Entertainment Weekly 2.4.17

So I'm really going to try to do this weekly-I might need y'all to help keep me on track to have it up Saturday mornings! I didn't even manage it today...but at least I'm making it not the right day, ha. Just a regular post about what I've been reading, listening to, watching...I don't know about you, but I'm always looking for more, especially books. I tend to read really fast, and I take the commuter train daily, so I require a lot of solo entertainment.

(and caffeine)

Reading: I finally finally finally am reading Jenny Lawson's second book, Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things. She is brilliant and honest and a little alarming at times, all in the best way. She has struggled with anxiety, depression, and other mental health challenges throughout her life, and writes about this in a relatable and funny way, without trivializing it. This can be a difficult balance to strike, but it is consistent throughout all of her writing. She also has many hilarious anecdotes relating to such topics as taxidermy and the frustrations of women's clothing (where are the pockets??). As always, I linked to Amazon, but please check out and support your local bookstore if possible. You can also check out her blog-it's fantastic.

Listening: One of my favorite podcasts is back with new episodes: You Must Remember This. The tag line for it is "the lost and forgotten stories of Hollywood's first century". With each season, the creator has identified a theme, from the McCarthy era blacklists to this season's "Dead Blondes", the stories of actresses known in large part as beautiful blondes, who died in tragic ways. The first story this week was of Peg Entwistle, a stage and film actress whose death you may be more familiar with than her work.

Watching: Dad and I watch pretty much all the superhero TV shows. Supergirl was originally something of a hard sell for me, as many of the promos had framed it as far too much of a rom-com, with the perfect-except-for-being-clumsy female lead. Over time, though, it has done some awesome things, most recently the relationship between Kara's sister, Alex and the detective, Maggie. However as we watched Monday's episode and heard them call the female villain, Livewire, a "nasty woman" I couldn't help but be taken aback. This was said by the true "bad guy" of the episode, so I'm unsure of what their intent was but I cannot believe it was an accident. Melissa Benoit participated in the women's March with a brilliant sign, so there is no way that slipped past her either. I'm choosing to believe it was commentary on the complexity of our political figures, as Livewire had, in fact, been kidnapped and her powers were used against her will.

Any recommendations for commute entertainment? I am flying through Furiously Happy, so am definitely going to need another book soon!

xoxoxo
Emma

P.S. There's always more to do-even if it's just supporting J.K. Rowling in her brilliant fight against internet trolls!