So you've run out of seasons of your favorite show on Netflix. You've read and reread your favorite book nine times. You're tired of all of your Spotify playlists, and have even created ones you don't really know what to do with ("Techno-Meditation Tracks?" "The Perfect Crafternoon?" "Indie-Folk Jams For When I Move To Canada?"). I feel ya. But being stuck inside doesn't have to be all bad. If you've run out of things to do, look no further than this list of seven things to watch, read, and listen to that'll keep you busy for a while.
1. Watch: "Love"
"Love" is like a really awkward, really cynical rom-com series. It follows Mickey, who struggles with commitment issues and substance abuse, and Gus, who is inept when it comes to dating, along their hilarious, relatable path to a relationship. By the last episode you'll realize how much of yourself you see in both characters. Go watch it on Netflix. Like, now.
2. Watch: "Mortified Nation"
3. Read: "I'll Give You The Sun" by Jandy Nelson
This is the kind of book you'll start and then never really put down. It's told from the perspective of twins, Noah and Jude, as they grow up and drift apart. The first half is Noah's story; the second half is Jude's. (P.S. You're totally allowed to judge this book by its cover, because look at the pretty cover art 😍.)
4. Read: "What It's Like To Write About Your Best Friend's Death" by Robin Wasserman
Don't let the fact that this is on Buzzfeed scare you away. It's a beautifully written essay about loving, and then losing, someone you could never really save in the first place. Wasserman tries to do justice to her best friend's memory by writing a beautiful eulogy, but struggles to find words. "I wasn't just the best friend--I was the writer," she says. "Beautiful was bare minimum." It's short enough to read in one sitting, but long enough that you'll be in tears by the end.
5. Listen to: "ANTI" by Rihanna
If I'm being honest, I hated this album when it came out. But then the Billboard Music Awards happened, and Rihanna performed "Love On The Brain," and she killed it. Now "ANTI" might be my favorite album of the year so far. Listen to "Needed Me," "Desperado," "Kiss It Better" and (if you wanna slow things down 😭) "Close To You."
6. Listen to: "Dear Sugar Radio"
Dear Sugar is basically an on-air advice column. Host, author, and overall really-smart-person, "Sugar," a.k.a. Cheryl Strayed, fields deep dark questions from anonymous people who write in asking for her help. Check out "My Best Friend's Wedding," in which Sugar takes a question from a woman who fears her polar-opposite best friend is making a mistake by marrying a man she's only known for six months. Sugar's response is essentially a handbook on how to be a best friend--I literally found myself taking notes while listening to it. (But then again, all of Sugar's advice is the kind of thing you'll remember for a really long time.) Each episode is SO worthwhile.
7. Listen to: "Another Round"
Buzzfeed's "Another Round" podcast is a talk show with booze. Hosts Tracy Clayton and Heben Nigatu pour themselves a drink and then talk about anything from politics to race to pop culture. Each episode is so different--there are funny ones (like "Down With Sporks?") and more serious ones (like "How I Learned To Stop Erasing Myself"), plus a regular segment called Drunken Debates (which is exactly what it sounds like). Find every episode here.
