1. What If We Were Somewhere Else: A collection of short stories by Wendy Fox that all connect through a mass company layoff. I absolutely loved this book and highly recommend it.
2. The Nickel Boys: This is a sad read, but has an excellent ending. I would recommend if you haven't read anything by Colson Whitehead yet, don't wait any longer. He's already won two Pulitzer Prizes for fiction!
I've been obsessed with Glennon Doyle's podcast We Can Do Hard Things. I'm super late to this game but saw my friend Lindsey Kalbfleish post about her episode on parenting right as I was headed back to work and I listened to it and full on sobbed one day and have been hooked ever since. Doyle covers new topics every week whether its sexuality, parenting guilt, lightening up, etc. and she is so down to earth in her approach. Scott and I also recently listened to the "overwhelm" episode together as well and I feel like it was the equivalent of years of marital counselling. - MG
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| Glennon Doyle (right) and her wife Abby Wambach |
I have spent years looking for a book-related podcast and finally found one I really enjoy. The Stacks is hosted by a woman named Traci Thomas and is split between reviews and interviews. In the reviews she brings on a repeat guest and they talk about a book they announced as their selection a month ago. But I absolutely love the interview episodes where she brings on a guest and asks them all the questions I want the answers to - when do you read? do you read with background music? what's a book you ALWAYS recommend? etc, etc, etc. Found this because she recently interview my favourite podcast host Juliet Litman. - MH
Katie's season of The Bachelorette ended a few weeks back and even though I think we're all a bit bored of the franchise right now, I did think it was one of the better recent seasons. Katie had a textbook Desiree ending unfortunately and I can't buy into her and Blake the way I want to because of it. I also just didn't love Katie really, it seemed like all parts of her personality that we saw were overcompensating for something. - MG
Luckily the new season of Bachelor in Paradise started woo woooooooooo and that's really all the TV there's even time for in a week. I really liked David Spade hosting and hope they bring him back permanently. I think social media has ruined the whole experience (do I sound like your grandma yet?) but it's still fun to watch all these pre-teens frolic on the beach in pursuit of love. - MG
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| Bachelor in Paradise |
I guess this is basically just a reality TV section because the only other show I've really been watching this month is the third season of Love Island. I talked my friends Ally and Marijke into starting it with me end of July but then I took a massive hiatus and left them to watch the jillion hours of it weekly alone because Scott was home way too many evenings in a row, but last week he was back on afternoons and I dove in head first. There's not a single character I like and I wish I didn't have 20 more episodes to go but I won't quit. - MG
My favourite show of the summer is definitely Mike White's The White Lotus on HBO. It is a six episode story (renewed for season 2, yay!) set at a fancy resort in Hawaii and looks at these horrible, filthy rich guests and the staff that have to endure them. I have a hard time putting my finger on why I find this show so compelling, but even after the first episode I just wanted to watch more and more of these characters. If you liked White's Enlightened you will love this one as well! - MH
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| Alexandra Daddario and Jake Lacy in White Lotus |
Another show I enjoyed watching was Apple TV's Physical starring Rose Byrne. The show is set in the 1980s and shows the beginning of a woman's aerobics empire. I am OBSESSED with group fitness and seriously go to 8 classes a week. I get why Byrne's character feels so addicted the aerobics and loved that side of the show. BUT I will add, there is a lot of disturbing eating disorder stuff and the show can be pretty dark. Proceed with caution.. - MH
If you like deadlines then I would recommend trying to blast through four seasons of BBC's Line of Duty leaving Netflix on September 27. It is a police drama that looks at anti-corruption and each season is about 5-6 episodes. A TV podcast I listen to weekly is obsessed with the show and I've been meaning to watch it for a while now. I'm on to the second season and sometimes get a little distracted on my phone while watching, but otherwise it is pretty good. - MH
This month I watched The Last Letter from your Lover (2021) on Netflix and really enjoyed it. I was so surprised because I usually hate period stuff and I also usually hate Shailene Woodley (but she is growing on me). It's adapted from a JoJo Moyes book and it shows, but it was romantic and sexy and sad and that's such a great combination for me. - MG
I also re-watched The Parent Trap (1998) with my niece and it was such a fun experience. It's obviously an amazing movie but there's nothing better than watching a kid appreciate a movie you loved as a kid. Highly recommend. I had to rent this but it was worth the $3.99.- MG
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| Clockwatchers |
I am about midway through my first full week in an office for 8 hours a day and am struggling. I recently watched Clockwatchers (1997) and loved how they depicted how mundane office life is. The cast includes Parker Posey (who is amazing in her role), Lisa Kudrow, and Tony Collette. It is kind of like a "ladies Office Space" but it came out long before. It is streaming on the Criterion Channel (much better quality) and Prime. - MH
Some friends and I recently watched the original Candyman (1992) in preparation for the new one out in theatres and I would highly recommend if you like horror. It was soooo creepy and made me afraid to look in a mirror for at least 48 hours. It's about this old legend where if you say "candyman" five times in the mirror he will appear and slice you up the middle with his hook hand. These PhD candidates start interviewing people about the legend and get mixed up in it all. A few jump scares, some gore, and definitely some twists. Would highly recommend! - MH
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