What We're Reading, Listening to, and Watching This Week (10/4/2026)
Linda-Marie Barrett / Executive Director:
Reading: Just finished Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz for my book club. Such a timely read about endearing sentient robots starting up a noodle restaurant in San Francisco. Humans and robots are trying to bounce back after a hellish war that’s splintered California away from the United States. As always, bringing folks (human and otherwise) together in community, with the bonus of delicious noodles, provides purpose and hope and even some laughs. I loved it! Finishing up Word Salad by Susan Coll and loving that as well.
Listening: The season of leaf blowers has begun. Otherwise delighting in the complex arias of resident mockingbirds.
Watching: The Great British Baking Show, old movies, and Halloween lawn displays.
Candice Huber / Membership:
Reading: I finished The Last Contract of Isako by Fonda Lee, and it was great! Lee is one of my favorite authors. I'm also excited to have started Dead Beat by Leigh Bardugo, the VERY HIGHLY anticipated last book in the Alex Stern series! I can't wait to see how it all shakes out.
Listening: I'm slowly making my way through Twig's Traveling Tomes on my short drives around the city. It's the perfect listen for fall!
Watching: The Traitors has started back up, and I'm super excited for this season with noncelebrities!
Nicki Leone / Communications:
Reading: Triage by Claudia Rankine, The Man Who Made Plants Write by Jagadish Chandra Bose and translated by Sumana Roy, and the Fall issue of Slightly Foxed.
Listening: Most of my books are still in storage, including all my Anne Carson books, so I just downloaded everything I could get from Libro.fm.
Watching: YouTube videos on how to weave on a rigid heddle loom.
SP Rankin / Website Administrator:
Reading: White Moss by Anna Nerkagi
Listening: The song "Glad and Sorry" by Faces.
Watching: The utterly ridiculous Fackham Hall. Reader, I laughed.
Andrea Richardson / Sales:
Reading: Meryl Wilsner's upcoming spicy romance, Flour Girl. They are an auto-read author for me, and this one also revisits a couple from a previous book that I loved.
Listening: Like all the other Basic Bs, I am listening to the four new songs that Taylor Swift just dropped (though I don't really care for "Cleveland").
Watching: The new season of Ted Lasso, and it's so heartwarming and lovely. Everyone watches women's sports!