Reading, Watching, Listening (March 2020)

READING

(1) The Yellow House: A Memoir - I know a memoir of a house sounds like a boring book (or at least I thought so), but almost every 2019 “best of” list included The Yellow House, so I still wanted to read it. And I was not disappointed. Somehow Sarah Broom’s description of her family’s life and history in New Orleans was hard to put down. Lots think about (especially regarding poverty on a macro and micro level), plus so many great stories.

(2) She Was Like That: New and Selected Stories - I fell in love with Kate Walbert years ago, when I read M&M World in the New Yorker (especially since my kids were obsessed with said ridiculous store in Times Square). As summarized by the New York Times, Kate Walbert built this story collection around “the theme of mothers yearning for something, and I use that rather abstracted word advisedly. What do they yearn for? They’ll know it when they see it. Maybe?”

(3) Girl, Woman, Other - I didn’t expect to love this book as much as I did. Each chapter is a history of a different fictional woman (well, mostly of women - one narrator rejects the idea of gender and another is a gay male). Their lives all intersect in both expected and unexpected ways (lots of mothers and daughters). Each character is unique, both in background and in perspective - you’re bound to love some and hate others, but the writing is amazing and made me appreciate how multi-layered an average life is.

(4) Such A Fun Age - I’m still processing this one. It’s about a black babysitter who works for a wealthy white couple. Or maybe it’s about how white people treat black people. Or maybe it’s about middle-age and life and trying to figure out who you want to be. There’s a lot to unpack. I’m still working it out.

(5) Catch & Kill - Ronan Farrow’s memoir of how he uncovered the Weinstein story (and how NBC cut off his reporting) gave me the chills. The writing could have been better (it read like Farrow rushed to publish). Still, I binged the entire book in two days. I couldn’t put it down. Weinstein even had the NYC police helping him commit crimes. It’s so horribly bizarre. Everyone was on his payroll.

(6) Fleishman is in Trouble - This book begins as yet another story about a middle-aged male (i.e. Philip Roth and Saul Bellow) , but a female friend narrates the book and eventually the story includes her perspective as well. And becomes about women. And about how nobody listens to us. I made Dan read it, as I feel like this book gets to the core of so many female/male relationships and cliches.

WATCHING

(1) UnBelievable (Netflix) - I heard a lot of buzz regarding Unbelievable (a mini-series about a foster child who reports her rape and nobody believes her), but I put off watching it because the story sounded so depressing. I’m so glad I finally changed my mind and watched, as the show is also a fantastic crime story - featuring two female detectives working together to catch a serial rapist. I couldn’t stop watching.

(2) SMILF (Showtime) - I can’t understand why more people don’t like this show. All the characters keep making bad decisions, but you still root for them.

(3) Jo Jo Rabbit (in theaters) - Several critics seemed to hate this move (about a 10 year old German boy, during the end of World War II, who imagines Hitler as his best friend), but our whole family loved it. Maybe because Trout’s 10 and we still see that age as something magical. I really liked that the movie combines comedy and drama (a dramedy, I guess), so you find yourself laughing (really laughing, not just giggling) through the tears.

(4) Cheer (Netflix) - A documentary about the nation’s best cheerleading squad (who attend a community college in Texas). I know it doesn’t sound that interesting, but you fall in love with all the kids.

(5) Mrs. Fletcher (HBO) - Still not sure what to make of this HBO series about a mother’s sexual awakening, which occurs after her only son leaves for college. The show switches focus between the oh-so-likeable mother (played by the always-amazing Kathryn Hahn) and her asshole teenage son and makes you thinkabout what it means to be sexual in current times (what’s okay? what’s not okay? what should be not-okay?).

(6) Little Women (theaters) - When I heard Greata Gerwig remade Little Women my first thought was, “how many times do we have to resurrect this old story?” But I really enjoyed her other film, Ladybird, so I hoped for the best. And now I want to watch this movie again and again. If you ask me, each scene is a little masterpiece. And the relationship between Jo and Laurie seems so real and fresh. Have you seen Greta Gerwig talking about this scene? I love her.

LISTENING

(1) Jenny Lewis, On the Line - I can’t stop playing the song Heads Gonna Roll. I’m not sure why. I can’t even explain what it’s about. ( what kind of lyrics are these - “Smoking Marlboro cigarettes/Almost makes me forget about/Riding on a private jet with you/I hope the sycophants in Marrakesh/Make you feel your very best/Anonymity must make you blue”? ). But Jenny Lewis’s voice is addictive. Like a storyteller. The rest of the album is great as well, even if I don’t understand it.

(2) Brittany Howard - This album makes you feel like you’re in a New Orleans jazz club discovering the best singer you’ve ever heard.

(3) American Utopia on Broadway - I love David Byrne. “This Must Be the Place” is my favorite song. And I really really wanted to see his show on Broadway. But we didn’t make it to the first run. So I keep listening to the album instead.

(4) Dolly Parton’s America (podcast) - I wish I listened to more podcasts. It’s on my to-do list but I rarely get into them (any good recommendations?). Anyways, I still haven’t finished all the episodes, but I found this to be a great take on what it means to be an American (and/or a Dolly fan).

(5)Lana Del Rey - Norma Fucking Rockwell - This is depressing. Why are all Lana Del Rey songs SO DEPRESSING? But still I love her. And her sad, feminist lyrics.

(6) Taylor Swift, Lover - When the kids were little we listed to TS constantly, I still know all the lyrics to 22. Then the pre-teen years began and TS, along with Katy Perry, faded from our Spotify. But I watched her documentary on Netflix and fell back in love with Taylor. The new album is upbeat, happy, and fun. Perfect background music for editing photos.

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So those are my recommendations. What about everyone else? Have you come across anything interesting lately?

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Darcy Troutman Photography is a Northern VA/Washington DC/Maryland documentary-style family photographer, who believes in capturing real moments. Interested in learning more? Please click here to sign up for my newsletter or schedule a session.