my opinion matters

Because I read so much, not every book is a home run. Some are tedious and others are predictable, equally devastating sins for fiction. Sometimes I choose the wrong books and don't challenge myself to read something different. Even more disappointing, I sometimes judge books by their titles and covers and think they're something else without reading the description. Shame on me. My husband and I celebrate Jolabokaflod, an Icelandic tradition where you gift each other books on Christmas Eve, get in your pajamas, eat chocolate, and read. This past Christmas we had a 3-month-old baby at home and I didn't have time to choose books and my husband chose carefully from high-rated lists on Amazon, and he chose Klara and the Sun  for me, and I am forever thankful. It is rare to read a book that sticks with you and noodles around in your brain months later, and I believe that is the mark of successful fiction. Maybe it's shocking or sad or makes you think about things differentl

You would think since I’m so obsessed with The Circle that I would immediately know when Dave Eggers wrote a sequel. I blame my eight month old baby for not knowing when anything new comes out. Of course, I devoured this book as soon as I got it. Unfortunately, this one just went too far. There are cute references to Amazon and how they made a movie and it was terrible, but overall it was a bit of a mess. It’s unrealistic that Mae Holland would be the CEO. Sure, she is the reason Ty didn’t destroy everything, but I didn’t like that she was in the book at all. It’s like when a TV reboot references the old show too much, it comes across a bit pathetic. Like if you don’t have any more ideas, don’t write a second book.  To be fair, the reason I love The Circle is because it sounds great - I love tech and the book teetered in the edge of plausible spookiness in a way that was obliterated in The Every , with the weird clothes and the general mania and WHY was Francis back? Ridiculous. I kno

 My first blog post was in March 2008. Excuse my massive ego, but how awesome am I? So okay, I don't write all the time, and mostly it's about movies and books and TV, with one unfortunate positive post about Celebrity Apprentice , but that's 13 years, yo. I'm proud of that. So now that I have a new laptop and don't just have my iPhone, I will make a real attempt to write more, hopefully about something interesting. Ooh here's one. I've been watching The Great Pottery Throwdown  on HBO Max, and I love that show. I mean, anytime British people are baking or crafting, I'm here for it. But I don't know anything about pottery, so I was weary about this show. I mean, I tried the one where the people make knives and swords, and I tried the one about glass blowing, and neither of those worked for me. But there was something about watching people make ceramics on a pottery wheel that was really nice to watch. So of course, what's next? I think I want to

 When You  was published, it was like nothing I had ever read before, or since, for that matter. I was in the head of Joe Goldberg, an obsessive murdering stalker who made you root for him. And it was amazing. So amazing, that Netflix optioned it and made it into a series, which is equally amazing even if it doesn't follow the book plot the way all of us book nerds would like. Then Caroline Kepnes [who you should really be following on Twitter because she's hilarious] wrote a follow-up, also starring Joe Goldberg, titled Hidden Bodies . Because the first book was so amazing, I had high hopes for the second, which is usually disappointing. And this was too - the book was great, but not as great as the first, and I figured this is where the series would end. The writing was great but the plot was a little too fantastical. But I'm a huge fan of Kepnes, so when You Love Me , the third in the installment, was announced, I of course pre-ordered on Amazon because even if it was ba

My podcast will return. All the credit goes to my high school bestie Justin, who convinced me to start it up again. I'm currently trying out Anchor, which already is more fun than the app I used before, and so far is free. Even if it isn't, I think the cost is worth the fun. Topics welcome, but the first podcast will cover the Roseanne reboot, and whatever else I can think of at the moment. Podcasts are super fun. Still trying to figure out if I'm actually allowed to add music to it or not and if it has to be free. This app lets me add whatever I want from Spotify and I'm not sure that's okay. Anyway, I'm excited to start it up again. Starting to finally get out of my Hillary funk and back to the real world. That depression was legit.

I am addicted to watching television. In the grand scheme of things, it seems like no big deal, because it isn't illegal and technically I'm not doing any self-harm. Except that I am. My obsession is making my brain less functional, it's keeping me overweight, and it makes me less sociable and angrier. It ensures I do not meet my fitness goals because all I want to do is sit in front of the television and watch. And watch. And watch. And what am I getting out of it? I'm not enriching my life in any way. Watching Grey's Anatomy does not help me in my life, except maybe make me more of a hypochondriac, and trust me, if you ask my fiancé, that doesn't make anyone's life better. A few months ago I quit Hulu because I was annoyed at their pricing. The crazy thing is it didn't really bother me. At first I wondered what was happening on This Is Us or Scandal , but after a few weeks I realized I didn't care. It didn't affect my life in any of the w

My podcast no longer exists. I was using the Opinion app to record and publish my podcast, and they are closing down the app, which is a huge bummer because all of the other free options for hosting are, for lack of a better word, crappy. So I'm over it for now and will try to blog more. Speaking of which, I have now quit The Orville , Me Myself & I , and The Good Doctor . I have picked up Mom , inexplicably, and am watching all the old seasons of Will & Grace . The new one was funny but just not relevant anymore. I worry that's what will happen with new Roseanne  too, and that bums me out. I just want a really awesome show that is funny and dramatic and interesting. I want another LOST  that doesn't make horrible mistakes and end up in purgatory. I want another Terra Nova  that doesn't get canceled after one season. I want a new Gilmore Girls , Friday Night Lights  Season 1, Frasier , or something that actually makes me excited to watch it every we