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this week’s style inspo:
Pierrot (hat tip to @meelzonart for this one)
what i’m clicking:
The discreet thrill of lurking online | Why won’t people just let me not be a mom? | “Quiet Luxury” is actually very loud | Why do Americans have such a limited palate for textures? | The sceniest restaurant in LA is kinda disgusting | How tiktok took over the menu | A century of the NYC It Girl | These kids will have to do a LOT of busking to pay for all the therapy they’re going to need | The class politics of Instagram Face | What do we mean when we say the internet is reading our minds? | Caroline Calloway is doubling down | Skating the gnarliest ramp of them all | Lauren Oyler goes on the Goop cruise | Italy’s messy new tourism campaign | Finding awe amid everyday splendor
what i’m wanderlusting:
Komodo National Park
what i’m watching:
BEEF, which might be the best Netflix series I’ve ever seen? At first, I almost turned it off because it was stressing me out but then I got HOOKED and I think you will too.
what i’m coveting:
These delicious pants that are practically BEGGING to be taken on a weekend in the Hamptons.
what i’m listening to:
The Who? Weekly podcast has been bringing me a lot of joy lately. The podcast started as a joke where the hosts talk about the antics of z-list “celebrities” but over the years it’s morphed into an almost-earnest discussion about fame, celebrity, and power.
what i’m recommending:
This beautiful (and packable!) Georgia Hardinge dress that I featured in my Condé Nast Traveler article about the popcorn dress trend. I will be wearing it to at least one wedding this summer.
what i’m book clubbing:
Book club is back and we’ll be discussing Bad Summer People this month in the West Village. Let me know if you want to join us :)
what i’m reading:
Emma Cline
I am in awe of Emma Cline’s talent. This book put me on edge from the first page and was the most stressful thing I’ve ever read. It’s the kind of thing where you’re screaming “NO!” and covering your eyes because you’re in a full-body cringe, but you’re also reading in a frenzy, needing to know what happens next.
Did it make me laugh or cry: No, but it did significantly raise my cortisol levels.
Would I recommend it: This book deserves to be the talk of the town, so please read it, buy it, and bring it up at your next dinner party (it would also be a cheeky little present for your host).
Would it be a good movie: I think the tension would translate so well to the screen… like Jordan Peele directing an episode of Gossip Girl.
Eleanor Catton
I don’t really know where to start with this book, because it kind of feels like a weird nightmare I had. I think I loved it in the end because it has one of the craziest endings I have ever read in my life, but it’s also objectively awful and boring. It’s not until over 100 pages in that you start to get “one of these people is going to die” vibes, and then it’s another 100 pages until things start to get interesting. But by the last 100 pages, I was hooked and finished it in one sitting.
Did it make me laugh or cry: No, but I audibly guffawed at the ending and ran into the kitchen to tell my husband about it because I needed to tell somebody - it was like hearing the craziest piece of stranger gossip.
Would I recommend it: Was slogging through the first 250 pages worth the reward at the end? For me it was because I thought a bout this book every day for a week after I finished it, but I think I’m in the minority here.
Would it be a good movie: OH MY GOD I CANNOT WAIT TO SEE THIS ON A SCREEN SOMEBODY PLEASE MAKE IT! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! (but do a good job pls)
Jenny Jackson
The number of books I’ve read about rich and dysfunctional Brooklynites is too humiliating to share, but I can’t seem to stop. It’s an oversaturated micro-genre, but I’m happy to report that this one has risen to the top. Emma Straub is quaking in her Danskos. My one asterisk is that the ending absolutely sucked.
Did it make me laugh or cry: I might have chuckled to myself once or twice.
Would I recommend it: If you also have a medical need for gossip, then yes.
Would it be a good movie: No, because this book isn’t actually about anything. There’s no plot.
Rebecca Makkai
I love Rebecca Makkai (The Great Believers is one of my all-time favorite books) so I was predisposed to like this book, but I can admit that it’s M-E-S-S-Y. I really enjoyed reading it but I’m not sure you will unless you love true crime podcasts and books set on campuses.
Did it make me laugh or cry: Neither.
Would I recommend it: I think so?
Would it be a good movie: This movie would be so bad and dumb (I’m getting Amazon Prime vibes) but I would watch it anyways.
Jess Walter
Remember that book Beautiful Ruins, aka the Platonic Ideal of a vacation book? Well, the guy who wrote that came out with a new book that is absolutely nothing like Beautiful Ruins, but it’s still great. I keep convincing myself that I don’t like historical fiction, but I thoroughly enjoyed this book about railroad hobos and old-timey unions.
Did it make me laugh or cry: No.
Would I recommend it: If your favorite boomer is in a book club, I think they’d like to read this. But I wouldn’t want to stake my reputation on recommending this to any other demographic.
Would it be a good movie: Yes, probably. With the right costume and set design. It’s *very* theatrical and a bit campy.