Everything I Read, Listened To and Watched in February
Hi all!
Things are weird. As I write this, it seems like we are definitely in WWIII and simultaneously, a civil war of sorts. My aforementioned obsession with the Epstein files and Kathy Ruemmler continues. And last month, Eric Dane, James Van Der Beek and Catherine O’Hara—all important cultural figures in my Gen X life—tragically passed away. Frankly, everything seems dark and pointless.
But life must persist. Joy must be sought. When I read a beautiful novel or see an adorable raccoon video on Instagram, I’m reminded of the critical need to counter my ingestion of war and death and murder and incompetent orange buffoons with art and love and animals and fashion. Additionally, I tell myself: I must especially keep working on Draft 4 of my second novel to prevent myself from endlessly refreshing gmail to see if an agent will ever, ever get back to me on my first.
And thus, in February, I indulged in many great books, watched some excellent TV and listened to A+ podcasts.
Here is my quick review:
Everything I Read in February
Audition by Katie Kitamura: Criminally short (200 pages). I still don't "get" it and may never . . but I liked it! In two parts, it’s about an actress, her husband and a young man who works with her on a play and claims to be her son. Her writing style is very unique.
Heart the Lover by Lily King: Slightly longer than Audition at 256 pages but still a good 100 pages short of my novel-length expectations. Very propulsive, and made me cry (which doesn’t happen often). I didn’t realize the characters were connected to those in Writers & Lovers so would like to re-read. Euphoria will always be my favorite Lily King novel, though.
Playworld by Adam Ross: A nice thick juicy coming-of-age in NYC novel (500 pages +). Set in the late 1970s following a teenage child actor navigating home, school and work (and an illicit affair with a family friend his mother’s age), it was really troubling and beautifully written (though the ending seemed a little abrupt?)
Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman: I am such a sucker for productivity books, especially those with Zen undertones. I heard him on a podcast years ago and picked up this book - it gave me a lot to think about (I also enjoy his Substack).
The Academy by Elin Hilderbrand: I’ve listened to every excellent episode of her Books, Beach and Beyond podcast, and admire her uber-discipline and work ethic and boss vibes, but realized I haven’t read one of her books in years. I picked up this new one, written with her daughter Shelby - it’s juicy, fast, boarding school vibes, easy read, and taught me about Snapchat and GenZ behaviors like a pulpy sociology book. I will definitely read the sequel when it comes out this fall.
A Separation by Katie Kitamura: I so rarely read two books by the same author in a month but because Audition was too short (see above) and I didn’t completely understand the point of it, I needed more of this author, so picked up this one about a woman looking for her husband in Greece and I am pleased to say I understood it. Yay!
Everything I Watched (Or Attempted To Watch) in February
Gracie is skeptical
I so rarely watch movies and couldn’t summon the motivation to continue watching One Battle After Another or Sinners after the first 30 minutes of each. One Battle confused me (was Sean Penn’s character supposed to be funny??), and in Sinners, there is a gnarly snake scene and that is just something that will never, ever appeal to me. I almost stopped Yellowstone for this very reason. If you’ve finished them, please tell me if it’s worth the commitment and if there are any other snakes in Sinners!
Instead, I rewatched Homeland and made it through Season 6 mid-way before it turned into reality with the Iran situation and I had to stop. I would really feel much better about the current war if I knew Carrie and Saul were in charge of everything.
Famous Last Words: Eric Dane (on Netflix) made me bawl and bawl! I’ve been a fan since McSteamy, admired his work in Euphoria (which is coming back soon-yay!), and I am very sad about his passing, especially how it will impact his daughters. This show was as excellent as the Famous Last Words: Jane Goodall episode. God bless Brad Falchuk for doing these.
To counter the terrorism of Homeland and the grief of watching people’s last words, I started my THIRD rewatch of Schitts Creek in honor of the magnificent Catherine O’Hara. Every single uniquely-inflected word she says as Moira still makes me laugh out loud. She was such a treasure. I still wish I had her and David’s wardrobe.
RIP Queen Catherine
February’s Favorite Podcasts
I’m sure you all already listen to Good Hang which is, in tenor, as sweet and funny at Schitts Creek. I have loved every single episode and consider Amy Poehler one of my closest (parasocial) friends.
My bestie, Amy
My go-to get-ready-in-the morning podcast is Aspire with Emma Grede. I feel like Emma and her guests would really “get” the novel I’m currently querying about a balls-out female founder who wants nothing more than to turn the wellness jewelry company she started with her best friend into a billion-dollar brand. I especially loved the Issa Rae episode and how Issa explained “I just want to create people’s favorite shit.” I now have a post-it reminding me of my same purpose.
I also loved Margot Robbie on Smartless. Those boys rarely know how to interview a woman and I stopped my regular listening months ago because Jason and Will are too mean to Sean, but I had to push play on this one. She is so cool and talented. I will def watch Wuthering Heights when it is available to stream.
