What I’ve been watching and reading this summer

Links and reccos to get you to the finish line!

This summer has felt like a fever dream. My kids got out of school mid June (remember the good ol’ days when we’d go to school until the END of June!?), so I packed them up, and traded in bustling Vancouver for a summer on BC’s chill Sunshine Coast. We bought a place here two years ago and spent a full year renovating, so naturally wanted to stretch our time here as far as it could go. As an aside, during the height of Covid some of our (mostly white) friends were fleeing to their remote cabins. Some had been in their family for generations, built by their grandparents and passed down. Not us! Both of us being the kids of immigrants, it felt like the ultimate ‘you’ve made it’ moment to have a place to escape to. It made absolutely zero financial sense (and is still bleeding money to be honest!), but sometimes you have to satisfy your little inner immigrant kid. I have bigger ideas around living this strangely disconnected dual city/coast life, and might start a series on it if people are interested. For now though, as summer is winding down and we’re getting into the lazy sludge of these final weeks, a few recommendations to get you through if you’ve hit the ‘now what’ phase of summer:

Watching (listen, this is mostly going to be about murder!):

So for whatever reason, I really enjoy watching murder type shows on vacation. I’m not a murder podcast girly; I enjoy murder strictly in the fictional sense and get giddy when the big reveal is something unexpected. I think murder podcasts that try to be ‘light’ are insane, and it’s a little horrifying that they’ve become such a popular form of entertainment. Not sure what that says about us? With that out of the way, I really enjoyed the fictional shows below, most of which are strictly one season arcs so it’s low stakes/high reward.

The Night Of - Riz Ahmed portrays a Pakistani-American student accused of murder after a night of hazy partying (Prime, Crave, Apple TV)

This miniseries came out in 2016, and as a pop culture stan particularly interested in whodunnit type shows, I’m a little ashamed I slept on it for so long. This show is so good, you don’t even care who the culprit is. It gives such a nuanced and realistic depiction of race/class/criminal justice in America right now, that the murder plot point becomes secondary. 

Presumed Innocent - Based on the 1987 novel of the same name by Scott Turow and subsequent 1990 film starring Harrison Ford, Jake Gyllenhaal portrays a criminal prosecutor accused of murdering his co-worker (Apple TV)

If there’s one thing Jake Gyllenhaal does incredibly well, it’s play a weirdo you can’t figure out (see also: Donnie Darko, The Good Girl, Nightcrawler, Zodiac). If you’ve already seen the movie or read the book, the series is a fun departure. Opposite Jake is on-screen wife Ruth Negga, who does the most with her dutiful wife role. It’s definitely gory, but will leave you guessing until the very end.

Defending Jacob - Based on the 2012 novel by William Landay, the eight-episode arc follows district attorney (Chris Evans), and his wife (Michelle Dockery), as they navigate their guilt and grief following their young son being accused of murder (Apple TV)

I do this thing sometimes where I wikipedia what happens in a show because I absolutely cannot wait. It’s bad, don’t do that! Like ‘The Night Of,’ this series is less about whether the son actually did the crime, and more about how his parents process the aftermath. I spoiled this for myself and it was so good, I wish I didn’t. 

Happy Valley - British crime drama following police sergeant Catherine Cawood (Sarah Lancashire), as she catches bad guys (Prime, Netflix) 

I stumbled across this show after I devoured the shows above and scoured Reddit for something just as good that I hadn’t yet watched (I’ve watched everything). There’s something so satisfying about the way British tv does crime dramas; it’s starkly bleak but also… hopeful and at times funny in the darkest possible ways. Very, very bad things happen and you want to scream at the tv, but everyone on this cast brings such layered performances that the lines between the good and bad guys gets blurred a few times. 

Veronica Mars - Teenager (Kristin Bell), moonlights as a detective while navigating high school and trying to solve her best friends murder (Prime)

I rewatch all 3 season of this show every few years. For anyone rolling their eyes that this sounds like a dumb teen detective show, you’ll just have to take a leap of faith and trust me when I tell you it’s not even for teenagers! In fact, I didn’t discover it until I was on mat leave in my thirties. Thematically it’s very dark, and I’d compare it to Buffy in its cultural importance. The distinction here is that Buffy dealt with fictional monsters, whereas Veronica deals with real-life monsters (rapists and predators), that are frankly worse. It’s one of those shows that gives a lot of credit to its audience, particularly around digesting that sometimes the very bad guys can be complicated too. It’s shot very much like a noir comic strip; lots of backlit green and reds which would normally read cheesy, but fit right in in the fictional world of Neptune, CA. The celebrity cameos (Jessica Chastain, Kevin Smith, Paul Rudd, JTT !!!) are fun surprises. This is my favourite show of all time (and guys, I’ve seen all the shows), so just trust me on this one.

Alone - Ten contestants are dropped in a remote location with only the bare minimum to survive. The last person standing wins $500k (History Channel, Prime)

I discovered this show holed up in my cabin on the coast, and it turns out its the very perfect thing to have on with guests around because it pretty much appeals to all. For BC locals, a few seasons are filmed on Vancouver Island and other remote parts of BC, making it eerily familiar to see a landscape you’re so familiar with feel so…terrifying. This show is the real deal; people are in actual danger every single day; psychosis, starvation, hypothermia- you name it! And as the name suggests, they are truly alone. The camera work is a mix of Blair Witch project close-ups, with dynamic multi-cam angles from tree mounted cameras that are super impressive when you think of how arduous the editing must be. The only non-murder show I’ve indulged in this summer!

Reading (albeit, not much):

I’ve clearly been watching a lot of tv… and podcasting and starting this Substack. It hasn’t left a ton of time for reading, but I did manage to start and finish a few books (my toxic trait is I belong to three book clubs, yet rarely finish a book!)

All Fours (Miranda July) - An artist (unnamed throughout the book), embarks on a road trip, but gets distracted when she finds herself in a small town, not far from her house.

I can almost guarantee you’ve never read a book quite like this one before. It’s both colourful and complicated in equal doses, and explores perimenopause in a way I haven’t seen before (it’s a main theme of the book, but more as a presence than an actual plot point). I wish more books like this were made into movies, rather than a book about domestic violence dressed up as a frothy rom com.

Happy Place (Emily Henry) - A newly broken up couple find themselves in an awkward position when they end up spending the summer at a friends cottage together.

Okay, I can’t in good faith recommend this book AT ALL. It’s so, very bad. It’s one of those books where the entire time you’re reading, you’re thinking that one quick conversation could resolve everything. And for those that have read it, don’t get me started on the damn pottery of it all. The only reason I’m including it on this list is, well… nostalgia. The book centres around a cottage in which a group of friends have spent years visiting. The best thing about the book was the reminder that certain places hold so much power in their memories and connectivity. I’ve spent not an insignificant amount of time wondering about my own place on the coast. Will my kids friends who visit us still remember this place fondly twenty years from now? Even my icy heart thaws from the thought of that.

Superfan: How Pop Culture Broke My Heart (Jen SookFong Lee) - A vivid memoir connecting a fellow Vancouverite’s life growing up in a Chinese-Canadian household through the lens of pop culture

This book was so special to me, I had the author on my podcast. The interview isn’t out yet, but will be very soon! The book is deeply moving, and a fun nod to familiar places and scenery in Vancouver if you’re from here. I greatly related to Jen’s need to see more people that look and live like her in western media. Immigrating from Iran, all we seem to get are terrorist depictions or abusive men played by actors who may look Persian but are in fact, not (looking at you Alfred Molina and Ben Kingsley). And yes, all Iranians are still collectively mad over the travesty ‘Not Without My Daughter.’ This book made me both laugh and cry; one of my favourites reads of the year.

Honourable Mentions (books I haven’t yet read, but they’re sitting on my nightstand and I have good intentions!)

I have a thing for buying books

Doppelganger (Naomi Klein)

The Age of Magical Overthinking (Amanda Montell)

Good Material (Dolly Alderton)

A Court of Thorns and Roses (Sarah J. Maas)

Iron Flame (Rebecca Yarros) - clearly deep in my dragon/fantasy era

Happy reading and watching as the end of summer creeps up on us! And to the parents out there who are VERY ready for the fall (Gilmore Girls rewatch season), and school to start up again…word.