From the Shelf to the Small Screen

Turning into a couch potato over the holidays? Here are a few books to add to your reading list and then you can add them to your DVR too. 

In Modern Romance, author and comedian Aziz Ansari teamed up with sociologist Eric Klinenberg for a book that is part comedy and part educational. Not the kind of dry, fact filled text found in most classrooms, this book contains Ansari’s charming wit and tackles dating and love in the modern age with humor and grace. Ansari, previously on Parks and Recreation, is best known as a stand-up comedian. He has several stand up shows available on Netflix: Buried Alive and Dangerously Delicious. He also has an original series on Netflix, Master of None, which he created and stars, which focuses on establishing a career as an actor and love life in his early 30’s. 

If you are a fan of Bravo’s Top Chef, you may have read cookbooks or even visited restaurants owned by the Judge Chefs and the contestants. But if you want to know more about the hostess of the show- Padma Lakshmi, her memoir is the best source. In Loss, Love, and What We Ate, Lakshmi dishes about her childhood, spent both in India and in the United States, and love life, as well as being a single mom and TV celebrity. And, of course, as a true foodie she sprinkles her memories with recipes and tales of traditional meals with her family. 

Top Chef’s latest season, set in Charleston, South Carolina is currently airing on Bravo. 

Tired of politics? Not ready for a holiday story yet? Liane Moriarty’s novel Big Little Lies is the perfect winter reading escape. Moriarty’s story, like her other novels, reads like a raunchy reality show- think Real Housewives of Australia- but with a ‘whodunit’ twist.  Big Little Lies is the snarky tale of three women who meet when their young children attend the same suburban school.  Despite different family circumstances, the women’s friendships grow through a series of darkly humorous episodes centering on raising children in the suburbs. Each learns that the others’ lives may not be as picture perfect as they seem. The story takes a dramatic turn at the annual school fundraiser when a murder occurs. Yet the women remain close as they bond over marriage, motherhood, and, finally, murder. 

Now you really can read the book before you watch the show! Big Little Lies has been made into a ‘limited’ dramatic series starring Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon, premiering on HBO February 19, 2017.