Netflix and...Read?
Happy Saturday, OTB fans! Today we’re checking in with our team to hear what they’ve been watching and reading to keep themselves occupied during lockdown this year (when they’re not busy hosting virtual book clubs and other fun events, of course). Tune it, check out the reads, and enjoy!
My quarantine binge watch/book combo is reality TV of the singing-contest variety, and a romance novel in which this kind of show is a minor part of the plot. It's terrible, but there's something addictive about the cheesy fun of following hopeful contestants, hearing them sing, and taking in the reactions of the judges and audience members, even when you know it's all edited to be maximally dramatic.
But I have no qualms whatsoever about recommending Boyfriend Material, one of my very favorite reads of 2020. It's a delightful, hilarious LGBTQ romcom about Luc O'Donnell and Oliver Blackwood. Luc is the once-freewheeling, but now wary and grumpy, son of a famous rock god. Now this musician dad is currently a judge/coach on a music contest reality show. Oliver is a buttoned-up, ethical vegetarian barrister. Luc and Oliver decide to enter a ridiculous fake dating arrangement and gradually progress from sorta-enemies to lovers. - Jen (Book Buyer)
There's something very satisfying about watching something you know won't end anytime soon. And that's why I started watching Grey's Anatomy from season one, ready to indulge in all the drama, all the surgeries, all the plane crashes. I've always loved workplace dramas, no matter how cliché or ridiculous, or no matter the medium. The Boys’ Club by Erica Katz is a debut novel by a former lawyer, about a young woman just starting out in the world of corporate law. With all the feel of The Devil Wears Prada and Sweetbitter, this book is the perfect pairing with Grey's, as we get an insider's look into a very specific world, whether that be an OR or a law office. -Abby (Floor Manager)
At the beginning of quarantine, my husband and I started binging Schitt's Creek - so many people had told me to watch, but for some reason I was hesitant. And to be honest it doesn't get great until after the first season. But once we got into it we were INTO it. No show has warmed my heart like that one in a long time...I laughed, I cried, and I fell in love with the characters. Shortly after we finished the show, I read one of my favorite books of the year: The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune, and while the plots have nothing to do with each other, the book and the show made me feel the same way: happy, hopeful, and like my heart was smiling (sappy I know, but y'all read it and you'll understand!). In a year where everything feels hard and it's a challenge to find the simple pleasures, this book and show were a bright light in an otherwise dark time, and I can pull on the feelings they gave me for a long while to come. -Laura Rose (Bookseller)
My latest binges have been focused on all things spooky: Haunting of Bly Manor on Netflix and Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware. They're both about an au pair sent off to a creepy large house in the middle of seemingly nowhere, in charge of two equally creepy kids. Turn of the Key takes place in a high-tech smart house and is one of the only books I was scared to read at night - it is so atmospheric and keeps you guessing at every page. Bly Manor has more of a traditionally creepy mansion setting, but is just as equally suspenseful! -Angie (Social Media Coordinator)
I've had a few different binge obsessions during quarantine (haven't we all??) but one of my favorites has been ocean documentaries and ocean books. And I'm now adding to the mix our new ocean puzzle. In particular, there's a National Geographic documentary on Disney+ called Giants of the Deep Blue that I am obsessed with. It's all about whales, including some of my favorites - orcas, humpbacks and narwhals. I pair it with Fathoms: The World in the Whale by Rebecca Giggs. Between the two of them, I can totally win at whale trivia - did you know that the Swedes use the same word, val, for "whale" as they do for "election"!? Anyways, this "whaley" awesome combo is perfect for relaxing, reminding yourself that the world is bigger than you, and learning about these mysterious creatures of the deep. -Amanda (Events Coordinator)
Blame it on anxiety or call it wishful thinking, but I’ve been finding a lot of solace in watching The West Wing for the past few months. There’s something so comforting in watching President Barlet’s competent and charming team tackle issues of state and personal importance. Quite by coincidence, two of my recent reads have also been based in the political realm. Majesty, a YA novel by Katharine McGee, imagines what the United States might look like if George Washington had become America’s first king, following the story of his descendants, including the first queen in the nation’s history. Red, White & Royal Blue is a steamy enemies-to-lovers romance that has been on my recommended TBR list for ages. It most certainly did not disappoint. What happens when the First Son of the United States starts a secret romance with a closeted Prince of England? Enough sparks fly to match Joshua Lyman after a lost swing vote, that’s for sure. -Shannon (Bookseller)
Blog contributions by Jen Cheng, Abby Bennsky, Laura Rose Schwartz, Angie Sanchez, Amanda Robinson, and Shannon McCarthy. Edited by Shannon McCarthy.