Water Cooler Recs
Elevator buttons and morning air, Strangers' silence makes me want to take the stairs
As much as I loathe losing time and sleep to commutes, I love the community that comes with an office environment. (In my heart of hearts a hybrid model is the most productive and sustainable, but we’ll save that for another day.) As an avid consumer of pop culture and media, I find a big part of my enjoyment comes from sharing the solitary experience with others [she writes in her weekly newsletter no one asked for about the books she reads].
There’s something about spending 40-60 hours per week with people you may otherwise never cross paths with and shooting the shit. It’s been the source of countless show, podcast, book, film, music, you name it recommendations over the years. So in an effort to turn Peed’s Reads into a virtual space for “water cooler chats,” here are the shows I’m currently watching [paired with book recommendations because we’re literate like that].
Not just at the water cooler…
If you didn’t know, my current job is the third season of The Night Agent, so it’s kind of the center of every conversation in our office (whether we realize it or not). I loved the first season! The second season dropped the week before I started (and when I was in a Netflix-less window), but now I’m binging it. I really want to read the season three scripts, but don’t want spoilers.
My book rec is the middle grade series City Spies by James Ponti. These were recommended to my by my Godson Elias, and they deliver! Ponti brings us lovable characters in high stakes scenarios around the world. We follow lovable teens and tweens as they navigate geopolitics, terrorism, and the nuances of right versus wrong.
Like calls to like…
Everything Kaitlin Olson is in is amazing. Them’s the rules. I’ve loved High Potential since the pilot, but have had no one to share this love with outside of my dad. (I watched the pilot in the kitchen and rewound it so he’d see the grocery store math scene. He got sucked in, then cut to: a month later when he called me and said “what’s that show you forced me to watch?” He’s since thanked me TWICE for the recommendation. That’s rare in Robert.)
According to ABC, High Potential was the No. 1 drama among adults in that coveted 18-49 range. -Entertainment Weekly
Thanks to my new office environment, I have another pal who watches and loves the show. Her mom, like me, has finished the 13 episode first season, and is just waiting for Erin to catch up! If you grew up on crime procedurals in the 2000s and love a smart, funny, stylish female lead, this show is for you!
Sticking in the theme of unconventional, stylish, highly intelligent women who solve mysteries, I’m recommending my favorite book of all time, House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas. This is the first book in the Crescent City series. Bryce Quinlan is hot af and often underestimated as a result.
The pairing I’m most proud of…
Y’all know I love Will Trent because it came into my life when I was craving the creature comfort that is a crime-solving procedural. It’s set in Atlanta and follows a charming and diverse cast of endearing characters? Say less!
You might think I’d recommend a book by Karin Slaughter, the thriller author who wrote the original series Will Trent is adapted from, and who I’ve been happening to read more and more of lately. But no! I’m full of surprises.
Love & Monsters by Max Walker is a contemporary romantic suspense that also happens to be set in Atlanta. It’s a crime story wrapped in a love story!
In quirky we trust…
Elsbeth has quickly become one of my favorite shows on television right now. I never watched The Good Wife nor The Good Fight but Elsbeth Tascioni has won me over with her bright colors and copious tote bags.
While Elsbeth consults with the NYPD to solve murders, Wren Jones’s Practical Potions and Premeditated Murder pairs a savvy kitchen witch with the ghost of a young woman to solve her recent murder. Don’t worry; there’s a sassy talking cat too!
Bare with me…
I’ve been watching Shifting Gears each week because everyone needs a corny multi-camera sitcom in their lives. While Tim Allen may be Hollywood’s furthest thing from a guncle, this is about vibes.
Both Shifting Gears and The Guncle by Steven Rowley take place in southern California and explore the relationship between a grown man and clever children unexpectedly forced to live together.
I had to…
Between the setting and the casting of Phillipa Soo, I was intrigued by Ryan Murphy’s new network show, Doctor Odyssey. While charming, enjoyable, and inclusive, I was wondering how he got involved in this show. Then it went there.
Maybe I’m living under a rock, but this is the first network show I’ve seen to discuss so openly the possibility of the three main characters entering into a consensual polyamorous relationship.
So Give Me More by Sara Cate is the obvious pairing. While it’s my least favorite book in the series, it is about a married (MF) couple opening their relationship to include their best friend Drake.
If Barbara was a Jewish Grandma…
Without a doubt, Abbott Elementary is one of the best sitcoms on television right now. In it’s fourth season, this is the show on this list I’ve been following the longest. Who doesn’t love an ensemble cast in a workplace setting. Their breakroom is the water cooler!
This show addresses conflicts at every age in the human experience. And Barbara can always be counted on for her (faith-forward) words of wisdom. So let me present you with Nobody Will Tell You This But Me by Bess Kalb. It’s a quick collection of advise and wisdom the author’s lovingly critical grandmother shared with her over the years. (An excellent listen.)
Old people inserting themselves…
Do I like Kathy Bates as the 21st century Matlock? yeah, kinda…
Did I like the hit mystery novel The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman? yeah, kinda…
A stretch…
I was surprised both The Rookie and A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder hooked me so quickly. I also have slowly fallen out of love with both series... I just need to finish the last AGGGTM book. I still watch The Rookie week to week, but I really think the 8 month hiatus without a proper “catch up episode” is the final nail in the cop show’s coffin.
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Hyper-fixation du jour: Throne of Glass
Y’all I’m back on my SJM grind, and holy guacamole! I’ve been struggling through the grind of the tandem read and decided f**k it! and secured the audiobooks.
(Thorn of the week is that the last three audiobooks in this series are “only from audible” so I HAD to buy them from Amazon and could not get them from libro.fm nor the library. SUPER DUMB! But thanks Mom for letting me use your Audible credits ;))
But it’s soooo worth it! I’ve been plowing through them and when I meant to only listen to the first half, I’m now going to listen to the whole last 80%! It is really nice that on Audible you can use the “End of Chapter” timer so it’ll pause and you can check when to switch books.
My notes app with the to-do check marks has been super handy too as I embark on this listening journey! (If you want to copy this hack, whether you’re reading with your eyeballs or listening with your ears, make sure and check out my Tandem Read Key post!)
It helps that Papa Peed has started his Throne of Glass journey this week as well! He’s already halfway through The Assassin’s Blade (because he has a good guide who tells him where to start) and he’s been asking questions about characters who literally do not make another appearance UNTIL THE TANDEM READ BOOKS so the timing is just Beschert!
UGHHHHHH if you’re reading this series (or have read it) let me know! I need to talk to someone about it! I love it so much! <3333 It’s gotten me through a lot of scanning and filing on this show!
If you want to purchase any of the books mentioned in this article, please consider using my affiliate link with my favorite independent book store, The Ripped Bodice, or using my referral link to libro.fm for an audiobook!