congratulations! I have loved using Goodreads for the past few years to track the books I’ve read, want to read and rate them for future reference. I also love seeing what my friends are reading – I often find we have similar taste and may find a new author or new book by an author I’ve loved. For YEARS I have been looking for the same thing for TV shows, since we all know I watch a LOT. I’ve gotten many recommendations but nothing is the right fit for my specific needs. I know, so picky. For 2021 my goal is to track my TV and movie consumption in a spreadsheet and hope that either the right app arrives this year or maybe just venture out and get it built myself next year. It makes ZERO sense why IMDB hasn’t done this… If you’re listening, I will GLADLY beta test this folks… Okay, with that out of the way, here’s the pop culture that has kept me sane while we waited for 46 to be sworn in.
Reading
You can always keep tabs on my reading via Goodreads (are we friends? we should be!) I started off the year by reading Ready Player Two, an excellent start. Ready Player One is one of my top 5 favorite books (fun fact!) and RP2 did NOT disappoint. If you liked the first book and/or the movie, make sure to pick up this geek-tastic adventure!
I really want to read MORE this year, but I have a hard time finding the time. So, I’m trying more audio books out thanks to the Libby app from my library. I listened to Rachel Dratch’s book Girl Walks Into a Bar about her time after SNL figuring out life and ending up pregnant at 43. Listening to her read it, along with the SNL recordings that pop in was SUPER fun and obviously how she intended for us to read it. I’m so glad I never finished it when I picked it up a few years back so that I could listen to it. I think moving forward I’ll do more audio memoirs. I”m currently waiting for Amber Ruffin’s new book which I expect to be EPIC as an audio book!
I am currently reading The Three-Body Problem which I heard about on a podcast a few months back and finally started to read on our trip to the coast earlier this month. It’s great and there’s a lot of science that is nerdy but not necessary to really understand the story. I let myself get too bogged down at the beginning with the science so it’s taking me a bit longer than I’d like.
Listening
I was pretty burned out on political podcasts as we wrapped up the previous administration this year. I did appreciate keeping up on the news with What a Day, OPB Politics Now and Think Out Loud. Think Out Loud just had a great episode about school librarians and how they combat disinformation. It was fascinating.
Besides podcasts and audio books, I started listening to more music. Thanks to SNL, Dua Lipa has come into my rotation more frequently this year. EVERY song from the inauguration concert was fantastic, especially the new Justin Timberlake and Ant Clemons song – Better Days. That’s on heavy rotation here.
Watching
For the full report you can take a peak at my Google Sheet which I plan to keep updated throughout the year. A few of my favorite shows included The Flight Attendant on HBOMax. I was skeptical about this show but a friend encouraged me to give it a try and I am SO glad I did. It is a GREAT mystery with some excellent twists along the way!
I am LOVING Mr Mayor, I read that it was written as a spinoff from 30Rock for Alec Baldwin and I am so glad that it was reimagined in LA with Ted Danson. He’s PERFECT and quirky and I love it. Speaking or Mr. Steenburgen, I am so happy that Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist is back! This was such a fun and needed discovery in 2020 and I am thrilled it’s back for another season which so far is off to a great start!
My husband is a huge Tiger Woods fan so of course we watched Tiger on HBO earlier this month. I knew pieces of his story but not all of it, and it was great to have it all in one spot. For as big of a pop culture nerd as I am, my husband remembered a LOT of very specific things about Tiger’s life.
While at the coast on vacation we watched a couple of movies and also caught Death to 2020 on Netflix which was funny until the Lisa Kudrow stuff started to come true recently. If you wanted a reminder of just how much insanity happened last year in a lighthearted/snarky tone – check it out. You’ll be surprised at what you forgot about!
Okay, that’s a good wrap on the month. What pop culture have you been consuming to kick off 2021? Do you have any good pop culture goals for 2021? Excited for any new/returning shows or books or albums? I’d love to hear it!
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