Happy Fifth Night of Hanukkah!
It’s my turn to give away some goodies!
Today’s prize is: a box of books + extras!
You will be getting all eight books shown, the socks, and candle. Plus, there are a few more surprises I’m including. I picked all of these up at the independent bookstore where I work, Belmont Books. Just a friendly reminder, as well, to shop local if you can!
Here’s how to enter!
We talk a lot about TV, movies, and podcasts here! I want to know what piece of media was a huge comfort this year!
Standard disclaimers apply: I am not being compensated for this giveaway. Void where prohibited. Open to international residents where permitted by applicable law. Must be over 18, like big stacks, and you cannot lie. Sadly, photobombing cat will not be included, despite his best efforts to climb into any and all boxes.
Comments will close 3 December 2021 at or near 12pm ET, and winner will be announced shortly afterward.
Good luck, Happy Hanukkah, and thank you for being part of Smart Bitches!
Thanks for celebrating with us this year!
Winner update: Congratulations to Jen M! Be sure to check your inbox shortly.
Ted Lasso. Again and again.
It’s so hard to pick just one piece of media that was a comfort! One of my biggest ones was the show Samantha! on Netflix. It’s a hilarious Brazilian comedy about a former child star who is trying find her way back into the spotlight.
Daria. The whole series is available on Paramount+ and they show it on pluto too!
I loved the show Sort Of
Hallmark movie junkie.
Hospital Playlist was an amazing comfort watch for me this summer. One of the best kdramas of the year for me.
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. Even my teenagers love it!
East Asian dramas have been huge for me!
Especially the queer J-drama Cherry Magic, which is just the softest, most restrainedly intimate low fantasy. It did a ton of smart things to refresh the tropes in it’s source manga, and I was consistently surprised and delighted with the way it chose kindness and ratcheted up romantic tension. I’m determined to watch anything these writers put out in the future. It’s getting a sequel film in 2022 and I CAN’T WAIT! You can find it on crunchyroll, or with some excellent fansubs if you do a little hunting.
The k-drama Mr. Queen did some interesting things with gender and romance, and was so incredibly funny and well paced! Just an absolute joy to watch. The female lead (acting the part of a 21st century macho chef trapped in the body of a Joseon queen) just ATE scenery left right and center. You could tell the whole cast was enjoying themselves! It’s on VIKI, and absolutely worth signing up for a trial or the $5/month standard pass.
I’ve also loved reading the manga The Apothecary Diaries, where an orphaned medicine/poison enthusiast from the red light district is conscripted as a servant in the imperial court. (Political intrigue! Competence porn! Hijinks!) Kei Ohkubo’s manga Arte, about a threadbare noblewoman determined to prove herself as an apprentice painter in renaissance Italy, was also immersive and lovely.
A lot of PBS programs, especially Masterpiece. Otherwise, digging into our DVD movie collection and watching favorite movies again. Even watched the Lord of the Rings Special Edition movies. Sure enjoyed the New Zealand scenery. There’s a place I want to visit, someday.
Discovered something called the MeTV channel that airs classics and I’ve become a huge Columbo fan.
Ted Lasso, yes!
(But I’ll be following this thread for more suggestions of binge-watchable TV.)
Ted Lasso was such a comfort this year. I just love that show.
GBBO and its Canadian counterpart on repeat. A lot of stuff on Brit Box and fan fiction.
Starstruck on BBC was so fun and sweet. I finished watching it and turned round to watch it again.
Taskmaster and Would I Lie To You? British comedy gold. I’m in the US and mostly watch on YouTube.
Real Housewives. Then, now, always
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
I am late to every party, and every cold open is a treasure:
Bob’s Burgers! It’s so funny and warm.
@Nicky you’re the first person besides me and my bff I’ve seen talk about Mr. Queen. Definitely a show that needs more attention! Enjoyed it a lot.
I’ve been watching a lot of BL this year, it’s something I can dip in and out of without a lot of brain engagement. Probably my most comforting show of the year was Lovely Writer (Thai) in which a reluctant BL author falls for the lead actor in the adaptation of his novel. Very meta, sweet, and fun.
My current obsession and surprise-comfort has been The King’s Affection (kdrama, Netflix). I say surprise because the first two episodes particularly were *rough* — all the trigger warnings in the world. But the romance element is super swoony. A woman is forced to live secretly as her dead brother, the Crown Prince. When her childhood love turns up as her new tutor he falls in love with her all over again–believing she’s a man. (spoiler alert- there’s even a kiss and a full-on love confession when he still think’s she’s male.) It’s super queer, and its giving me all the feels. Really hoping it has a happy ending.
It some ways it hasn’t aged well (I could do without so many shots of women in bikinis for no reason), but for the husband and me it was Burn Notice. The first time we binged it was after our first son was born and it we were both stuck inside in the middle of winter with a grumpy newborn and we needed something that was light and entertaining and not hard to follow. Even the conspiracy episodes to Burn Notice aren’t that convuluted *cough* X-Files *cough* and there’s usually a nice self-contained arc. It was only a season or 2 that first binge watch, but we quickly caught up.
That newborn is almost 13 (yikes!) but it definitely hit the spot then and it hit the spot for pandemic viewing as well.
I miss all the USA Blue Sky shows. They were just good basic comfort TV done well, but I feel like there’s always a place for that.
A re-watch of Schitt’s Creek helped keep me grounded through an overwhelming summer.
The Repair Shop on Netflix was a delightful surprise. Slow repair of beloved bits of family histories.
I’m really not good at watching tv. But found a new podcast I really enjoy, Escape This Podcast. It is a room escape game in audio format. Really well done, and you can play along.
Ted Lasso. 100%. So delightful.
I don’t watch any TV or movies. My comfort was from books. BOOKS, glorious books
The Repair Shop, a British TV show where experts repair family heirlooms. I especially love when the “soft” experts repair everyone’s childhood teddy bears!! Sadly only season 3 is currently streaming in the US and I need to write some strongly worded letters to Netflix about it!
Light-hearted Bingeable shows are my jam!!
Ted Lasso (AppleTV), Derry girls (Netflix), Lucifer (Netflix), Schitts Creek (Netflix), Death in Paradise (Britbox), Father Brown (Britbox), and most of the old school USA shows (Psych, White Collar).
Love this thread…would love recommendation for more of the same!
Do online comics count? There’s a (finished, unfortunately) comic on Webtoon called “Waffles and Pancakes” that just brought delight to my soul. I now have a whole list others that I follow (any “Midnight Poppyland” fans out there?) but that was the one that started it all.
That bonus Linus outtake has made my morning!
Our whole family was really into Legomasters. Like the GBBO, the contestants genuinely seem like they liked and supported each other.
Great British Baking Show, of course, but also The Great Pottery Throwdown and Blown Away (glass blowing). Then there are the delights of the Roku Channel which include 24/7 channels for MST3K, Midsomer Murders, and America’s Test Kitchen/Cook’s Country. Perfect comfort viewing.
Moving Art on Netflix. I watch it constantly.
I keep watching Great British Baking Show. Love it.
Bridgerton was a lovely series that helped brighten a somewhat dismal year. Looking forward to the next!
Ted Lasso and all the holiday rom-coms on Hallmark, Lifetime,and Netflix.
Bob’s Burgers (my husband and I basically communicate in Bob’s Burgers quotes, we’ve rewatched it so many times) and Brooklyn Nine Nine.
Art shows like the great potter throw down and blown away. Currently loving school of chocolate!
For comfort, I have to say rewatching Schitt’s Creek. I also finally convinced my brother and my parents to watch it and talking to them about how much they love it too has been a joy. My brother and I cried over the finale together.
Animal Crossing New Horizons. I got it when the pandemic started and am still playing it for at least an hour a day. Saved my sanity.
The Expanse, WandaVision, Loki,etc. I’m on the serious escapism curriculum this year.
ENCANTO, first movie I’ve seen in 2 years and a lovely reminder that family is family and everyone in it deserves to be loved, even if you’re not the responsible one taking care of everyone else (Luisa) or the perpetually perfect one (Isabel), and that sometimes it is the necessary job of family to tell you the unpleasant truths (Bruno and Mirabel).
Also Cursed Princess Club on Webtoon, a heartfelt and very funny celebration of body positivity, owning your flaws, loving your family unconditionally, and following your heart.