We’ve passed the midway point of winter, hurray! The season has been so weird (too warm, or too cold, or cloudy for days on end) that I can’t wait for some sun and light and green on trees. But I need to be patient! On the books side, I’m over my reading slump thanks to a gripping mystery my husband gifted me (at random) for Xmas. I also ordered some new books and I can’t wait. On the listening side, I am a few chapters into a classic mystery audiobook and I worked on my new podcasts lists.
Before I get to the new pods, let me tell you about a great episode of Sorta Awesome: The pandemic broke me, now what? I really appreciated that the team took some time to return to the pandemic topic (yeah, everyone is just over it, but let’s not do as if nothing happened, right?) to discuss the intimate, long-term impacts that long period of stress had on all of us. I’m no great fan of the Enneagram but whatever helps… I think it’s a worthwhile episode for many.
Last week I tried Sounds like a Cult, where the duo of Amanda and Isa chat and laugh through a discussion on sort-of serious topics, to discuss if a certain cultural phenomenon is just a fad, something slightly creepy or a big no-no. I wasn’t immediately sold on the concept (I started with an episode on Starbucks) because the hosts felt a bit… well… youngish? to me. Another way of saying that I resented that they made me feel old… But past the midway of each episode I found that they really went beyond the shallow and discussed deep issues (I also listened to the episodes on preppers and on true crime). The show has a vibe similar to ICYMI and I can see the podcast growing on me.
The other show I tried this week was Tunnel 29, a BBC historical mini-series on people escaping Communist Eastern Germany not through or above the Berlin Wall, but under it, through tunnels. I’m just 2 episodes into it, it sort of starts a bit slow but the editing is great. I hope the pace will pick up though, or I probably won’t finish it.
For next week, I’ve downloaded a few episodes of Best Laid Plans, on planning and planners. I considered the popular true crime series Your Own Backyard, but after seeing that many episodes are around 1h30, I haven’t downloaded it. Should I reconsider? Instead I chose Cover-Up, a 2018 mini-series on Kennedy’s Chappaquiddick events, it came with the New York Times’ recommendation and is under an hour each.
Happy weekend everyone!
Smithereens 
1.5 hours per episode would turn me off too.
I will check out that Sorta Awesome episode.
I noticed some bulbs in my yard are starting to poke their little green tips out of the ground! Spring is on its way!
I listened to two great episodes of We Can Do Hard Things this week. The one about letting go of stuff and the one about life hacks.