I don’t know what the rest of you do with your summer (jaunts to The Cape, poolside lazing, planning elaborate award show boycotts that will totally matter), but I basically use the 11 weeks between when my kids get out of school and go back to school to BINGE ALL THE THINGS.

This summer, I’ve been binging on trips to Pottery Barn Outlet and The Container Store because we moved into a new house in May and all I want to do is fill it up with perfectly minimalist crap. I’m writing this on the cuddler end of my new slate grey sectional, so Home Decor: Achievement Unlocked.

But fall is on the horizon, especially if you live in the South where it’s over 100°F in the afternoon, but school is still starting in two weeks whether the classrooms have A/C or not. And once fall gets here you won’t have time to get caught up on the perfect Netflix show, or re-read that book series before the sequel comes out in the theater. So … I have worked out for you what you need to binge between now and Labor Day (I’m being generous here, Northerners) so that you are Pop Culture Prepared come September.

Binge Watch

Sense8

One of our favorite TN readers, Lindsey, was pretty adamant that Sense8 should be everyone’s next binge watch, and despite the fact that I don’t like to be told what to do … even in gif form, SHE WAS FREAKING RIGHT. It was the gay boy gifs that sold me on it, not even gonna lie. Whatever YOUR reason, queue it up immediately. Season 2 announcement is on the horizon, and you need to be ready to throw a parade when that news come down the pipe. Also … if you binge it, we can trade Lito/Hernando fanfic.

8 Reasons to Watch Sense8

Hannibal

Because NBC cancels everything worth watching on that ridiculous network, you won’t be getting any more ground breaking Hannibal with your rabbit ears ever again. So stick it to the man and ONDEMAND that awesome shizz right now before Bryan Fuller forgets he’s promised us feature films with the same cast. Speaking of the cast … Hi, Hugh.

https://instagram.com/p/5BX4KiO_Ns/

Star Wars

Do I really need to say it? If you’ve never seen Star Wars, or think you have but you aren’t sure (Bekah), then you are living in a Golden Age of Star Wars fandom. You can experience all the good and none of the bad. You have CHOICES. And you need to be ready for The Force Awakens this December.

I’m going to give you the best advice I can if you are binging Star Wars for the first time or the 50th. Here is the order in which you should watch: Episode IV: A New Hope, Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Episode VI: The Return of the Jedi. If you find something is missing in that list, trust me, IT ISN’T MISSING.

Star Wars at SDCC

Heroes

Yep. You read that right. Heroes with Milo VentiMachiatto and Hayden Pre-Nashville. Yes, we’re going all the way back to 2006 with this one. Why? Because Heroes Reborn is premiering September 24th and it looks amazing. I mean, Masi Oka is BACK! I don’t know about you, but I want to make sure I remember, um, what the heck the plot was for this show.

Binge Read

The Maze Runner Series

Well, at least read The Maze Runner and The Scorch Trials because The Scorch Trials movie comes to theaters on September 18, and Dylan O’Brien is so BONA FIDE that reading (or re-reading) those books with his face in your head can only be a good thing. Also, the word “scorch” is one of those that gets weirder the more you type it. SCORTCH > SKORCH.

Why We Should Care about the Scorch Trials

JoJo Moyes

Yes, again. AGAIN. Get to reading Me Before You, if you haven’t already because the sequel After You is hitting shelves (and my grief bone) on September 24. You will need those full two months to recover. And go ahead and mark your calendar for a re-read this spring in preparation for the movie release in June. OH GOD THE HURTS.

Me Before You: Pencil in Your Sads

The 5th Wave

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey is coming to the big screen in January, and it needs your undivided attention. Forget that it’s post-apocalyptic like so many other things. There are aliens! It has a great, snarky narrator and a tightly plotted world that will keep you page-turning. And while the third in the triology isn’t out until May of next year, the first two will keep you on the edge of your seat until then.

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer

The Mara Dyer series by Michelle Hodkin … just because you need a hot Young Adult series to blow through, and Noah Shaw is just about the HOTTEST YA guy out there. He gets all the good lines.

To Kill A Mockingbird

And if you haven’t already, make time to binge read/watch To Kill A Mockingbird and then grab your copy of Go Set a Watchman. WHY?? Because it’s our July Boozy Book Club pick, and this is the first time I’m telling you that, and July is almost over. So skip reading Mockingbird (sorry, Julie) and just go straight to video. Then get a good look at Scout as she was meant to be introduced. We will have a LOT to talk about for book club.

And In Boozy Book Club News

Now only did we just announce our July book several weeks late, but we are also super on top of our hangout. We are gearing up for our quarterly Boozy Book Club hangout THIS THURSDAY night at 10pm EST … to talk The Girl on the Train, so get your canned gin and tonics ready and your judgey hats on! It feels like it’s been FOREVER since we got together, got boozy and talked books, so we hope we will see you there. Use the hashtag #TnBookClub to talk to us on twitter during the broadcast.