MAYDAY, MAYDAY

Actually, MayMonth, as in the Monthly Wrap-Up

Hello and happy June, where we seem to be stuck in the same Groundhog’s Day of last month (and the previous month) in terms of the news cycle. But cracks of resistance are showing, whether it’s vociferous boos at the Knicks game or Kristen Welker holding a pair of Florsheim-clad, swollen orange feet to the fire. Plus, it’s (un)officially summer and we’re drinking wine outside, so we’re feeling cautiously upbeat.

And with that, we bring you our May wrap-up.

WHAT WE’RE READING

Jen: I have been slogging through Confidence Man, Maggie Haberman’s book on Trump. I’m not slogging because of the writing—it’s great—but because it’s Trump’s villain origin story. The short of it is, he has always sucked on ice and the rules have never applied to him, nor have the consequences. I just didn’t have the scope of the extent of the suckitude. Also, powerful and influential people just go along with whatever is stupid/feckless/illegal because they don’t want to be yelled at by him.

This is legit insane.

I have been yelled at longer and harder by the diners I waited on at the Olive Garden in college. I’m fairly well disgusted that we’re here now because so many people weren’t raised by a former Marine drill sergeant (true story), ergo they don’t know how to steel themselves when someone raises their voice. What we’re going to take from this is to START YELLING BACK, because at least we’re all trying to do things that are smart/not feckless/not illegal.

I’ve given myself a pass on finishing this book, even though it’s interesting. (Interesting like a car wreck is interesting—horrific and can’t look away.) Basically, I think I’ve seen this film before and I didn’t like the ending. So, I’ve purchased a handful of new reads. I bought a couple from the pod last week—Down with the Shipmans by Meg Mitchell Moore, as well as Alan Opts Out by Courtney Maum. I also bought Sandwich by Catherine Newman and Jonathan Tropper’s Everything Changes. He’s a top-five favorite author and somehow I missed this one. Likely because it pubbed in 2005, when he was not yet a favorite so it’s less “mistake” and more “serendipity.” I keep saying it’s going to be a great reading summer, and now that I’ve laid the Trump book to rest, it will be.

Karyn: I finally started Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke. I told my neighbor to read it and she finished it already, so it is my goal is to finish it this weekend because she's dying to discuss it with me.

Also, a random but interesting observation: whenever we do these roundups, I search for the books on Amazon to add links, and over the last few months, they’ve started showing me the audiobook before the Kindle version for almost every title. This sent me down a rabbit hole (of course), and I learned that audiobook sales have been growing by 10% a year for more than a decade, while ebook sales have been relatively flat. Which brings me to a poll…

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING