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Hi Friends!
Here’s what I’ve been up to this week:
this week’s style icon:
This gecko in the Sahara Desert drinking the dew off of its own eyeball.
What I’m clicking:
The ghostwriters behind social media’s biggest stars | I haven’t seen Wonder Woman yet (it’s on my list!) but these reactions from kindergarteners are too cute | Interracial love stories
what I’m wanderlusting:
This bathtub at Madikwe Hills Private Game Lodge.
what I’m coveting:
what I’m listening to:
I still can’t get over Solange’s new(ish) album. It’s so good.
what I’m watching:
This movie is fantastic. It’s everything you want a movie to be - suspenseful, artistic, creepy, and little bit of funny too.
There are so many things I loved about this show, but mostly you should watch it because the cinematography is unbelievable and it has the most satisfying ending of any TV show ever. I heard it’s coming back for another season and I’m so happy.
what I’m reading:
Jenny Zhang
Not that I have anything against Lena Dunham (I’d actually consider myself a fan) but for some reason I didn’t have high hopes from this first book from her new Lenny imprint at Penguin Random House. But it was good. The only really bad thing I can say about it is that it’s a little bit better in the beginning than in the end, and some of the characters are so similar that it can be hard to remember what story you're in.
Did it make me cry: No, but it’s heartbreaking.
Did it make me laugh: I don’t think so?
Did it make me miss a subways stop: No.
Would I recommend it: Yes. I think especially to women who want to write.
Would I read it again: No.
Would it be a good movie: Some of the stories have a Harmony Korine-esque element of child depravity that made me really happy it's not a movie
J. Courtney Sullivan
I love a dysfunctional family with a secret, and this book didn’t disappoint. Usually any sort of religion (and especially Catholicism) in a book totally bores me, but for some reason that wasn’t the case in this book. The hippie nun subplot was absolutely fascinating and actually made me want to visit the nunnery in Vermont where they make their own cheese and clothes. Does it exist in real life? I hope so.
Did it make me cry: No, but I would not be surprised if it made somebody somewhere cry.
Did it make me laugh: I don’t think so, but I can’t remember.
Did it make me miss a subways stop: Nope.
Would I recommend it: It was fine, but there are other books out there in the world that are probably a better use of your time. I think you’d really find it relatable if you’re Irish or from Boston, though.
Would I read it again: No.
Would it be a good movie: As I was reading it I kept imagining it as a movie starring Marky Mark with his glorious Southie accent and I REALLY want it to happen.
Edan Lepucki
This book is creepy, but not necessarily in a sinister way. Everyone's an asshole, and you can't wait to see how their lives are going to go up in flames. But despite them being assholes, you still somehow want them to be ok in the end.
Did it make me cry: No.
Did it make me laugh: I don’t think so, but there are some sort of funny parts.
Did it make me miss a subways stop: I didn’t read it on the subway, but maybe!
Would I recommend it: Yes! For some reason this book hooked me right away and I just really had fun reading it. I think you will too.
Would I read it again: No, but now I really want to read California.
Would it be a good movie: It would be SO good and I think the creepy factor could be pumped up a bit with some David Lynch vibes.
what I’m reading right now:
H Is For Hawk is still loitering around on my bedside table. I've been reading like 25 pages of it a week and I'm determined to finish it one day … and I also got an advance copy of what might possibly be the “Gone Girl” of this summer: Watch Me Disappear.
the best book I read in May:
the best book I read in April:
the best book I read in March:
the best book I read in February:
The Bone Clocks and Days of Abandonment
the best book I read in January:
what’s on my bookshelf waiting to be read:
what books are on my list to buy (this will take me months to actually do):
Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien
Hot Milk by Deborah Levy
Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
M Train by Patti Smith
That Patty Hearst book
Seveneves by Neal Stephenson
The Beautiful Ones Are Not Yet Born
What Belongs to You by Garth Greenwell
I Love Dick (which is being made into a TV show by Jill Soloway!)
After interviewing Helen Ellis, I added a few books from her “classic trashy” book club to my list.
What are you reading? (You can reply to this email and tell me)
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