Three Things is a new occasional series where I’m planning to write about – gasp! – things that aren’t actually books. It’s based on a blog I’m a big fan of right now, 27 Good Things, where interesting people share three things to read, watch and use. I’m hoping it’ll be another way of sharing the stuff that currently has my attention.

In last Sunday’s Currently post, I mentioned that I’m having a hard time with audio books, in part because I’m finally into a good rotation of podcasts that I enjoy. I’ve been getting to the gym more regularly, and the length of podcasts seems to fit into the time I’m there really well. So I wanted to share three that I’m particularly enjoying right now, plus a few extras.

And as an FYI, I’m an Android girl and listen to most podcasts and music on my phone. My current podcast app is BeyondPod (a paid app after a free seven day trial).

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My reading binge of biographies about famous, awesome ladies is still going strong. Today, I want to write about a wonderful biography of Ethel Payne, a pioneering black journalist who is known by many today as the “First Lady of the Black Press,” Eye on the Struggle by James McGrath Morris.

Payne got her start in journalism when she was nearly forty, taking a job at the Chicago Defender, a preeminent newspaper for African Americans founded in 1905. In her long career, Payne became only the third black reporter to receive White House press credentials, the first black reporter to cover Vietnam and one of the first black, female television commentators.

She had a front row seat to history, covering events like the Montgomery Bus Boycott and desegregation efforts in Little Rock. And in 1964, she was recognized for her work on civil rights by President Lyndon B. Johnson, who gave her one of the pens used to sign the Civil Rights Act. Even into her 70s, Payne was traveling the world, filing dispatches and essays from Africa and Asia. She led an incredible life that Morris expertly shares in this book.

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 Time and Place | About 7:50 a.m. on Sunday morning, sitting at my desk.

Reading | This week was very busy, so I didn’t get much reading done — I finished up Eye on the Struggle by James McGrath Morris (a biography of African American journalist Ethel Payne) and Hammer Head by Nina MacLaughlin (March 16 from W.W. Norton), a memoir about becoming a carpenter. I’m also in the middle of Being Mortal by Atul Gawande (a look at how to improve the process of aging) and Americanah by Chimamande Ngozi Adichie.

Watching | For Valentines Day, the boyfriend and I rented The Book of Life and re-watched Nightcrawler (one of those was my pick, the other was his). The soundtrack to The Book of Life was delightful — I expect to be listening to that today.

Listening | Lately I don’t seem to have the attention span to get into any audio books. But I have been listening to podcasts, which made me think a book of short stories might be good on audio — any suggestions for a great collection to start with?

Cooking | I’ve got this recipe (pork shoulder with beets and artichoke hearts) going in my slow cooker today. Last week’s slow cooker meat sauce turned out great — I’ve been eating it all week poured over spaghetti squash.

Blogging | This week I reviewed The Lonely War by Nazila Fathi (awesome memoir about contemporary Iran) and shared four comic books I’m into right now (Alex + Ada, Rat Queens, Ms. Marvel and The Unwritten).

Linking | There’s a lot of to ponder in this New York Times piece about the culture of Internet shaming. I’ve seen a lot of these events go down on Twitter and they make me really uncomfortable.

Linking II | The Black Lives Matter reading list mentioned in this NPR story looks amazing. I’ve got a bunch of those books on my reading list already.

Hating | While Minnesota hasn’t had much snow this winter, last week we had a storm that was a mix of freezing rain and snow. It’s been frigid since, so basically all roads and parking lots are covered with a sheet of ice. It’s lovely.

Loving | Jeff Shotts, executive editor at Graywolf Press (publisher of The Empathy Exams, On Immunity, and Citizen, to name a few), gave a great talk at my local college campus this week. But even better, I got invited to have breakfast with him and a few other campus friends Friday morning. It was the best, most interesting book nerd talk I’ve gotten to have in awhile. I loved it.

Avoiding | Our bathtub needs to be cleaned but ugh, I hate that chore.

Anticipating | Since it’s snowing and cold today, I’m excited to spend the day cuddled up at home with a cup of tea and a book. I might have to venture outside to get the gym, but otherwise my day is going to be full of reading and writing.

Happy Sunday, everyone! What are you reading today?

One of the secret benefits of being a contributor to a site like Book Riot is that I benefit from the vast reading lives of the other contributors. As a result of their enthusiasm, I’ve been much more open into exploring the world of comics over the last several months.

I like to try out single issues of new series on Comixology, a cloud-based digital comics platform that I wrote about more extensively last August. Once I’ve read a couple of issues and think that this is a series I’d like to continue, I almost always wait for the series to come out in trade paperbacks before I read any more.

Trades usually combine five or six single issues into a book of around 120 pages and are a much more satisfying reading experience for me. Single issues feel like watching a single episode of a television show, then having to wait an entire month for the next installment. It’s hard for me to follow plot threads or spend enough time with the characters to fall into the story when they’re so short. So, I’m a big fan of trade editions of comics.

Today I want to share some thoughts on a few series I’ve recently started as trades that, after the first volume, I strongly recommend.

Rat Queens, Vol. 1: Sass and Sorcery

The Rat Queens are “a pack of booze-guzzling, death-dealing battle maidens-for-hire, and they’re in the business of killing all god’s creatures for profit.” The four women in this group – Hannah, Violet, Dee and Betty – live hard and don’t take crap from anybody. But they also do really care for each other and, when they’re not partying or getting in brawls, take on challenges to save their town from various evil monsters and conspiracy theories. This series is totally goofy, but also totally badass. I love it and I’m so excited that the second volume of this series will be out at the end of this month! (UPDATE: Jeff noted in the comments that volume two got bumped to May… sad!)

Alex + Ada, Vol. 1

Alex + Ada is a science fictional story about a man and his android. In the first issue, Alex, a bit of a sad sack dude, is given an X5, a new class of realistic android as a birthday present. The company behind the androids is careful to make sure they’re not sentient – after all, sentient androids were responsible for a terrible massacre not long before the series begins. But Alex isn’t happy with Ada as she is and starts to explore whether he can unlock help unlock Ada and give her a mind of her own. There isn’t much for plot in the first volume of this series, but the ending has me so curious for where it’s going next.

Ms. Marvel, Vol. 1: No Normal

Kamala Khan is a normal, Muslim American teenager from Jersey City until a mysterious fog turns her into a superhero, Ms. Marvel. Kamala needs to learn to deal with her new powers, while also struggling with the same things other teenagers deal with. I love this one, at least in part, because it’s amazing to see a young, diverse, woman at the center of a superhero story. Kamala is just wonderful, and I love the way the comic addresses her challenges in all areas of life. I’m a little iffy on superhero stories, but this is one I’m eager to continue.

The Unwritten Vol. 1: Tommy Taylor and the Bogus Identity

It’s possible that The Unwritten series was written exactly for me. Tom Taylor’s life has been kind of a mess ever since he was a kid when his dad made him the star of a Harry Potter-esque series of novels. The Tommy Taylor series ended abruptly when his father mysteriously disappeared, messing up Tom even further. Years later, Tom is making ends meet by cashing in on his famous alter-ego… until things go awry again as the books start to become real life! The first volume of this series, which is already at 10 or 11 trades, introduces a mysterious group out to protect Tom as well as a group trying to kill him off. And it has my favorite thing in books, documents that help add to the story! I finished the first volume Sunday night and immediately ordered the second, third and fourth trades. #sorrynotsorry #mycredtcardissorry