You might think you don’t know Lia, but she’s the one who slides into your DMs for @HQforLibraries! She’s the one with the gifs! – Now that that’s out of the way, here’s what she’s been loving lately. Maybe you two have something in common.

 

Ruby Red Rose Wine: It’s grapefruit and pink wine. You can drink it while watching the Matthew-McFadyen-in-the-rain Pride and Prejudice alone and still be cosmopolitan OR drink it alone for heart health because your doctor said you need more potassium. Either way, you’re drinking it alone, because once you taste it you definitely will not want to share.

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen: Can we go back to Matthew McFadyen for a sec? Does anyone else have a Pride and Prejudice book shaped locket with a little photo of a rain-soaked Mr. Darcy inside? Then you get me – I love Ms. Austen and everything she does (except Sense and Sensibility, #sorrynotsorry). But when I cracked open my tiny green copy of Northanger Abbey that I bought from a great used bookstore, I was SHOCKED. The Austen I knew was witty and subtle (though sometimes outlandish), but Catherine Morland and her gothic parody made me laugh out loud! Whether it was Austen’s absolutely SAVAGE description of Mrs. Allen or Catherine convincing herself that her crush’s father is a murderer (awkward), I thoroughly enjoyed every word of this novel.

New (and old) True Crime Podcasts: Speaking of accusing people of murder! Was the Black Dahlia murder part of a serial killing spree? Were the Zodiac murders actually connected? What really happened when that family in California drove off the cliff? If you’re a murderino like me (My Favorite Murder reference, anyone?), these are things you think about more than the average bear. Luckily, 2019 has podcasts that are delivering the answers… or trying to. Monster: The Zodiac Killer by Payne Lindsay (of Up and Vanished fame where he actually solved a crime) and his network How Stuff Works, and Broken Harts by Glamour’s Liz Egan and Justine Harmon are both brand new tellings of the Zodiac Killer and Hart family crash respectively, while Season 1 of Hollywood & Crime by Wondery is an oldie but a goodie about the LA slasher killings in the 40s.  10/10 recommend you subscribe to these wherever you get your podcasts.

Day Designer Monthly Planner: I LOVE PLANNERS. I love itineraries, I love filling my calendar, I love minute scheduling, I love to-do lists. I LOVE THEM. And this thing has all of it. It’s expensive online but I got two for $30 (one for work, one for home) at the Staples brick-and-mortar. If you need me, I scheduled an hour of stroking this cover and whispering ‘my precious’ in that dark corner over there.

The Wombats: Glitterbug (2015): As a single twenty-something crawling through the New York dating scene like Martin Sheen in Apocalypse Now, I feel like I deserve a musical score. My most recent near-rom-com moment was when a stunning man rescued my arm from a pair of subway doors (don’t ask). Alas, my hero, instead of letting me fall into his door prying arms, refused to make eye contact with me while I wide-eyed-willed him to and made the whole rest of the ride awkward with my prolonged staring. Luckily, the banal insanity that is my life has a soundtrack, and it’s this:

Here’s hoping your 2019 gets no worse than 2018.

Yours,
Lia