The Monthly Media Catchup: Everything I Read, Watched and Listened To | September and October 2020
September and October always tend to be months when I consume less media than usual and probably the months when I read the least. I don’t know why it is but things tend to pick up as we near Christmas and they certainly will this year with lockdown. Nevertheless, there’s some great recommendations in this combined MMC and great is definitely the word, given that I’ve rated almost everything 4 stars. I’m also doing something absolutely no-one asked for: listing my top 10 Glee performances. Enjoy!
books
I wanted to shout about a new initiative, Bookshop.org, that allows you to buy books online simply and affordably from local bookshops. I’ve set up my own page on there, which I’ll be updating with lists of books and the affiliate links I use on my blog will be linked to there from now on. I really recommend you buy your books from there, especially in lockdown and on the run up to Christmas as indie bookshops need your support more than ever.
Rodham by curtis sittenfeld | ★★★★*
The premise of the book hugely appealed to me. It’s a fictional re-telling of Hilary Clinton’s life, imagining what would have happened if she never married Bill Clinton. It’s fast-paced, educational and compassionate and there are a lot of sex scenes, which are incredibly well-written and surprisingly enjoyable. If you’re still feeling feverish post-election and want to remain immersed within the world of US politics, this book is the perfect choice.
The appointment by Katharina volckmer | ★★★★*
This is a sub-100 page novel, something I always enjoy, especially when it’s done as well as this one. It’s a monologue by a young German woman living in the UK directed towards a doctor. It requires a certain level of dark humour as well as the ability to enjoy books with genuinely unlikeable protagonists, but I have both of these things and I loved it. If you enjoy Vladimir Nabokov and/or Ottessa Moshfegh, I think you’d love this novella.
ghosts by dolly alderton | ★★★★*
I’ve had this novel on pre-order for so long I honestly thought the day would never arrive when it landed on my door stop. But it did and it was glorious! I’m such a fan of Dolly’s writing and this book did not disappoint. It’s about a woman in her early 30s who tentatively downloads a dating app, only to enter a serious relationship with the first man she goes out with who subsequently ghosts her. It reads like a thriller in a way I’ve never experienced for a book that deals with relatively light-hearted subject-matter and if you’re a woman whose been on a date in the last 10 years, particularly if you’ve used dating apps, I’m sure you’ll find it painfully and hilariously relatable.
validate me by charly cox | ★★★★*
I rarely read poetry because I tend to perceive it as heavy and a commitment, but whenever I read it I find it to be exactly the opposite. This is certainly the case for Charly Cox’s second poetry collection. I love Charly’s poetry, as well as her prose, as not only is the subject matter relevant and relatable, but so is the style of the writing as it has a beat that feels distinctly modern. I didn’t enjoy this collection as much as her first but I still gobbled it up in a matter of days and I look forward to reading more of her work.
TV
Glee | ★★★★
Like most teens who were secretly into musical theatre, I became obsessed with Glee when I was around 12. I watched the first season religiously over and over again but for some reason I never got round to the rest (I think because I maybe only had the DVD of Season 1 and didn’t know where else to watch it - simpler times). Somehow, in the past year, Glee became the thing I watched when I was hungover or unwell. It’s perhaps the worst choice of programme for when you’re not feeling yourself, as the fucked up characters, odd remixes that never needed to happen and the writers unbelievable ability to get being politically correct so wrong is disconcerting to say the least. But there is something comforting about it and I decided to commit the last few months to finishing it.
The first three seasons were great and then it went downhill from there but I still enjoyed the New York years (less so, when they tried and failed to introduce a new cast). It already feels ridiculously outdated but that’s part of its appeal and as much as I hate to admit it, some of the songs are good.
On that note, here are my 10 favourite glee songs (I’d like to note that these are my personal favourites rather than an objective ranking which I’d do very differently):
I knew Don’t Rain on My Parade would be my number one glee song but I just couldn’t decide whether to go with the original or not. I’ve decided on Santana’s version because 1. it’s objectively better 2. Santana is the best Glee character and 3. this was such an iconic moment in Glee. I genuinely gasped when the director called Santana’s name and I heard the opening of the famous Streisand song and the superzoom onto Rachel’s face is the kind of humour Glee actually does very well. You’ll notice that Santana’s performances make up a lot of my favourites because she’s the best singer and she has the best storyline. I still feel so upset by Naya Riveria’s death but I’m so glad we have all of her incredible performances to look back on.
2. Don’t Rain on My Parade (Rachel)
Rachel’s version has to be my number two because much like Rachel herself, love or hate her, it is the essence of glee. It’s dramatic and sincere and a genuinely brilliant performance.
Whilst many would choose Don’t Stop Believing as their favourite group performance on Glee, this is by far mine. That’s definitely in part down to my soft spot for Quinn, who had the best storyline until everyone went to college and she was largely forgotten (all I can remember about Glee post-MicKinley is that she dated Chase Crawford, which I did enjoy). I think this performance shows the entire cast in their purest states and watching it knowing that so many of them have now passed away makes me cry every time.
Brittany calls this performance ‘simply the greatest moment in show business history’ and I’m inclined to agree. This performance is the best example of Santana’s incredible energy as well as her dancing (see also: River Deep, Mountain High). Also: THE COSTUMES. I’d die for this outfit.
My three favourite characters auditioning for the Glee Club together is of course going to be in my top 10. I love everything about this: the song choice, the simple dancing. If you can ignore Mr Schuster’s weird creepiness during this performance, you’ll love it (you could say that about the whole show, really). The unholy trinity 4eva <3
Not much to say about this one apart from it’s another wholesome group performance from Season 1. Also, those are Kurt’s real vocals at the beginning!!!
7. I Feel The Earth Move/One Hand in My Pocket
I’m a big Carole King fan and I adored this mashup. Plus (SPOLIER ALERT) Santana uses it to propose to Brittany which is the only Glee relationship I can really get behind.
My favourite Britney song and Glee did it so much justice ( I really like Brittany and Santana).
Kurt isn’t my favourite character but I really enjoyed his character growth and this audition was such a great moment for that. It’s actually ridiculous that he wasn’t accepted to NYADA with this audition but he was with Being Alive, which Carmen specifically says she hears a lot here (have some consistency, Glee!)
10. Faithfully/Anyway You Want It/Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin’
I’m kind of cheating with this one as this is technically two songs but it was one performance and it’s definitely my favourite competition piece they did on Glee. It’s also one of the best Glee episodes.
If you’re wondering what my least favourite Glee performance is, it’s this fucking monstrosity that Matthew Morrison should be jailed for.
the hook up plan | ★★★★
This French TV series follows 3 women living in Paris navigating their various relationships. It’s a fairly simple premise but it works and it’s one of the few shows I binge-watch. Season two wasn’t as enjoyable as the first series and the lockdown episode was a bit odd but, all in all, I enjoyed it.
film
west side story | ★★★★★
The best film version of a musical ever. That’s all.
old boy | ★★★★
This film was recommended to me based on the fact I enjoyed Parasite and I would say that’s a fairly good reason to watch it if you feel the same way. It’s a Korean revenge film and although it doesn’t have the same quick humour and social commentary as Parasite, it definitely had me on the edge of my seat for the entire film, even if I had to skip one of the last scenes because I’m overly squeamish.
animals | ★★★★
This is a film based on a book I’ve never read about two women living together in Manchester and the struggle one of them experiences when the other enters a serious relationship. The film is set in Ireland and although I would have liked to have seen the familiar streets of Manchester on screen, I’ll never complain about an Irish accent. It’s really well-made, funny, with a great script and some sobering moments. This was my favourite of them between the two female leads and a man one of them is sleeping with:
M: What’s an animal’s primary need?
L: Food?
T: Sex?
M: Safety.
500 days of summer | ★★
I do this thing where I like to ruin all of the films I liked when I was younger by re-watching them at my current age and cringing about all the things enjoyed about them when I was a teen. BOY, did I do it with this film. I never loved this film when I was younger but I certainly enjoyed it. Now, watching it, the ‘protagonist’ was totally unlikeable to me as he acted like a complete psychopath in the name of love. I’ve added a star because the soundtrack is good (especially at the Karaoke bar) but it isn’t enough to save it.
podcasts
diary she wrote | ★★★★★
This podcast involves a 30-something woman who has kept a diary since she was 9 reading out various entries in order to piece together the story of her life. It’s relatable, funny and sad at times and it’s curated and narrated so cleverly. Fans of Dolly Alderton will enjoy it, for sure.
Individual episodes:
Dating with an online presence | Starting The Conversation
Greta Gerwig on choosing not to be on social media | Ctrl Alt Delete
Audiobooks | Literary Friction
Phoebe Hurst, managing editor, Vice UK | Diary, She Wrote
Dolly Alderton| Off Menu
Claudia Winkleman | Off Menu
articles
Every Glee character ranked from worst to best | The Idiot Box
Found in translation: how brilliant writing from around the world makes it into English | Penguin
Patti Smith: When I Got to 70 I Thought, ‘Wow, that’s a real number’ | Sunday Times Style
Buying Myself Back: When does a model own her own image? | The Cut
The Lagos urban ballet school that won over the world | Guardian Weekly
Liverpool is tired, angry and ready for a fight with Boris Johnson | The Guardian