Diversions: What i’ve been reading, watching, listening to, & podcasting.
A FEW IDEAS FOR YOU.
So diverting.
Hello from maternity leave, gang!
My favorite blog posts to read are LISTS that get to the point, so here’s what’s happening with this post: I’m rounding up a collection of a few recent favorites from the past several months (I keep a running list for just such purposes!).
Here’s what this post is NOT: Well, first, a bit of background. I am so tired of bloggers recommending crap you don’t need that you’re supposed to buy that they then make an affiliate commission on. We need less stuff in our lives, not more. So these are things that are mostly free and worth your time and if something does cost money, I won’t be making a dime on any of it and that’s by design.
So with that, let’s dive right in, shall we?
Reading, Watching, Listening, Podcasting & More
READING
Essentialism by Greg Mckeown. This book is life changing if you want to focus on creating more meaning and clarity in your life with less distraction. If you feel overcommitted or stressed and like everything you’ve been doing is half ass, this is the book for you. It’s concrete and to the point, which I seriously appreciated.
I’ve started using the public library again like crazy lately for my books and all of my toddler’s books so I’m adding both the library link and Amazon. (Honestly, Essentialism is worth owning.)
Court of Thorns and Roses series (CoTR): Listen. High art this is NOTTTTT. At all. It’s a silly fantasy. The first book is decent, but the second and third books are so addictive. Highly recommend. I’m on book 4 and if you’e breast feeding at 3am, this is the perfect series to KEEP YOU OFF YOUR PHONE. I have found that I can significantly diminish my cell phone habit by crowding it out with a candy book. It’s not Flaubert, but it helps you reestablish a connection to fiction while also helping to lengthen your attention span so you can get back to more serious reading. But that aside, these books are just SO fun. So bad. But so fun. (Amazon link here.)
Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Read: Highly recommend the audiobook for this one because each character has its own actor (Jennifer Beals plays Daisy Jones and you know I love Jennifer Beals). This book is rumored to be loosely based on Fleetwood Mac, so obviously I’m all in. So fun, quick paced, and totally absorbing.
Trust by Hernan Diaz: This is Taylor’s emphatic rec and my next book. I’ll keep you posted. Library link here.
This article from Grayson Carter’s digital magazine Airmail on the Armie Hammer saga. It’s a can’t-look-away deep-dive into the whole shit show. (First article is free w/ Airmail —that’s how they hook you)
Watching
The Bear on Hulu. Can’t recommend this show highly enough. It’s about a chef who leaves his position in the kitchen at one of the best restaurants in the world to run his family’s sandwich shop in Chicago. Clever, heart-warming, riches to rag to I’m-not-sure-just-yet story (need to wait for next season!). My husband and I loved it.
The Offer on Paramount + OMG I loved this show. It’s a drama (though it’s also funny?!) about the making of The Godfather (this is a totally bizarre story that proves life is weirder than fiction). Fantastic cast. I rewatched The Godfather 1 and 2 after watching this (not 3 👎) and The Offer provided so much context.
Shania Twain: Not Just a Girl. If you like Shania, you’re all right in my book. This documentary gives us everything we need to prepare for Shania’s North American tour this year! It’s an authorized documentary meaning she worked with the filmmakers so that’s got pros and cons, but overall, this woman is a total badass and incredibly savvy at managing her career, plus her story is epic.
Listening
Leikeili47’s 2022 album Shape Up. Pretty much only this.
My playlist called Best Best Best (subtle!) which I made 8 years ago. This is an 11 hour definitive collection of lots of good stuff that existed from Motown to disco to new wave plus road-less-traveled Elvis and lots of good stuff in between (Think Don Henley + Heart + Hot Chocolate + Queen + Diana Ross + Patti Smith + Depeche Mode + 80s stuff you recognize but you don’t know who it’s by, and way more). If you have suggestions for additions, do tell!
Podcasting
This podcast with Dr. Alia Crum on Huberman Lab. You guys. I have been saying for 12+ years that the way we feel about things impacts their effect on us. And science proves it! You have no idea how powerful your mind is and how much it determines outcomes in your body. Listen to this for more on that.
Sold a Story from American Public Media. Did you know that 65% of American 4th graders CAN’T read at grade level? There’s a reason why, it’s utterly nonsensical (think lots of money being spent on a program that literally teaches children how not to read), and it’s explained in this deep-dive of a podcast. Totally fascinating if you a) have kids or b) were once a kid and c) especially if you went to grade school in the 90s/2000s.
Two other random things I love!
Do you know Rajiv Surendra? You guys, I’m obsessed with him and I wish he was my antiquing partner in crime. Everything he does is impeccable, from teaching you how to properly make a bed to how to set a perfect table. His apartment is a dream. I’ve watched every single video he’s got in his Life Skills series on Youtube. There is nothing domestic that Rajiv cannot do and even if you have no intention of painstakingly hand-washing your dishes or seasoning a cast iron pan, it is so soothing to watch him work away. I can wholeheartedly recommend his lesson on how to wash your wool sweaters (fun fact: it’s the temperature difference between the air and the water that causes shrinkage!)
(Ps. Background on Rajiv Surendra: He played Kevin Gnapoor in Mean Girls in 2004).
And finally: I need to shout out my robot vacuum, Eufy. Do you want your house to be cleaner whilst your life is made wayyy easier? Then get a robot vacuum and use it every day. Ours cost $130 by Eufy and it’s sooo effective. My little sister did a deep dive on models and has owned a Roomba (read: more expensive than Eufy) in addition to the Eufy and she prefers the Eufy. So if it’s good enough for Kelly Gregg, it’s good enough for me. (p.s. looks like they raised the price slightly… still worth it!)
All right, everybody! I’d love to hear what YOU’VE been loving lately! Let me know in the comments if you have a moment. Till next time…
-Meegan