Movies & Television
TV is so back! I can’t say the same for movies this month, though I found Primetime to be a really interesting thought experiment/reflection on early 2000s reality TV culture. What at time to be young and impressionable. Can I just say simply: Robert Pattinson! He’s on an Oscar run for sure.
Anyway, television: I do the dance of subscribing and unsubscribing to streamers based on when there’s something I want to watch. This month it’s the new adaptation of East of Eden (and The Great British Baking Show) on Netflix. Florence Pugh is a force, she always is. The cinematography is stunning. Watch it!
Books, etc.
Last month I recommended Calamity Club, by Kathryn Stockett only 100 pages in, and for the record now that I’ve finished it: the recommendation stands. Fantastic. My Kindle book (meaning the book I read when I’m at the nail salon or traveling) is All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker. So far so good…
But this month’s recommendation is this little novel: The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout. Short, sweet, sad, but in a way that feels like a hug (to me). This book said to me: I see you, I see your complicated and layered life, and I’m letting you know you’re not alone in the mess by way of this school teacher’s little late-in-life story. Everyone has their challenges and misfortunes, and despite all of it: there are many moments and mindset changes that can make life worth living. Trigger warnings: The depressing reality of living under the Tr*mp regime, and suicidal ideation.
P.S. I’m archiving all the books I’ve enjoyed recently here, and I’m also on Goodreads, though doing a horrible job keeping up with it… Oops!
Podcasts & Music
This is not a new-to-me podcast, I’ve been a fan of The Big Picture for many years, and I talk about it quite a bit with friends… Possibly too much. I have to spread the good news to anyone remotely interested in the industry or the art form, because these two are hilarious and whip smart. Hosted by Ringer (and Substack) journalists Amanda Dobbins and Sean Fennessey, the show covers anything happening in the film biz, delivers conversational movie reviews, interviews with directors, actors, producers, and much more (movie drafts, anyone?) Amanda is the more grounded POV, while Sean is a true cinema geek, and their brother/sister dynamic is frequently accented by appearances from other Ringer personalities (Van Lathan, Chris Ryan, Mallory Rubin, Joanna Robinson, etc.) to round out the great hang. I hope you enjoy.
As for music, if you want just a very moody indie mix to put on, I do keep my Fall Mastermix fairly updated. I dusted it off again just this week, adding the likes of Alanis Morrisette’s new cover of Season of the Witch and a few other newbies.
Food!
I have a friend, who lives in Los Angeles but is from North Carolina, and every so often she will just call me out of the blue when she’s in town to help her family: “I’m coming over tomorrow!” Okay! That means I need a meal prepared, because this woman requires sustenance. A couple weeks ago, this soup was a huge hit, and it’s also great for fall in general: Lemony Chicken Soup with Dill.
My notes: This recipe calls for leaving chunks of lemon in the soup for some reason, which was a no for me and a few other commenters. Instead, I just cut a lemon in half, got the seeds out as best I could, and cooked it in the broth, and fished it out at the end. I added lemon zest as a topper. You can also make the chicken part simpler by picking meat off a rotisserie. Maybe put chicken bouillon in the broth for the extra flavor as a shortcut for taking the time to cooking out chicken fat from bone-in, skin-on pieces. Up to you!
Other recipes I’m enjoying right now:
Roasted Broccoli with Nuts and Dates. It’s such an easy side to add in veggies. I usually just use my air fryer to roast the broccoli quickly.
And specifically for fall: Roasted Honey Nut Squash with Chickpeas and Hot Honey. Any squash will do. Yum.
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Thank you for being here,
