Media Recommendations for the Last Bit of Summer

What are you reading and watching lately?  I had been on a reading kick, one book after the other, for a long while but that ended as we were headed to the beach at the beginning of summer.  I'm trying to restart my leisure reading with humorous reads - David Sedaris' Calypso and John Hodgman's Vacationland.  Hopefully, that will jumpstart my appetite for books this fall.  So what media have I been consuming?  TV shows, for the most part. I'm highlighting the few that are standouts and different from many things you'll see on TV these days, network or otherwise.

Hyori's Bed & Breakfast, Seasons 1 and 2
This show is a reality-based show from South Korea.  The premise is simple: a celebrity couple living on Jeju Island turns their home into a Bed & Breakfast inviting everyday guests to spend time in their home and explore Jeju.  So why is this so fun to watch?  Slow-paced life, focused on yoga and nature and conversation.  Long conversations, inviting home, homemade food, tea ritual, good coffee, pets, beach, mountains, hikes/walks, tattoos, robes,

Kim's Convenience, Seasons 1 and 2
I didn't hear much about this Canadian production until it showed up in my Netflix cue one day.  Based in Toronto, the show features a Korean American family that owns a neighborhood convenience store (the front of the store is a real store in Toronto!).  The writing is quite good and the actor who plays the patriarch, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, is fantastic!  Two seasons are currently available with a third in the works.

Terrace House Opening New Doors
There are 2 other seasons of Terrace House (Boys & Girls In the City and Aloha State) on Netflix.  Plus there are numerous seasons of Terrace House that aired in Japan but never here in the U.S.  But the newest one is Opening New Doors, set in Karuizawa outside of Tokyo.  Much has already been written about the Terrace House phenomenon so I won't retread it all here.  For me, I love the setting (both the beautiful wintry backdrop of Karuizawa and the cozy, modern house) and glimpses into the life in another culture. I love to see scenes where the roommates shop for food and prepare meals. The house even has a onsen-style bathtub with a great view.  So lovely.