What Are You Reading, Watching, Listening To?

Our Favorites and Yours

Many of us spent our first full week working from home as the nation fights the spread of COVID-19. A subsequent weekend at home made long walks, binge watching TV, and snacking par for the course. If you have quickly powered through all the recorded television series and movies you never imagined having a chance to catch up on, what’s left? Here are some choices from our CSAS staff, graduate students, undergraduate interns, community partners, and campus colleagues. These favorites offer everything from coping, to instruction, to simply entertainment. Words in books, in movies, on television, in podcasts and radio programs help us make sense of where we are, take a break from worries, and help sustain us with joy and humanity.

 

I’m reading Richard White’s 2017 book The Republic for Which It Stands: The United States During Reconstruction and the Gilded Age, 1865-1896 and am really enjoying it. Can’t wait to hear what you and other folks are reading, watching, and listening to! It’s a great time to share recommendations.  – Katharine Henry, SOHP Field Scholar

 

 

 

For giggles and nostaglia, I’m rewatching the Twilight movie series and Nickelodeon’s The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius. I’m also reading The Overstory by Richard Powers.  – Sophia Hutchens, SOHP Program Assistant

 

 

 

 

For the first time in years, I am reading a John Grisham novel, The Reckoning. I appreciate Grisham’s portrayal of relationships in the south, and he knows how to build suspense. Looking forward to reading Michelle Obama’s Becoming. I plan to  watch, for the millionth time, Now Voyager, with Bette Davis and Paul Henreid. Last weekend I watched Carmen Jones with Dorothy Dandridge and Harry Belafonte. Great singing. Gorgeous actors. – Melody Hunter-Pillion, CSAS Assoc. Dir. Of Communications & Strategy

 

 

The team at Southern Cultures likes this essay on Broomsedge. “We were thinking that lots of us are feeling the need to be outside, and this is very much an environmental piece. It’s also really beautifully written.” – Emily Wallace for the Southern Cultures editorial team

Read the essay.

 

 

 

Alaina Plauche, one of our Spring 2020 SOHP Interns recommends:

Dolly Parton’s America (podcast)

Where the Crawdads Sing – Delia Owens: I know this book has been all the craze since it came out, but if you haven’t read it yet, now is the time! It is a great combo of biology/environmentalism, romance, comedy, poetry, and murder mystery. A true page turner that I was so immersed in I forgot about all of the craziness in the world for a few hours.
Small Wonders – Barbara Kingsolver: Kingsolver’s collection of essays written in response to the attacks of September 11, 2001 is one of my favorite books by one of my favorite authors of all time. Many of her conclusions about the world and hope from that time of terror may also carry over to this stressful and chaotic time in the world.

 

 

 

Julia Pulawski in the CSAS Office provides us with a great mix for reading and viewing.

Reading:

Promise of Shadows by Justina Ireland – A young adult sci-fi fantasy novel based on Greek mythology. It’s a story about class struggle and the ambiguity of dark vs. light. This novel turns the trope of darkness as evil on its head – in this story, darkness is repressed because it poses a challenge to the ruling class. Zephyr Mourning, a young Black woman, survives Tartarus (literal hell) and begins to understand how her unique qualities aren’t something to be ashamed of and try to change, but are rather special abilities that equip her for a special role.

The Five Things We Cannot Change: And the Happiness We Find by Embracing Them by David Richo – David Richo was the first self-help author I ever read. He works as a psychotherapist and weaves spirituality and literature into his work. This is a very grounding read for me right now, as I prioritize my wellbeing above all else; and prioritize the wellbeing of others above all else. We accept things as they are and stop resisting reality; but also that we continue to work to create a just world. These kinds of paradoxes, according to Richo, are the beautiful substance of life that instead of shaking us to our core, may connect us to inner meaning.

Watching:

The OA – A Netflix show that someone else has probably already recommended to you. It is a sci-fi show, with the story arc of a fairy tale. Not only is it entertaining, it makes me feel alive. The narrative functions well on a metaphorical level for how we, paradoxically, look within rather than out, to find freedom. To me, right now this means looking to ourselves and our communities for support, rather than relying on our institutions to pull through; it means accepting who I am at this moment rather than fighting my circumstances.

This is Us – An extremely heartwarming network drama and I stand by it even though most of my friends wouldn’t say it’s “good” TV. It is feel-good TV; it doesn’t try to be ironic, which is kind of refreshing. It is just people connecting, making mistakes, being real, and showing empathy. I think the acting and playing around with chronology are quite underrated.

“I have a thousand books at home. Right now I am reading White Teeth by Zadie Smith.” – Terri Lorant, CSAS Administrative Manager & Events Coordinator

 

 

 

 

 

Our CSAS Director Malinda Lowery respects and practices the art of listening. Her pick is about listening, a musical choice with Jake Fussell’s Out of Sight. She’s also streaming this radio show hosted by Fussell.