In my prior life in the corporate world, I used to attend a lot of brainstorming meetings. I assume everyone has been to at least one. People sit around a table, throw out ideas to solve a problem or make future plans.
So when the publisher of Town&Style invited me to come to the biannual brainstorming session, I was all in. As a columnist for the paper, I never really worry about additional work being dumped on me. I don’t go in to the office. I often write this column sitting in my house with MSNBC playing in the background … in my pajamas. But I am always happy to share my ideas to create additional work for others. You can call me a ‘giver’ or some other word of your choosing.
Readers should know that during this half-day session, the focus was you. What could Town&Style do to become an even better publication for you to read? Not a minute of time was spent discussing who everyone thought was the best humor columnist (that would be me since I am the only one!). I did bring a list of ideas, but I will be honest, most of mine were fairly lame compared to what everyone else around the table had to offer. Perhaps I had lost my touch.
And then the topic turned to Town&Style’s reviews of movies and books. With the influx of all the great new TV series, it seemed like those should be included as well, and lots of people are listening to podcasts, and what about music? Shouldn’t we start reviewing all of those, too? As you all know, I have an opinion about damn near everything, so I suggested I would be the perfect person to tackle some reviews. I love judging things that can’t hit back! And that’s how Janie Sumner and I became the new writers of Not So Deep Thoughts. This column, which appears in the first two issues each month, will give readers our thoughts on the latest things we are watching, reading and listening to. Should be easy enough, right?
I never make anything easy. I’ve always been an avid reader. I keep a notebook with a list of books I want to read. For years, I kept a book journal. I stopped that, which might have been a mistake because then I would have realized that I appear to only read autobiographies of women recovering from horrific experiences like drug addiction, spousal abuse, death and destruction. I read nothing happy. What’s wrong with me? I was going to have to broaden my reading list to include some fiction.
Then I turned to television. I love watching TV! I’ve never uttered the words, “I only watch PBS.” I’m pretty sure the only time I did watch PBS was when my kids were small and Sesame Street was on. But really, could I write a review about 90 Day Fiancé: Where Are They Now? or Below Deck? I was going to have to learn how to use the Amazon Fire thing and actually explore all the great new TV programming, like Game of Thrones … wait, it’s been on for seven seasons?
So the next time you come across a new book, TV show or podcast you think I might like, send me an email. I clearly need a little help.
Contact Patty at PHannum@townandstyle.com
