July's Read/Watch/Listen

Need some fresh summer recs?

So, it’s July. The month that’s also known here in Texas as the month we hide inside so that we don’t roast like a brisket on the sidewalk. So the above GIF of reading in the park seems lovely, but here summer means lots of reading and watching TV in the sweet blast of air conditioning.

Sadly, this month is turning out to be way busier than I planned with a lot less summer reading time than I was hoping for, but I’ve managed to come across a few great things to read, watch, and listen to, so I thought I’d pass those along!

Read

I know this book has been everywhere so I’m not introducing you to a “hidden gem”, but I’m here to share in the enthusiasm. A comedy sketch writer heroine and a famous pop star hero are testing the premise of “funny, average-looking guys can get the gorgeous model-type women but the gender reverse is usually not the case.”

This book was great, y’all. So well-written and well-researched (check out Sittenfeld’s acknowledgments at the end to see how much she read to get the feel for a comedy sketch show. It gave me such nerdy writer joy to see that!) I loved the peek behind the scenes of a Saturday Night Live type show. (I wrote about improv in Yes & I Love You, so I’ve always been fascinated by things like sketch comedy.)

So if you’re looking for a romance with some literary teeth, I highly recommend Curtis Sittenfeld’s Romantic Comedy.

Or, if you’re in the mood for something that isn’t romance, I have a fast-paced sci-fi thriller for you.

I recently had to take a solo plane flight to visit a very sick family member. It was going to be a difficult trip, and I needed a book to fully distract me from everything while traveling. That was a tall order, but Black Crouch’s Recursion did the trick. I was able to get immersed in this story with big stakes, time travel, and characters who I could route for. If you need a page-turner, look no further. Here’s a little about the book:

Reality is broken.
 
At first, it looks like a disease. An epidemic that spreads through no known means, driving its victims mad with memories of a life they never lived. But the force that’s sweeping the world is no pathogen. It’s just the first shock wave, unleashed by a stunning discovery—and what’s in jeopardy is not our minds but the very fabric of time itself.
 
In New York City, Detective Barry Sutton is closing in on the truth—and in a remote laboratory, neuroscientist Helena Smith is unaware that she alone holds the key to this mystery . . . and the tools for fighting back.
 
Together, Barry and Helena will have to confront their enemy—before they, and the world, are trapped in a loop of ever-growing chaos.

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Watch

I’m in my 40s, but I am and will always be a sucker for a well-written teen show, especially if there is romance involved. Last summer, I thoroughly enjoyed season 1 of The Summer I Turned Pretty, so I’d marked on my calendar when season 2 would drop.

The first three episodes of the second season are now available on Amazon Prime and I gobbled them up in one sitting. Friends to lovers, childhood crushes, family drama, teen angst, a love triangle with the heroine and two brothers, plus a beachy setting? What more can you ask for in a summer show? Plus, the books are great too.

So, if you’re looking for a frothy escape (with some gravitas—trigger warning for cancer of an adult character), give this one a try. It’s very bingeable!

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Listen

And speaking of teen shows…I am currently listening to an audiobook that is bringing me so much joy, I can’t even articulate it. *clutches hands to heart*

Freaks, Gleeks & Dawson’s Creek: How 7 Teen Shows Transformed Television by Thea Glassman (grab it on Libro.fm, my new favorite audiobook provider that helps support independent bookstores—affiliate link) is like a love letter to the shows that burned into my psyche when I was a young teen. I credit some of these shows (particularly My So-Called Life and Dawson’s Creek) with planting the seeds that would grow me into a romance writer.

So often teen TV shows, particularly older ones, are used as the punchlines to jokes (think of the crying Dawson GIF), but this audiobook is a celebration of just how fantastic and groundbreaking these shows were in the 90s.

These shows broke the mold of the typical family sitcoms that were on all the channels. They centered teen stories in a way that other shows hadn’t. They broke ground on things like same-sex love stories/on-screen kissing. They took teens seriously and didn’t just play them as over-the-top side characters. These characters felt real and relatable to me back then—like yes, I know what that feels like or I know people like this. (Well, I didn’t know any Jordan Catalanos, sadly, but I knew they existed.)

And the Joey and Pacey love story on Dawson’s Creek? SO many enemies-to-lovers/friends-to-lovers seeds planted there for my young writer brain. Just listening to this audiobook’s recap of some of the pivotal scenes gave me all the nostalgic goosebumps. And as I mentioned in the last newsletter, Joshua Jackson’s still got it, y’all. Team Pacey forever.

I’m only part of the way through the audiobook, but I’ve already listened to enough to wholeheartedly recommend it. It’s already been worth the price of admission.

Now, if you’re not of my generation or haven’t watched the shows along the way, this book probably won’t do it for you. I think familiarity with at least some of the shows is necessary for maximum enjoyment. In fact, I may skip the sections on the two shows I haven’t watched and listen after I go back and do a binge-watch.

If you’re curious, the seven shows are The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, My So-Called Life, Dawson’s Creek, Freaks & Geeks, Glee, The O.C., and Friday Night Lights. The only ones I haven’t seen are the last two, so I’m adding them to my watchlist.

As a bonus rec, I also listened to an advanced listening copy of Celebrity Nation by Landon Y. Jones. It was a quick listen and though I wish it would’ve had a more cohesive throughline, I really enjoyed some of the essays. There was some fascinating stuff in there!

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Class Announcement

If you’re a writer or aspiring to be and want to learn how to write great love scenes, I’m teaching my How to Write Love Scenes That Readers Won’t Skip class for the first time since 2021! Grab a spot using coupon code EARLYBIRD20 and get $20 off before August 12.

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That’s all I have for you today! Tell me what great things you’ve been reading, watching, or listening to lately. I’d love to hear!

*Book links are affiliate links (Amazon, Libro.fm, and/or Bookshop.org), which means I earn a small commission if you buy through my links. Also, I receive advanced listening copies of some audiobooks through Libro.fm’s Influencer program. However, all reviews and opinions are my own.