Read. Watch. Listen. introduces you the personal side of our faculty, staff and alumni. Participants are asked to answer three simple questions about their reading, viewing and listening habits – what one book or newspaper/magazine article is grabbing your attention; what one movie or television show has caught your eye; and what album/song, podcast or radio show are you lending an ear to.
Today, Alexander Meyer, Assistant Professor of Classics in the Department of Classical Studies, weighs in with his favourites.
Read
Over the summer I revisited Donna Tartt’s The Secret History. It has a special place in the hearts of many classicists, since it is about a group of undergraduates who study Classics, but it is also an exciting mystery and an examination of friendship and morality. How would you have dealt with Bunny?
Watch
I am in the middle of Requiem (available on Netflix), a British horror series about the disappearance of a young girl and (apparent) occult practices in a small town in Wales. If you like horror and can be patient as the plot develops slowly, it’s worth a watch. If you need more immediate gratification and lighter subject matter, I’d recommend Oh, Hello on Broadway (also on Netflix). It’s a recording of a play (of sorts) Nick Kroll and John Mulaney did on Broadway. I remember seeing the marquis at the Lyceum when it was running, but I never gave it a second thought. I have many regrets now. It’s not at all usual Broadway fare but if you know Kroll’s and Mulaney’s comedy, you know what to expect. I’ve watched it three times and it keeps getting funnier.
Listen
I’ve been recommending Ben Caplan and the Casual Smokers to everyone who will listen for the last few years. They visited Aeolian Hall in London and it was one of the best shows I’ve been to in many years. Lately, I’ve returned to my 80s and 90s punk roots and have been listening to Ten Foot Pole. They’re a solid, second wave, SoCal punk band and are playing the London Music Hall on October 18. Maybe I’ll see you there.
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If you have a suggestion for someone you would like to see in Read. Watch. Listen., or would like to participate yourself, drop a line to inside.western@uwo.ca.
