What we're watching
WeCrashed (AppleTV) and The Dropout (Disney) are both based on true stories of billion dollar companies gone awry. The casting is excellent, with lots of Hollywood names. Jared Leto is almost unidentifiable as Adam Neumann, CEO of the now infamous WeWork. In the same vein, we are eagerly awaiting the UK rollout of SuperPumped: The Battle for Uber.
Netflix rolls out the second series of Russian Doll on 20th April. If you haven’t yet watched the first season – a sort of Groundhog Day, but darker and funnier – now is the time to catch up.
We’re excited for Gaslit, the new film about the Watergate scandal that comes out on 24th April starring Julia Roberts and Sean Penn. Watch the trailer here.
What we're reading
Look out for Don’t Put Yourself on Toast by Freddy Taylor, published on 14th April. It’s a short story about the death of Taylor’s father when he was 21 and it’s taken from his journal and also one kept by his step-mother. It is funny, searingly honest and sad.
Sophie Haydock’s debut novel, The Flames is the reimagined story of Egon Shiele’s muses, Adele, Gertrude, Vally and Edith set in turn-of-the-century Vienna. We loved it and have since become fans of her Instagram account, @egonshieleswomen and newsletter too.
Sorrow & Bliss by Meg Mason has been everywhere but for good reason. It’s a powerful book about mental illness but in the hands of an extremely witty narrator. Impossible to resist passing on.
We’re late to the party but recently finished Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche and were completely stunned by her writing and the story that covers race and immigration whilst being essentially a brilliant love story.
Everyday Play by Julian Rothenstein is the latest creation from the man behind the cult Redstone Diary. It’s a delightful book full of bizarre and quirky things to do from the familiar (consequences and Chinese whispers) to the eccentric – try living like Peter the Great for a day or cooking like Louise Bourgeois. It would make a good present for someone tricky to buy for.
We haven’t bought it yet, but we love the look of A Life in Fabric, the new book by Christina Strutt who co-founded Cabbages & Roses in 2000. She was the original cottage core!
And for a laugh, Theo Fennell’s memoir, I Fear for This Boy is a very funny read that charts the highs and (more often) lows of life as London’s top jeweller.
What we're listening to
Our podcast library is filled with news shows, which have been extremely depressing of late. For an antidote try The Just Enough Family as a welcome distraction. It’s the story of the Steinbergs, one of America’s richest families, and the rollercoaster of their lives hosted by the brilliant Ariel Levy. For music, we’ve been listening to this playlist, Emancipation for the Nation on repeat.
And for children, we’re eagerly awaiting the new season of Greeking Out, which is a great podcast for long car rides. Imagine Dragons seems to be a current Spotify favourite. And the soundtracks to Sing 1 and Sing 2 are great – our kids are enjoying some 80’s, 90’s and 00’s throwbacks and dancing around to Elton John and U2.
A Little Bird Loves
