Jenn D’s September Recs
This month’s recommendation post is extra special, because (for the first time since its inception) the creators of MarginaliaPod are in the same physical space! It is so, so exciting to be here with Jen V, hanging out in person, eating ice cream on the beach, watching The Princess Diaries (1 and 2!), and that is just day one. I’m here all week folks, and I literally cannot be more delighted. Obviously I highly, highly recommend getting to see your bestie.
Most of my trip is yet to come, so I’ll get stuck into what I spent last month doing!
TV: Friend of the Pod and overall awesome human Bethany has been gently tumblring me into watching Nancy Drew! I got a full, uninterrupted Sunday to myself a few weeks ago and turned it into a Nancy Drew marathon. I ended up watching most of the first season and it’s absolutely great. There are jump scares and some mild body horror, but if you can get past that, it’s well worth a watch. One of the things the show does best is that every one of the characters relates to the others in specific, nuanced ways that inform and grow each on screen character! It’s amazing writing.
We also finished Foundation, and I was very chuffed that I guessed some of the twists! I don’t want to spoil it for anyone, but I will absolutely recommend it. It’s not that long, but it’s so satisfying.
Also a show that is beyond enjoyable: Lower Decks season 3 has just begun! YES. Bring me all the Cerritos shenanigans.
Reading: I have picked up my Wheel of Time reread project, finally. I’m also slowly getting through the audiobook of Story Genius by Lisa Cron, which I cannot recommend enough. It’s less of a how-to and more of a “huh, that’s neat” or “ohh that makes sense”.
Podcasts: The one I’ve really been loving lately is Maintenance Phase. I especially loved the two-part episode on Pete Evans, but all the episodes are well done. It’s conversational journalism, but the structure makes it feel more like a chat between friends. Highly, highly recommend, especially if you (like me) were raised in the heyday of heroin chic and therefore have lots of adolescent body issues baked into your DNA. (Oh, the youths of today, I’m so proud of them for being cute and smart and avoiding so many of those pitfalls.)
Cooking: I haven’t finished watching the Bear yet (and I will do a write up when I do) but I can confidently say that Carmy’s mom’s chicken piccata recipe was amazing. I put too many capers in and it was still delicoius. (I do love a caper.) I made plain buttered noodles (with a bit of parmesan) and the sauce mixed with the noodles and it was even more incredible. Yummy.
Listening: still Beyoncé. She got me to 10km on my run on Tuesday, though, so I can definitely say she’s an incredible inspiration. I usually go for about 5km but I was feeling like a stretch goal this week, and Bey got me over the line. Amazing.
That’s pretty much it for me this month—stay tuned for the trip wrap-up, though, as I am sue to have lots of Wellington things to recommend. Until then… See you around like a rissole!