Recommendations Aren’t for Everyone
I keep a TBR list on my phone. I also keep a watch list. Lately, I’ve been wondering if that second list needs to go.
People read books and watch shows for all kinds of reasons. As I mentioned last month, I pay attention to stories that make me feel. I tend to prefer straightforward entertainment over artistic interpretation. Sometimes those overlap, but not often. And if something is billed as an art film, it probably is not for me. Same goes for slapstick humor, but that is a different conversation.
Different things entertain different people. I have writer friends with impeccable taste who recommend books and shows all the time. I dutifully scribble them down, fully expecting to be enlightened. And then… I finish them and wonder what exactly I missed.
This month I read a celebrity-book-club pick and watched several movies billed as dark comedy. My conclusion was not exactly groundbreaking, but it was clarifying: these things did not make me feel.
Lightbulb moment? No.
Am I a glutton for punishment? Maybe.
Do I know what I don’t like? YES.
Here’s the rundown of what I consumed this month. Your mileage may vary.
🎧 How to Read a Book by Monica Woods
People make mistakes. Sometimes those mistakes change their lives forever. But if they let others help, they have a chance to course-correct. I was hooked from the beginning and loved every page (or however you say the equivalent for an audiobook).
🎧 The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller
This was a case of an unlikable main character for me. The writing is strong, and the story is twisty in ways I hope never happen, though they probably do. But I disliked Elle. Yes, bad things happened to her, but that did not excuse how she treated other people. My book club agreed. No one really enjoyed this one.
🎧 My Friends by Fredrik Backman
Backman is one of my go-to authors. I know his multiple POVs and ordinary-day settings are not for everyone, but they work for me. This one reminded me what it feels like to be young, with your whole life ahead of you, and still need a kick in the pants to move forward.
My dark comedy attempts
📺 If I Had Legs, I’d Kick You
I empathized with Linda, but wow, this one makes moms look unhinged. Which Linda is not. What it does show well is how moms, working or not, often end up doing the bulk of the work at home and with the kids. The real winner here was James, the drug-dealer-next-door-neighbor-pseudo-babysitter.
📺 Wolfs
This was entertaining mostly because it felt like watching George Clooney and Brad Pitt hang out on a Saturday night. The premise of two fixers hired for the same job did not feel comedic to me. I do wonder whether I would have responded differently if it had been billed as action instead of action-comedy.
📺 Bugonia
A successful woman in a corporate environment being accused of being an alien is not exactly a premise I was destined to love. And I definitely did not see the ending coming. Looking back, I understand why it was labeled dark comedy. While I was watching it, though, I was mostly just sad. Sad for people who believe conspiracy theories. Sad for people who cannot think for themselves. Sad for people trying to do the right thing without knowing what that is. Also, Emma Stone is extremely convincing as a bad girl.
📺 Blue Moon
Since I played Laurie in Oklahoma! in high school, I thought I understood what this movie was about. I did not. Ethan Hawke plays Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers’s former writing partner, at a point when Hart is clearly in decline. It is a thinker. Slow-paced, heavy on dialogue, full of meaning. I appreciated the story. I just did not find much comedy in this so-called comedy-drama.
Thankfully, the month was not a total loss.
Comedy for the win
📺 Rooster
Steve Carell. Need I say more? Probably not, but I will. Carell plays an author struggling to understand what people see in him and his books. He takes a job at the university where his daughter and ex-wife work, and actually funny things happen. I have only watched the first four episodes, but I am in. Bonus: it has already been renewed for a second season. My favorite character is Archie, the son-in-law you love to hate.
📺 Abbott Elementary
My daughter had been telling me to watch this, and I finally gave in. She was right. I should have watched sooner. It is funny, meaningful, and one of those shows that makes me wonder why educators stay in the profession at all.
So yes, I will keep taking recommendations. I am old enough to remember Mikey hating everything, so clearly there is still hope for me. Maybe the point is not to love every book, movie, or show people rave about. Maybe the point of recommendations is to learn your own taste a little better every time.
Until next time…
P.S. If you missed any of my previous What to Read segments and are always looking for more reading ideas, you can find them all in my monthly reading archive here. 📚✨