Open Tabs [Weekly] #15

12.22.24 -- what I'm reading, watching, and listening to

Welcome to this week’s edition of Open Tabs, where I share my current reads, recent obsessions, and media consumptions every Sunday!

cover for Puck illustrated by Frank A. Nankivell

I guess you can call this the Christmas issue…I’m not the most festive person this time of year, but sometimes I try to indulge in the holiday spirit just a *little* bit leading up to the 25th. A teeny-tiny bit.

With a week off of work, I’m feeling relaxed and ready to indulge in a few simple things: reading, writing, baking, and watching movies!

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Reading [Books]

I did a little bit of reading this week, but mostly in the form of super short audiobooks. I listened to Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan, a book everyone has read/is reading. And A Chef’s Christmas by Anthony Bourdain, a quick story read by Bourdain himself.

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Reading [Online]

• Examining Why Everyone Suddenly Wants to Be Perceived As Well-Read (ArchDigest)

• A Controversial Rare-Book Dealer Tries to Rewrite His Own Ending (The New Yorker)

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Watching [Movie]

• The Holiday List (2024)

A Christmas movie with a subdued (not cheery) tone, that’s about family disfunction instead of romance…I’ll take it! This is a movie I’d be willing to classify as “pretty good” if everything (the acting, writing/dialogue, plot) were just, um, mildly better. But critical eye aside, I liked this.

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Watching [TV]

• Industry (season 3)

I loved previous seasons of this show, but something about this one felt quite off. Overdone, disjointed, weird pacing, characters suddenly felt flat. It very much felt like a final season intended to send off the characters, but I think they renewed for a 4th season (why)? Would still recommend the 1st season though!

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Listening [Music]

• Is This Christmas??? (playlist)

I made this playlist a couple of years ago. I don’t particularly like Christmas music, so this is what I listen to instead. (I know I’m not the only one who feels a bit melancholy on Christmas Day!)

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Listening [Podcast]

• When Christmas Went Viral (Throughline)

• The Cult of Hallmark Christmas Movies (Sounds Like a Cult)

• The History of Santa Claus (Girl Historians)

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Googling

• Existential ocd

• zinc cadmium sulfide St. Louis

• tofu fried rice

Last Week…

Open Tabs [Weekly] #14

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