Civil War, Sushi, and Summer Reading

Plus, the rest of my Weekly What

May 18, 2024

We are in the throes of end of school year chaos over here, which is especially chaotic this year compared with other years as both my kids are preparing to move to new buildings; my youngest will start middle school next year and my oldest, high school. By happy accident their end of year school trips, an amusement park and Washington D.C. respectively, overlapped in such a happy way that my husband and I found ourselves kid-free for an afternoon and part of an evening. This very rarely happens.

We snuck away for an early movie and dinner. I had the chance to see Civil War in the theatre, unexpected but welcomed.

In Civil War we follow a quad of journalists of varying experience levels as they navigate a war torn America attempting to reach D.C. with hopes of interviewing the president before the government falls.

The journalists are in for a grisly odyssey as they encounter militants meting out justice in a now lawless society, get caught in the crossfire of enemy combatants, and narrowly escape with their lives after reenacting scenes from Footloose that worked out okay for kids in an oppressive town that just want to dance, but doesn’t translate well to a war zone. You live, you learn.

The narrative wasn’t concerned with who was fighting whom, or how Americans slipped into war with ourselves, perhaps because we’re already living the prequel, but it does serve as a vivid warning of what could lay on the path ahead in abandoning our values, ideals, and democratic institutions.

The movie was very concerned with these journalists and their role in shaping our violent reality, a point worth considering, but this message already feels a little dated to me. With the way mis/dis/information spreads online today it’s not journalists at the forefront of news. It’s much more complicated than that and our landscape much more fertile for bad actors to manipulate reality with bad takes or outright disinformation being spread at lighting speed aided by an algorithm that feeds on outrage.

So anyway, you can see I’m a very chill date, but we did go out afterwards for sushi and ended the evening with some espresso martinis. Plus, you know, in this version of democratic apocalypse the mainstream media lives on. One might call that a hopeful tale indeed.

Tell me:

Have you seen Civil War? Thoughts?
What’s your ideal date night?
Anything, let’s chat!

What I’m…

Reading

Here We Go Again by Alison Cochrun. A rom-com centering grief that somehow really, really works. This is the third book I’ve read from Alison Cochrun and I just love her snappy writing style.
How to Read a Book by Monica Wood. A heartwarming story centering books. Sometimes you just one of this sweet reads. {Full review.}

Listening

The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt. An important topic and the book is well done. I, however, felt more anxious for having read it.
Monsters We Have Made by Lindsay Starck. Listenable but one of those books I completely forgot as soon as I finished.

Watching

Palm Royale (Apple). Finished the season. Very watchable, but not a must watch.
The Girls on the Bus (Max). Same. Finished the last couple of episodes. Watchable, but not a must.
The Circle (Netflix). As always, fun and entertaining.

Eating & Drinking

Chinese Takeout per my Mother’s Day request
Grilled Burgers + Sweet Potato “Fries”
Chicken Alfredo
Honey Garlic Chicken + Rice and Broccoli

Links + Loves

I am loving all the Summer Reading Guides that are dropping!
- Sara Hildreth
  ‘s Paperback Summer Reading Guide is my favorite. Deep backlist titles, many I’ve never even heard of, an eclectic mix of literary titles, and who doesn’t want a floppy paperback for their beach/pool bag?!
- I always peruse Modern Mrs. Darcy’s Minimalist Guide and I’m always interested to see what others pick up from her hefty longlist.
- Everyday Reading’s Summer Reading Guide always has a good mix and includes backlist titles as well (important when you’re borrowing from the library and want to avoid long wait times!) Janssen also includes a “books for the whole family category” that I appreciate.
- Imagination Soup has an incredible Summer Reading Guide for kids that’s separated by age/grade and genre.

ICYMI

This week’s blog posts:

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