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Tuesday, March 24, 2020

What I've Read & Watched Recently



I do these posts a few times a year, but man does it seem even more necessary today? I've been consuming more television and reading more because of coronavirus and I'm sure you are too! Let me know if you'v read/watched any of this or if you have a suggestion for me — xoxo darling, Hayden.

W A T C H E D

Hunters — This show seems to be fairly controversial but let me say, I didn't mind it. Yes, there were scenes I found I couldn't watch but as a whole it wasn't as gory/awful as people had warned me. What I loved most was the scenery and costumes — set in the 1970s, it's just amazing. There are some pretty epic twists and turns that you probably won't see coming as well. I say try watching it and see how you feel after that. 

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina — Season three of this kind of insane show was yet another one for the books. Do I think it's absurd? Absolutely, but there is something about it that I love. Maybe it's because I watch it when I fly and it totally takes me out of the cramped seats and uncomfortable companions? Plus, I love the clothes...Sabrina's wardrobe is perfection. 

Love Is Blind — I realize pretty much everyone has seen this reality show about couples not seeing each other face-to-face until they're engaged. But I thought I'd mention that my roommate and I basically binged watched it in two days and were obsessed. Giannina was our favorite purely based on her clothes, she pulled off amazing outfits! The whole concept terrifies me, I would never want to do a relationship so quickly but it was interesting to watch the couples struggle with normal day problems after having met in such an odd way. I'm rooting for the couples that got married (and at the time of publishing this) are still married. 

To All The Boys: P.S. I Still Love You — How cute. While, in my opinion, not as good as the first one, it was adorable. I love the clothing and just the colors that the movie is shot in. But I will say I thought the ending was a little too quick? But dang, I want a Peter to show up because I hate driving in the snow too! 

Miss Americana — For most of my life I've been a Taylor Swift fan. There was a brief part when I acted like I thought she was annoying because #peerpressure, but I still stood her in the background. And I think this documentary really sheds light on her struggles both as a musician and as a woman. It also shows that you should basically never cross her because she keeps every receipt and often comes out on top. I'm so glad she finally feels comfortable discussing politics and more controversial topics because we should all feel comfortable to do so. 

Schitt's Creek — The final season is making me cry happy tears (and sad tears, re: Alexis). I adore this show and everything about it is perfect. If you have yet to watch...where have you been? But also, you can binge it on Netflix so get on that during quarantine. Who's y'all's favorite character? Mine is Moira. 

Briarpatch — This show is just plain weird, which is why I like it. Set in a small border town in Texas, the main character's sister (a cop) is blown up in a car bomb, so she goes down to investigate. What happens next involves escaped zoo animals, drugs, human trafficking, arms dealers, dirty cops, dirty city council people and more. I love the cinematography of it and there's a whole lot of being Texas that makes me happy...oh and cute giraffes! 

Fleabag — I'm very late to the Fleabag world, but holy cow is this show funny! I binged it in like three days, and that was me trying to limit myself. It's really short (two season of eight short episodes). The first season you kind of hate everyone but the second season redeems them. It centers on a main character who is emotionally traumatized from her mother and best friend dying. Her older sister is an overachiever that knows her marriage is bad, but can't seem to get out of it. The dad is clueless and the main character is a sex addict...yeah. Olivia Coleman as the mean step mom might be my favorite character. It's a must-watch if you're a woman I think — she goes through so much that is so normal for us but you don't see in most shows/movies.

Jojo Rabbit — What an odd film. But also what a good film. There was a pretty epic twist I didn't see coming about halfway through the movie and other than that it was kind of hilarious. The little kid was adorable and Sam Rockwell truly stole the show in my opinion. If you find Hitler humor uncomfortable I would avoid at all costs, but if you can see humor in horrible situations, I say give it a go.

Ford vs. Ferarri — Okay, I loved this film. I knew, literally, nothing about racing, I had to ask my family a ton of questions about the differences between Formula One and Nascar, but oh my goodness, the acting! And the situations, and the devastating ending! All so good. It's a must-watch even if racing cars isn't your thing!  

Gavin and Stacey — As y'all know I'm a big Zoella fan, and that woman is obsessed with Gavin & Stacey so I thought I'd try it out. I was not disappointed. All three seasons are on Amazon Prime, and it's just a sitcom about Gavin and Stacey falling in love, being from two different parts of the UK and the troubles that come with that. The parents are my favorites and James Corden is hilarious. It's lighthearted and good to binge when you're feeling down. 

Hit & Run — My girlfriends and I did our first ever Netflix Party last week and watched this very 2010s rom com. It's Dax Shepard & Kristen Bell (one of my favorite celeb couples) and basically Dax is a criminal in witness protection and Kristen is a professor with a job interview in LA (where Dax committed his crimes). So, the movie is about him getting her there while being followed by cops and the criminals he sent away. It's lighthearted and kind of just what you need in these times. 

Brockmire — If you like dirty humor, and I mean dirty, Brockmire is for you. My whole family loves it, and it is on it's final season. It centers around Brockmire, a baseball commentator who does everything wrong. He says inappropriate stuff, gets banned from baseball more than once and is an addict of pretty much everything. The best season, in my opinion, was last year's where he's in Florida for spring training and it's so accurate. 

Building Chernobyl's Megatomb — I just watched this as part of my 61 in 1001! And it was fascinating. If you don't know anything about Chernobyl, I highly recommend reading the Wiki page (I know it's not the most accurate source, but it's pretty accurate) and watching the HBO mini-series because it was so good! This documentary, by PBS' NOVA, is about the creation of the large structure to cover the old sarcophagus because it was deteriorating rapidly and if it collapsed it would have released even more radioactive waste into the air. The structure they built was the largest ever moved on land and I just sat enraptured by the whole thing. 

R E A D

My Italian Bulldozer — What a cute novel this was. It's kind of Peter Mayle meets Under the Tuscan Sun. Centered around a food writer, the plot involves his break up and subsequent move to Italy to finish his cookbook. He thinks he falls in love with an American, but really she leads him to discovering someone else in his life and I really liked the practicality of it all. Plus, the food sounds amazing and the scenery sounded beautiful. 

Aunt Dimity & the Widow's Curse — Okay, a new series I'm really into are these Aunt Dimity books! I don't really remember how I found them, but Aunt Dimity is a ghost in a notebook...you have to suspend you mind a bit but she doesn't play the biggest part in the book. Mainly it's about Lori, who has the Aunt Dimity notebook and her life in a tiny English village. It's kind of like Agatha Rasin but a little sweeter. Lori has two boys and a baby girl, plus, an adoring husband and father-in-law. She goes around figuring out tiny town problems and it's just adorable. 

Comfort Me With Apples — I've loved Ruth Reichl since I first read Garlic & Sapphires and it changed my life. Unlike that book, this one show's her raw emotions in such a refreshing way. She talks about heartbreak, cheating, loss, love and, of course, food. I loved it and I cried, which is pretty rare for me when reading. 10/10 recommend. 

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle — Alright, people love this book. And I was not the biggest fan. First of all, I was confused for the first quarter of the book, then I got into it, then I disliked the ending. Some of my friends really liked it, compared it to Black Mirror, but I just couldn't find my peace with it. The descriptions are great and the concept is really interesting. I think you should give it a try, plus, it's long so good for the quarantine! 

Die Like an Eagle — Another edition of one of my favorites, Meg Langslow, this one centers around her twin boys little league baseball team. Of course, someone is murdered and insanity ensues. What I love most about these books is the sense of community. It's this adorable little southern town with issues but they all seem to band together. And I love Meg's insane family, they throw parties at the drop of a hat like they're professional party planners.

The Sentence is Death — I will admit, I've read this series out of order, meaning this is the second book and I read it first. But I really liked it. Horowitz wrote some of my favorite books as a kid (Alex Rider) and I watched Foyles War, one of the show's he wrote. This book is a weird combo of his real life — he's on the set of the show — and a fictional detective. One of the reasons I loved it was the references to real London things (restaurants, parks, etc) because I could look them up and know exactly what he was talking about. The story itself has like three red herrings, which I love! And I didn't know who did it until he revealed it to me, a huge plus for me. 

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