Hey friends and happy Monday! I hope you all have had a wonderful Labor Day weekend! Am I the only one that is is still in shock that summer is officially over? I mean, here in South Carolina it’s still close to 90 degrees, so it hardly feels like fall. But regardless of the weather, I guess I’m ready for a new season. I’m definitely ready for This Is Us to make its way back into my life, but I think I’ll hold off on the pumpkin spice everything for a couple more weeks.
Today I’m popping in just to chat about all that I enjoyed reading, watching and listening to this summer. If you’re only here for design talk you may want to skip this post. I’ll be back to the regularly scheduled programming around here tomorrow. But if you enjoy book, movie and podcast recs as much as I do, let’s chat!
Books
I’m not much of a beach read type. Fluffy reads aren’t typically my thing. And this summer, while I didn’t log as much reading time as I would have liked, the two books I did dive into were pretty heavy.
Little Fires Everywhere
I loved Celeste Ng’s debut novel Everything I Never Told You, so I was excited to finally sit down and dive into her newest book, Little Fires Everywhere. And wow, once again, she did not disappoint with her story telling. In this story she seamlessly weaved so many completely different characters together that the fictional narrative reads more like the retelling of a true story. As a reader you can easily imagine her characters so vividly in your mind. This would make a wonderful story for a book club discussion!
There are so many different side stories happening with each character, but the main plot focuses on the fallout in a suburban Ohio community when a single mother and her daughter move into town and a custody battle ensues between a Chinese immigrant and a well-to-do couple.
Apparently Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington have teamed up to both star in and executive produce an eight-episode limited series adaptation for Hulu. And if this is done as well as Reese’s adaptation of Big Little Lies, this is going to be real good! I, for one, can’t wait!
Shelter
The only other book I had time to read this summer was Shelter by Jung Yun. This story was heart-wrenching and emotionally heavy to say the least. It’s a story of family secrets, shame and trauma. Although despite the plot twists you rarely see coming and the secrets, shame, anger, violence and trauma this story deals with, at it’s very core, it’s about the struggle to forgive.
Whether or not you’ve personally experienced any of the hard things this story deals with, the emotions are relatable. I enjoyed this book very much, but if you decide to read it be prepared for the story to linger. This is not a great book to read for anyone who craves a happy ending.
Movies
Do you ever rent movies via Amazon Prime? It’s less than the cost of a movie ticket, and once rented you’ve got 30 days to view and 24 hours to watch once you’ve started. It’s kind of like Blockbuster for modern times. 🙂
Tully
I wasn’t immediately drawn to this movie when it was being promoted. There was just something about the marketing of it that rubbed me the wrong way. I was like, okay, here we go, another comedy depicting motherhood as a hell hole. Like, how is that funny? But enough people that I follow on social media commented on the plot twist they didn’t see coming at the end of the movie, that my curiosity finally got to me.
And I’m glad I watched this movie. Personally, I think it was marketed horribly. This movie isn’t a comedy. at all. Sure, there are a few funny moments. But it’s mostly real and raw…and relatable. For any mother who has ever struggled with parenting a child that is ‘different’ this movie will tug at your heart strings.
But especially for those mothers who have experienced the foggy haze that comes after having a baby and been unable to shake it, for those that have struggled with post-partum depression, this movie will bring you to tears.
Even though I knew there was going to be a shocking plot twist at the end, I still wasn’t prepared for what it was. And it left me thinking for days. Have you seen it? What were your thoughts?
I Feel Pretty
It seems when it comes to Amy Schumer there are only two groups of people: fans or haters. But I find myself in the middle. I haven’t read her book, and I honestly haven’t seen a ton of her movies. But this movie was well done, in my opinion. Although I know she took some backlash from critics, I found it to be a sweet movie with a really great message ~ there is power in believing you are beautiful just the way you are, because you really are beautiful as you are! Amen to that!
Podcasts
The Bias Series of Smartest Person in the Room
Admittedly I’m not a huge podcast listener. If I’m going to listen to something other than music, it’s going to be an audiobook. But I follow Laura Tremaine on Instagram and was excited to see that she was doing a series on racial bias for her Smartest Person in the Room podcast.
In this 8 episode series, Laura and her friend Yasmin talk freely and openly about the racial issues many people would rather avoid discussing. And I really believe work like this is needed in our current culture climate.
What hit home the most for me after listening to the entire series was what a beautiful thing the nest of friendship really is. Within the safety of true friendship we can say hard things, listen to hard things, get it wrong, say things with passion, disagree….we can let our guard down and really connect.
This series is definitely worth a listen, and I think the underlying message or theme I took away from it is one I’ve truly believed for a long time ~ If everyone in your circle looks, thinks, acts, believes the exact same way as you do, you’re missing out on so much beauty in this life.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
What did you enjoy reading, watching and listening to this summer?
I listened to the Bias series when you first recommended it…so great! And ended up listening to several of Laura’s podcasts. Thanks for the recommendation! I’m putting one of these books and the movies on my list!