Let’s Chat – Audiobooks, Podcasts & Binge-Watching

Between the FrogTape Paintover Challenge and the One Room Challenge I’ve been in a pretty steady diy project flow for the past month or so. Except for our spring break trip to Italy, I’ve had a paint brush or roller in my hand just about every other day.  Besides gallons of iced coffee, what keeps me chugging along on the diy train is listening to podcasts and dare I say, audiobooks.

During these heavy diy times I also find that binge-watching is my favorite form of relaxation at the end of a day.  Reading actual words in a book just feels too daunting a task when you’ve been in paint clothes for most of the day and somehow managed to have the energy and brain power to assist your ten year old with multiplying and dividing fractions.  Oh 5th grade math, you are so unfriendly.

Today I thought it would be fun to chat about what I’ve been listening to and watching.  And I’d absolutely love for you all to share what’s been on your radar lately!  As we head into the summer months and network television comes to a grinding stop, it’s always good to have some good entertainment recommendations!

AudioBooks

I have to admit, I’ve always been an audio snob.  Listening to books…….well, I’ve always been of the mindset that it doesn’t count as “reading”.  But in the last few months I’ve changed my mind a bit.  I’m still a staunch lover of reading the written word as God and every good author intended.  😉  However, what can be wrong with listening while you get your projects and chores done?  My TBR list is ever-growing as is my pile of work to-do’s, mom responsibilities and household chores so audio has been a nice way to power through daily tasks.

I guess I’m a slow convert.  Though I will say that the voice of the reader is crucial.  I think the wrong reader can totally destroy a story.  Though on the contrary a good reader can make a dull or slow to start book really come to life.

Recently I finished listening to Behind Closed Doors.  I think if I had been reading I would have stopped about halfway through because the story was a bit unbelievable for me.  It’s a psychological thriller touted as being a great one for any who loved The Girl on the Train, and as a bona fide psycho-thriller-lover I was excited to check out this debut.  But there were many holes in the story that just didn’t add up for me.  Though I am glad I listened to the end, I wonder if I would have liked it more had I read it rather than listened to the story.  Comparatively speaking, this one didn’t grab me the way The Girl on the Train or any of Gillian Flynn’s books did.  As a stand alone I found it more chilling than thrilling.

Podcasts

I’ve never been a talk radio fan, so traditional podcasts don’t really do it for me.  I occasionally listen to the Young House Love podcast, but I prefer podcasts that are more of a series than stand alone episodes.

I was a huge fan of Serial, so I jumped in to S-Town almost as soon as it was released.

It left me feeling so many emotions.  It’s one of those podcasts you absolutely have to discuss once you’re finished as a way of getting some kind of closure.  I’m not sure how I feel about it to be honest.  In a way it felt exploitive and there was a point in the series where I thought they should have ended rather than continuing.  Sad and hopeless, though it did make me realize how much of our life’s happiness is dependent not on our circumstance but on our choices.   Have you listened to S-Town?  What were your thoughts?

Any other podcasts you’d recommend?  I’ve heard Missing Richard Simmons is great, but I’ve been hesitant to dive in to listening to something that sounds almost akin to a modern day witch hunt of sorts.  Regardless of celebrity, an individual should still have the right to privacy, no?

Binge-Watching

Gossip Girl

Gossip Girl began back in the fall of 2007.  At that time I was a young mother with two kids under 3, so a show about teenage socialites in Manhattan wasn’t exactly on my radar.  😉  Back then I was busy watching Grey’s Anatomy, Lost and The Office……shows about teenagers……I didn’t have the time to invest.  And if it was going to grab my attention back then it would have had to have some vampires in it to make me want to watch.  😉  I was a die-hard The Vampire Diaries fan from it’s inception in 2009.  But I digress…….

After binge-watching Parenthood…..a show I have no earthly idea how I missed while it was on network television…..I was looking for something fun and light.  A friend recommended Gossip Girl.  So I decided to give it a whirl.

My synopsis?  It’s kind of like Kelly and Brenda’s 90210 but set in Manhattan’s Upper East Side, with better clothes, better dialogue, a great soundtrack and some fun Audrey Hepburn movie references.  There’s lots of scheming and girl drama coupled with romances that could only exist in a perfect television screen world.  I loved it!  It’s a really fun series.

The Carrie Diaries

I must be in a New York state of mind because I’m now starting to get into The Carrie Diaries.

It’s basically the prequel to Sex and The City, as it goes back to 1984 and a teenage Carrie Bradshaw.  After just 2 seasons and 26 episodes it fizzled in 2014.  I never even knew it existed until a few weeks ago when it showed up under recommended if you loved Gossip Girl on Netflix.  Sometimes the shows that aren’t huge successes end up being really great, so I plan to watch every episode.  Have you seen it?  Any good?

The White Queen

I’m also watching The White Queen with the hubs.

I’ve been a Philippa Gregory fan for years, so I’ve been wanting to watch this for awhile.  We’re on episode 5 and are both really liking it.  We plan to watch the The White Princess next.   Obviously a stark contrast to Gossip Girl and The Carrie Diaries but all’s fair in love and entertainment right?

So what’s on your radar?  What are you listening to or watching and loving these days?  Do tell in the comments section down below!