Tag Archives: podcast recommendations

October Good Reads – Spooky edition!

Aside 10/07/2021 Charmeine Leave a comment

I started this post on October 1st but it’s taken me a few days to find some new content to share with you. October already? That means — Spooky season has officially begun! Next to Christmas, this is my favorite holiday/celebration of the entire year. My mum loved decorating the house when we were kids and we would all take turns handing out Halloween candy. We used to count how many kids we’d have. By 8 or 9 pm, the doorbell would stop ringing and we’d close the door, turn off the lights and that’s when my favorite part of the night started.

My mum wasn’t a fan of gory slasher movies, and neither am I to be honest, but we LOVED watching spooky movies about ghosts, or anything supernatural related. We would watch a lot of the classic movies together as well.

So, for this month’s Good Reads recommendations, I’m focusing on classic horror (TV shows, movies and books). There’s so many good shows and movies that I may do a series of posts for you over the next few months.

Every year as an adult, I adopted the tradition of watching scary movies every night in the last week of October. I’d line up about four or five movies for Halloween night that I watch every year. Some years I’ve done two week long marathons. This year, I’m attempting to start the marathon now.

I’ve already binged watched a bunch of original Twilight Zone episodes, finished watching Lucifer, and have moved onto True Blood – which is such a cheesy but fun show to watch.

So, without further ado, here are my top 5 recommendations for Spooky Good Reads.

Remember: my recommendations aren’t just about books. They also include movies, tv shows, podcasts and all forms of digital media.

Only Murders in the Building

I’m starting the list off with a new tv show called Only Murders in the Building. I’ve watched a couple of episodes and I’m really loving the vibe so far. It’s like modern horror mixed in with classic horror. Why is that? Because it stars two of my long-time favorite comedians, Martin Short and Steve Martin. This classic duo has starred in some of my favorite movies over the years like Parenthood, It’s Complicated, Inner Space. But to keep the show fresh and attract a younger audience, we also have the talented Selena Gomez in the main cast.

The main premise:

All three characters live in the same building but other than spotting each other in the lobby or elevator, they don’t really know each other. That is, until one night, there is a grizzly murder in the building and the residents are forced out of the building for a few hours. The hilarious trio happened to pass by each other in restaurant and connect instantly over a shared interest – a podcast about true crime.

I loved the episodes I watched. It’s on my to watch list and is available on Hulu (for US customers) or Disney Plus for those of us in Canada. Guess that means I’m renewing my membership! Only a few episodes have been released, so I’m waiting until I can binge watch the show.

I can’t think of another show except maybe Supernatural, that gives so much to fans and fan fictions. Because let’s be honest, who doesn’t love a good “who done it” story?

The Twilight Zone

This show right here is what got me hooked onto sci-fi and horror as a young teen. As an 80’s kid, I grew up watching the reboot which is so cheesy to watch now. But as I got older, I started watching the original show from the 1950’s and now it has become one of my favorite shows of all time. The Twilight Zone is like the OG of sci-fi shows. Other cult hits like Supernatural and X-files were inspired by old episodes of the The Twilight Zone.

This show has been remade several times but nothing beats the original one that aired from 1959-64 and was hosted by Rod Serling. I’ve seen some episodes so many times that I’ve almost got the opening scene memorized by heart. I’m such a huge fan, and sci-fi nerd, that I’ve seen most of the episodes from the 80’s show, the 2000’s show and have even listened to podcasts and radio drama (dramatized reenactments).

I have never sat down to watch all of the episodes of the original series. I usually would just pick a few favorites. I’m about 1/2 of the way through season one – and there are so many episodes to get through. This challenge might take a few months.

In the original series, there are 5 seasons but there are like 156 episodes all together. That’s a lot of tv to watch.

Many of the episodes still hold up today while some are so cheesy to watch. But if you’re looking to watch the OG of sci-fi shows, then you must revisit this classic. I’m sharing my favorite episode with you – The Living Doll which still creeps me out today. I might do a separate post on my favorite episodes as I rewatch them.

Similar shows

If you love the OG Twilight Zone, then you might consider checking out shows like The Outer Limits, Alfred Hitchcock Presents and Night Gallery. These are all one off episodes with great story telling – so it doesn’t matter if you miss a few here and there. A modern day version of the show would be Black Mirror. I tried watching it and wasn’t crazy about it. I did however appreciate the episode with Miley Cyrus which is rumoured to be about Britney Spears.

If you’re a Stephen King fan, which I was as a teen, then you might appreciate the 80’s movie that has many stars like John Lithgow and Dan Ackroyd. This is one of my must watch movies for Halloween.

And as usual 80’s fashion, the special effects in this movie are generally laughable. But, it’s The Twilight Zone and one of my faves. The segment with John Lithgow on the plane is just good acting all around.

Podcasts: In the Dark (true crime)

These days, everyone has a podcast. And I mean, everyone. I don’t know how these celebrities find the time to go on each other’s show because there are so many of them now. I think the pandemic made celebs realize they could cash in on what us little people started.

Because everyone seems to have a podcast, it’s hard to find a really good one that stands out from the rest. And so, in keeping up with spooky suggestions, I thought I’d turn to one of the more popular true crime podcasts. According to TikTok, true crime podcasts are all the rage and even inspired the show I shared above with Selena Gomez.

So for this month, I’m going to share a separate post with my podcast recommendations. I’m listening to No Sleep Stories right now. If you’re a Reddit user, you’ll know what no sleep means. I’ve listened to a few of these and the dramatization is decent. But be careful when you listen to them! You might not be able to sleep after listening.

Books: separate post coming soon

Throughout the 90’s, Stephen King was an author that got me through life in general. I was a chubby and teen young teen who was still struggling to keep up in all my classes. The only classes I really did well in was English and Music. I did fairly well in languages in general so French was another good class.

I discovered solace in the form of books and would spend most of my Friday nights at the library. I would walk over to the library or take the bus after school on a Friday night and come home with a stack of books. I’d have the stack finished by Monday and this became my weekly routine. I loved reading. I couldn’t get enough of books. And one of my favorite authors at the time for horror was Stephen King. By age fourteen, I had read almost all of his books that was available at the time. I really regret giving away my book collection. I had SO many of them!

There are way too many spooky books to share with you, so I think I’m going to do a whole separate post. Just a reminder that my Good Reads recommendations include all media – movies, tv shows, podcasts, audiobooks.

I got my Good Reads account back up and running so you can follow me there. We could also start a book or movie club as I get more into reading. I signed up for Kindle again and have been reading a little every day on my phone. I think for Christmas, I’ll get a cheaper tablet instead of an Ipad for reading so I can stretch out on the couch too or read from anywhere.

As for future posts, expect more recommendations in coming weeks. I’m discovering new podcasts and things to do to pass the time. I’m also trying to spend less time in the evenings on the computer so this is a great way to pass the time.

What are you listening to or reading right now? Let me know in the comments and I can add them to a master list!

Goodreads – check out the books I’ve read

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Previous months

Thanks for reading and make sure to follow my blog — my indie film night is coming up in a few days and I have quite a few great movies lined up!

good reads

Good Reads – August 2021 – Comedy Edition

08/14/2021 Charmeine Leave a comment

My mother loved to read. Our house was filled with books from top to bottom. I caught the reading bug at an early age and would spend many nights curled up with a good paperback book.

I think this is what led me to enjoy writing as much as I do as an adult. I don’t read a lot of books anymore, but I really enjoy podcasts and audiobooks.

I’m going to use this blog to continue sharing whatever I am listening to or “reading” for the month. This isn’t limited to audiobooks or paper books. I’ll be sharing some of my favorite discoveries here.

Podcast: Markiplier and friends – Distractable (Spotify)

I’m not much of a gamer, but I love watching certain gamers on YouTube fumble their way through games that I would never play. The only two games I’ve ever owned were the Sims (all versions) and Minecraft. I get bored really quickly of games – so it’s more fun to watch other gamers comment and play. But it’s even more fun when all the gamers I like, get together and kill each other, so to speak.

One recent discovery, is Markiplier – one of YouTube’s biggest success stories.

Mark Edward Fishbach is the face and name behind the Markiplier channel on YouTube which has nearly 30 million subscribers. Mark’s main focus is “Let’s Play” games that fall under the horror category. If you’re not a fan of horror, no worries. Mark plays a variety of other games, most hilariously, you can watch him struggle with anger management during his replay of Pogostick.

Pogostick is a game that Mark swore off for good, until the company trolled him and sent him a sponsorship. But it’s this video that lives rent free in my head forever.

Mark has teamed up with his long time childhood friends, Bob and Wade to create a humourous podcast called Distractable. I’ve binged listened to ALL of these episodes and each one is pretty hilarious. But none are as entertaining as the episode titled “Bob’s Fridge.”

If you have listened to this trio play Uno, you know that Bob and Wade can go into spectacular fits of rage over the card game. But none live up to this one podcast episode as Bob hilariously describes his experience with Lowe’s and the installation of a new fridge.

I think we’ve all been there. Maybe that’s why I find this episode so hilarious. If you only listen to this episode, I promise – you won’t regret it.

I’ve listened to this thing twice – and it’s great for when you need a laugh.

The other episodes aren’t as funny, but they are entertaining if you’re looking to kill some time while doing laundry or whatever chore you find boring. The premise of the podcast is that Bob, Wade and Mark compete to tell who tells the funniest or best story. They purposely try and “distract” each other from the main topic, and some of their tangents are for real laugh out loud, gut busting material.

Good Reads

I haven’t kept up with my Good Reads challenge. Mostly because Audible, is SO expensive and I prefer listening to audiobooks while I do other things like work on art pieces. But I signed up for a free Audible trial because I wanted to listen to Seth Rogen’s new book called:

The ever adorable Seth Rogen is a man that wears many hats. He is Canadian born, but currently resides in California. He is an actor, writer, producer, director, business owner, and activist.

Seth is also an avid pot smoker, so if that’s an issue for you, you might not love this book. Or Seth. For me, it’s more that Seth is truly a genuine person, he is humble, supportive of his loved ones, and that laugh. It’s adorable.

Together with friends like Evan Goldberg and James Weaver, Seth has over 40 production credits (according to IMDB), 99 working credits as an actor, and has scored dozens of awards for his work.

Year Book is narrated by Seth Rogen himself. He goes back in time to tell stories of his childhood years with his grandparents. He talks about how he got into stand up comedy as a young teen and how his grandparents were his biggest target for his jokes.

I know Seth’s sense of humour isn’t for everyone. But sometimes you just need a good belly laugh. Paul Rudd, Seth Rogen, and Seth MacFarlane are my go to guys when I need to watch something funny.

Free Audiobooks

That’s all I have for you this month. I haven’t done as much reading as I’d like. But I hope to change that once my Ipad comes in – if it ever comes in! Four weeks left to go. I did some digging around and found some free websites where you can listen to audiobooks.

As much as I love the audiobooks on Audible, I find the platform is too expensive. You have to pay $14.95CDN per month to use the platform and you only get 1 credit per month. That means you only get to listen to one book each month without paying. Then you have to pay for any other book you want to listen to. Some books I’ve seen as high as $40 for one book!!

You can give LibriVox a try if you’re like me, and you’re on a budget. This website hosts a collection of free public domain audiobooks. You won’t get the latest book from Obama here. But you will have access to a lot of older books that are worthy of a listen. You can listen to them on any device or download the files and save for later use.

For my September Good Reads post, I’ll have to pick some books from this website. If you have any other free resources you like – please leave a comment below!

https://librivox.org/search?primary_key=0&search_category=author&search_page=1&search_form=get_results

Previous Recommendations

https://atomic-temporary-134655889.wpcomstaging.com/2021/01/27/february-good-reads/

https://atomic-temporary-134655889.wpcomstaging.com/2020/12/26/good-reads-my-christmas-reading-list/

https://atomic-temporary-134655889.wpcomstaging.com/2021/02/14/february-podcast-recommendations/

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February Podcast Recommendations

Aside 02/14/2021 Charmeine Leave a comment

Hello dear readers! It’s Sunday morning at 7:42 am and I’m wide awake. Sipping my first coffee of the day – I’ve moved onto Nestle’s Gold Cafe and am loving the medium roast. Since switching to instant coffee, I’ve tried the Tim Horton’s Dark Roast, Starbucks Vanilla Latte, and Folger’s Dark Roast. I think Tim’s still might be my favorite and I don’t miss regular coffee as much as I thought I would. Did you miss my post on this major announcement? No worries, check it out here – the day that I switched to instant coffee and never looked back.

I’ve been hooked on audiobooks and podcasts lately. I’m getting tired of YouTube and the same shows on Prime and Netflix. I’ve turned to Spotify and am really enjoying discovering new content. So, along with my monthly Good Read recommendations – I’m going to start a monthly series with podcast recommendations and updates.

And hey, guess what? I started a podcast this morning! I have two episodes up on Spotify and apparently, even have two followers already! That’s amazing. I plan on recording at least one per week – if not daily while I’m off work. I’m researching various topics I can cover. So first off – go follow me on Spotify. Or you can follow my stream on RSS (I think).

Armchair Expert – Dax Shepard

I’ve been listening to this podcast for a few weeks now and it’s just enjoyable. Dax is a well known American actor who has starred in shows like – wait, I have to look this up. The Ranch (Netflix tv), El Camino Christmas (terrible movie by the way), Parenthood and Robot Chicken. But most people know him as Kristen Bell’s husband. He had a short cameo on The Good Place which Bell starred in and it’s pretty hilarious.

The first episode of this podcast Dax interviewed Kristen – whom he lovingly calls Bell when talking to other guests. They had just had a fight and were still annoyed with each other. It was sort of like listening to couple’s therapy and mostly talking about Kristen’s tiny “boobs.” I learned entirely too much about her anatomy. Other notable guests that I enjoyed included Seth Green, Jason Segel, and even Hilary Clinton.

Amazingly enough, the show has been on air since 2018 and has grown in popularity. I guess I’m just late to the party. Make sure to check it out – here’s the first interview of the show.

Oh – I almost forgot. Dax has a costar named Monica who comes back at the end of each episodes and corrects every time Dax made an error during the interview. Their banter is pretty hilarious.

Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend

Now I’m not a huge Conan fan and I just discovered his podcast this weekend. I’m more about the people that are being interviewed. Just looking at Conan’s recent guest list – I followed the podcast without listening to any interviews. Is that terrible of me?

His first two guests are David Spade and Bryan Cranston – two both very talented comedic actors. I loved Bryan in Malcolm in the Middle and later in the hit show Breaking Bad. But honestly, Bryan is great in everything he does. Even in an old episode of Xfiles.

Conan has had some great guests on his show in the last year from Jim Parsons, Kevin Hart, John Leguizamo to the amazing Bruce Springsteen.

I’m really looking forward to listening to these interviews! I think Spotify podcasts may have just replaced my daily morning YouTube routine. Isn’t it great how much content is available to us now?

Wow this is really hard sticking to just three podcast recommendations. It seems like everyone has a podcast these days. Does anyone have time to actually listen to them? There are podcasts for all genres and walks of life. So, I’m just going to recommend one that I’ve listened to a few times and is a bit of a guilty pleasure.

And no, it’s not Joe Rogan. I used to listen to his podcast until he switched to Spotify and removed his content from YouTube. He said he wasn’t going to sell out. But it feels like he sold out. And who wouldn’t for a cool $100 million deal. I’d do a lot for that kind of money… does that make me a terrible person?

Directionally Challenged

Hosted by two stars from The Vampire Diaries – Candice King and Kaylie Ewell – these two lovely ladies interview a great variety of women – and of course on occasion, friends from The Vampire Diaries like Michael Trevino (Tyler) and Julie Plec (show runner). Admittedly, I tune in when they have their friends on the show. Topics range from self-help, spiritual guidance and motherhood.

If you were a fan of TWD – it’s a guilty pleasure – I highly recommend checking out early episodes of this podcast. Here’s the interview with Paul Wesley – I’m listening to it next.

What are you listening to right now? Let me know your favorite podcast in the comments below! Have a great Sunday!