Did you know I wrote a book? It’s available to buy from all good bookshops in Ireland and, if you’re US-based, it’s being released here on January 27, 2025 – and I would love if you would consider preordering it.
Preordering is a great way to support authors you love, boosting the book in the charts and letting publishers and bookshops know that people are interested in what you’re putting out there!
“It is almost cliche to say that a book made you ‘laugh and cry’, but This Is Not About You did. I laughed. I cried. I cringed. In examining these relationships, Rosemary holds a mirror up to herself as much as the men involved and has no qualms in admitting when she got things wrong or behaved in ways she wouldn’t if she got the chance to relive those moments.” – read Paula Dennan’s review here
If you follow me on Instagram, listen to the podcast or, obviously, read my money diaries, you’ll know that I’ve been finding my second pregnancy really difficult: I’ve been experiencing a lot of pain and discomfort, and it’s been making it challenging to do, well, pretty much anything.
And I’ve really been trying to honour what my body is telling me: in moments where I can’t concentrate, I do things that don’t require concentration. In moments where I can’t sit at my desk, I don’t sit at my desk.
This means that, for the next few months, while I will be publishing on Substack and adhering to the promised schedule – paid subscribers get a weekly money diary, a weekly essay and access to the Anchor Baby chat – my timings may be a little messy, and I hope you’ll forgive me for that.
All of that being said, this season of discomfort means that I’ve been watching more TV than I usually do, spending more time reading than I usually do, listening to even more podcasts than ever before (trying all the while to think, “what can I write on Substack about this?!” – #nevernotworking)… and I thought it would be worth sharing what I’ve been consuming with you, and letting you know whether or not I’d recommend them.
Starting with…
Cue the Sun! The Invention of Reality TV by Emily Nussbaum
My sister bought this for me as an unexpected gift, and I will admit I was initially not super keen on it because, from the title, I thought it had something to do with The Sun newspaper. But it doesn’t! It’s a quote from The Truman Show!
This is a thoughtful, deeply researched deep dive into the history of reality television, starting with the kind of hidden mic radio shows of the early 20th century, coming all the way up to modern times, and while it has a largely American focus, it does touch on Survivor and Big Brother’s European origins, and is such an interesting look at how we got here – here being, to the year 2024, where reality TV is one of the the biggest genres on our screens and a former reality TV star is trying to become US President. (Again.)
It’s really densely packed with facts, figures and interviews with, honestly, thousands of people – but it’s also entertaining and fast-paced, and doesn’t feel like a slog (as many similarly well researched books can, in my opinion).
And while it doesn’t go into There’s Something About Miriam in much depth at all, if reality TV is a subject you’re interested in, I’d highly recommend listening to this podcast, too:
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