Don’t think of this list of movies, podcasts and books as escaping from reality – i.e. 24/7 news fatigue, no-end-in-sight government shutdown, empty food pantries – you get the drift.
Think of them as “entertainment lite” – i.e. words and pictures that will hopefully bring a smile, laugh, maybe even a tear, and take our mind off of the above as we enter this winter holiday season.Let’s start with the big screen, which might just be in our living room.
Search for “feel-good movies” on the internet and you’ll find lots of lists.
Here are five from “Rotten Tomatoes”
A a few feel-good documentaries to add to your list are: “My Octopus Teacher,” which won an Oscar for best documentary, “Rescue,” the National Geographic film about the rescue of 12 boys and their coach in a flooded North Thailand cave and the “Planet Earth” series narrated by David Attenborough.
And you can always count on the Hallmark Channel, which offers family-friendly romance, happy endings and every imaginable Christmas plot and more. “In a world that can be chaotic and stressful, Hallmark movies provide a comforting and familiar setting where everything is predictable and happy endings are guaranteed,” writes Due South.
Tune into “Good Hang with Amy Poehler,” who lives to share the stage with people as funny and talented as she is. Think Kate McKinnon, Seth Meyers, Tina Fey, Martin Short and more.
“It’s rough out there. We’re just trying to lighten it up a little,” Amy tells listeners.
Season 4 of Julia Louis-Dreyfus “Wiser Than Me” begins this month. Her guests are older women from all walks of life – from the late Jane Goodall and Nina Totenberg to Bonnie Raitt and Patti LaBelle - and her engaging interviews always ends with a sweet chat between her and her 91-year-old mother.
Another podcast on the light side is “Smartless,” hosted by actors Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and Will Arnett that “connects and unites people from all walks of life to learn about shared experiences through thoughtful dialogue and organic hilarity.” Recent guests include Julia Roberts, Michelle Pfeiffer, Lionel Richie and Steve Buscemi.
A couple podcasts that offer entertaining education are “Freakonomics,” with Stephen Dubner, who uncovers the hidden side of everything (such as, why is flying in a plane safer than driving a car? how do we decide whom to marry?), “How Things Work?” with Nerella Saikrishna Sandeep, suitable for all age groups, “Travel with Rick Steves” and “Be My Guest with Ina Garten,” who dishes up good food and great conversation.
Goodreads, the popular site for readers and book recommendations, has compiled a list of nearly 30,000 “feel-good” books. The list is diverse and ranges from old books, such as Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” published in 1813 and the 1908 “The Wind in the Willows,” written by Kenneth Grahame, to last year’s “The Wedding People” by Alison Espach and “Funny Story” by Emily Henry.
TED’s feel-good reading list includes poetry: “The Peace of Wild Things” by Wendell Berry, “The Rain in Portugal” by Billy Collins and “Bells in Winter” by Czeslaw Milosz.
And finally, from Bibliolifestyle’s feel-good classics list are: “Anne of Green Gables” by L. M. Montgomery, “Charlotte’s Web” by E.B. White, “Little Women” by Louise May Alcott, and “A Room with A View” by E. M. Forster.
The Biblio writer ends her list with “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens, explaining “I always close it wanting to do something kind immediately.”
Now that’s feel-good!