What to Watch, Eat, Read and Listen to While Stuck at Home

Whatever your taste, we have you covered

Julie Rebek and Rachel Hencke|April 2, 2020

What to Watch, Eat, Read and Listen to While Stuck at Home

If there’s one thing we know about social distancing it’s this: it’s boring. Without having to spend all day going to school, sports, extra-curricular activities, or work you probably have more free time on your hands than you know what to do with. But we’re here to help!

 

Movies to Watch when..

We know everyone’s favorite thing to do when you’re bored is pull up your favorite streaming provider. But now that you’ve already rewatched The Office 27 times, what is there to watch? Try one of these movies to match your mood.

If you’re in the mood for a good scare:

  • Netflix: What lies beneath, The Ring, Insidious
  • Hulu: The Blair Witch Project, The Descent, Pet Sematary
  • Amazon Prime: The conjuring, The Shining, The Exorcist

If you’re in the mood for a laugh:

  • Netflix: Click, Scary Movie, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Hitch
  • Hulu: Bridesmaids, Booksmart, What Men Want
  • Amazon Prime: Superbad, Ladybird, Baywatch
  • Disney Plus: Guardians of the Galaxy, Honey I Shrunk the Kids, The Pacifier

If you need a good cry these movies are sure to have you shed a few tears:

  • Netflix: The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, All the Bright Places, Room
  • Hulu: Seven Pounds, Good Will Hunting, Wonder
  • Amazon Prime: Titanic, The Green Mile, The Pursuit of Happiness
  • Disney Plus: Because Of Winn Dixie, Big Hero 6, Turner and Hooch

If you’re in the mood for an action/adventure:

  • Netflix: Batman Begins, Indiana Jones: Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Ghost Rider
  • Hulu: Once Upon a Time in Venice, The Spy Next Door, Judgement Day
  • Amazon Prime: Just Getting Started, Man of a Ledge, Charged
  • Disney Plus: Iron Man, The Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, Pirates of the Caribbean

If you need a good thrill:

  • Netflix: 47 Meters Down, The Platform, Freaks
  • Hulu: A Quiet Place, Heathers, Gone
  • Amazon Prime: The Haunting of Sharon Tate, A Simple Favor, Serenity

If you like SciFi:

  • Netflix: What Happened to Monday, Bird Box, Inception, Tremors
  • Hulu: The Colony, The Last Days, Errors of the Human Body
  • Amazon Prime: The Man In the High Castle, Westworld, The Expanse
  • Disney Plus: Avatar, Big Hero 6, Star Wars (All of them)

If you like documentaries:

  • Netflix: Travis Scott: Look, Mom, I Can Fly, I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead, Day the Dinosaurs Died
  • Hulu: Legion of Brothers, The Beatles, Obey Giant
  • Amazon Prime: Super Size Me 2, The Tillman Story, Downfall
  • Disney Plus: African Cats, Diana: In Her Own Words, Free solo

If you like Romance:

  • Netflix: The Kissing Booth, To all the Boys I Loved Before, Dear John, After
  • Hulu: Leap Year, Hitch, The Phantom of the Opera
  • Amazon Prime: No Strings Attached, Forever My Girl, Little Coincidences
  • Disney Plus: The Last Song, Beauty and the Beast, 10 Things I Hate About You

 

Tv Shows to Binge if..

Have some free time and you’re looking for a good TV show to binge? We’ve got the perfect recommendations for you.

If you liked FRIENDS, you’re sure to like:

  • Netflix: New Girl, Parks and Recreation, That 70’s Show, The Office
  • Hulu: How I Met Your Mother, Seinfeld, The Goldbergs, Baby Daddy

If you want to spice it up with a drama, you should definitely watch these:

  • Netflix: The Vampire Diaries, Gossip Girl, Jane the Virgin
  • Hulu: This Is Us, The Bachelor, Empire

If you love solving mysteries and crime, you will definitely enjoy these:

  • Netflix: Criminal Minds, IZombie, NCIS
  • Hulu: Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, 9-1-1 Lone Star, Bones

In the mood for a scare? These shows are sure to send chills up your spine:

  • Netflix: The Haunting of Hill House, You, Bates Motel, American Horror Story, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
  • Hulu: Scream Queens, Fear the Walking Dead, Freakish

Into cooking/baking shows? We think you’ll like these:

  • Netflix: Nailed It!, The Chef Show, Sugar Rush
  • Hulu: Cake Boss, Hell’s Kitchen, Cake Wars, Master Chef
  • Disney Plus: Be our Chef

If you want to get lost in a world of fantasy, these are for you:

  • Netflix: Once Upon a Time, Merlin, Charmed
  • Hulu: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Shadowhunters, The Gifted
  • Disney Plus: Wizards of Waverly Place, Gravity Falls

How about some SciFi?:

  • Netflix: Stranger Things, The 100, Black Mirror
  • Hulu: The X Files, The Strain, Firefly, Lost
  • Disney Plus: Mandalorian

In need of a laugh?:

  • Netflix: The Good Place, Big Mouth, Young and Hungry
  • Hulu: Family Guy, Mom, American Dad!, King of the Hill
  • Disney Plus: Good Luck Charlie, Phineas and Ferb, The Simpsons

Into Documentaries? These are some of our top picks:

  • Netflix: Pandemic, I Am a Killer, The Mind of Aaron Hernandez
  • Hulu: Unsolved Mysteries, Intervention, A Day in the Life
  • Disney Plus: America’s National Parks, Continent 7: Antarctica, Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted

Blasts from the past:

  • Netflix: Victorious, Goosebumps, What’s New Scooby-Doo?, My Babysitter’s a Vampire
  • Hulu: Hey Arnold!, Full House, Drake and Josh, Saved by The Bell
  • Disney Plus: Boy Meets World, Wizards of Waverly Place, The Suite Life of Zack and Cody

Some other TV shows to check out if none of the shows above fit what you’re looking for:

  • Netflix: Grey’s Anatomy, Love Is Blind, The Fosters, Atypical, Everything Sucks!
  • Hulu: The Masked Singer, The Good Doctor, Lego Masters, Keeping Up With the Kardasians
  • Disney Plus: Shake It up, Kim Possible, Jessie, Austin and Ally

 

Fun Recipes to make

Just because we’re not at school doesn’t mean we can’t learn new things. Take advantage of this time at home and improve your cooking/baking skills. Each item will have a link to the specific recipe.

Cooking:

Baking:

Heres a few websites you can visit so you can make some more fun recipes:
https://www.bonappetit.com/gallery/simple-recipes-five-ingredients
https://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/5-ingredient-recipes
https://www.foodnetwork.com/
https://www.countryliving.com/food-drinks/g648/quick-easy-dinner-recipes/

 

Books To Read

With all of your free time you might even be motivated to pick up a book! I know reading for enjoyment might sound fake but trust us it’s a real thing! Here’s a few books that we promise you won’t be able to put down.

If you’ve already watched To All the Boys 10,000 times:

  • To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before (Yes it’s a book too!) – Jenny Han
  • Since You’ve Been Gone – Morgan Matson
  • Along for the Ride – Sarah Dessen

More into historical fiction? You’ll definitely like these novels:

  • Before We Were Yours – Lisa Wingate
  • The Alice Network – Kate Quinn
  • Where the Crawdads Sing – Delia Owens
  • Lies We Tell Ourselves – Robin Talley

If you like to emerge yourself in a world of fantasy:

  • The Mortal Instruments, The Infernal Devices, and The Dark Artifices – Cassandra Clare
  • The Young Elites – Marie Lu
  • Rebel of the Sands – Alwyn Hamilton
  • An Ember in the Ashes – Sabaa Tahir

If you prefer to stay engaged with reality:

  • Highly Illogical Behavior – John Corey Whaley
  • One of Us Is Lying – Karen M. McManus
  • Something In Between – Melissa De La Cruz
  • I’ll Give You The Sun – Jandy Nelson

If you want to spice it up with some Sci-Fi:

  • Warcross – Marie Lu
  • The Thousandth Floor – Katharine Mcgee
  • The Loneliest Girl in the Universe – Lauren James
  • Replica – Lauren Oliver

 

Give It a Listen

We also know your parents are forcing you to do chores while you’re home. What better way to make it go by faster than listening to a podcast? Check out a few of our favorites that will keep your mind occupied.

  • Gen Z Girl Podcast
  • Schnitt Talk
  • Reply All
  • Stuff You Should Know
  • I Have Cool Friends
  • The Dropout
  • You’re Wrong About
  • How To Fail
  • My Favorite Murder
  • The Mortified Podcast