Required Reading (and watching, eating, etc.): July Edition
I’ve been thinking deep thoughts and watching questionable TV.
Welcome to my monthly round-up, or as I like to call it: “Look, I’ve Been Thinking Deep Thoughts and Watching Questionable TV.”
Here’s what I’ve been reading, pondering, stress-snacking to, and loving:
THINGS I’M WATCHING
Friends & Neighbors (Apple TV)
This is what if your worst impulses looked amazing on camera? Think dark humor, suspense, and gorgeous people doing bad, bad things.
Why you’ll love it: It's a moral spiral in slow motion. Because sometimes you’re such a good person, you want to watch people do bad things for about 9 episodes.
The Four Seasons (Netflix)
Old friends, new issues—I loved every second of it. Plus, a cameo from my very favorite—Alan Alda. (This show is an adaptation of his 1981 movie of the same title.)
Why you’ll love it: I don’t have to tell you that love and relationships are hard work, and we only get through the ups and downs by turning toward each other. Plus, mid-life is wild and it’s fun to watch other people (albeit fictional) go THROUGH IT. Especially if it's Tina Fey and Steve Carell.
Mike Birbiglia’s The Good Life (Netflix)
Not me reaching for tissues in this comedy special—how is he so good?!
Why you’ll love it: There is no storyteller quite like Mike Birbiglia. He has a way of saying something hilarious and devastating in the same breath. This special grapples with an aging, complicated parent and leaves you thinking about legacy, responsibility, and how we make meaning of it all. Okay, brb…tearing up a little.
THINGS I’M READING
How to Nurture a Personal Library (Psyche.co)
Don’t we all need to know how to do this? For anyone who actively collects books from the little free libraries in your neighborhood or considers yourself a self-made librarian, this article teaches you the art of building a library you love.
BIG THINGS IN AUSTRALIA (TheGlobeandMail.com)
Because my love of large roadside attractions knows no geographical limit. It makes me want to hear from all of you wonderful people. Tell me the oddball thing near you. (No, really—tell me in the comments. I want to go there.)
Taste is the New Intelligence (Substack, )
This entire article is the definition of discernment: “The ability to choose what matters in a world drowning in what doesn’t.” MAGIC. These thoughts push us to engage with what matters, decorate, and accumulate in a way that feels personal, and thoughtfully disengage with what just feels like...noise.
THINGS MAKING ME LAUGH
BOOKS ON MY NIGHTSTAND
On Tyranny by
The reasons for reading this may be obvious. But I recommend this title to everyone because we are not letting our fear of what’s going on right now paralyze us. We will educate ourselves. Commit to showing up for what we can. And remember that small drops make an ocean, and tiny actions can make a BIG difference.
Book of Alchemy by
Because she is the best hope-maker I know. For anyone struggling with how to “be creative,” this book is for you. Suleika encourages us to play, get curious, and finally let go of the expectations of a certain outcome in order to create beauty for right now. These practical journal prompts will launch you into a way of being awake, alert, and alive to the world right in front of you.
You Better Be Lightning by
Their gorgeous words cover everything from the expansiveness of the human condition to what it means to love. I dare you to read this without crying.
WHAT I’M LISTENING TO
This playlist is part medium-sad girl summer, part main character montage. A mix of your brilliant suggestions (thank you!!) and my current faves—for when you want to feel all your feelings, but also sound good doing it. Windows down. Volume up. Let’s go.
THINGS I’M LOVING
Evolve Together Deodorant
Because it’s hot and I refuse to smell bad. Refuse. (PS. Use “KATE15" to get 15% off!)
Frank and Eileen “Shirley” Oversized Button-Up Shirt
HUGE, perfect for straight-leg jeans, leggings, and acting as a swimsuit cover-up.
Canada/Not Canada T-shirt
This isn’t my exact T-shirt, but it’s similar!
MORE THINGS I’M EXCITED ABOUT
I’m sitting down with parenting expert Dr. Becky Kennedy next week for a podcast episode coming to your ears soon. What questions do you have for her? Let me know in the comments.
A Small (but mighty) Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you click and buy, I may earn a small commission—at no extra cost to you. It helps keep this tender, odd little corner of the internet going. Thank you. I’m absurdly glad you’re here.
Okay, your turn!
Tell me what you are watching, reading, listening to, and loving. No gatekeeping allowed.
Watched multiple seasons of Call the Midwife on GEM (CBC) this spring to remind myself that there have been times when people wanted the best for one another.
I've got to curate what I watch and read, and the music to which I listen, very carefully, because here in the valley of the shadow, hope and meaning have to be nurtured every hour of every day. It's easy to fall into the palliative-care cancer blues, but NO, and I'm still the lunatic building an aeroplane in his living room. My media choices have to support the dream that I still may have a tomorrow, and not a mere descent into drugged degradation.
So...
Reading...An Aeroplane Affair by John Isaacs, Flight Of The Mew Gull by Alex Henshaw, First Light by Geoffrey Wellum
TV and movies...GritTV (all westerns all the time, yeeha!), The Chosen, Guy Richie's The Covenant (yes, that's the full title), Kilo Two Bravo, The Chosen...oh wait, did I say that already?
Music...Van Halen, Creedence, 3 Doors Down (prayers for Brad Arnold!), Bill Conti's Gonna Fly Now (to start the day), Parson's Ghost's Go Down Swinging, Graffiti Ghost's This Is What I Live For.
Got to go. Sun coming up, and fifteen rescue dogs are asking to start their day. Caring for them...well, being love in action is maybe the best meaning of all, the best shield against my own annihilation.