In the fleeting final month of summer before returning to black and gold adorned football games, dorm rooms and spending hours cooped up in Ellis Library, I find myself with more than enough time to indulge in media. In place of studying, I am flying through books and binging shows. Here’s a few recommendations in case you are unsure of what to read, listen to or watch.

Read

My latest obsession is one I am quite late to the party of, and that is Sarah J. Maas’ series, “A Court of Thorns and Roses,” or “ACOTAR.” Despite being a former pretentious reader who had a strict rule of no romance or fantasy books, I LOVE this smutty faerie series. Maas’ fast-paced pentalogy wholly surprised me. Expecting young adult style, low-quality writing, I was pleased to find that these books were well written, mature and extremely engaging for a reader like me who is used to literary fiction and classics. The series follows Feyre – pronounced Fay-ruh, you are going to have to get used to ridiculous names like this – a mortal huntress living in a world divided by a war between humans and faeries. Even if you are religiously against ‘spicy’ books or haven’t yet dipped your toes into the ‘romantacy’ genre, give the first book a try. Trust me.

Aside from books, I’ve loved reading up on the NYC-based company Dream Baby Press’ Love/Hate lists on their blog. These lists are an inventive and an experimental way of interviewing celebrities and influencers by asking them to name 10 things they love and 10 things they hate. On May 31, they interviewed drag queen and podcaster Trixie Mattel, who said she loves rose scents and hates bathroom humor. Dream Baby Press is redefining interviewing by balancing a new kind of intimacy with extremely niche answers, while also allowing subjects to remain somewhat allusive.

Founded by Matt Starr, it began as a press that “hosts readings in unexpected spaces,” such as adult entertainment shops or boxing gyms. The campy company is changing the game when it comes to pop culture spaces, both online and in New York.

I found these posts on their Instagram, but on their Substack, they have been releasing ‘XL’ versions of the lists, with 10 extra loves and hates. 

Speaking of Substack – a website for publishing newsletters and other written posts – blogging is IN this August. Consuming blogs by small creators is also a must.

Listen

Like many of us, I am having a brat summer.

“Brat,” the sixth studio album by English singer-songwriter Charli XCX, is electronic and experimental, but Charli’s roots are in pop. In 2014, her song “Boom Clap” made waves after appearing on “The Fault In Our Stars” soundtrack, and has over 400,000,000 streams on Spotify today. What Charli sings about in this most recent project varies from her mixed feelings about having children in track fourteen, “I think about it all the time,” to the color of her underwear in “Guess,” included in the extended version of the album.

A brat summer is for the unapologetic, trashy party-goers; it’s a renaissance of the Kesha/2000’s era, but if Lindsay Lohan was wearing the iconic neon ‘Brat green’ seen on the iconic album cover.

Something I love about “Brat” is how Charli references important people in her life. In the second track, “Club Classics,” she sings “I wanna dance to A.G., I wanna dance with George, I wanna dance to SOPHIE, I wanna dance to HudMo.” In this verse, she is alluding to her friend and collaborator A.G. Cook, drummer for The 1975 (and her fiance) George Daniel, the late producer, DJ and singer Sophie Xeon and Hudson Mohawke, who co-produced multiple tracks on the album.

Continuing the theme of girly pop this summer, I have been ‘bumping’ Chappell Roan, Lady Gaga’s “The Fame,” Caroline Polachek’s “Welcome to my Island” and the remix featuring Charli herself.

Watch

If I could give Jane Schoenbrun’s masterpiece “I Saw The TV Glow” 6 out of 5 stars, I would.

The film stars Justice Smith, who is best known for the 2020 film “All the Bright Places,” and – a personal favorite of mine – nonbinary actor Brigette Lundy-Paine. The horror drama follows the two teenagers and their obsession with a fictional supernatural TV show. Without giving too much of the plot away, this story has intimately queer themes and will resonate deeply with such audiences. 

“Maxxxine” starring Mia Goth was released last month, and while I didn’t find it to upstage its preceding two films, it is definitely a fun watch. The film was the third and final film in Ti West’s horror trilogy. 

The trilogy began with “X;” a pornographic love letter to the ‘70s slasher. Lovers of “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” and similar gory thrillers of the time will enjoy this secluded, southern disaster.

My favorite of the trilogy follows, “Pearl: An X-traordinary Origin Story.” A prequel, and an ode to old-hollywood, with parallels to “The Wizard of Oz.” Technicolor, high-key lighting and title screens appearing alongside classical scores make up this extravagant film.

Finally, “Maxxine;” a story of Los Angeles in the ‘80s, references both pop culture idols of the time such as Jamie Lee Curtis’ rise to fame and real-life events like the reign of the ‘Night Stalker’ serial killer.

West loves film, especially old horror, and this is obvious through the continuous references to his muses. 

Horror has a reputation for milking franchises, the forefront of the industry. “Scream” still has films coming out to this day and there are twelve “Friday the 13th” movies (and counting). Rather than relying on the gimmicky nature of the genre, West has purposefully laid out his series to slowly unfold throughout three films, effectively ending the story. Simply for the way that West is revolutionizing horror, the entire trilogy is worth revisiting this month.

Although the familiar rhythm of academic life looms on the horizon, these media recommendations can offer the perfect escape. Let your final days of summer break be as enriching as it is enjoyable.

Edited by Alyssa Royston | aroyston@themaneater.com

Edited by Molly Levine | mlevine@themaneater.com

Copy Edited by Hannah Taylor | htaylor@themaneater.com

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Edited by Annie Goodykoontz | agoodykoontz@themaneater.com