September certainly flew right by, and that blunt change of weather was certainly unexpected, although I think we all know the rain is needed around here in the Northwest! Sunny afternoons quickly turned to rainy days this month, but my pop culture consumption continued! Here’s a few things that helped me transition from summer to fall…
Listening
The Michael Jackson podcast Think Twice was a good challenge to think about the artist v. the art. Which is a conversation we’ve been having a lot of over the past few years. I think we can all agree MJ was incredibly talented, but wowza was he a bad person. There were pieces to the story I didn’t remember, or know so it was good to get that recapped.
I finally started listening to Murder in Oregon about the murder of Michael Franke back in 1989. I didn’t realize that the murder has never been solved. I grew up in Salem when this happened and I remember hearing his name a lot. I also forgot until the podcast that the DA’s kids went to my elementary school and I remember a couple of times that our school would go on lock down because of threats to the family. If you grew up in Oregon or just enjoy some good true crime, this is (so far) a great podcast.
Reading
It’s been a long time since I stopped reading (or listening) to a book, but I can not finish Pageboy. I know it’s the “it” memoir of the summer but it’s jarring in its storytelling style. If you’ve read it, you know what I mean. If it’s on your list or you’ve read it I’m curious to know what you thoughts!
I did really enjoy Megan Rapinoe’s memoir One Life which was a great audiobook. It was a quick and interesting story about her life, and although not intentional, it was perfect timing with her final match coming up.
I finally read This is How You Lose the Time War, which is this book that no one will tell you anything about except to say YOU SHOULD READ IT. I agree, you should read it, and I will also say, it’s a perfect weekend quick read – just keep going it pays off I promise.
I really enjoyed Nora Goes Off Script last year and worried her next book wouldn’t stack up, but Same Time Next Summer was a great end of summer rom com that I needed! I also really enjoyed The Celebrants but didn’t love the section v. chapter style (I know, just give me chapters, the shorter the better).
Watching
Last month my husband and I got sucked into a Sister Wives binge and we are finally caught up to live. There’s a lot to be said about reality TV and the choices that people make, but after 18 seasons, it’s still wild that Kody thinks the camera confessionals are therapy and not going to make him sound like a horrible husband and human. I’m glad that some of the wives have found the support to leave.
Speaking of polygamy… I finally watched Under the Banner of Heaven and it was really good, intense, but good. If you like a good Mormon polygamist sect story, this is for you. Then I read this piece from my favorite journalist Leah Sottile about Tim Ballard (of the “popular” film Sound of Freedom) and it all sort of came together that these two stories were connected. WILD.
We’ve binged the final season of Reservation Dogs and just have the finale left. Every episode this season has been fantastic and I have loved the stories of the elders and parents and these amazing three generations (and beyond of course) of people.
What have you been reading/watching/listening to lately? What are you excited about as we head into fall? The final season of Big Mouth? A new Naomi Alderman book? Britney Spears memoir? Yeah, me too.
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