BYT PICKS: STUFF WE LOVE THAT YOU MIGHT TOO

At BYT, we like stuff! (We even LOVE stuff!) And we think you might, too, so here we’ll share with you what we’ve been reading, watching, listening to and more. (Sometimes there will be guest stars! Exciting!)
 
We also wanna know what YOU are loving right now, so let us know in the comments, or share with us on social media! (@brightestyoungthings on IG, @BYT on Twitter)

HERE WE GO:

SVETLANA LEGETIC

Book I’m currently reading: I just finished AMERICAN SPY by Lauren Wilkinson, and it is smart and sexy and devastating and a perfect book for this summer. Now, since that made me crave MORE really good books, I am finally diving into SWING TIME by Zadie Smith, which I have been embarrassingly sitting on ever since I bought it in hardcover the week it came out 2 years ago (Zadie 4ever). Otherwise, I have been reading like the wind (tm Molly Young) but mostly thrillers, so if anyone wants recommendations for creepy weddings where everyone’s a suspect or cool lady investigators, I’m here for you.

Tune of the week: Can I have 3? The song of the summer is, hands down, The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” (right?), but I have also been listening to Curtis Waters’ “Stunnin'” (incredibly funny and the beat is perfect for in-your-chair dancing) and Lena Platonos “And We Hear I Love You” (which is the Greek disco song they play in the first episode of High Fidelity), and other European pop A LOT

TV show I recommend: I loved Dave on FX, am surprised how much I am into Home Before Dark on Apple TV and am working my way through rewatching most of my favorite British murder mysteries. But very open to TV show recommendations.

Movie I recommend (bonus): Obviously Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga because it is the movie we all needed this summer. Palm Springs was funny and sad and a timely Groundhog day of this pandemic. And I want to use this opportunity to make everyone sign up for Criterion Channel and lose yourself in Black Orpheus, the sizzling fever dreams of of Sheltering Sky and Betty Blue, and Almodovar’s High Heels (can you guess I was born and raised in Europe?)

Something I’m excited about: Trying new ice-cream flavors by Dolcezza and Ice Cream Jubilee every week when I go grocery shopping. Some of the best damn iced treats in this country are made right here in DC. Does that count as excitement?

MEGAN BURNS

Book I’m currently reading: I just finished Feasting Wild: In Search of the Last Untamed Food by Gina Rae La Cerva. (It made me cry several times. For example, there’s a whole section about the history of turtle soup. Have you ever envisioned a sadder scene than turtles on ships, waiting to be turned into soup, “as silent and stoic as weathered mountains”? IMPOSSIBLE NOT TO FEEL DEVASTATED FOR TURTLES HUNDREDS OF YEARS AGO.)

Tune of the week: “Lucky” by PNAU has been on heavy rotation for weeks, so I would definitely recommend that one. (It is also ideal for a roughly 3-minute plank! I have been planking, which is against my entire moral code, because I literally don’t know what else to do!) But since Svetlana cheated and wrote three, I’ll also suggest “I’ll Just Dance” by Su Lee and “Gracias a la Vida” by Mercedes Sosa. (We’re not going for cohesion here, just PURE HONESTY. Also, oh my god, if you listen to that Mercedes Sosa bop whilst reading about the turtle soup…EXTRA heart-wrenching.)

TV show I recommend: TV is my life. (I am really not joking about that. I have always felt that way, but especially throughout the pandemic.) This week i’m alternating between Joe Lycett’s Got Your Back, a bizarre but v. funny British consumer rights show where comedian Joe Lycett goes to bat for people against scammers ‘n fraudsters (none of which affects my life because I unfortunately live in America, but it is ODDLY THRILLING NONETHELESS), and The Tunnel, which is mostly opposite-to-Joe-Lycett-vibes, aka murdery-crime-drama-but-still-British-and-a-bit-French-too-vibes. (It’s a delicate balance between humor and seriousness that I think I have nailed.) The former can be watched in full via YouTube uploads, and the latter is available via PBS.

Something I’m excited about: I am excited for it to stop being summer. (I am very warm.)

MARISSA RUBENSTEIN