what else has me completely booked

a new series for all subscribers to keep me honest

I've said it before and I'll say it again right now, even if it makes me feel cocky: I'm one of the more consistent newsletter writers out there. Which means when I feel like I'm slacking, I feel immense guilt, both to people who pay and don't pay me to read these things and to myself. Because I like writing and I like little projects, and this is probably one of my favorites. I like my little bookletter and outlet for pop culture and other random musings, and I like that I have a small following. Thank you dearly if you pay for this newsletter, and if you'd like to start, click the button below!

But for now, and as previously requested by a handful of people, here's what else has me completely booked, meaning everything occupying my time that isn't reading or listening to books.

[like puzzles!]

I do a lot of jigsaw puzzles, especially since working at a local children's consignment shop. People bring us puzzles, and before we credit their account for the puzzle, we verify that all of the pieces are there. For many puzzle companies, especially over a certain number of pieces, the number on the box is an estimate. So if you're doing a 1000-piece Ravensburger puzzle, you might be doing a 1002-piece puzzle. So to properly verify, I grab a puzzle from the closet at work, work on it over the course of a few nights at home, and bring it back to work to be sold. I spend very little money on this hobby, which is a treat! It's also an additional thrill to do a reused puzzle because the pieces might not all be there! (Disappointing when this is the case, but a thrill when they're all there!)

[and listening to podcasts and music!]

Though truthfully, I don't listen to music nearly as much as I imagine the average person does. I'm an awful DJ who never wants to be in charge of picking the music, which probably comes from childhood. Here's a real conversation between one of my brothers and his now ex.

Annie: How do you not know any of these songs? Didn't Jess listen to Spice Girls?
Zach: Jess wasn't allowed to listen to her music.

When I play music these days, it's Ludacris, Sabrina Carpenter, Beyoncé, the album Pet Sounds, and The Chicks, but mainly their album Fly.

I literally always want podcast recommendations, so please send them my way. I'm between audiobooks, so have mostly been hitting up old episodes of Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend, though I prefer the "Needs a Fan" episodes because regular people are much more interesting than celebrities. I still listen to 90210MG weekly, even though I stopped watching along, because streaming 90210, the show, is extremely difficult and inconsistent. If you subscribe to 90210MG, they also deliver Jennie Garth and Tori Spelling's individual podcasts to your app, but I always mark them as listened to without ever actually playing them.

Sorry girlies.

I also listen to Celebrity Memoir Podcast, mostly after I finish a ~ Celebrity Memoir ~ but when I'm desperate, I listen to episodes of memoirs I'll probably never read, like Lena Dunham's, which launched me into a whole tyraid, which you can read (for money) in the next week or so. I didn't realize it was a new podcast, but I've listened to two out of two episodes of Jennifer Romolini's new podcast, Extended Scenes, because she had on Angela Garbes, who I adore, and then Sam Irby, who I also adore. And I adore Jenn, so I guess this one is gonna be a regular listen for me.

[and watching stuff!]

I'm usually always watching something, but I'm in a bit of a screentime lull against my own desires. I'm bored! There's nothing to watch! I am not rushing through a fourth ER rewatch since it came to streaming services in 2018(?) but am enjoying it, as always. I'm running commentary on Bluesky at the same time, which adds to the slower speed of watching it through. I've recently tried to watch Love Island, but I started with (US) season 4, and I quickly remembered I've tried to watch this show before, and it was that exact season, and it's not very compelling, so I think I'm doing something wrong. I'm always kind of watching The Simpsons and had a revelation that Season 11 is one I watched way more than the average person, which means it was on and then in syndication in my big time Simpsons days in my youth.

My boyfriend is reading a book about Terrence Malick, so we've watched a few of his movies, including A Thin Red Line, The New World, and Tree of Life, which I'd previously turned off because, and I quote myself in 2012, "is this a god thing?" I really enjoyed all three of those movies, The New World most surprisingly.

[and making stuff!]

And I sell bookmarks! I make and sell bookmarks. It's fun and silly and also gives me insight into what people are into. Since The Pitt premiered, I get a ton of likes on my ER bookmarks and have even had at least one person ask if I can make them some custom Dr. John Carter bookmarks. Boy, do I wish! I make these bookmarks from DVD cases, so I need to replenish my Carter stock. This week, my top three searches are Florence Pugh, McDonald's fries, and The Sopranos, which gets a lot of searches. People on Etsy are hard up for ER and Sopranos merch, folks!

Okay, that's all for now! Look for June's wrap-up tomorrow, shop my bookmarks, and anticipate a shit-talking letter next week for paid subscribers about Lena Dunham, Caroline Calloway, and what I do and don't miss about 2015's internet.