Pretzel Bites: Quick hits on February favorites
My thoughts on books, streaming, podcasts
Have you ever noticed that you hang out with a friend or colleague long enough, conversation always steers to what you’ve been watching, reading, etc.? We are constantly looking for ways to connect and share experiences with each other. We also gain insights into another person if we know they enjoyed Breaking Bad or Love Island. Do they prefer Real Housewives or The Good Wife?
And, if we find a similar interest in a particular show, we find another avenue of conversation. I love the relationship between Roy and Keely or I couldn’t believe John Snow was dead. Our shared connection through entertainment is part of our modern humanity.
In that vain, here are my highlights for February.
Books:
The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece, Tom Hanks: I listened to America’s favorite uncle read his own novel. Normally, I always turn skeptic when a famous person decides to wrtie fiction. Is there a ghost writer hiding behind the scenes utilizing the famous brand to sell copies? In this case, I’m sure Hanks was provided all the resources needed, but this is his original idea and writing. I found the fictionalized description of the movie making process fascinating from source material to pre-production to casting to filming and beyond. There is an authenticity that can only be brought by someone who has had his fair share of showing up to work prepared and on time and solving problems (often caused by those who don’t). Recommend.
Thinking Fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman: I enjoy reading books on human behavior and how to get the most out of my own behavior. Through various social media channels, I heard this book provided great insights on perceptions and realities and I goaded my work book club to try it out. Typically, we take a quarter to read a book. For Thinking Fast and Slow, we took eight months and we still didn’t finish. Our discussion consisted of looking at summaries and sharing our thoughts. The text is so dense with research and concepts, none of us could internalize the information. It might be a great college course, but for us laypeople trying to understand ourselves better? Nope. If you are tempted to read, pick up a summary instead. Not recommended for light study.
Streaming
The Holdovers, Peacock: Alexander Payne and Paul Giamatti teamed up for the 2004 movie Sideways, creating an endearing collaboration. They continue in The Holdovers, which is up for Academy Awards. It’s the story of a student who is left to remain at a Northeastern boarding school over the holidays and his cranky teacher who has to stay there with him. Over the course of the break, they clash, but also find ways to connect in unexpected ways. The Holdovers has that Payne-style quirky humor and Giamatti plays the curmudgeon as only he can. Recommend.
You Hurt My Feelings, Prime: Oh boy, what if you wrote a book and your husband says he loves it, but you found out he didn’t? This movie shares the pitfalls and perils of small lies and communication. Do you want unquestioned support or an honest opinion? Do you want to give your kid real feedback or have them know you’re always behind them? For those of us heading into our post-kids phase of life, this is a great watch.
Sex Education, Netflix. This series is unabashedly sexual, but along with the hormonal moans and groans that make me uncomfortable, there is the truth of emotional navigation through anxiety that young people deal with every day. Weighty issues such as gender identity, assault, love, parental relationships, peer pressure, social status, and more are told through uncompromising and cringy humor. Recommend only if you are willing to be uncomfortable and challenged.
The Artful Dodger, Hulu: What happened to Fagin, Jack Dawkins and Oliver Twist fifteen years after the events of Oliver Twist? They move to a penal colony in Austraila. Dodger becomes a surgeon (a different profession in those days) and finds Fagin in his care as an indentured servant. I may have to re-watch Oliver to understand the prequel to this series. Recommend
Fool Me Once, Netflix: For seven episodes, I liked this show. Based on a Harlan Corben novel, it tells the story of a woman who discovers her murdered husband may be alive and that his murder may be tied to her sister’s murder the year before. With several twists and turns, it’s a pure thriler. But as the penultimate episode concluded with a final twist, my wife and I looked at each other… That didn’t make sense. At the end of the show, we were left with the question, What’s the point? Not Recommend
Podcasts
Signs You’re Dealing with a Narcissist, Mel Robbins podcast: The word narcissist is mentioned a lot. Whether it is our social media culture, our politics, or a colleague at work, we often label a person or a situation as a narcissist. Sometimes, we wonder if we, ourselves, are narcissist because we acted selfishly or are focusing too much on ourselves. In this podcast, Dr. Ramani Durvasala shares the varying shades of narcissism and how entitlement plays into it all. Recommend.
The Scarcity Brain, Rich Roll Podcast: Why do we incessantly check our phone? Why do we see people play slot machines hour after hour? How is eliminating boredom a bad thing? These are questions pondered in this fantastic episode. Our society is set up to make our lives easier, but that has consequences. Ingesting bad food. Ingesting up to 12 hours a day of digital content. Looking for escape from sitting with ourselves. We do enough on our own without companies manipulating us to give into these tendencies. Great listen. You’ll find yourself looking at your own tendencies and find ways to change.
Bonus Bite
Reality Bites, 1994. My wife and I met in college in the Fall of 1994. We were reminiscing about that time of our lives and the movies that reflected that time the most. We agreed this Winona Ryder, Ethan Hawke and Ben Stiller film is a quitissential Gen X movie. There’s the anxious existentialism, the battle between apathy and opportunity, art and commercialism. There’s also the babydoll dresses, the real threat of AIDS, coming out, and, of course, the music. What a great soundrack.
We rewatched with our 17-year-old daughter and it holds up quite well Apart from the Latoya Jackson psychic hotline, the suitcase phone, a landline, and Jeanine Garapolo’s unfortunate haircut, the messages today still resonate. There’s still anxiety over an unfortunate future, the pressure from parents (now us) to grow up and contribute immediately, and the choices between safe and love.
What are some of the movies that encapsulate your youth?
Lose Yourself Character Profile: Dana Peck
Dana Peck appears in the upcoming novel Lose Yourself, out April 2. She has appeared in the Short Story The Bright Lights of Cornhole.
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