Patricia Harrelson

One terrific aspect of having 15 grandkids, ages 10-30, is their wealth of cultural and artistic experience. This year, I asked each of my grandkids to name a show, movie, podcast, book and/or musical artist they have enjoyed. I now have a wildly varied list of entertainment (and learning) to choose from for 2025.

First, I created a playlist name Grandkids’ Picks on Spotify. Here are some of the tunes that landed there:

• “The King Beetle on Coconut Estate”- mewithoutYou
• “Better Year”- Sam Barber
• “Crystal Chandeliers and Burgundy” -Charley Crocket
• “Picture” – Feeble Little Horse
• “Bizcochito” – ROSALÍA
• “Favorite Thing” – ShitKid
• “Romantika” – Brutalismus 3000
• “Small Car with Big Wheels” – Enjoy
• “Fate” – Boy Harsher
• “Eye On the Bat” – Palehound
• “Weak” – SWV
• “Afterglow” – Chokecherry (Grandchild’s friend’s band)
• “I giorni: Andante”- Daniel Hope
• “Always” – Daniel Ceasar

Plus, one granddaughter sent an entire playlist she named “Morning Chill” that’s lovely.

In the movie department, two of my son’s adult kids sent 30-year-old comedies. This son has always leaned toward chick flicks, and it looks like his taste influenced his kids as their favorite movies were The Princess Bride and You’ve Got Mail, both of which were filmed before these young people were born. We watched You’ve Got Mail last night, and I found myself super intrigued by the economic message around which the story is built, and the fact that the 2-hour movie would these days have probably been 90 minutes for those of us who have soundbite attention spans. Other recommendations were any Studio Ghibli Film and a quirky one that sounds intriguing, Better Off Dead.

Book recommendations were thin. Two books were psychological thrillers, a genre I generally avoid but now will take on interested to see what drew my granddaughters into these stories. The books are The Silent Patient and Verity, both of which I have on order from Libby. I’d already read three books that were labeled favorites: There There by Tommy Orange, When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithti, and The Women by Kristin Hannah.

The recommended podcasts are super exciting: “Modern Wisdom,” “The Way I Heard It,” Mike Rowe, “Start with Why,” Simon Sineck, “The Undraped Artist,” and “Maintenance Phase.”   like getting podcast recommendations because I tend to stick to my favorites which are on regular production calendars.

The request for shows turned up the most arcane suggestions, beginning with Arcane and followed closely by AP Bio, Pushing Daisies, Sex Life, and The Traitors. I will watch at least one episode of each, but I don’t anticipate getting hooked, though you never know. I lean toward super schmaltzy shows (think Heartland) or PBS British series like Grantchester and All Creatures Great and Small, so I think the suggested shows might be too far outside the box for me. The one show I can’t wait to dip into is Cable Girls.

If you have young adults in your life, I highly recommend asking them to name titles from the mediums they enjoy. As you can see, the suggestions alone say a lot about these young people. And I think it’s a terrific way to broaden my perspective, don’t you?