gossip for weirdos
things i can't stop talking about
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this week’s style inspo:
Erykah Badu getting weird for ssense
what i’m clicking:
Ghostwriting Gloria Swanson | In praise of a truly glamorous bathroom | Is HBO’s next great hit just twisted torture porn? | J Crew and the paradoxes of prep | My surreal years tutoring the super-rich | Who is still inside the metaverse? | The cynical conceptualism of those big red boots | Life after food | Will ozempic change how we think about being thin?
what i’m wanderlusting:
Dreaming of the Cote d’Azur
what i’m watching:
I finally watched Triangle of Sadness and it’s my new favorite movie. I HOWLED with delight.
what i’m listening to:
Afroman’s delightful album about the police raiding his house
what i’m coveting:
This bedazzled jumpsuit from Discount Universe
what i’m recommending:
My new favorite carry-on is this giant tote bag from Baboon that’s bigger than my wheeled bag (but I haven’t been stopped by flight attendants yet!)
what i’m writing:
An article for Travel + Leisure about my favorite things to bring on a long flight
what i’m reading:
Maggie Shipstead
Even though it's only April, I can tell you right now that this will be my favorite book of 2023 and definitely in my top favorite 10 books ever. The writing is great, the story is riveting, and I love how it combines so many of my literary interests into one epic book - there’s the old-timey woman pilot exploring the world, but also the present-day Hollywood setting that’s full of juicy gossip. 10/10, no notes.
Did it make me laugh and cry: Yes.
Would I recommend it: Omg yes.
Would it be a good movie: Noooooo don’t ruin this with a movie but if you must, please make it an HBO *LIMITED* series and cast all unknown actors (the only recipe for a successful adaptation, IMO). If this gets netflixed starring somebody like Maggie Gyllenhaal I’m going to do a boycott.
Ellery Lloyd
I was in the mood for something trashy and page-turny and I’m so happy I picked up this book about a murder at the launch party of a private island hotel. The author used to work at Soho House, so it also feels more fun and gossipy than your standard run-of-the-mill thriller.
Did it make me laugh and cry: No!
Would I recommend it: No!
Would it be a good movie: Yes!
Daisy Alpert Florin
Gossip seems to be the theme of the books I read this month, and this one (that I’m pretty sure should be categorized as YA, but W/E) was no exception. It has that irresistible campus setting and everybody’s doing something they’re not supposed to, but it’s also smart and thought-provoking. Also, maybe it’s cause I’ve never taken a creative writing class, but the classroom scenes seemed so real to me and in the back of my mind my writer brain was like “wow, that’s some good advice for writers.”
Did it make me laugh and cry: No.
Would I recommend it: If you love a juicy campus novel?
Would it be a good movie: I think the main character is a little too boring and unlikeable (in a way that inspires apathy, not hate) for the silver screen, but if you made her a little more interesting and less pathetic it might work.
The Seven Moons of Maali Almeda
Shehan Karunatilaka
This is one of those books that you can’t NOT buy when you see it in the bookstore. The cover is cool AND it has the Man Booker stamp of approval. The problem with judging books by the cover, though, is that I don’t like to read the back (it always gives too much away) and therefore I was already home with my new purchase when I realized it was magical realism. I don’t have a blanket ban on magical realism because I think it can be done well, but in this case, it was just sort of lazy way to fill a bunch of plotholes (how did that unexplainable thing happen? A piece of magic we didn’t explain until just now!). I think the premise and concept of this book is a 9/10, but the execution was just too immature and fantastical.
Did it make me laugh and cry: No.
Would I recommend it: I probably wouldn’t read anything by this author ever again, but I might feel differently if I had a trip planned to Sri Lanka and wanted something evocative (and a little gossipy) to read. But no, I would not recommend it.
Would it be a good movie: No.