Bored with school holidays already? Gen Z is bringing back books.
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Gen Z is bringing back reading and taking it to a whole new level with booktok and bookstagram to share and discuss our favourites.
With another week of school holidays stretch out before us, the pressing question is: what books should we be reading? And if we aren’t nose-down in a book, what makes great viewing on Netflix or podcast listening on Spotify?
As a HerCanberra intern, here are my personal picks to enrich the coming two weeks.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
This book has so much to unpack. It contains so many genres: historical fiction, queer identity, romance, and the list goes on. In her senior years, iconic Hollywood star Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to share the full truth of her glamorous and scandalous life with seven husbands to an unknown magazine reporter named Monique Grant. No one is more astonished than Monique herself. Monique isn’t exactly having the time of her life with her husband leaving her and her career going nowhere. She doesn’t question why she got the job, instead she is determined to use the opportunity to jump-start her career.
Summoned to Evelyn’s luxurious flat, Monique is entranced by Evelyn’s story, and as she reaches the end of it, it becomes very clear that Evelyn’s life intersects with Monique’s own in unexpected, tragic, and irreversible ways.
Exes & O’s by Amy Lea
This one’s for all the Swifties out there. Just grab your Era’s tour merch, turn off your phone, blast some ‘Lover’ tunes in the background with a cup of coffee, and get ready for a lot of belly laughs and reading well into the night.
A messy romance-novel connoisseur, mega Taylor Swift fan, and social media influencer (who is also a nurse), Tara Chan was heartbroken ten times by ten different guys who dumped her due to her “stage five-level clingy” habit, but that doesn’t stop her from believing that The One is out there somewhere. The only issue is: modern dating apps have killed the classic meet-cutes. Our funny, relatable Tara decides to revisit her exes in hopes of securing her very own trope worthy second-chance romance with her wingman/new roomate Trevor Metcalfe. It’s a hilarious journey.
The Hating Game by Sally Thorne
From Canberra to Hollywood, one of Canberra’s beloved authors, Sally Throne, has taken work rivalry to another level with this chick-lit contemporary romance. Did I also mention that it has been turned into a movie?
Loving and hating someone are disturbingly similar. Both make your stomach twist at the thought of the person and make your heart beat faster. Trapped together under bright lights in an all-glass office, Lucy Hutton is a charming, professional ‘nice girl’ who everyone loves—except her nemesis, who also happens to share the office with sits right across from her. The tall, dark, and charmless Joshua Templeman is nothing but hostile and now the feeling is mutual. Lucy cannot let Joshua beat her at anything, especially when a huge promotion comes up. If Lucy wins, she’ll be Joshua’s boss, and if she loses, Lucy will resign. The clock is ticking for the promotion race, but the real games have only just begun.
These are my go-to shows to watch during the school holidays alone, with family, or during a girl’s night in.
Gilmore Girls
Autumn has hit Canberra early, and we all know what that means: endless supplies of coffee, knitted blankets, and Gilmore Girls on repeat.
Gilmore Girls (Netflix) is about a unique mother-daughter duo who live in Stars Hollow, a small town in Connecticut where everyone knows each other. Lorelai Gilmore is trying to open up an inn while her daughter Rory navigates high school with the hopes of getting into Harvard. The fast-talking, quirky mother-daughter duo faces the ups and downs that life throws at them with broken hearts and plenty of coffee at Luke’s diner.
My Life with the Walter Boys
If cowboy charm, sweet romance, brother rivalry, and intense drama are your cup of tea, you will love this show.
Life with the Walter Boys is based on the book by Ali Novak about a teen from New York City whose entire family dies in a car crash. Jackie Howard moves to Silver Falls, Colorado, where she lives with her mother’s best friend, who has ten hormone-ranging boys. It’s as chaotic as it sounds.
The Watcher
Now that the nights are getting darker earlier, The Watcher will have you double-checking all the doors, sitting on the edge of your couch, and turning on all the lights.
The show follows a family of four who have just moved into their dream home in a fictionalised version of Westfield, New Jersey, and did not expect to be harassed by creepy letters signed by a psychopathic stalker who goes by the pseudonym “The Watcher.”
On the run? Got errands to do? Take these podcasts with you on your day.
True crime podcasts are never going out of style and Crime Junkie is a podcast that comes with new episodes each week discussing chilling crimes in easy, rabbit-hole-free ways, making it feel like you’re having a conversation with a friend.
Stuck in life? Feels like it’s only happening to you? Don’t worry, The Psychology of Your 20’s has got you covered, covering all sorts of topics teens and young adults will face at some point in their lives, whether that’s loneliness or rejection. This podcast has you covered.
Anything goes with Emma Chamberlain is like sitting down with your best friend and talking over the worries of your day. Her advice on mental health, how to navigate FOMO, addiction and, of course, dating is delivered calmly and kindly and with a dose of humour. So grab a blanket, a cup of coffee, and sit down and relax.
Main image by Cottonbro Studios
