Links I'm Loving

Glass phoenix at Missouri Botanical Garden

Many cool books, shows, podcasts, albums and articles have roped me in lately. Here are a few recommendations of things I think you'll enjoy:

• Have you seen the LuLaRich docuseries? It's fascinating, and this interview is the perfect companion piece: What Got Left Out of LuLaRich.
  
  
• Listen (or read) about pop culture picks for this fall including upcoming books, music, shows and movies from the gang at the Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast.
  
  
• My new favorite show is Only Murders in the Building. Here's a look at why it's so fab. 
  
  
• I'm slightly obsessed with the New York Times Spelling Bee game. Here are some insider secrets, and here's the game itself. Unfortunately, you do have to pay to play past a certain point ($5 a month, which includes access to crosswords and other games as well).
  
  
• Halsey's new album If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power packs a punch. It was produced by Trent Reznor, and listeners will notice little things that remind them of Nine Inch Nails, which blend beautifully with Halsey's style and powerful vocals.
  
  
• The Morning Show is back! Catch it on Apple TV Plus for free if you have a Target Circle account (which you can also create for free). This apparently works for former subscribers as well as newbies, but current subscribers won't be able to redeem it.
  
  
• I'm loving Sally Rooney's latest novel, Beautiful World, Where Are You. Here's a take I hadn't seen before: Why is the Sex in Sally Rooney's Books So Good?
  
  
• Bravo reality shows have become a guilty pleasure of mine during the pandemic. Each new show I picked up had a backlog of old episodes to binge, and my latest can't stop, won't stop watch has been Below Deck, streaming on Peacock. Fortunately, I was able to record season 8 on YoutTube TV (Peacock only has seasons 1-7), while season 9 starts in October. Not sure you want to watch? Go ahead and set those DVRs just in case, like me, you get hooked on old seasons.
  
  
• I make use of library ebook loans A LOT, so I'm always fascinated by articles of how that works financially. Check out The Surprisingly Big Business of Library E-Books.
  
  
• The longlist for the 2021 National Book Awards has arrived!