What to read, what to watch

Ad infinitum

Emily Bader as Poppy in People We Meet on Vacation. Perfect casting?

My friend Alice recommended the 2020 indie film Shiva Baby to me and she judged her audience well. While at a shiva house (a sort of Jewish version of a wake) with her parents, college student, Danielle, has a hideously awkward encounter with her sugar daddy and her ex-girlfriend. Tense, claustrophobic and funny with extra credit for a tidy 78 minute run time. (Though maybe one or two points docked for crude stereotypes). All films should be 78 minutes long.

Danielle, played by Rachel Sennott, was good too. She has a new series coming out this year, I Love LA - ‘A tight-knit friend group gathers after years apart, navigating the complexities of ambition, relationships, and how time has changed them.’ A slightly bland synopsis but probably right up my alley.

I’ve been enjoying Platonic (Apple), a comedy series about two best friends (Rose Byrne and Seth Rogen) who reconnect after a rift. The appeal of the show is mostly Rose Byrne who is both gorgeous and very funny and wears the hell out of a series of shoulder-bearing tops.

In anticipation of the upcoming second season of Nobody Wants This (23rd October), I rewatched season 1 and found I had the total ick about Adam Brody’s character. Shame. Not only in The Ick episode itself but throughout the series. I still found the show entertaining, though and there are lots of good jokes. Let’s see if in season two, they can manage to depict at least one Jewish woman as something other than a conniving shrew.

I haven’t seen many Robert Redford films (I only watched All The President’s Men after he died) but his 1992 thriller Sneakers is fantastic and I happily watch it every few years. It’s a nerdy cyber crime heist with a ridiculous cast (River Phoenix, Sydney Poitier, Dan Ackroyd) and it’s full of brilliant set pieces. A good time at the movies.

I’ve obviously been watching Annie Hall and Something’s Gotta Give. This old interview with Diane Keaton on Fresh Air is also lovely.

A few books I’ve read/re-read recently and enjoyed:

Home Cooking by Laurie Colwin

A completely wonderful, comforting collection of memories, recipes, and tales from the kitchen. I love Laurie Colwin. You should read her novel, Happy All The Time too.

The Artist by Lucy Steeds

A young journalist arrives at a remote farmhouse in 1920s Provençe to interview a fabled and reclusive artist and finds himself entangled in the household’s mysteries and the “monstrous egos” within it. Reminiscent of The Safekeep which I’ve raved about here.

Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe

When she finds herself pregnant by her English professor and in need of cash fast, Margo comes up with a plan: she’ll start an OnlyFans as an experiment, producing content and writing storylines unlike anything else out there. Slightly bonkers fun.

Bitter Sweet by Hattie Williams

Another ingenue/professor affair novel but with a very different tone. A young book publicist finds herself in an all-consuming workplace affair with her literary idol. Very absorbing.

First Time Caller by B. K. Borison

Easy rom com homage to Sleepless in Seattle.

I’m about to start Welcome To Glorious Tuga by Francesca Segal and for Book Club, Flesh by David Szalay.

Ooh, the trailer is out for People We Meet on Vacation.

Are you looking forward to PWMOV? Does Adam Brody give you the ick? What have you been reading and watching recently? Do share in the comments.

See you next time,

Hannah