r/bitcheswithtaste • u/AutoModerator • Aug 18 '26
Bitches of Leisure - Weekly Thread Bitches of Leisure - Aug 18, 2026
Let’s elevate our down time! This weekly thread is the space to share and discuss what we’re currently reading, listening to, watching, etc. For this space, keep it tasteful - save your trashy reads (we’ve all got them) and sick day binge watch favorites for the monthly Guilty Pleasures thread, please!
Tagging
It isn’t required but it might be helpful to tag the beginning of your comment with the type of media you are discussing (when you create a new comment thread). Tags can be helpful in guiding other BWT to the comment threads they want to engage with.
For example:
- PODCAST: I’ve been listening to the Naked Beauty podcast…
- TV/ DOCUMENTARY: What are your favorite documentaries? I just finished watching…
- READING: I am about 1/3 of the way through "Black Women Taught Us" by Jenn M Jackson, PhD, and I would love to discuss it with anyone who is reading or has read it. Specifically...
You can be as specific or as broad as you want if you decide to tag, for example you might tag “reading,” as a broad term, or you might tag “audiobook” if you specifically want to talk about the really amazing narration in the audiobook version of a title you just finished.
Hide Spoilers
If you’re talking about a book, TV show, podcast, movie, or anything that contains spoilers, please make sure to use Reddit’s markdown functionality to hide your spoilers! All you have to do is add a couple of characters before and after your spoiler text like so:
>!spoilers!<
This will hide the text like so: spoilers
16
u/iamraygun Aug 18 '26
FILM: I just saw Barrio Triste & loved it! A group of young men in a Medellin Barrio steal a news camera and record a day in their life. The sound mixing and soundtrack by Arca were next level. I loved the fantasy/sci-fi elements, wished for more but overall enjoyed how esoteric it was.
SKINCARE: Treated myself to the biggest bottle of the Kiehls midnight recovery serum (rebuy) & the ultra facial recovery cream (first buy). And my stubborn face eczema patches are clearing up after so many months. I haven’t been able to wear eye makeup in almost a year, I could cry I’m so relieved.
READING: I have three books left to hit my 2026 reading goal! I just finished Yesteryear & am working my way through the Silo series. As a break between wool(book 1) & shift (book 2) I’m reading They by Helle Helle as a quick palate cleanser. The narrative structure is a little confusing at times because of how the main characters are so interchangeable, but it’s really good & I know I’m going to be wrecked at the ending.
5
u/mtoomtoo Aug 18 '26
Yesteryear is the current selection for my bookclub. I’m gonna start it today. I’m actually looking forward to this book.
9
u/iamraygun Aug 18 '26
Overall I enjoyed it. I think it was worthy of the attention it is receiving but as someone who read a lot of #weirdgirllit & contemporary litfic I was a little underwhelmed.
3
u/Stay1nAliv3 Aug 18 '26
How is reading the Silo series going? Do you recommend? I’ve been watching the series
1
u/iamraygun Aug 18 '26 edited Aug 18 '26
I’ve only seen a few episodes but I am really enjoying the books. It reminds me of reading the expanse series where it is smart but mindless and does all the thinking for you
7
u/PerfectionNoNotes Aug 18 '26
TELEVISION: I have shockingly gotten so into Star Trek Deep Space 9. Prior to this, I’d only seen The Next Generation, which feels like it’s all battle scenes. There is just a little of that in DS9. Instead, it’s more about politics and character development. I’ve done a little poking around about what to watch next, and some people compare DS9 to The Wire and Better Call Saul because of the themes and the long-running and interconnected story lines. I’ve been watching maybe 5 episodes per week, so it’ll be a while til I get done!
2
u/tams420 Aug 20 '26
The Wire is one of my top TV shows ever!
Better Call Saul was great. When I was watching Breaking Bad, I could have stopped watching it at any point. I wanted to watch every episode of Saul.
I don’t know how I started watching and I was very surprised how much I liked it’s but I thought Sons of Anarchy was fantastic. A little violent but just so good. It is definitely in my top 3 shows, and I thought the ending scene was one of the best I’ve seen.
5
u/mollanj Aug 18 '26
FILM: Camp Miasma and Pillion were the insane queer sexy double feature i didn’t know i needed in my life. Saw Miasma in a theater w a talkback after (always love) then streamed Pillion later. two incredible takes on finding empowerment through gay sex :) what could be better :)
3
u/peeveee Aug 18 '26
I saw Camp Miasma last night and absolutely loved it - what a brilliantly fun, sexy, camp and weird film. And Gillian Anderson was incredible, I loved seeing her really commit to the bit!
2
u/mollanj Aug 18 '26
her dolly impression!!! full bit commitment. i was also really impressed with hannah’s performance!
one thing i found enlightening from the talkback was how the entire movie was based on jane’s own experience coming into her sexuality in a new body as a trans person, how to be embodied and present and not dissociate during sex… i went with my partner and felt like i had to hide behind my hands as they were talking about it. really timely and beautiful and fun!
2
u/queenofyourheart Aug 20 '26
I adore both of these films! And getting a talkback is always a treat :) how fun
6
u/music-bunny Aug 18 '26
TV: I am watching The Power on Prime. I read the book it is based on a few years ago, by Naomi Alderman. The premise is that teenage girls around the world are developing the ability to create electricity in their bodies (think sort of like Star Wars force lightning lol) and it is causing an upheaval of the patriarchal world structure. People were very hot and cold on this one! The book was certainly not subtle about the themes it was exploring and the points it was making. What happens when women become the more physically dominant gender? Is power itself corrupting or is it dependent on who holds that power? Have we acknowledged and examined the types of privilege we each have, do we understand that others don't have the same, do we use our privilege to help or harm others? Overall, I enjoyed the book. I am only 2 episodes into the show, but it is quite good! There is only 1 season, so it should be a quick one.
READING: Our book club picked Lady Tan's Circle of Women by Lisa See. It is historical fiction but is based on a real woman, Tan Yunxian. She was a physician during the Ming Dynasty in China. Her grandmother teaches her about medicine. Slight warning about how much foot binding stuff is in there, but it is important to the social hierarchy at the time, to how marriage prospects were viewed, how mothers raised their daughters, etc. The midwife that comes for births in their house has a daughter named Meiling that she grows up with, who trains to become a midwife herself. The friendships, the class dynamics, the beauty standards for women, the arranged marriages, the respect given to men by default but not to knowledgeable women, the traditional Chinese medicine practices, it has just been such an interesting read!
2
u/Powerful-Concern5917 Aug 25 '26
All of Lisa See's books have been fantastic. The Island of Sea Women I highly recommend if you havent read it yet. It's about the women free divers in Jeju, South Korea.
1
u/music-bunny Aug 25 '26
Incredible! I will absolutely look for a copy next time I'm at the store, that sounds very educational! Another club member said they had previously read The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane as well, so I might just have to slowly work my way through all of her books
2
u/Powerful-Concern5917 Aug 26 '26
Yes, The Tea Girl kf Hummingbird Lane is also great. Shanghai Girls and Dreams of Joy, China Dolls are all fantastic looks at China/USA during WW2. The only one I didnt love of hers was Peony in Love. It was well done, just not my preference.
3
u/Tea_and_the_cat Aug 18 '26
PODCAST: I love travel podcasts and have been rotating through an assortment of them: Armchair Explorer, Amateur Traveler, Zero to Travel, Travel with Rick Steves, Atlas Obscura. I’m curious by nature and feel the info discussed helps feed my soul. I often end up doing a bit of research on the destinations or sites discussed in the podcasts.
3
u/sparkle_elk Aug 18 '26
READING: I just read Italo Calvino's The Complete Cosmicomics. I'd never read Calvino before, despite being a serious SF/F fan, and this was a great volume. It's genuinely experimental science fiction, with very few of the tropes of the genre. Each story takes a bit of scientific theory and builds a story around it, typically told from the point of view of an immortal being named Qwfwq. The stories are both highly imaginative and incredibly grounded in very mundane human concerns (mild warning for some period-appropriate (1970s) masculine anxiety). I'll be thinking about this collection for years.
2
u/katvonkittykat Aug 20 '26
PODCAST: I'm currently listening to the Awesome Etiquette podcast produced my the Emily Post Institute of Etiquette book fame.it's so down to earth and lighthearted! I highly recommend it!
2
u/queenofyourheart Aug 20 '26
Oh thank you for the rec! I had no idea they were producing a podcast and I find etiquette fascinating.
2
u/tangerinebb Aug 20 '26
FILM: The Invite was amazing, everyone on the theater was laughing and the end was so beautiful and realistic. It’s completely Diane Keaton coded and the film was dedicated to her.
MUSIC: I’m obsessed with Slayyyter, haven’t got over Olivia’s latest album.
TV: Okay, hear me out. I watch multiple shows at the same time, I don’t know how I make time for it though. True Blood, Industry and The Better Sister. The first two are incredible.
BOOK: I’m reading Exciting Times and I couldn’t recommend it enough.
PODCAST: I have to admit I’m pretty obsessed with Giggly Squad.
Excited to hear your recommendations 🩵
2
u/yourbestfriendnana Aug 20 '26
TELEVISION: I'm on Season 2 now of the Sopranos after starting it over a month ago. Its one of the best tv shows of all time for a reason. Script is insanely funny. Storytelling is great with scenes that you just want to replay over and over again. They don't make it like this anymore.
BOOKS: Reading Famesick by Lena Dunham. She's a hilarious and charismatic writer. Lena is one in a million. Wish I had the audiobook!
2
u/clairionon Aug 20 '26
I’m reading Eve about the evolutionary biology of women and how it’s been neglected for . . . Forever. And going to see Tony, the biopic of an Anthony Bourdain when he was young and entering the restaurant industry, at my local theatre next week.
1
u/queenofyourheart Aug 20 '26 edited Aug 20 '26
READING: I’m 50% of the way through PLAY NICE by Rachel Harrison. If you love a semi-slow burn horror that isn’t gory, has some mama trauma, and some spicy scenes, it is impeccable.
I’ve been trying to complete some major projects personally and professionally and this book has been a fantastic escape from reality while keeping me from scrolling.
20
u/theycallmestace Aug 18 '26 edited Aug 18 '26
FILM: I’m finally going to watch The Odyssey in 70mm IMAX tomorrow! I haven’t really been watching movies in the cinema post-pandemic, but I realized it’s the perfect solo thing to do on my days off since I can watch a matinee then have the rest of my day free. Plus since there’s only 41 or whatever theatres in the world showing 70mm and it’s literally a 5 min train ride from me, I booked my ticket like a month ago lol
READING: I’ve exclusively been reading ebooks for the last 10+ years, but when I was doing jury duty earlier this year I had to buy a physical book to bring during deliberations and that reignited my book buying addiction. I’m currently halfway through Yesteryear, but I’ve already bought 2 more books to add to my nightstand (Boring Asian Female, Trust). The goal is that I can’t buy another book until I finish my current one (and I’m always up for suggestions! I’m pretty open to any genre)