☀️ Sunday Sharies: August 2023

a cozy fall read, s'mores cookies, and a Florence Pugh movie

It’s the last Sunday of the month, and you know what that means. There’s a lot of stuff we’d like to share that won’t fit in our usual Thursday TV newsletter. Some of that stuff is here. Read on for a special monthly peek into what your trusty Double Take duo has been watching, reading, listening to, and more.

— Jess Spoll and Jenni Cullen

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Jess: Maybe I should have learned my lesson by now, but I was VERY excited to read Riley Sager’s newest thriller, The Only One Left, just to be fairly disappointed. His first handful of novels were twisty and enthralling, but the last few have not lived up. This one felt like if Stephen King wrote Verity and threw in a few nonsensical twists (3/5).

Along with seemingly everyone else, my book club is reading Emily Henry’s newest rom-com, Happy Place, this month. I’m not quite finished with it, but I’ve enjoyed it so far. She has such a gift for writing dialogue — a rare skill for a romance novel author — and I find myself often laughing out loud at the witty banter.

Jenni: Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross was my first read of the month. It’s a fun piece of speculative fiction that flitted between fantasy and historical fiction with a healthy dose of enemies to lovers plot (3.5/5 stars). I also read Emily Henry’s Beach Read because I needed a beach read and it did the job fine (3/5 stars).

Ok, please don’t judge me for the title of my next read because it was actually super charming and made me really excited for fall. The Kiss Curse by Erin Stirling is a little like if Gilmore Girls and Practical Magic had a baby — just light and cute and all around cozy (3.5/5 stars). Rounding out August by starting Babel by R.F. Kuang. I’m only halfway through this novel about self-discovery, colonial resistance, and the use of language as the dominating tool of the 1800s British empire, but I’m really enjoying the read so far — busy as that description makes it seem! Circle back in September to see if the last half is just as good.

Jess: What better way to give myself a break from listening to Zach Bryan’s discography on a constant loop than a new Zach Bryan album? He released a self-titled album on Friday, and it’s about half of the length of his previous release, but more consistent; nearly every song has earned a spot in my usual rotation. Special shout-out to my favorites so far, East Side of Sorrow and Spotless (ft. The Lumineers).

Selena Gomez and Miley Cyrus also both released new singles (Used to Be Young and Single Soon, respectively) on Friday, which I totally forgot about until this moment because I was too excited about Zach.

I’ve also been running more, which means more thriller audiobooks, of course. This month, I finished A Stranger in the House by Shari Lapena, which was full of clichés, predictable, and just all around not a good choice for keeping my mind engaged and off the fact that I am running (2/5).

Jenni: I’m in a music and podcast rut again! I need recommendations, so if there’s something I’ve been sleeping on, please send it my way.

Jess: S’mores cookies!!!! I don’t know if it’s too late to recommend these, since summer is coming to an end, but these cookies were so easy and delicious. I feel like I’m always in the mood for s’mores, but never in a situation where I can actually roast a marshmallow for a proper s’more (is one s’mores a s’more?), and these are perfect for satisfying the craving without a campfire. Importantly, I finally got a kitchen scale (just a simple one from Amazon), and it’s crazy how much of a difference it makes. By my estimate, I was using about 30% too much flour when using just the “spoon and level” method instead of measuring the weight. So my last batch of cookies were too dry and crumbly, but this time, they were perfect.

I also tried a new-to-me Half Baked Harvest recipe from her first cookbook, which was similar to this one on her website. It’s full of fresh summer veggies, which again makes it perfect for August but potentially not a great recommendation for an end-of-August newsletter.

Jenni: I’ve been adding an altered version of this bibimbap to the dinner rotation, swapping tofu for the beef. It’s easy and delicious and I highly recommend.

Jess: As I mentioned last month, Matt and I have been going through all of Psych, and I am enjoying it immensely. But when Matt is out of town, which he was for two trips this month, I can’t watch Psych, so I turned to the genre that he never wants to watch with me: horror. Unfortunately, my pick, Knock at the Cabin, turned out to be more of a sad, philosophical movie than a scary movie. The trailer made it look like a classic Strangers-esque slasher, although I should have known better considering it’s an M. Night Shyamalan film. It was well acted, and decently poignant, but I think the allegorical tale would have landed better with more ambiguity.

Jenni: I’ve been on a decent number of planes lately and earlier this month I finally watched Zach Braff’s A Good Person with the incredible Florence Pugh. I enjoyed it a lot, though I think I scarred the little girl sitting next to me by crying every other scene. I rewatched Four Weddings and a Funeral on the same flight, and chuckled a decent amount but also cried once more (that funeral speech gets me every time).

Jess: I am nothing if not easily influenced by targeted Instagram ads. Recently I’ve been seeing ads for this superfood powder, ARMRA Colostrum, that is supposed to enhance your immune system and gut health. I’ve been taking it every day for a week, and I think maybe my sleep is a little better? But it’s hard to know for sure if that’s due to the supplement. It’s really expensive, and I probably won’t order it again, and I should probably set a rule for myself that I’m not allowed to buy anything that I see on Instagram ads.

I am also nothing if not a chronic Abercrombie shopper. I’ve mentioned them before, but I’m obsessed with the Sloane Tailored Pant, so I grabbed those in another color, along with this belt and this short-sleeve bodysuit.

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