Pop culture recommendations for when you’re bored

(I drew this:-) @crearantine)

During COVID, a lot of us seem to have a lot of spare time at hand. However, there’s only so many times you can rewatch your favourite show without feeling a bit useless and bored. You know you should probably just do some homework, but remember: It is definitely okay to feel a bit lazy in these times, and sometimes it can be great for your mood to have some nice distractions from our burning world. Therefore, I present:

Pop culture recommendations for when you’re bored (at home), organized by type of activity.

What to watch

• The TV-show New Girl. 6 seasons of pure fun, filled with very lovable characters, questionable life decisions and a WHOLE lot o’ singing for something that isn’t a musical. A teacher (Zooey Deschanel) in her late 20’s moves into an apartment with three men and tackles all the aspects of being a young adult. You guessed it, it’s a comedy. Stream it on Netflix (at least in my country)

• John Mulaney’s Kid Gorgeous. A stand-up comedy show of about an hour, filled with funny stories from Mulaney’s life. Obviously, humor is very subjective, but I think he hits it right on the head; he is not trying too hard, it’s not just an hour of sex jokes, and he is so lovable with his charisma and pure, loving heart. Stream it on Netflix.

• YouTubers Linh Truong (pictured), Dustin Vuong, and Morgan Long. Yes, I now realize they all rhyme. The first two channels are quite similar, creative teens with a focus on fashion, room decoration and vlogs and a bright colour-scheme. The last one is a woman in her twenty-somethings who films very slow-paced, calming vlogs with a focus on literature, home life and hygge.

What to listen to

• By the Book, the podcast. To almost quote: Kristen Meinzer and Jolenta Greenberg live by a new self-help book for two weeks straight, and weigh in on whether or not it actually changed their lives. If you’re looking for a podcast with funny hosts (one of them is an actual comedian), a progressive perspective, a big back-catalogue, and a great community (find it on Facebook), this one’s for you. Ps. You do not have to read or even like self-help books to enjoy the podcast.

• Musical artists Lianne La Havas, Elton John, and Gus Dapperton. No, they’re not related at all, but they are three great artists that represent three different genres. Take a listen on Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen. If you’re interested in more music recommendations, check out my spotify: Elektra Lucia Lyholm-Raagaard

• Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness. Another great podcast. You probably already know and love JVN from the Netflix show Queer Eye, but he also hosts this podcast, and has done so for many years. In each episode, the listener along with JVN learns about a new, often quite specific topic that is not getting enough attention, or that Jonathan is plainly just curious about.

What to read

• Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff. This exciting and sometimes terrifying dark fantasy-horror novel is sure to take your mind of COVID, but will leave you questioning yourself and thinking about racism and bigotry. It takes place in the segregated USA in 1954, where Atticus Turner must cross states and survive many strange occasions in his search for his father. The show adaptation is currently being sent on HBO with new episodes every week.

• For a more happy-go-lucky romance YA novel, check out the To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before trilogy. Lara Jean is a teenager who has had numerous crushes without ever acting on them, and most of all enjoys being with her sisters, baking desserts and reading romance novels. But when her five love letters written to five very real boys mysteriously get sent out, she has to deal with all her now-cringeworthy flirty yet serious words being read by boys she still sees everyday. To cover up a mistake and help out a boy, she agrees to fake-date the most popular boy in school, Peter Kavinsky. But where does the fake relationship end and real love begin? When you’ve read the books you can dive deeper into the universe by watching the film adaptations of the first two books on Netflix.

• Lastly, read more of the wonderful articles here on the QuaranTeen Blog!

Have a nice day!

- Elektra<3