Happy Friday, Wildcats! Falvey Library is delivering you another semester of Weekend Recs, a blog dedicated to filling you in on what to read, listen to, and watch over the weekend. Annie, a graduate assistant from the Communication department, scours the internet, peruses the news, and digs through book stacks to find new, relevant, and thought-provoking content that will challenge you and prepare you for the upcoming week.

Photo by Léonard Cotte on Unsplash

In a few days, midterms will be upon us, which likely means that many of us are spending some time over the weekend studying. It’s a stressful time, especially after coming back from summer break, where it sometimes feels like your brain has done a factory reset. Being at least a little stressed or overwhelmed is somewhat inevitable.

One way to reduce some of that inevitable stress is mindfulness and meditation. It might seem boring or silly, but it actually can be a very effective self-care technique. So, this weekend’s recs will give you some mindfulness recs to help you relax in preparation for the week ahead.

If you have 30 seconds…and are feeling anxious, follow along with this deep breathing TikTok.

If you have 5 minutes and 15 seconds…and need to de-stress with a quick study break, follow along with this quick guided meditation.

Bonus: Need more time for mindfulness? Check out our Mindfulness Monday session on Oct. 2 from 1-1:30 p.m.

If you have 15 minutes…and want to learn about the positive effects mindfulness and meditation can have, read this article compiling some of the research on mindfulness. Although it’s not an entire cure-all, it has been shown to positively affect mental health and well being, which are certainly important during midterms.

Photo by Georgia de Lotz on Unsplash

If you have 27 minutes and 38 seconds…and don’t like meditation tapes, watch this (or any) episode of The Joy of Painting with Bob Ross. Although it’s not a guided meditation, Bob’s peaceful voice is still pretty effective at soothing any stress.

If you have 2 hours…and need some calming sounds to relax (or study) to, check out MyNoise.net. They have a free library of relaxing sounds and songs, from calming rain to white noise to soothing instrumentals. Plus, all of the sounds and songs have customizable sliders, so you can change the presets to isolate certain tracks or change the equalization. My personal favorite is the “Duduk Song,” which is hauntingly beautiful.

Bonus: if you need some more meditation songs, listen to Spotify’s “Peaceful Meditation” playlist.

If you have 4 hours…and are new to mindfulness, read this introductory guide for using mindfulness to ease stress, available online through Falvey.

Annie Stockmal is a second-year graduate student in the Communication Department and Graduate Assistant in Falvey Library.

Happy Friday, Wildcats! Falvey Library is delivering you another semester of Weekend Recs, a blog dedicated to filling you in on what to read, listen to, and watch over the weekend. Annie, a graduate assistant from the Communication department, scours the internet, peruses the news, and digs through book stacks to find new, relevant, and thought-provoking content that will challenge you and prepare you for the upcoming week.

Photo by Bruce Warrington on Unsplash

One of the big questions people have asked for generations is, “Do aliens exist?” While some take this as a serious question informed by science or philosophy, others thinks it’s a fun debate topic that can get people talking. Regardless of your own beliefs, aliens seem to occupy a space in our collective consciousness, with recent news stories demonstrating this. This weekend’s recs will get you caught up-to-date on all the latest alien news and share some alien fiction recs to entertain your inner nerd.

If you have 5 minutes…and haven’t heard about the most recent alien debacle, read this article. Two mummified bodies in Mexico have been presented as evidence of alien beings and are currently undergoing testing, but many suspect these bodies are simply human remains.

Bonus: watch the update of some of their findings.

If you have 5 minutes and 21 seconds…and want Neil Degrasse Tyson’s perspective on all the recent alien news, watch this video.

If you have 35 minutes and 7 seconds…and like podcasts, listen to this New York Times discussion about the alleged government alien cover-up that made news over the summer.

Photo by Leo on Unsplash

If you have 1 hour and 37 minutes…and were lucky enough to not be scared by the trailer in 2013, watch Dark Skies. In my personal opinion, this movie is slightly underrated. It had some good tense and suspenseful moments and was surprising anxiety-inducing.

Bonus: if you prefer movies with a more wholesome vibe, watch E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, available in Falvey’s DVD Collection.

If you have 2 hours and 10 minutes…and are a Jordan Peele fan, watch Nope, available online through Falvey. Although I’ve loved each of Jordan Peele’s horror movies, this one managed to freak me out the most. It’s tense and deeply unsettling. Plus, as a bonus, Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer are in it.

If you have 6 hours and 8 minutes…and love horror classics, watch the first three of Ridley Scott’s Alien movies, available in Falvey’s DVD Collection. It’s officially fall, which means horror movies are in-season, and these films are the perfect way to prepare yourself for spooky season.

Annie Stockmal is a second-year graduate student in the Communication Department and Graduate Assistant in Falvey Library.

Happy Friday, Wildcats! Falvey Library is delivering you another semester of Weekend Recs, a blog dedicated to filling you in on what to read, listen to, and watch over the weekend. Annie, a graduate assistant from the Communication department, scours the internet, peruses the news, and digs through book stacks to find new, relevant, and thought-provoking content that will challenge you and prepare you for the upcoming week.

Today marks the first day of Hispanic/Latine Heritage Month. Running from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, Hispanic Heritage Month celebrates the diversity of Hispanic and Latine cultures globally and honors the honoring the contributions of Hispanic Americans throughout history. In celebration, this weekend’s recs will highlight some content to help get you into the spirit of the month.

Photo by sydney Rae on Unsplash

If you have 4 minutes and 35 seconds…and love Pedro Pascal, watch this SNL sketch from when he hosted this year.

If you have 10 minutes…and want to better understand the differences between the labels “Hispanic” and “Latine,” read this article.

If you have 14 minutes and 2 seconds…and love America Ferrera, watch her TED Talk on her identity and representation in Hollywood.

If you have 1 hour and 46 minutes…and want to watch a Mexican film that made a big splash in the 2000s, watch Y tu mamá también, available in Falvey’s DVD Collection. This film manages to perfect the formula for somewhat raunchy hijinks and emotional pull, everything you want in a road trip movie.

Bonus: if you’re interested in learning more about this film from the filmmakers and actors, read this article from the New York Times.

Photo by Adrian Dascal on Unsplash

If you have 2 hours and 3 minutes…and love historical biopics, watch Frida, available in Falvey’s DVD Collection. This 2001 film follows Mexican artist and icon Frida Kahlo, famously known for her self-portraits.

Bonus: if you’re a fan of based-on-a-true-story films, you can also watch Roma, which follows an indigenous women navigating the political climate of 1970s Mexico while working as a live-in housekeeper and nanny for a wealthy Mexican family.

If you have 3 hours…and are a superhero fan, go see Blue Beetle in theaters. If you were a fan of DC’s Shazam, I think you’ll like this one. Featuring actors like George Lopez, Xolo Maridueña, Susan Sarandon, Bruna Marquezine, Raoul Trujillo, and Becky G (among many others), this movie follows recent college graduate Jaime Reyes as he becomes Blue Beetle, a superhero located in the fictional Palmera City (that definitely seems to take inspiration from Miami).

If you have 8 hours…and are looking for a new book, read Neruda on the Park, available through inter-library loan. This book uses storytelling to highlight the impacts of gentrification on a Dominican family living in New York City.

Bonus: for more book recs, check out past GA Jenna’s Hispanic Heritage Month book list.

For more ways to celebrate, you can find a list of Villanova’s campus-wide Hispanic/Latine Heritage Month events here, including Falvey’s co-sponsored History of Puerto Ricans in Philadelphia event and sponsored Speaker: Dr. Irma Leticia Robles Moreno: “Peruvian Grupo Cultural Yuyachkani: Weaving Shared Memory Landscapes Through Theatre and Performance.”

Annie Stockmal is a second-year graduate student in the Communication Department and Graduate Assistant in Falvey Library.

Happy Friday, Wildcats! Falvey Library is delivering you another semester of Weekend Recs, a blog dedicated to filling you in on what to read, listen to, and watch over the weekend. Annie, a graduate assistant from the Communication department, scours the internet, peruses the news, and digs through book stacks to find new, relevant, and thought-provoking content that will challenge you and prepare you for the upcoming week.

With legends like Bob Dylan and Joan Baez and recognizable songs like “This Land is Your Land” and “The Sound of Silence,” folk music has a lively, rich history in the U.S. Although folk music’s status today is nowhere near its popularity in the 1960s, it’s still a beloved genre. Even contemporary artists like Hozier pay homage to American folk and its influential figures. This weekend’s recs will dive into the folk genre a little deeper and help you explore everything it has to offer.

Joan Baez and Bob Dylan. Photo from Rowland Scherman on Wikimedia Commons

If you have 2 minutes and 7 seconds…and want to show some ‘Nova pride, listen to “Photographs and Memories” by Jim Croce, a Villanova alum and famous folk singer (among other genres).

If you have 4 minutes and 13 seconds…and are feeling sentimental, listen to “When I’m Gone” by Phil Ochs, one of my personal favorite folk songs. If you’re more into the protest song side of folk, Phil’s got plenty of those as well.

If you have 15 minutes…and need a quick introduction to the (American) folk music genre, read this article.

Photo of Jim Croce courtesy of Villanova’s Digital Library

Bonus: if you want a more in-depth look into folk music, read Slobin’s more thorough Folk Music: A Very Short Introduction, available online through Falvey.

If you have 1 hour and 51 minutes…and like old movies, watch Alice’s Restaurant, available in Falvey’s DVD Collection. Alice’s Restaurant is an 1969 movie based on Arlo Guthrie’s famous folk song of the same name.

If you have 2 hours and 22 minutes…and are a Martin Scorsese fan, watch his documentary chronicling Bob Dylan’s 1975 tour. It’s a truly unique documentary made by a film legend about a music legend.

If you have 7 hours and 21 minutes…and need to switch-up your playlists, listen to Spotify’s Essential Folk playlist. Personally, I think it’s great to throw on in the background while studying.

Bonus: if you want some newer stuff, listen to Spotify’s “Roots Rising” playlist.

If you have 9 hours…and prefer books, read Bound for Glory, a (partially fictional) autobiography, available at Falvey, written by folk legend Woody Guthrie.

Annie Stockmal is a second-year graduate student in the Communication Department and Graduate Assistant in Falvey Library.

Happy Friday, Wildcats! Falvey Library is delivering you another semester of Weekend Recs, a blog dedicated to filling you in on what to read, listen to, and watch over the weekend. Annie, a graduate assistant from the Communication department, scours the internet, peruses the news, and digs through book stacks to find new, relevant, and thought-provoking content that will challenge you and prepare you for the upcoming week. 

Photo by Marcus Kauffman on Unsplash

September, among other things, is the month of Disaster Preparedness Month. There are countless disasters that one can prepare for–we experienced one in 2020–but natural disasters seem to hold a morbid place in our imaginations. Movies are made about these horrific events, some more ridiculous than others (Sharknado, we’re looking at you). Some people even spend a good amount of their time and resources dedicated to preparing for these catastrophic events. This weekend’s recs will help you get a little more prepared.

If you have 18 seconds…and need something more up-beat to watch, check out this old news video of a person surfing during a hurricane.

If you have 7 minutes…and want some official disaster survival tips, read the National Institute of Health’s preparedness guide.

If you have 10 minutes…and want to learn about how indigenous people are at the forefront of mitigating the effects of climate change, read the New York Times article about how indigenous techniques helped stop a wildfire spread in Canada.

Photo by NASA on Unsplash

If you have 12 minutes and 48 seconds…and want to check out some more dire survival tips, watch this video. I wouldn’t recommend testing out most of these tips unless you truly need to.

If you have 45 minutes…and enjoy watching somewhat morbid reality shows, watch an episode of Doomsday Preppers from National Geographic. The episodes feature people prepping for a range of disasters, including tsunamis, earthquakes, terrorist attacks, pandemics, and economic collapse.

If you have 1 hour and 54 minutes…and enjoy based-on-a-true story films, watch The Impossible. Starring Ewan McGregor, Naomi Watts, and Tom Holland, this movie focuses on a family who was in Thailand during the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami.

Bonus: if you’re looking for a based-on-a-true story show about surviving disasters, watch I Shouldn’t Be Alive.

If you have 8 hours…and are a history buff, read David McCullough’s The Johnstown Flood. This might be a somewhat “unnatural” disaster, as it was caused by a dam, but it’s still a great book for any history lovers.

Bonus: for more on natural disasters, check out this reference handbook.

If you’re interested in natural disasters and disaster preparedness, check out some more of Falvey’s Geography and Environment resources, including:

• EM-DAT: The International Disaster Database
• Center for International Disaster Information (CIDI)

Annie Stockmal is a second-year graduate student in the Communication Department and Graduate Assistant at Falvey Library.

Happy Friday, Wildcats! Falvey Library is delivering you another semester of Weekend Recs, a blog dedicated to filling you in on what to read, listen to, and watch over the weekend. Annie, a graduate assistant from the Communication department, scours the internet, peruses the news, and digs through book stacks to find new, relevant, and thought-provoking content that will challenge you and prepare you for the upcoming week. 

Happy First Friday of the semester! The beginning of the semester is generally a time where positivity and morale is at an all-time high. I mean, you get to see your friends (or make new friends), enjoy campus events, and ease into your course work. It’s a sunny calm before the stresses of the semester set in. For our first installment of Weekend Recs of the semester, we want to keep the good vibes going. Enjoy your weekend, Wildcats!

If you have 15 minutes…and want to know the secret to happiness, read this article from the New York Times. Hint: there is no secret or easy hack to attaining happiness, but Matthieu Ricard, deemed the happiest man in the world, might just help put some things into perspective.

If you have 30 minutes…and need to channel some positive energy, attend our Mindfulness Monday session. It may not be over the weekend, but it is a great opportunity to take some time to prioritize self-care.

Photo by Iqbal farooz

If you have 45 minutes…and need something to snack on, stop by Food Truck Fridays at Connelly Circle starting at 7 p.m. What’s better than getting good food with your friends?

If you have 1 hour and 2 minutes…and want some chill music to relax, listen to Hozier’s new album Unreal Unearth. It might just be that I’m a Hozier fan, but this album makes me want to enjoy some peaceful time outside.

If you have 1 hour and 44 minutes…and want to unwind with a silly movie, watch The Lego Batman Movie, available online through Falvey. If you want to check out what other movies Falvey has to offer, you can search our DVD Collection or the Villanova Digital Campus selection.

Bonus: if you need (arguably) the perfect back-to-school movie to get you pumped, watch Legally Blonde, available online through Falvey.

If you have 8 hours…and are feeling productive, read The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology that Fuel Success and Performance at Work. It might just help you throughout the rest of the semester.

Annie Stockmal is a graduate student in the Communication Department and Graduate Assistant at Falvey Library.

Happy Friday, Wildcats! Falvey Library is delivering you another semester of Weekend Recs, a blog dedicated to filling you in on what to read, listen to, and watch over the weekend. Annie, a graduate assistant from the Communication department, scours the internet, peruses the news, and digs through book stacks to find new, relevant, and thought-provoking content that will challenge you and prepare you for the upcoming week.

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

Did you know that July is Disability Pride Month? Disability Pride Month is dedicated to centering the voices and experiences of people with disabilities. While our society is far from being an accessible utopia, it’s important to remember the disability rights activism that gave us laws like the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and spearheaded disability pride. This weekend’s recs will celebrate Disability Pride Month by sharing some recs that center disabled people.

If you have 1 minute…and need a good laugh, watch this TikTok rating whether some Star Wars characters would be disability allies or ableist.

If you have 10 minutes…and haven’t heard of Disability Pride Month, read this article.

If you have 15 minutes…and are a fan of superheroes, read this article about Sun-Spider, the first superhero with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), a genetic connective tissue disorder. Sun-Spider was recently (briefly) featured in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, which was an important first for fans with EDS, including myself.

If you have 1 hour and 33 minutes…and want to feel a roller coaster of emotions, watch Peanut Butter Falcon. Starring Zack Gottsagen, Shia LaBeouf, and Dakota Johnson, this movie follows Zak, a man with Down Syndrome who runs away from his residential care home to follow his dream of becoming a wrestler.

Photo by Marcus Aurelius

If you have 1 hour and 42 minutes…and haven’t already seen it, watch Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution. This Netflix documentary details how a summer camp for disabled teens was able to inspire disability activism in the disability rights movement.

If you have 4 hours and 7 minutes…and want to watch a show with great autistic representation (that was created by people with autism), watch A Kind of Spark. The show follows 11-year-old Addie as she uncovers the mysteries of her town while navigating tween life. Although its a kid’s show, A Kind of Spark‘s grounded representation of autism is truly refreshing and wholesome. Rest assured, it’s not just another show where a neurotypical white man plays a savant.

Bonus: read this article for more on the importance of the representation in A Kind of Spark.

If you have 6 hours…and need a story to inspire you, read Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law, available through inter-library loan. This memoir is a story of curiosity, resilience, and identity, as Haben Girma, the first Deafblind graduate from Harvard Law, navigates the complex world of academia.

If you have 7 hours…and want to hear more disabled perspectives, read the essays in Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century, available at Falvey. This is the ultimate book for getting a diverse glimpse into the everyday experiences of people with disabilities.

Annie Stockmal is a graduate student in the Communication Department and Graduate Assistant at Falvey Library.

Happy Friday, Wildcats! Falvey Library is delivering you another semester of Weekend Recs, a blog dedicated to filling you in on what to read, listen to, and watch over the weekend. Annie, a graduate assistant from the Communication department, scours the internet, peruses the news, and digs through book stacks to find new, relevant, and thought-provoking content that will challenge you and prepare you for the upcoming week.

With Daisy Jones & The Six making a splash, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret getting a new film adaptation, and flared pants continuing their reign, the 70s are becoming relevant again (if they ever weren’t). Every few years, a different decade gets its time in the vintage spotlight, and it looks like the 70s are currently getting the spotlight. This weekend’s recs will share some ways to incorporate the 70s into your summer.

Photo by Dane Deaner on Unsplash

If you have 4 minutes and 30 seconds…and want to listen to my personal favorite song to come out of the ’70s, listen to “The Ocean” by Led Zeppelin. This song always makes me want to take a road trip to the beach.

Bonus: if you’re looking for more ’70s music, listen to this ’70s summer playlist.

If you have 10 minutes…and love vintage fashion, check out this article about women’s fashion in the 1970s. The bell-bottoms of the 70s have turned into today’s flared jeans.

If you have 25 minutes…and enjoy poetry, read some of Shel Silverstein’s poems from the Where the Sidewalk Ends, available at Falvey for those on campus. This book was an iconic staple for decades. (Don’t believe me, just look at the cover).

If you have 2 hours…and want to watch (or rewatch) a movie that started one of the biggest franchises in Hollywood, watch Star Wars: Episode 4–A New Hope. Although the other two films in the original trilogy arguably pack more of a punch, this film still deserves credit for setting up a multi-billion dollar franchise. Plus, Carrie Fisher’s in it.

Bonus: for more ’70s movies recs, check out Rolling Stone’s Top 100 ranking.

A Pride March in the 70s, Photo by Ian Sanderson on Unsplash

If you have 8 hours and 24 minutes…and like dramas, watch Daisy Jones & The Six. Based off a novel that was based on the complicated romance between Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham, this series follows the rise and fall of the fictional rock band Daisy Jones & The Six. If you like Fleetwood Mac and characters who make poor decisions (but look cool while doing it), this is totally for you.

Bonus: if you dig the music from the show, listen to the Aurora album on Spotify.

If you have 9 hours…and need a book with a little bit of everything, read The Princess Bride by William Goldman. It’s funny, it’s romantic, it’s action-packed, and it has an iconic film adaption.

Annie Stockmal is a graduate student in the Communication Department and Graduate Assistant at Falvey Library.

Happy Friday, Wildcats! Falvey Library is delivering you another semester of Weekend Recs, a blog dedicated to filling you in on what to read, listen to, and watch over the weekend. Annie, a graduate assistant from the Communication department, scours the internet, peruses the news, and digs through book stacks to find new, relevant, and thought-provoking content that will challenge you and prepare you for the upcoming week.

Photo by guille pozzi on Unsplash

With the missing submersible and the boat-sinking Orcas, the ocean has been getting quite a bit of media attention lately. Plus, with summer vacation and beach weather upon us, now is the perfect time to talk about the ocean and all of its (intriguingly terrifying) wonders. This weekend’s recs will catch you up on the latest ocean-related news and get you ready for the beach.

If you have 3 minutes and 40 seconds…and aren’t afraid of sharks, watch this video of a woman who has befriended a group of sharks by removing hooks from their mouths.

If you have 7 minutes…and want to learn about a newly popular behavior for Orcas, read this article. It might be a game to them, but it sure feels like sweet revenge against humans.

If you have 10 minutes…and are planning on swimming in the ocean, watch this video on what to do if you get caught in a rip current. Although sharks and jellyfish might seem scarier, rips are actually the most probable threat you will face while swimming in the ocean, and knowing how to get out of one could save your life.

Bonus: watch this video to learn how to spot rip currents. Sometimes water that seems “calmer” is actually more dangerous.

If you have 15 minutes…and (somehow) haven’t heard about the submersible tragically lost on an expedition to the Titanic wreckage, read this article. As of now, the submersible has not been found, and its oxygen supply has run out.

If you have 1 hour and 30 minutes…and want to watch the documentary that ruined Sea World, watch Blackfish. As a kid obsessed with Free Willy and Orcas, this documentary was, personally, one of the most infuriating things I’ve ever watched.

My recent trip to Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach in Oregon

If you have 2 hours and 10 minutes…and want to watch the film that made hundreds of kids afraid of the ocean, watch Jaws (available in Falvey’s DVD Collection for those on campus). Despite it being nearly 50 years old, its masterful suspense still holds up today.

If you have 2 hours and 15 minutes…and love Disney, watch The Little Mermaid live action remake in theaters. Even if Disney movies aren’t quite your thing, Halle Bailey’s voice is absolutely breathtaking.

If you have 6 hours…and like memoirs, read James Nestor’s Deep: Freediving, Renegade Science, and What the Ocean Tells Us about Ourselves, available through inter-library loan. This book explores the extreme sport of freediving, where people dive (quite deep) into the ocean without any scuba equipment.

Annie Stockmal is a graduate student in the Communication Department and Graduate Assistant at Falvey Library.