RWL

  • Reading Watching Listening,  Recommendations,  RWL

    Reading Watching Listening

    Reading… What Happened by Hillary Clinton. It’s important. Watching… Good Girls Revolt. Fantastic writing. Kickass costumes. This show will make you want to stand up for something. And that is just about the most important thing these days. Listening… The The Is Us soundtrack. It’s so good. So. Good. For a show that makes me cry every single episode, the soundtrack makes me oddly happy. Plus, I’ve been waiting years for a new song from Mandy Moore, and she kills it on her cover of “Willin'”  

  • Reading Watching Listening,  Recommendations,  RWL

    Reading Watching Listening

    Reading… Wine. All the Time. by Marissa A. Ross. The book has blurbs from both Mindy Kaling and Leandra Medine, so OBVIOUSLY I was going to get it. And it’s great. I’m now swirling and smelling and sipping and taking tasting notes. I’ve learned A LOT. Plus Ross is hilarious and I kind of want to be her best friend. Watching… Fleabag. WHY DIDN’T I WATCH THIS SOONER!? Phoebe Waller-Bridge is brilliant. It’s dark. It’s twisted. It made me sob. Really sob. The pacing is so spot on. The comedic rhythm is just off kilter in a way that works so well. Breaking the fourth wall has never worked so…

  • Reading Watching Listening,  Recommendations,  RWL

    Reading Watching Listening

    Reading… Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick. I would like to be best friends with Kendrick, please and thank you. This book is hilarious and smart.   Watching… Company. I’m am fully on board basically any time I can watch a filmed version of a stage musical. It’s as close as I get to Broadway. The cast in this production is phenomenal (though my deep love for Raúl Esparza may make me a touch biased…).   Listening… The soundtrack to Violet. It’s weird. It’s good. It’s Sutton Foster.

  • Reading Watching Listening,  RWL

    Reading Watching Listening

    Reading… And I Alone Survived to Tell You by Sylvia Hamilton. I picked up Hamilton’s latest poetry collection in the fall when I was in Nova Scotia (it was published by Gaspereau Press in Kentville, NS and I picked up a copy in Wolfville). I went to a poetry event that she was at on Tuesday, so in preparation I finally sat down and read it. It is astonishing and powerful poetry.   Watching… Ballet 422. I finally got around to watching this documentary about Justin Peck choreographing a new work for the New York City Ballet. It’s wonderful. Of course, as someone who is a major fan of ballet,…

  • Reading Watching Listening,  Recommendations,  Required Reading,  RWL

    Reading Watching Listening

    Reading… Still nothing of note right now, so instead I am going to reach back to the fall and recommend Spinster by Kate Bolick to y’all. It is so incredibly good. I loved every page of it. It’s one of those rare books that lived up to all of the hype I had heard and then surpassed that bar.   Watching… Chicago Fire and Chicago PD. It is a damn good thing that I have little interest in medical shows, otherwise I would need to add Chicago Med to the list as well. These shows are phenomenal. I started PD because of the lovely Sophia Bush, and quickly realized I needed to watch Chicago…

  • Reading Watching Listening,  Recommendations,  RWL

    Reading Watching Listening

    Reading… Al Purdy. I’ve been frantically trying to track down one. specific. poem. In the process, though, I took some time to finally read through the selected poems my parents bought me. It’s been a nice reminder of why I number him among my favourite Canadian poets.   Watching… Bunheads. Guyyyyyyyyyyyyyys, how had I not watched this show before now!? Kelly Bishop is a goddess. And Sutton Foster is so fantastic in this show. And Amy Sherman-Palladino writes such fabulously smart and hilarious dialogue and creates quirky, delightful worlds. Plus, any Gilmore Girls devotee is going to love the number of actors who appear on both shows.   Listening… “God Bless…

  • Reading Watching Listening,  Recommendations,  Required Reading,  RWL

    Reading Watching Listening

    Reading… Almost Famous Women by Megan Mayhew Bergman. I actually started this book of short stories, the second from Mayhew Bergman, in the summer. I loved it so much that I bought it for one of my best friends this Christmas. Then the other day I was moving books on my nightstand and realized I HADN’T ACTUALLY FINISHED IT. So I’m making my way through the last couple stories now and still totally loving it. Mayhew Bergman creates truly fascinating characters in her writing, and her chosen subjects in this collection captivate me.   Watching… Seinfeld. This show has been on my “to watch” list for quite some time now…

  • Reading Watching Listening,  Recommendations,  Required Reading,  RWL

    Reading Watching Listening

    Reading… Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World’s Most Famous Bear by Lindsay Mattick, illustrated by Sophie Blackall. Yes, this is a children’s book. No, I don’t have a child. I do, however, have a deep love for Winnie the Pooh, so as soon as I saw this book I snapped it up. The story is both true and sweet, and the illustrations are beyond adorable.   Watching… The Office. Canadian Netflix finally added this show, and I can’t get enough of it. Jim and Pam are pretty much all of my relationship goals. John Krasinski is adorable. BJ Novak is adorable. And Mindy Kaling is my spirit animal.…

  • Reading Watching Listening,  Recommendations,  Required Reading,  RWL

    Reading Watching Listening

    Like the weekly reading series I introduced on Wednesday, this is another returning personal favourite series. Part recommendation, part record for myself. Reading... I’ve started some reading for a contract research position at a museum, so just yesterday I re-read Margaret Atwood’s “The Age of Lead” from Wilderness Tips. It’s a surprisingly touching story from a collection that I would argue is some of Atwood’s best writing. Watching… I started re-watching One Tree Hill over the Christmas break. Sometimes a girl just needs a good dose of teen-oriented soap opera-esque drama supported by a kick ass soundtrack and the prodigious use of “meaningful” quotations. I’ve also been actively trying to convince myself…