What I read and watched: March 2018

Back by popular demand..

Thank you for your feedback. <3

I wasn’t sure if it was helpful or not, so I thought I’d ask for some feedback, and some of you wrote in to say that you did find these posts helpful to figure out what book to read next, or new things to listen to or watch, so I’ll do it ad hoc, as I see how much I have piled up in a post…

WHAT I AM WATCHING

• Sherlock (BBC) – I am REWATCHING the episodes because they are freakin’ amazing.
• Top Chef – Obviously ending out the Finale. I loooooooove food and anything culinary.
• Big Bang Theory – Geekery. It is getting a bit stale for me though… but <3 Sheldon
• Project Runway Allstars – Fashion. Fashion. FASHION.
• The Good Fight – I love this sequel to The Good Wife. This is proving to be an addictive must-watch.
• This is Us – Again, the most addictive TV series of the season
• Modern Family – An “oldie” but a goodie, I really love the series
• BBC – How’d you get so rich

I still have on my list a movie to watch — The Glass Castle, because I LOVED the book so much that I need to watch the movie.. but I have to figure out a time to watch this movie. Episodes are fine, they’re short-ish, under 30 minutes or so, but movies are longggggg.

I’ve also been recommended to watch:

• Kim’s Convenience
• Salem – Update: too sweet for me
• Ozark
• Peaky Blinder’s

LITTLE BUN’S OBSSSSIONS

He still is too young for a whole movie (at least, so it seems)… so he has been hooked on these Youtube channels for kids:

• Super Simple Songs
• Barefoot Books – I heartily approve of this one, they’re committed to diversity.

WHAT I AM LISTENING TO

This song is really making my playlist over and over again – DJ Roc Slam It .. there are no lyrics, just a really good beat, good music to concentrate with and work to. I have it on repeat and it just makes me want to dance and rock out in my car (which I absolutely do)…

Another song I am obsessed with that is new-to-me is Maroon 5’s – What Lovers Do:

I didn’t like it at first, but now I’m starting to request it and play it a lot more often.

The Odds – Eat my brain is one that was in my list of songs but I only just re-discovered and LOVE singing along to..

And of course, I still love listening to Lauv – I like me better

…and Luis Fonzi’s Despacito is still a song I am not quite sick of.

Zedd, Maren Morris, Gray – The Middle randomly heard in a store..

Janelle Monáe – Make me feel found on a Blackish episode..

Little Bun’s obsession is now focused on this song (which he loved as a baby too): Caro Emerald – A night like this

He chooses it all the time to start the day off in the car. That, or this one: Imagine Dragons – Thunder…

These are all on MAJOR, MAJOR repeat in the car and when I am walking around doing my thang.

WHAT I READ

The Hate U Give

This. THIS BOOK IS EVERYTHING.

I cannot stop reading it, I cannot put it down. From page one I was hooked. I didn’t know if I would like it (a lot of recommended, famous books are blah for me, and I just can’t get past page one let alone chapter one).

But let me put it this way — Amazon readers (over 1000) rated it with 5/5 stars. PERFECT SCORE.

Thomas is a gifted, fabulous writer. This particular book is also very relevant to our times today with racism running rampant and what is happening worldwide.

I want to read all of Thomas’ books. She is so real, honest, and raw in her writing that you simply cannot pull your eyes away. I am reading as I am going to the bathroom, I am reading as I am walking, brushing my teeth.. seriously. Electric.

Truffle Boy

If you are interested in stories about hustling at a young age, making money, starting a business, tenacity, and finding ways out of difficult situations, learning how to find your dream, and not having started with anything handed to you, THIS BOOK DOES IT.

I know it is all about truffles, but really, the memoir and how he just found a passion – truffles — transcends it just being a “foodie book”.

I can’t put it down.

Also, I’m learning a lot of food stuff — did you know that pre-ground black pepper may have black olive pits in there!?

No you can’t touch my hair: And other things I still have to explain

I think this is mandatory reading for everyone. Phoebe very frankly and succinctly in a comedic tone of voice, touches on ALL ASPECTS of things we don’t want to discuss publicly in fear of…. I don’t know what.

Overt racism, hidden racism, things like: “Oh we want an actor, but not someone too dark please..” WTF IS THAT #%&#%? And then covering it up by saying: “Oh we’re not being racist, we just don’t want to deal with lighting issues..”

Like lighting a human who happens to have a dark skin colour?

Nonsense. The book opens your eyes to a small fraction of what black people have to deal with. I learned.. A LOT. Especially about black hair. I had no idea. #MuchRespect

The Honest Toddler

Are you a parent? Of a child under 5? Then read this and laugh your ass off.

I was reading this during lunch, during one of my “yes, I am skipping yoga again because I have a cold, and it is snowing, PLUS I have meetings in between don’t judge me” lunchtimes, and I could not stop reading it.

HILARIOUS.

Little Bun thankfully does not to ALL of the things mentioned, but he does some of it.

The one thing I am proud of, though.. is that when we go to the grocery store, he never cries or screams for candy, cereal, juice, etc.

Why?

We never introduced it, and he has no freakin’ idea what it is, so he never cries or throws himself as a Jelly Blob on the floor making a “loud response” (read the book LOL) to try and get his object of desire.

This will DEFINITELY change as he ages and is exposed to all of this packaged food and candy, opening a world of delightful junk food for him to discover, but for now, I am thankful my grocery trips are scream-free.

What he likes, is arranging things on the shelves. Putting them in order, taking them out, putting them back in.. he could spend hours in the hair dye aisle.

Out of Line

I did not particularly enjoy the first half of the book of her biography ONLY because it just didn’t grab me in, or resonate with me (for some reason) the way other chef bios do / did even though their cultural upbringings are wildly different.

Where I really got interested was midway through when she #LikeABoss built an empire and KILLED IT. I mean.. page turner or what!?!?

I kept reading about all of her fantastic ideas (zero education, awesome business acumen), and am thoroughly impressed by this fantastic woman at the end.. which is the whole point of it right?

I couldn’t put the book down once she hit building her empire.

Oh, and she’s also a lesbian in an unconventional relationship with a man who is her companion and the father of her daughter. Love it.

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Here are all of my other What I read posts.