Isn’t it the best when someone with your same tastes sends you a video or article or book and tells you to watch/read/try IMMEDIATELY?
It’s also super fun to BE the person who tells someone to watch/read/try immediately.
It’s hard to be on top of it all the time. There is so much content out there, how does one keep up with it all? I don’t. I often find things way after the fact, or just discover them at my own (mom) pace. So I thought it would be fun to create a monthly catch-all post of my favorite posts/videos/books/products/what-have-you with things that I really want to share and/or think you should experience. I’m hoping to get a lot of recommendations back as well!
So this month I’ll kick off with my favorite music, books and podcasts that I have just discovered and found to be especially awesome:
Music/Videos:
- Worth It (Perfect) by Superfruit. I love Superfruit. Best friends and members of Pentatonix, Scott Hoying and Mitch Grassi, are making some really interesting art. Their vlog of the same name on YouTube is a delight, and their music is interesting, fun and different. Their voices are fantastic, their style is edgy. And I just can’t get enough of this video, that doesn’t even feature them in person, but two young dancers who are totally incredible. It’s so special.
- New Rules by Dua Lipa. I am always down for new pop royalty and I think Dua is on her way. This song is so damn catchy and the video is fun and sassy and all about how badass best girlfriends are.
- Good As Hell by Lizzo. My sister turned me on to Lizzo and her EP Coconut Oil, and I can’t get enough. This album is vibrant and pulsing. If you are looking for a new summer song to blast, look no further.
Books:
Apparently I was really into books with long, descriptive titles this past month.
- My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She’s Sorry by Fredrik Backman.
My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorryis a moving story with a powerful message about the beauty of storytelling and imagination, with a smattering of bizarre, sweet, moving characters. All told from the perspective of a precocious seven-year-old. This is by the same author of A Man Called Ove, which I have yet to read, but now very much look forward to doing so. A really sweet story. Highly recommend!
- To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han.
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Beforeis dishy YA at its best. The surface plot focuses on Lara Jean and her love life, which is funny and sweet enough to make for a fast read. But the real song of the story is in the one of her and her sisters. Han must have sisters because she writes them and their dynamics so well. It is also the first in a series, which means I have two more books to enjoy. Overall, it’s the perfect beach read
- Hello, He Lied, and Other Tales from the Hollywood Trenches by Lynda Obst.
For all my fellow Show Your Work podcast fans, this is the book that Duana recommends frequently to understand what getting a movie made is actually like (or was like; though much has changed, I’m sure, many of the overarching themes are relevant). It’s fascinating. Obst, who produced so many of my personal favorite 80’s-90’s movies, such as Sleepless in Seattle, One Fine Day, Contact, Adventures in Babysitting and Flashdance, has so much valuable insight to share about producing in particular and work in general. By the end I felt so poised to produce a movie in the 1990’s that all I would need would be a rolodex and some pluck. Except not really because it seems like a whole heap of crazy work. There are many takeaways in Hello, He Lied, but my favorite quote is: “In most fields of endeavor, there are no easy jobs; there are only graceful ways of performing difficult ones.”
is a moving story with a powerful message about the beauty of storytelling and imagination, with a smattering of bizarre, sweet, moving characters. All told from the perspective of a precocious seven-year-old. This is by the same author of A Man Called Ove, which I have yet to read, but now very much look forward to doing so. A really sweet story. Highly recommend!
is dishy YA at its best. The surface plot focuses on Lara Jean and her love life, which is funny and sweet enough to make for a fast read. But the real song of the story is in the one of her and her sisters. Han must have sisters because she writes them and their dynamics so well. It is also the first in a series, which means I have two more books to enjoy. Overall, it’s the perfect beach readPodcasts:
- Invisibilia. A friend just told me about this podcast and I am hooked. I don’t know how I hadn’t heard of it before because it’s been on for a few years now and is totally up my alley. Invsibilia examines the unseen, yet vital parts of life, thoughts, feelings, culture, through a variety of stories that are as complex and harrowing as they are fascinating and insightful. The storytelling is really well-done and I find myself thinking of the episodes for days after I finish.
- Dear Sugar Radio. A Brimming reader turned me on to this Dear Sugar Radio podcast (thank you so much, Kat!!) and I’m so grateful. For fans of the original Dear Sugar column and columnists Steve Almond, Cheryl Strayed (Wild, Tiny Beautiful Things), and/or just want to listen to really compassionate, wise, intelligent people discuss life’s problems and issues through the lens of an advice column, this podcast is for you. I’ve learned a lot and often find myself nodding along or going, “Oh yeah,” out loud. To myself. It’s really quite fascinating and perfect commute or walk length at an average 40 mins.
Tell me what else I’ve been missing. I’m always looking for new things, and it may even make next month’s list!
Brimming 