Oh, boy– I don’t want anyone to mistake this as a Drake reference. We are about 20 months past making those! Aubrey lost me musically a few albums ago, and lost me (us) culturally many, many moons ago!

Babe, leave Memphis out of it! You are not from here/Like Us.

Anyway, this is all about what I’ve been watching, reading, and listening to lately. It is quite a range from pretty good to pretty great, premiere to tacky, horny to corny! I borrowed that last phrase from the internet and cannot stop saying it– GENIUS.

To Watch: From Netflix new releases, Max returning to its HBO roots and good ol’ nostalgia watches, The TV has been jumping this summer!

• I’ll start with the highbrow stuff and share about my feverish first-time watch of Downton Abbey (on Prime) After falling head over heels for The Gilded Age, I heard time after time that I needed to get to the original straight away! It is such a delight, though a bit slower-paced than TGA, with the sweeping sets and commitment to the historical nuances of the era. The quips from the late Maggie Smith are too good, and Lady Mary is my Queen (sorry, Bertha!).
• I Love You Forever is an indie movie that has us all abuzz and atwitter! It speaks so well to the insanity of love bombing, emotional abuse and the perils of modern love. My initial reaction was honestly, one of pure shock. I was reeling from the parallels between the doomed main relationship and some of my most formative romances. There’s a scene of pure cringe-inducing PDA that could be a live feed from my most recent serious relationship. I chatted about it with my cousin, who is my BFF and the level yin to my insane yang, and she patiently nodded as I explained my awakening from this 90-minute film. ***books a therapy session**
• It only took me three years to log into Peacock, but thank goodness I did because The Best Man: The Final Chapters is the Black cultural escapism I am craving. Everyone looks a bit older, but just as fine (Morris, I am talking to you!) as the original and the dialogue is manna from heaven. Literally FUBU– For Us, By Us. Malcolm D. Lee, you are a national treasure!
• Finally, the lowest brow– you already know it’s The Hunting Wives. I fell into this tornado of a stream one afternoon when I was babysitting my little niece. She was napping, so I thought I would pop on some harmless Netflix fiction. One very spicy and swinging marriage paired with about a dozen MAGA-lite satirical references later, I realized I would have to go Huntin’ a little later. Trust me, as wild as it is, there are many shades of truth at the natural hypocrisy of humanity, particularly amongst the judgmental, neo-Conservative Christian set. Also, shouts to Malin Ackerman for being that girl, stealing every scene she’s in and vibrating off the screen in all of her caricature Texanness. Don’t be a snob, just turn it on!

Reading: Proof that my extroversion knows no bounds– I was recently getting a pedicure, silently reading a book about which I will tell you shortly, when the woman to my right turned straight to me and asked “Are you reading on the Kindle app?” God bless my friendly, little face! We proceeded to have a lovely chat about some of our favorite and latest reads, and I am now resigned to the reality that conversation will always find me.

• Hooray! I have completed John Grisham’s Camino series, and when I tell you my guy saved the best for last with Camino Ghosts. It is a captivating tale of Black history, community and because it’s JG, justice! I opted for the audiobook, which is narrated by the incomparable Whoopi Goldberg, and I hung onto her every word. Coincidentally, I traveled to St. Augustine, Florida just last week and felt remnants of the vibrant storyline on my back throughout the entire trip.
• Colored Television by Danzy Senna is a riot! And is the book I was so hoping to finish during my aforementioned pedicure. Senna is well-known for her 1998 national best-seller Caucasia, but has written about race, culture and gender across multiple titles for the past two decades. The storyline of Colored Television tells of Jane, a self-described mulatto woman who is scraping and clawing her way to literary relevance through a series of folly-rich decision-making. It’s not a dramatic story, but the stakes are quite high for Jane and her bohemian family. There are definitely times when you want to scream “get a fucking grip (and a job)!” to Jane and her slightly pretentious, artist husband. Simultaneously, there are moments where their desperate times/measures evoke pure pity. Overall, it’s a page-turner and the uber Black dialogue is super fun. Again, at this moment in time, I need to consume as much artistry from my community as my eyeballs will allow!
• Taylor Jenkins Reid’s latest Atmosphere was a sloooow burn for me. She is absolutely one of my favorite contemporary novelists, so I knew we were going to get there, but the aerospace and science of it all was a bit of a slog in the beginning! To be fair, TJR’s early massive hits were centered in 60’s rock romance, 50’s Hollywood and early aughts tennis. Well, lemme tell you, like many other things that have burned slowly in my life, I was absolutely bowled over by the final page. Although I had seen in the reviews that people were stark raving mad over the back third of the story, I was not prepared for the drama of it all. I sobbed through the final chapter and could barely handle the unfolding of each paragraph by the end. Say what you want about a massively popular novelist, but TJR is a master storyteller and deserves her due!

Earworms: One of the most annoying things that everyone says all the time is about how eCLectiC their music tastes are! In a moment of vulnerability, I am here to share that I too am the victim of eclectic musical preferences, and this summer they have been as varied as ever. No need to get into the muck of it, but here are my top tracks!

• Victory Lap– Fred Again, PlaqueBoyMax & Skepta
• Never Lose Me– Flo Milli with SZA & Cardi B
• Dreamgirl– Dave Matthews Band
• Patadas de Ahogado– Latin Mafia
• SWAG– Justin Bieber
• On Sum– TOKIMONSTA, Anderson.Paak, Rae Khalil
• Greenlight– Tate McRae
• Sour Girl– Stone Temple Pilots
• dodgerblue– Kendrick Lamar
• Tender Love– Force M.D.’s
• No Broke Boys– Disco Lines, Tinashe (an anthem!)
• So much classical music while I work– Antonín Dvořák is a longtime favorite!

Well, all righty! That’s how I have been complimenting my pool and bikini-filled days! Drop your reads, listens and watches in the comments. Xx

**images from the top– a gorgeous quote from the one and only Toni Morrison, an LOL via Tweet, my summer oasis and speaking of gorgeous and one of a kind– Skepta via Vanity Fair mag