A Summer Must List for the Legendary Woman

Summer officially starts June 20, which is very exciting because it feels as though we have been waiting an interminably long time to get here. Finally: regular sunshine, long days, cool breezes, and excursions to beaches, pools and adventurous locales.

Summer is also the time to relax (it must be all the sunshine). It’s the time to kick back, stay up late, and focus on “treating yourself” a little more than you do during the hustling and bustling months of Autumn and Winter.

The only question is: how to treat yourself? What’s worth indulging in this summer season?

Well, not to fear, because I took the liberty (oh, yes, this was quite the challenge) of compiling some of the must-read/must-hear/must-watch events of the summer. But not just any events — the books, music, and movies that will engage and excite your legendary, independent and feminist mind.

Below are just a sampling of the many exciting forms of entertainment available to us this summer. I’ve grouped them according to their format and have included links to clips, trailers and music videos to get you excited. I hope you find something to brighten your summer, and if you know of a must-see/hear/watch that I’ve missed please comment so we can share recommendations with everyone!

Television

• Full Frontal with Samantha Bee (TBS, Mondays @ 10:30 EST): If you haven’t caught an episode of Samantha Bee’s weekly political talk show, you haven’t missed your chance! Her direct-to-camera addresses are fiery, intelligent, and don’t pull any punches. If you miss Jon Stewart’s Daily Show, or you just want to watch a woman on late night for once, Bee is here for you.
• Outlander (Starz, Saturdays @ 9 EST): The second season is well into its run, but will continue through July 2. That leaves you plenty of time to catch up on the time-traveling historical romance that has mastered the art of the “female gaze.” Claire is a heroine for the ages, and the historical, romantic, and personal details create a stunning and intimate experience you won’t forget. (Psst: If you have Amazon Video, you can add on a Starz subscription!)
• Veep (HBO, Sundays @ 10:30 EST): Now in its fifth season (airing through June 26th), this show has become known for being the political series political insiders refer to as the most truthful. That’s slightly horrifying once you see the show, but it also explains a lot. Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Selina Meyer is incredible week to week and can sling out crude and explicit threats and take-downs like nobody’s business, and Anna Chlumsky as her right-hand woman is the sometimes the only member of staff who has her head on straight. For anyone who wants (let’s be real: needs) to laugh in the face of politics.
• UnREAL (Lifetime, Mondays @ 10 EST): The second season just began June 6th, and season one only had 10 episodes — you can get caught up in a day or two! The series portrays two unapologetic and fierce women who run a Bachelor-type reality show. It’s wild, sometimes shocking, and always anchored by powerhouse performances. It’s wildly refreshing to watch if you’re after a new kind of female role in TV. #MoneyDickPower
• Another Period (Comedy Central, Wednesdays @ 10 EST): The second season of this mock-Kardashians for the 1900s crowd premiered June 15th. Created by, and starring, Riki Lindhome and Natasha Leggero, the series excellently skewers modern-day high society, as well as the trends and mentalities of the upper crust of a century ago.

Dr. Freud works to cure the ladies of the house

• Orange is the New Black (Netflix): Already we’re on season four! Time flies, but it’s great to have OITNB back with us every summer. The series is bound to get a lot more complicated (and crowded) this year, but it is always a reliable source of powerful stories of all kinds of women and their lives.

Music

• For the Riot Grrl: If you haven’t noticed yet, the grungy and DIY-aesthetic of the “riot grrl” movement of the 90s is having a comeback. A lot of the bands name-check 90s-kid staples, which explains the stage name of Lisa Prank. Her first full-length album Adult Teen is being released June 24, and if you want your music with sing-a-long lyrics and down-to-earth feelings, her songs are for you. On June 17th, Mitski released her fourth album, excellently titled Puberty 2. She brings a sadness, but an eloquence and an “IDGAF” attitude to her beautiful rock songs. Finally, if you want music from the original riot grrl, Kathleen Hanna, her band The Julie Ruin is releasing their first album in years, Hit Reset, July 8th.
• For the girl who likes her pop retro-style: This is me, all the way. Any music that has a touch of the 80s cheese to it, or 60s girl group, immediately wins my favor. Spooky yet stylish duo Cat’s Eyes released their second album Treasure House on June 3rd. If you can imagine a girl group mixing with a goth cathedral choir, this might be what you would get. Great for those of us who prefer the shade to sun on most days. On the 80s-style spectrum we have Wild Things by Ladyhawke, a forever under-the-radar artist who nevertheless can craft quite the quirky pop song. Recent synth converters Tegan and Sara also released Love You to Death, and continue to perfect bouncy and joyful songs about love and life.

• For the country girl: There was a time early in my life where all I would watch on TV was the country music channel. I’ve since become estranged from the genre, but still find myself attracted to original voices and other artists who take the melodies, instrumentation and detailed storytelling of country music and make it fresh again. This summer gives us four female artists giving us all of that and more. Newcomer Maren Morris released her album Hero June 3rd, and it’s full of her unique perspective on life as she knows it. June 17th saw the release of hot collaboration case/lang/veirs from Neko Case, k.d. lang and Laura Veirs, each distinct songwriters in their own right with recognizable voices that blend so very well. Their music would go excellently with a slow, sleepy summer night.
• For the rocker: Every once in awhile, you have to rock out. Mourn, a young rock band with even younger members (all under 21), released ha, ha, he on June 3rd and have stacked it with raucous and excellently loud shouts of attitude. If you’re looking for another return of old favorites, Garbage released a new album, Strange Little Birds, on June 10th. If you wish you could soundtrack your days at the beach to be like those of Leo and Claire in Romeo + Juliet, Garbage will help you do that.

Books

• The Romantic: For some reason a nice, cozy contemporary novel (with a bit of love and friendship mixed in) fits so well with a day on the beach. Emma Straub has got you covered with her latest, The Modern Lovers, which tells the intertwined stories of four New York adults — two couples — who used to be in a indie rock band 20 years ago. On July 19, Jennifer Close releases The Hopefuls, her novel about competitive power couples in D.C. This would be an excellent companion to a binge session of Veep.
• The Creepy: Sometimes you just want to spend a summer night in and really make your skin crawl. Emma Cline’s creepy thriller, The Girls, sends you back into the late 60s era in a Manson-like cult. Cline’s debut novel is getting raves for her powerful characterization and time setting. If you want a chilling companion to the Summer Olympic Games, you can pick up Megan Abbott’s You Will Know Me on July 26. This novel features a community of young female gymnasts and their families, who get their lives upturned by a shocking death.

Image: Random House

• The Non-Fiction: If you prefer to read something informative while catching some “rays,” Justine Van Der Leun’s release of We Are Not Such Things on June 28 will greatly satisfy you. The book explores the 1993 murder of a Fulbright scholar in Cape Town, South Africa and all of the thorny issues that surrounded it. It’s a great way to learn about a city and country you may not have much current information about, and to see how justice and privilege influence law across the world.
• The Funny: Although Inside Amy Schumer is ending its season in June, the other two months of the summer are offering two candid books of essays by the show’s star and head writer. You’ll Grow Out of It, by Jessi Klein, comes to us July 12, full of essays covering every personal milestone from embarrassing childhood memories, to marriage, to childbirth, to writing a sketch show. Klein is the secret weapon of IAS, and I’m looking forward to having a collection that’s totally her voice. Then, on August 16, Amy Schumer releases her long-anticipated book of essays, The Girl With the Lower Back Tattoo. If you’ve picked up the books of Fey, Poehler, Kaling, Dunham etc. in the past, Schumer’s is a must-read.
• The Magical: Let’s say that the large majority of Harry Potter fans are not going to be able to catch a live viewing of The Cursed Child this summer. Well, luckily, the script is being released for us all to simultaneously perform the stage show in our minds. J.K. Rowling created the story for her characters — now adults, with their kids attending Hogwarts (yikes!) — and collaborated on the script with writer Jack Thorne and director John Tiffany. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child will be released July 31 (HBD, Harry), and if nothing else it should be very satisfying to have adult versions of the Ginny and Hermione (and their kids!) that we love from the novels. (Especially novel Ginny, remember her? She’s amazing).

Movies

• Love and Friendship (PG): Playing in limited release, and soon to be on Amazon Video, this adaptation of an unreleased Jane Austen story is thoroughly modern and delightfully wicked. The performance of Kate Beckinsale in particular brings a jolt of sexuality and cunning that Austen’s adaptations frequently pass over.
• The Fits (NR): Anna Rose Holmer’s film— at just 72 minutes — is getting raves for portraying adolescence in a refreshingly honest and dark way. The film follows 11-year-old Toni who struggles to fit in with a dance troupe, that mysteriously begins suffering physical fits and spasms for no clear reason. The film is said to capture the subtle violence to yourself and others that pre-teen and teenage girls are so familiar with.
• The Shallows (PG-13, June 29): Blake Lively stars in this taught thriller about a young woman who gets marooned on a rock at sea, surrounded by hungry sharks. The existential fight for survival echoes Gravity and the bloody attacks parallel Jaws. If you’re going to have a woman in a bikini for most of your film, you better go ahead and make her a fighter like this.

• Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates (R, July 8): In which Anna Kendrick and Aubrey Plaza (both underused and undervalued in film and comedy, imho) get the chance to go as hard and crude as the guys do (if not more so). If you want to enjoy a R-comedy, these two actresses and comedians are bound to give you something to laugh at. If you can’t let loose at the beach quite like they do, you can at least check out the film and live vicariously through them.
• Ghostbusters (July 15): Yeah, that’s right. This will be a fun, enjoyable summer comedy and a truly delightful experience for millions of young and adventurous girls everywhere. If it achieves nothing else, it will have given established comedy gems Melissa McCarthy and Kristen Wiig another chance to shine, and relative show-biz newcomers and geniuses Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones a well-earned entry into major films.
• Southside With You (August 26): As we reach the end of the Obamas in the White House — and realize how good we had it — we can check out a dramatization of the First Couple’s first date in Chicago way back when. Tika Sumpter is apparently great as a young, ambitious and nuanced Michelle. The tone and rhythm of the film is also perfect for the warm and meandering summer days that make the season worth waiting for.

Who’s ready to start the summer now?

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The author is active on Twitter @yourbeth_friend, writes weekly about TV and Movies here, and about sustainable and mindful travel here.