New year, same me.  Which means I’m still reading all I can, trying to keep up with what everyone else is watching and living a food-forward life.  Here are the TV shows, books and dishes I’ve consumed recently.

I know this much is true by Wally Lamb

I, very quietly (because Joey was sleeping next to me), sobbed over the end of this book last month.  It is not a short read and a lot of it is heavy and heartbreaking, but it is skillfully written and draws you into the narrator’s story so quickly.  It’s a slow burn of bad luck and personal tragedy that eventually hits rock bottom but then it builds you back up until you find yourself sobbing in bed.  I couldn’t recommend it more!

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

I’d had this show on my list since the Golden Globes last year and we finally got around to watching the first season, right on time to be ready for the second season, which we busted out in record time.  I loved it!  Midge is amazing, Suzy is hilarious and Amy Sherman-Palladino is a genius.  Thanks to Netflix, this show gets to be much racier and more foul-mouthed than Gilmore Girls and I’m into it!

Steel Cut Oatmeal

I have been on a HUGE steel cut oatmeal kick this winter!  I’ve been cooking them via the overnight method — I still usually cook them for about 10 minutes the next morning — and it’s made for the easiest and coziest breakfast.

Sharp Objects

I don’t know, guys.  I love Amy Adams and I really wanted to love this series, but I think I have a things against Gillian Flynn that’s going to make it difficult for me to enjoy anything she does.  The BIG TWIST thing she does (and has inspired in like 80% of the new books I see, ugh) feels cheap to me.  I don’t want to spoil it for anyone, but everything that happened in the last episode felt extra strange and unrealistic to me.  Also, hey, if she’s going to write psycho characters, could some of them maybe NOT be women?

Teapig

I got this tea sample in my Try the World box and not to be dramatic, but it’s the best tea I’ve ever tasted!  I had Joey taste it and he was shocked too.  You know how tea mostly tastes like water?  This tastes sweet and rich and and satisfying in a way that water usually can’t taste.  I bought a full box immediately and have been loving it on cold winter nights.  I only have on left, eek!

Autumn by Ali Smith & Last Stories by William Trevor

These were my last two reads of 2018 aaaaand, I didn’t love either one.  But they were still okay to good.  Autumn has a sort of fluidity about it, weaving between real life scenes, old memories, dreams and the subconscious that I found interesting and different, if not also slightly hard to follow.  Last Stories was a collection of short stories and even though I wasn’t super wow-ed by the language, the end of each always seemed to have some deep paragraph that I found myself re-reading and thinking deeply about.

What shows, foods and books should I consume next??

Also, I’m looking for new music to listen to and would love your recommendations!