The February Read/Watch/Listen List

and oops, I accidentally rant a little

Happy Groundhog Day! I honestly don’t pay attention to what the groundhog does, but I do get the itch to watch the movie every year.

Groundhog Day was the first movie that made me fall in love with time loop stories. I’m drawn to the idea of getting a redo and fascinated by how little tweaks can change an entire trajectory. In fact, I got myself in trouble with this love of time loops by watching the movie Meet Cute the other night, solely based on the fact that it was a time loop story—well, not solely, the title indicated it was a rom-com.

But…it’s not going to be on my Read/Watch/Listen list, y’all. Though the acting was good and the New York scenes were lovely, the movie was so grim. I didn’t believe the “happy” ending. Also, I know they were trying to upend the trope and do something different, which I normally am here for (as long as they don’t kill a character), but the marketing of it made me feel tricked. It’s called Meet Cute! Haley Cuoco is in it playing a daffy, quirky character! The premise is a woman finds a tanning bed/time machine that lets her live a first date over and over, trying to get it right!

It all sounds so fun and light and humor-focused. No. It is not. The humor is dark as is the actual premise, and I really just wanted the main characters to find a great therapist for support. (If you decide to check it out, please check out the trigger warnings first.)

Okay, sorry. I actually had no plans to talk about that movie in this newsletter today but apparently, Groundhog Day set me off and I had FEELINGS to share, lol.

So, let’s move on to the stuff I actually want to recommend!

Read

Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll¹

First, a warning. If this sits on your bedside table or counter for a while, expect to be singing “Part of Your World” from The Little Mermaid every damn day. “Bright young women, sick of swimming…” However, this book is definitely NOT a Disney cartoon.

Bright Young Women is a fictionalized account of the Ted Bundy murders told from the perspective of the women—Pamela, a sorority sister of one of the victim’s who is also an eyewitness; Ruth, one of the Seattle victims; and, Tina, Ruth’s friend. It also jumps around in time from before the murders (for Ruth), the time of the sorority murders, and then modern day.

Don’t believe the marketing that calls this a thriller. The beginning read like a thriller because it opens with the sorority murders, but after that, this becomes a story of tough, smart women not letting people dismiss them and not letting Bundy get away with it.

This was a 5-star read for me—truly spectacular and so well-written with beautiful language. But most of all, this was centering the women instead of Ted Bundy (who is only called The Defendant in the book because we say serial killers’ names too much.) I loved the female strength and friendships in this book. I love that the author tore apart the media’s portrayal of Bundy as handsome or smart when, really, he was pathetic and dumb. She used real details from the case, transcripts, and courtroom footage to back those claims up.

I loved how she weaved in the facts (including the actual names of the victims) with the fictionalized parts. I was transported to the 1970s and totally pulled in by the characters. This had to be so, so challenging to write and pull off this well. I’m in awe honestly. If you like character-driven stories, true crime, and female badassery, check this one out!

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Watch

I’ve been in a relationships-in-trouble mood because I’m brainstorming a new book that might have that element, so my watch recommendations will reflect that. BUT these are both ultimately uplifting.

First, is an older movie that I somehow had never heard of but that turned out to be really great.

Celeste and Jesse Forever (watched on Max)

Notice at the bottom of that movie poster it says, “A loved story.” This is about…well, Celeste and Jesse, it’s not just a clever title. The two of them are divorcing but are still best friends, which is causing some complications. (A reverse of the friends-to-lovers trope.) This is the story of untangling romantic love from friendship and moving on or not. It’s a bittersweet story, but I thought it was really well done. Clever, funny, and touching.

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Couples Therapy - specifically Season 2 (watched on Showtime/Paramount)

This one made me cry last night. In a good way.

I had watched season one of this reality show back in 2019, and I’d liked it fine but had lost track of it. So when I saw that it had new seasons I had missed, I decided to give season 2 a shot. I’m so glad I did.

Many of y’all know that I have a master’s degree in social work and used to work as a therapist, so I’m primed to be interested in a show about therapy. However, that means I’m also primed to find therapy portrayals cliched or straight-up wrong. This show really does a fantastic job of showing the work of therapy in an actual therapy office in a respectful way. Yes, I know that because it’s on TV there is going to be some element of production and creative editing. However, I feel like this showed couples truly working through their issues.

Each season follows the same couples throughout, and at points, you wonder—how in the hell are these people ever going to stay together? But it’s a painful/beautiful thing to watch as people gain insight into why they act the way they do, how their patterns are based on childhood stuff or trauma or past experiences. You can sometimes literally see the insight light up their faces like ohhhh (that is what therapists live for, lol.)

So it was such a satisfying watch. And by the end, I was pressing my hands over my heart and getting teary. I’m such a sucker for a happy ending. I just want people to be happy and find someone to love and to be loved by. (I guess that’s why I’m a romance writer!)

This may not be for everyone (though season 2 has a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes which I’m not sure I’ve seen before) but if any of what I said resonated, check it out. And maybe start with season 2. I don’t remember being as moved by season 1. (Each season follows different couples.)

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Listen

Filterworld: How Algorithms Flattened Culture by Kyle Chayka (audiobook)

I’m almost done listening to this one, but it has been absolutely fascinating. I was going to paste in the back cover summary of the book for y’all, but for some reason, that summary initially made me not want to buy the book. The title had made me perk up with OOH, THIS IS FOR ME and then when I read the back, I was like….hmm, maybe it’s not about what I thought it was about. Not until I heard the author on Ezra Klein’s podcast did I realize yes, this is what I wanted to learn about and then I bought the audiobook. (So if you’re interested but on the fence, maybe check out the podcast first.)

Anyway, the book is about how the internet and particularly social media algorithms have shaped/flattened culture into what’s palatable to the masses. What’s clicked on the most. What’s the “easiest” content to consume. To the point where many of us may not even know what our true “taste” is anymore because we’ve been fed what it’s supposed to be.

He also talks about how it’s hard to discover new things because algorithms just keep feeding us more of the same stuff we’ve already clicked on—like watching a generic, nothing special rom-com on Netflix and it saying “here are 10 more movies JUST LIKE THIS for you to watch.”

He even goes into Bookstagram and BookTok and how publishing has changed—books being thought of as “content” instead of literature. Some of it I already knew, but some stuff was new to me. Like how some poetry has changed to be more Instagrammable.

He tackles many different areas, but I’m finding it all so interesting (and frustrating.) It even has me questioning what I really like vs. what I’ve been influenced to like—a mindbender when you really dig down, lol.

So, if you’re into nerdy stuff about the internet, this has been a great listen.

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Well, I’ve gone on too long now. I had lots of stuff to share! I hope you found something worth your time.

What great things have you been reading/watching/listening to lately?

1. All book links are Bookshop.org affiliate links. I’ve purchased the books and have not been asked to endorse any.