June's recommendations
Big Mood, Electoral Dysfunction and my favourite newsletters
HAPPY JUNE marvellers 🤍
I’m not going to lie this month has been more of a struggle than usual. I seem to have watched, read and listened to a lot of very average stuff. So help a gal out and let me know what you’ve been enjoying will you?? ⬇️
That said I still have a few gems for you, so don’t panic...
🎬 Something to watch
What I have enjoyed TV wise is Big Mood, a Channel 4 comedy-drama written by Camilla Whitehill, starring Nicola Coughalin (Bridgerton, Derry Girls) and Lydia West (It’s A Sin). It follows best friends Maggie and Eddie, as their decade-long friendship is put to the test as Maggie’s bipolar disorder makes an unwelcome return. The show sensitively yet humorously explores the pressures mental illness can put on relationships and both Nicola Coughalin and Lydia West are brilliant.
🎧 Something to listen to
If you just can’t get enough of the pre-election political chat then you might enjoy Electoral Dysfunction, a podcast hosted by political heavyweights, Beth Rigby (Sky News Political Editor), Jess Phillips (Labour MP), and Ruth Davidson (former leader of the Scottish Conservatives). It’s a very similar format to The Rest Is Politics, with the three hosts digesting what’s going on in the world of current affairs, providing interesting context from their experience working in the corridors of power. I particularly enjoy Jess Phillips’ cheeky humour and down to earthness.
📚 Something to read
I’m still finishing off Jane Eyre after committing myself to reading more of the classics, so I don’t have any new books for you this month, BUT what I thought I’d do is share a few of my favourite newsletters instead…
The Guardian’s The Guide - I genuinely look forward to getting this every week. It’s a weekly round-up from The Guardian’s Culture team, usually written by Culture Editor Gwilym Mumford, who is really spot on with his recommendations.
Pandora Sykes’ Books + Bits - another book / podcast / TV / film recc Substack, from journalist and author Pandora Sykes. Again I find her recommendations usually very good and her analysis quite funny. There is a free version and then some extra bits for paid subscribers.
Tortoise’s Sensemaker - an actual news-letter from the ‘slow news’ media company Tortoise. It contains a summary of the day’s headlines as well as a deep dive into one main story. It manages to be concise yet informative and a great alternative to doom-scrolling the news.
Shaun Usher’s Letters of Note - you might be aware of the Letters of Note book series from letter enthusiast Shaun Usher - but did you know there was a newsletter?? Every day Shaun shares a different letter from history. Recent letters have included condolences sent following the death of Virginia Woolf to her husband Leonard, an exchange between President Reagan and a 13-year-old boy about the tidiness of his room and a spiky response from Frank Sinatra to a critical columnist. They are a fascinating insight into the personalities behind some of history’s big names.
Hattie Chrissel’s In Writing - people interested in writing will enjoy Hattie Chrissel’s podcast and Substack, all about the writing process. She regularly interviews writers of all kinds about their creative process and writing habits and has a book coming out in November on the same theme.
Lisa Quinn’s Rework - this newsletter is written by career coach Lisa Quinn and is all about navigating the workplace and finding fulfilling work. She often asks thought provoking coaching questions, aimed at helping you think about what it is you really want out of work.
Marvels from the community
❤️🔥 Leisa recommends Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa, a gentle novel set in Jimbocho, Japan, a neighbourhood with the highest number of bookshops in the world.
❤️🔥 Carole recommends The Whalebone Theatre, a debut novel by Joanna Quinn that follows the lives of Cristabel, Flossie and Digby Seagrave as they grow up in the Dorset countryside, ahead of the onset of the Second World War.
❤️🔥 Becky recommends it’s not just you, a podcast hosted by two friends Soph and Rach featuring honest conversations about ‘the things that everyone feels but no one really talks about’.
❤️🔥 Toby recommends The Best of Men, a film based on the true story of Dr Ludwig Guttmann, a neurologist whose pioneering work with paraplegic patients led to the formation of the Paralympic Games.
That’s it. Have a wonderful month angels 🥳