Five great things.

What I've Been Watching, Reading, Cooking, and Listening to...

Oct 21, 2022

Hey y’all!

Sorry it’s been a little while. I think kidlet’s marching band schedule is trying to kill me. :) We just got the schedule for a band competition coming up, and I have to get him to the school at 3:30am on a Saturday. Yes, A.M.

But who needs sleep, right? Totally overrated.

Cool? Uncool? I’m over caring which is which.

Random, but I heard that GIFs aren’t “cool” anymore. I refuse to accept this, hence my GIF above1. Kids are wearing “mom jeans” now, actually labeled as such, so I’m holding onto my GIFs. If it were up to me, we’d still all be writing blogs instead of having to make a TikTok about everything. I guess that means I’m getting old. Get off my lawn! ;)

Well, don’t get off my lawn. Please, pull up a chair, grab a drink, and let’s chat about some things that are making me happy lately, which after all, is what the title of this newsletter is all about.

What I’ve Been Watching & Why Fiction Matters

Sometimes, I’ll think to myself: what are you doing with your life? People are out there doing all these amazing things to help others and you’re writing sexy books? But then I have a week like I did last week, and I remember that great storytelling can be a gift and a service.

I think I’ve mentioned before that I struggle with PMDD (pre-menstrual dysphoric disorder). I hate the name. Dysphoria makes it sound like we’re out of our minds.

The disorder can manifest all kinds of different symptoms depending on the person, but for me, it means for 7-8 days a month of what I call “dead week” because my mood just flattens. I have no energy, no creativity, no drive. I’m very “what’s the point?” about everything. I can literally mark it on a calendar, and I plan things around it because I know I can’t will myself out of that state (and medicine didn’t work for me.) The one good thing is that after so many years of going through this, I can tell myself, this isn’t actually you, this is the hormones, and you’ll feel better in a week. I’ve learned not to make big decisions during that week.

But even when I know what’s going on, it doesn’t make it easy to go through. So this is where the great storytelling comes in. Almost always, the thing that can make that week more bearable for me is escaping into fiction whether it be on the screen or in a book.

Last week, seasons 2 and 3 of Never Have I Ever on Netflix got me through dead week. This show is such a delight, and I can’t believe I lost track of it after season one. But boy was I glad to discover I had two seasons I could binge!

This is a teen/coming-of-age comedy created by Mindy Kaling. The premise is…after a tragedy in her family, Devi is starting her sophomore year and is determined to finally become cool. Expect endearing characters, boy drama, great friends, getting into silly trouble, weird teachers, overprotective moms, and lots of kissing. Be warned, this is TV-14 so there is a little bit of edginess that may not be appropriate for younger viewers. But I just adore this show. I can’t wait for the next season.

Okay, this next one is not fiction, but it’s just straight-up funny. I love Iliza Shlesinger’s Netflix comedy specials so much and her newest, Hot Forever, is no exception. There’s a segment about the ugly bra in this one that had me cracking up because…we all know the ugly bra.

"Every girl's got an ugly bra. It's the longest relationship you've ever been in."

I may be wearing my own ugly bra as we speak, lol. So if you want to laugh, give this one a go. And if you haven’t watched her before, make sure you check out her older specials too. It’s fun to watch her go through the different life stages over the course of the specials (single, dating, married, new parent) because the jokes change.

Have you watched either of these? What kind of shows/movies lift your mood?

What I’ve Been Listening To

Y’all know I love true crime podcasts. It’s even shown up in one of my books. So when I heard this past week that a conviction had been made in the Kristin Smart case and that the attention on the old case had partly been aided by a podcast from 2019, I knew I had to go back and listen.

The Your Own Backyard podcast was already on my list because it premiered in 2019, but I had never listened to an episode. If you’re not familiar, Kristin Smart was a college student in California who disappeared one night after a college party in 1996. I remember this case back when it happened because I was 16 and she was only two years old than I was, but I hadn’t kept up with new developments.

This podcast was put together by a sound engineer so it’s very high-quality, and he did a really good job recapping the case and then digging into it with fresh interviews. When he originally finished the podcast, no one had been arrested, even though there’s always been a prime suspect. Well, last week there was finally a conviction. So, if you like a true crime podcast that has some sort of resolution, this is a worthwhile listen.

What I’ve Been Cooking

How have I lived this long and didn’t know I could pan-fry gnocchi instead of boiling it? This NYT recipe for Crisp Gnocchi with Brussels Sprouts and Brown Butter was a revelation. I didn’t even have the Brussels spouts (or broccoli which can be used as a substitution) so I just skipped that part and went straight to the gnocchi. I used half the butter and only a tablespoon of olive oil because I’m still doing Weight Watchers (27 pounds down, woot!) and even with those cuts, the recipe was still freaking delicious. That little drizzle of honey at the end was the star. My whole family loved it.

And since shelf-stable gnocchi can live in my pantry for a long time, this is a great meal for those nights when I’ve run out of all of the fresh stuff and need something quick and yummy.

What I’ve Been Reading

Luck of the Draw by Kate Clayborn

Yes, this is book 2 in a series. No, you don’t have to read the first to get this one because I haven’t read the first and was fine.

This was recommended on the Fated Mates podcast and the setup got me to one-click because I CAN’T RESIST AN EMOTIONAL BACKSTORY. A lawyer, Zoe, won the lottery with her three friends and she’s quit her lawyer job but is feeling kind of lost. She decides she needs to make amends for some of the things she did as a lawyer. So, she goes to visit Aiden O’Leary. She represented a pharmaceutical company against his family in a wrongful death case.

When she shows up, he’s super not interested in her apology, but then he realizes she can help him with something. He wants to win the bid on a camp that was important to his brother (the one who died and who the case was about), but the people choosing who gets the camp are traditional and would rather it go to a couple or family instead of a single guy. So, he asks Zoe to pose as his fiancee. Fake fiancee alert! Enemies to lovers alert! They’re going to have to spend six weekends together in a cabin, faking it.

What ensues is an emotional, funny (though not full rom-com funny), sexy romance. I really enjoyed it! And I love a conflict that feels real and insurmountable not manufactured. That feeling of how can these two ever be together?? It’s my personal catnip.

What’s on the podcast

It’s that time of year again! Light the pumpkin-scented candle, get a bowl of your favorite Halloween candy, and turn on a stormy night soundtrack to set the mood. Today, we’re bringing you the best scary (from Roni) and gently spooky (from Dawn) things we’ve read, watched, and listened to lately.

Listen in your favorite podcast app:

Apple podcasts
Audible
Spotify
Or add to your favorite podcast app with their “Add by URL” feature and paste this link there: https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/rad-reading

Whew, I think that’s all I have for you today! I hope you found something worthwhile.

What have you been reading/watching/listening to? Do you have a beloved ugly bra? ;)