Four Fun Things

This is pretty old, but my teenage kids LOVED “My So-Called Life” with Claire Danes before she was a big star. We were all sad when it ended.

I didn’t like The Bee Sting, but I’ve thought about it a lot since. Don’t get the buzz about The Correspondent at all, but I just finished The Land in Winter by Andrew Miller, and it’s great. Not a happy read, it’s quiet, cosy, sad, interesting and I see why it was shortlisted for The Booker Prize. Also was a big fan this year of The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vyong, Nesting by Roisin O’Donnel, Memorial Days by Geraldine Brooks and The Burrow by Melanie Cheng (I like depressing books ha)

My kids are a wide age range and we are relatively careful, but have enjoyed the Star Wars shows together (including Bad Batch, which is actually very moving). Now my 9 year old is enjoying Abbott Elementary with me whenever I have to fold laundry. For the most part it’s fine for him or goes over his head! We also love Young Sheldon, but my 7 and 9 year old aren’t allowed to watch the last two seasons yet.
The Middle and All Creatures Great and Small have been on my list as potential family shows! My 13 year old daughter is the tricky one – she isn’t interested in much tv, but I’d love to share something with her. I tried showing her one of my favorites, Crash Landing On You, but she cringed too hard! 🤣

You must must must read The Correspondent by Virginia Evans. Best book of the year for me!

The Good Place was the best show to watch with my middle schoolers. So funny, so much to talk about, still contributing to inside jokes. I can always make her smile with MAXIMUM DERRICK when she’s grumpy! And on particularly bad days you can announce “THIS is the bad place!”

We just finished Schitts Creek together, I missed it when it was first out. That was a great one. And now I’m introducing her to Ted Lasso! Such a great way to talk about relationships and friendships.

I was looking forward to watching Gilmore Girls with my daughter but she’s only 8, i tried and 5 minutes into the first episode I realized she’s way too young for it , so saving that one up for early teens things we both enjoy are dani connor wildlife photograper videos , mary berrys country house secrets and her 86m2 all on youtube all wholesome and slow and interesting both for her and me also GBBO .

I’m in the “The Bee Sting” hive (ha). I’ll never forget that family. It was one of those books where I was dying to talk about it when I finished it. I wish my bookclub read it but no, my bookclub picks books I don’t like. Sigh.

Just Add Magic is a HUGE hit with my 11 yo daughter and even her 6 yo brother! I actually love it too!

The Dog House on HBO Max is a delight!

Watching Dexter with my 12 and 14 year old boys, it may not be 100% age appropriate, but they love it and I love cuddling with them on the couch ;)

I loved watching modern family with my teenager!

After Caroline Donofrio raved about Heart the Lover by Lily King on her substack, The Magic Hour, I immediately downloaded it and started reading. Just like her, I finished it in a day. SO good.

We’ve been all Bluey, all the time with my 5yo kid for a long time, but this month we just started watching Bertie Gregory’s National Geographic shows on Disney+ and are OBSESSED. The camera work, Bertie’s love for animals and enthusiasm for exploration, the cool ecosystems…unmatched!

Those with older teenage girls (boys too maybe!) might like to watch Call The Midwife. The characters are so good and it’s an excellent way to see how women’s role in society has changed.

Our family (ages 10-16, plus adults) have enjoyed Gravity Falls, The Owl House, and Skeleton Crew. We’ve also been working through The Muppet Show and Muppet movies.

Most of our shared screen time is actually youtube videos. We share misc favorites and love watching Daily Dose of Internet together. Nothing brings everyone to the family room like hearing “Hello, this is YOUR daily dose of internet…” :)

Best book I’ve read lately was The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett, closely followed by The Names by Florence Knapp. Read them back to back and felt so lucky to have landed on such incredible stories (sometimes I get back to back duds!). Also this spring and summer I read Claire Lombardo’s two novels: The Most Fun We Ever Had and Same As It Ever Was–both WAY too long, but still excellent (what can I say, I’m a sucker for family sagas and tales of maternal ambivalence!).

TV with kids: my daughter is 9 and we are finally watching things other than Bluey (although I love Bluey)! We got really into The Amazing Race and then started watching old seasons of Survivor. The psychological/sociological element of it all is fascinating and leads to very good conversations! We also just started Lego Masters and I’m surprised how much we love it, since none of us are into Lego. It’s entertaining and soothing at the same time (similar to Great British Bake Off). Oh, and one really good kids show that is not talked about enough: Kiff on Disney+! It’s hilarious, quirky, and has a ton of songs that were so obviously influence by the pop punk of our teen years (if you’re in your early 40s like me!)

I’m watching High Potential (starring Kaitlin Olson) with my 12 and 14 year old. It’s a good detective procedural (adapted from a French show!) we all like!

I just finished Regretting You by Colleen Hoover and it was sad, sweet, and sexy. A perfect rainy day read. I also read Hex by Jenni Fagan recently and I HIGHLY recommend it. Short, poetic, extremely aggravating but heartbreakingly necessary.

I’m another person who reads a lot of contemporary Irish lit and could not get through The Bee Sting. Reading all these comments about people who did or didn’t like it, I wanted to share that I once had the opportunity to interview Charles Bernstein, a major figure in 20th century poetry. He said he always encouraged students to think about if they liked a poem or not, and that it was fine either way and everyone should be empowered to make aesthetic judgements. It has nothing to do with being right or wrong. He compared it to liking food from one restaurant more than another. “That you could care about a poem as much as you care about your choice of hamburger is fundamental,” he said. I’ve always loved that.