Happy New Year, if I haven’t said that already. I should have said it when I wrote my New Year’s post about my word of the year, Commit. (See here). This year I’m working on committing. To my commitments. So that I actually do the things I want to do. For instance, I’m going to actually *go* to the gym, so that I can follow through on my commitment to get healthy. See how that works? The only problem is how do I get myself to the gym on those nights when I really, really don’t want to go. Why, with bribery, of course! Well, sort of. I have to convince my brain that going to the gym has something more to offer me than just boring old getting healthy. And it totally does offer more than that, you know. Thanks to the miraculous technology that we all hold in our hands called a cell phone, that 45 minutes I spend at the gym can be thought of as 45 minutes of watching whatever *I* want on tv, or reading a book for 45 minutes or listening to a podcast for 45 minutes without having to take out my earbuds every 90 seconds so someone can ask me a question. Now, that’s 45 minutes that I am seriously looking forward to!
That dude is seriously pumped. That’s how I want to feel about going to the gym. To get there, I’m setting myself up with some self indulgent entertainment that I can hold in the palm of my hand, courtesy of Netflix, Amazon and some free podcasts.
What to Watch on Netflix
Gilmore Girls – A Year in the Life – I can’t believe I haven’t already breezed through this Gilmore Girls reboot. I loved the original show and listening to witty quips passed between Rory and Lorelai would pass the time on the elliptical in a blink!
The Americans – I watched the first episode of the first season of The Americans and I’m definitely intrigued. I love a good spy story and I’m obsessed with Keri Russell’s hair. How does hair go from that curly to that straight?
River – This is a British detective/murder mystery and it also involves talking to dead people. Pretty much right up my alley. I’ve already finished season one and am eagerly awaiting season 2.
Sherlock – I’ve already watched all of the available seasons for Sherlock, but with a new season about to start on BBC, I’m thinking about binge watching the last season so that it is fresh in my memory. Sherlock is hands down my favorite television show that sadly airs almost never. If you haven’t seen it, definitely add it to your list on Netflix!
What to Read
First, a note about how I find new books to read. I am a Bookbub girl all the way and I highly suggest joining this free service. Basically, you pick out what kind of books you like and they send you an email everday with deals on those types of books. It’s like a book concierge who only brings you super affordable books. I know I’m missing out on great brand new books that are still super expensive, and I will seek those out and splurge on them occassionally, but my 2 a week book habit requires access to cheap books or I will go broke. Bookbub provides me that!
Missing – Monty Marsden – I’m addicted to crime novels. They are my guilty pleasure. Missing by Monty Marsden is a good one. It hooks you in from the beginning with a good story and interesting characters. This book is set in Italy and for me, one of the best parts of reading is getting transported to a place. This book does that.
The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood – This should be required reading for every woman right now. It’s set in a dystopian future where women are even less valued than they are now. Hard to believe? Read it. You will be more afraid of this book than any of the creepy mysteries I read. I’m not saying this book is where we are headed, but I am saying that I find it more believable than I did on Monday November 6th.
The Drowning Game – L.S. Hawke – So, you’re going to want something a little less dense after you finish The Handmaid’s Tale. The Drowning Game is a fun, fast paced thriller with young people in it. This will do the trick while you’re burning those calories on the treadmill.
Cold Granite – Stuart McBride – This is the first in a detective series that I absolutely adore. They are set in Scotland and you are absolutely there in Aberdeen as you read each book in the series. The characters are people you want to know (or not know, as applicable). I’ve read the whole series and I’m excited for the new one that will be out in June!
What to Listen To
Ted Talks – I’m a fan of TED Talks. I listen while I’m cleaning to motivational stories, or funny stories or just plain interesting stuff, like, what is CRISPR and why should I care about it? Download the app to your phone and start exploring. Start with “The most popular talks of all time” and you won’t be disappointed, then start browsing through categories that interest you. Totally addictive.
The Moth Podcast – The Moth is story telling. Little slices of life that are deeply personal and poignant. The podcast is a re-airing of the The Moth Radio Hour from NPR. I love these.
Fresh Air – Terry Gross – I found Fresh Air by accident. Somewhere after turning 35, I found I couldn’t stand listening to music in the car anymore, so I tried NPR. I’m totally hooked on NPR on the whole, but I didn’t discover the national treasure that is Terry Gross until fairly recently. Terry is on in the middle of the day (2PM) on my NPR station and that just happens to be right about the time I am driving home. Terry interviews interesting people. Movie directors, tv personalities, authors. I listen to her just about every week day and every time I listen, the interviewee says something like, “Wow, I’ve never been asked that before” or, “Well, I didn’t think I was going to talk about that, but ok”. She somehow pulls the humanity out of everyone she interviews. She also tackles big stories like Fake News and the Opiod epidemic. You can find a weekend wrap up on NPR’s website to listen to.
Alright, that’s a whole lot of A/V content to motivate me to get to the gym! I’m going right now! Just kidding. It’s closed. This post took forever. I’m going TOMORROW!