The Curator: the books & TV that raised us
our millennial latchkey childhoods, a very personal essay, plus new books, new shows, and what I've been reading this week.
A shorty today because commencement activities at my day job nearly killed me. Cheers!
While working three long commencement ceremonies this week, my coworkers and I got on the subject of being raised by TV. Almost everyone could remember the few shows that they watched incessantly, whether they were lucky enough to have cable or just basic channels. Shows ranged from Laverne and Shirley to Disney Channel original movies or classic cartoons. Each person got a little glint in their eye thinking about it.
It also felt like a uniquely Millennial & Gen X experience, being raised by media. We were the generation of early technology when you had to watch whatever was on TV, but cable provided a new range of choices that older generations never had. We couldn’t skip commercials, but we could select anything from the scrolling TV Guide channel. We were a latchkey generation, given some freedom before everyone locked their door during daylight hours and before we knew every bad thing that might happen from choosing a TV set as a babysitter. And it doesn’t make me mad or sad that so many of my fondest memories include TV or movies because it has become a part of who I am (who we are).
I was lucky enough to also be raised by books. While I loved watching Grease every single day the summer before fifth grade, I also read anything I could get my hands on. Borders trips were the highlight of the month. When
sent out a call for submissions, I had a few titles in mind, including The Phantom Tollbooth and Calvin & Hobbes. The frame of childhood is central to understanding what it means for a book to have made me - I didn’t even consider a title from adulthood. The things we experience in childhood stick with us like ice in our brain, slowly thawing with age, a trickle of images and feelings flashing into the present, sometimes without warning or reason. The TV, movies, and books that raised me will always be important and will always find a way to wriggle into my thinking and writing, no matter how many wrinkles I accumulate.In the end, it was The Halloween Tree that felt most thoroughly entwined with my continued existence. In case you missed it, I wrote about this book that made me here
READING 📖→
Finally finished Near to the Wild Heart by Clarice Lispector. I changed my approach, and it turned the book around for me. Instead of inspecting each sentence for comprehension, I let it flow. I read at a normal pace even if I couldn’t parse meaning, letting the feeling and cadence take over. I understood more of what was happening with this method, if not how Joanna was feeling (I may never understand how Joanna was feeling, and that’s okay by me).
About 25% of the way into The Ministry of Time and I can already tell it is something special. Bradley uses words/phrases like “semaphoric” and “crock of shit” with equal intelligence and aplomb. I am in hearts.
Here’s me, happily making my way through Karin Slaughter’s audiobook backlist. I’m six books in and on book five of the Grant County series, THEY CHANGE THE EFFING AUDIOBOOK NARRATOR. Kathleen Early narrates like 27 of her books why not this one? Why do this to me? I would like to start a petition to have Early go back and re-record Faithless please, somebody contact a senator.
WATCHING 📽️→
The back of my eyelids.
But also, the new and final season of Evil is finally back on Paramount+, and I AM SO EXCITED. Evil is, without a doubt, a top ten favorite show of all time. It’s about a trio who investigate claims of miracles, possession, or other uneasily explained phenomena. They are a Catholic priest, a skeptic psychologist, and a practical scientist, and together, they find ways of explaining (or not) the world around us. We are on to season four, so the side plots have gotten a little wacky, but if you have any interest in the rational explanation of paranormal activity, this show is for you.
NEW BOOKS 📚→
A tale of complicated morality, familial secrets, ambition, and infidelity from a best-selling author.
One I can’t believe escaped my attention when building my 2024 wishlist - the cover alone makes me want it right now, but Oates is a ledge so I bet its’s good to read as well.
A new title from an iconic author because who doesn’t love reading about rich people’s problems?
Just read the title. Enough said.
RESTACK OF THE WEEK ♻️→
A super insightful and interesting piece on the types of female characters we love to hate and whether they deserve it or not.
AND CATS 🐈⬛→
Post long day at work love from my bb.
In Case You Missed It 🖤
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See you around the bookshelf!
Natalie
I love Evil! We just finished the third season on Prime last night, but we don't have paramount so we'll have to wait for the last season to show up on one of our streaming channels. I'll have to live with my theories until then.
Congrats on surviving commencement season! After eight years of them, I still get itchy this time of year thinking about how stressful they are 😂