Winter Ideas 2020
We’re pretty certain everyone is looking for new sources of entertainment as we all try and ride out the downhill slope of the pandemic. With vaccinations beginning, hospitals are still on overload, so we’re all still stuck at home in our off hours. We thought that rather than provide you with our favorite book and TV reviews, we could provide you with our favorite sources for fresh ideas. Even if you’re an avid fan of TV or books or music, we find, it is possible something flies under the radar. These sites are a great way to do a quick double check, see if you missed something that does seem just right for you—or someone who is part of your bubble—and fill in the gap.
What to Watch Newsletter
The New York Times
If you’re a subscriber you can get this newsletter delivered to your inbox. Full of notes like the 50 Best Things on [insert various streaming services here], the email newsletter for subscribers comes straight to your inbox each week, helping you prioritize your viewing. They tell you what’s new, and what’s leaving soon, and typically organize it by streaming channel. They’ll also tell you what to watch if you liked X, Y, and Z and have one hour vs two hours free. And if you never watch anything, this column is a great way to check in every so often and be sure you’re not missing out. (It will give you enough detail, without any spoilers, to pass muster in the early attendee Zoom call dialogue—once known as the watercooler conversation. If you’re not a subscriber, you’ll need to make a friend to reliably read the column.
The best 300 or so books of every year, all tagged with multiple, relevant tags. Want the best young adult science fiction that also has seriously great writing? You can sort by those three criteria. This is an awesome tool for gift shopping, no matter if you are looking for a book for an avid reader or an unenthusiastic one, of any age or taste. This is amazing on your phone or iPad, BTW. Susan actually gets on the NPR website and starts hitting refresh when she feels it’s time for this to be available. We’d swear it was a January publish date in the past, but 2020 is out now.
The Best Books of 2020
The Washington Post
These folks have incredible restraint. They only list 10 books. They do however do a number of genre lists with the best 10 SciFi, Nonfiction, Romance, etc. And for the non-readers, if you click around, WaPo also does the best albums, movies, TV shows, and several other things.
Vulture Best of 2020
Vulture
This team helps fill in the gaps. Everything from the 10 best comedy podcasts, board games, video games, songs, movies, and best comedy specials, so unless all you do is work and meditate, this site will help you find something entertaining that’s right up your alley.
55 Most Anticipated Books of 2021
Oprah Magazine
If you like to work ahead, you’ll find these lists on various book blogs and clickbait in Apple News, but Oprah is a reliable narrator—although she may well have snapped up the film/TV rights to some of these already.
Interactive Book Calendar
The New York Times
For the true book nerd, a calendar of literary events (subscribe in Google or iOS), from writers’ birthdays to the publishing release dates of new books, award announcements, and film and TV adaptations. Perfect if you want a readers’ version of People Magazine, without the magazine.
Best Apple TV Apps
Tom’s Guide
We all consume our media in a lot of different ways, but, ironically for people who make videos, most of us have cut the cable cord, and are relying on streaming services and super fast internet. One trick we all use is to wait until we have a couple of shows we want to watch on a given streaming site, like CBS All Access or Showtime, subscribe to the channel via the app on our Smart TV or Apple TV/Roku/Chromecast, and watch everything the next 30-60 days, then cancel. We do all seem to view some combination of HBO, Netflix, Hulu, and Disney+ as the core set of channels we keep around month after month. (Disney+ seems to require you have a Marvel fan or younger children at home to make the cut for 12 months a year.)
Enjoy your well-deserved time off. We all look forward to seeing you on teleconference (and maybe in person) in 2021.
