October Pop Culture Round Up

Oh October… the weather changes dramatically and all I want to do is hangout inside and watch TV. How about you? Are you a curl up and read a good book with a cup of tea person? Or is it too dark and cold and wet out to get inspired? Either way – here’s what’s kept me going…

Reading

If you follow me on Goodreads you may have noticed the past couple of weeks I’ve been quieter. I haven’t been able to get into a good fall reading habit yet. Hopefully some upcoming travel will get me back into the routine.

I finished Apples Never Fall at the beginning of the month and really enjoyed it. It had all the right twists and turns that Liane Moriarity’s books have, AND it has that extra 50 pages that always feels unnecessary to me. A friend also read the book and suggested that the authors core demo (our moms) would probably like that nice wrap up.

I then seem to have stopped reading physical books but I listened to The Loneliest Polar Bear about Nora the Oregon Zoo polar bear. I love seeing Nora at the zoo and was curious about her story. The book was written by an Oregonian reporter and they did a great job of including environmental history and climate change issues along with her story. I learned a lot about Nora’s life and about the environmental impacts on polar bears and our planet. It was a good audiobook for dog walking and errand running.

I have loved Casey Wilson since she was on Happy Endings a few years ago. So when I saw she had a book of essays, I knew I needed her to read it to me. And it did NOT disappoint! The Wreckage of My Presence was both hilarious, sad and more emotional than I expected. If you like a comedian memoir (and we know I do!) add this to your list.

Listening

There is now a Parks & Recreation podcast called Parks & Recollection with Rob Lowe and Alan Yang and it is AWESOME. I wasn’t sure at first, but each episode they go through the behind the scenes of an episode and talk with creators/producers/actors and I find it fascinating. If you want to know what an alternative Parks cast would have looked like, I highly recommend the 4th episode with the casting directors. The alternative Donna choice will blow your mind…

I continue to be obsessed with The Rise & Fall of Mars Hill if you are into that kind of thing – which as you’ll see from my TV viewing, I am…

Watching

The Way Down HBOMax documentary about Gwen Shamblin, a woman who had a diet church in Tennessee. Yes, a diet church. A church based on how dieting will bring you closer to God. And if that didn’t suck you in, I’m not sure what else will, but Chrissy Tiegen is an EP…

I loved everything about Only Murders in the Building and am thrilled at how they set up a second season. Ted Lasso had another perfect season and I may need to do a rewatch to truly see that final scene come together. The Other Two on HBOMax was very funny and a great light hearted comedy that I needed. Plus Molly Shannon is perfect and deserves all the awards!

My husband and I love to watch food TV series – not cooking (except Top Chef), but food and travel. So when David Chang had a new Hulu show The Next Food You Eat we devoured it in 3 days. It’s so fascinating to think about the science behind our food and the technology involved in restaurants and food delivery systems. It made us both finally be interested in trying an Impossible burger… Up next? Padma Lakshmi’s Taste the Nation is doing a 4 episode holiday season that I can’t wait for in November!

What pop culture got you through October? What pop culture is coming up that you are excited for as we wrap up 2021?