This year I want to do something new!
I was laying in bed the other night procrastinating sleeping when an article idea popped into my head. My lovely friends Carolyn and Will have this thing where they recap their “media of the week” to me during our family dinners. They tell me all of their favorite songs, TV shows, books, and movies they’ve absorbed over the week and it is always an entertaining event. I knew then that it would be a perfect thing to write about but do it every month. So here’s to a new series of articles published monthly called “Grace’s Media of the Month” starting off strong with January.
Music
SOS by SZA & my favorite songs: “Low”, “Gone Girl”, “F2F”, and “Nobody Gets Me”
Midnights by Taylor Swift & my favorite songs: “Bejeweled”, “You’re on Your Own Kid”, “Lavender Haze”, and “Glitch”
Everything to Everyone by Renee Rapp & my favorite songs: “Too Well”, “Colorado”, and “In The Kitchen”
Marginalia by Ella Jane & my favorite songs: “7”, “You Shouldn’t Have Said That”, “Sore Loser”, and “Warhol”
Other songs: “Nonsense” by Sabrina Carpenter, “Less Than Zero” by The Weeknd, “SOMEONE ELSE’S PROBLEM” by Ruel, “Moves” by Suki Waterhouse, “You’re so Vain” by Carly Simon and “What If I Love You” by Gatlin
Books
My goal for 2023 is to read 50 books after hitting my goal of 30 in 2022…let’s see if I can do it! January’s total came to 4 books and my favorite was She Gets the Girl by Rachel Lippincott. Classic enemies to lovers/strangers to friends trope, Alex and Molly both help each other win the girl of their dreams and end up falling in love in the process- super cute read. It was a solid romcom that shook things up in terms of conventions and kept me interested. Check it out! I also read Eileen by Otessa Moshfegh, Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass by Lana Del Rey, and The Virgin Suicides by Jeffery Eugenides.
Television
Okay so I technically watched this in December, but I just had to add it in. The White Lotus on HBO is seriously worth your time. It is awkward, funny, weird, and has a stacked cast. The story follows a number of couples/characters and details their time at the hotel they’re staying at. Jennifer Coolidge really puts the cherry on top of the show- she’s absolutely hilarious. I have also been binging Designated Survivor on Netflix. It is a fun and hokey show if you need some background noise. However, a show that isn’t background noise is The Last of Us on HBO. And when I tell you I thought it was going to be all fun and games and kill zombies and stuff, I was not ready for the emotional damage the third episode was going to put me through. Safe to say I was in shambles. Still amazing, but absolutely heart wrenching
Movies
I watched a few movies in January but Crazy Rich Asians was by far my favorite. For some reason I had never gotten around to watch it when it came out in 2018, but gosh I wish I would’ve sooner. It was SO CUTE and I just loveeee Constance Wu. I was also obsessed with the set design and costuming, it was magical. I was so excited to see the dress that I saw in person when I visited Warner Brothers Studios this past summer. They had a display with costumes from the movie and I told my mom while watching, “We saw that dress in real life!” So awesome. If you haven’t seen it yet, please go watch. It was a much needed breath of fresh air and so hilarious.
Overall, I had a fun month of media with lots of variety. I am happily on my way to watching 100 movies and reading 50 books. This series will be a good way to hold myself accountable. Now go watch/read/listen to some of these and thank me later! Happy media consuming my lovelies!