i cried twice this week
Hi!
It’s March! Here’s what I’ve been up to:
what I’m clicking:
I’m dreaming about a house on the California Coast and Jerry Garcia’s Stinson Beach house is for sale | Why Art Matters | Reevaluating our relationship with beef | This place looks like straight-up heaven on earth | This gave me second-hand embarrassment | Ten days along the border (in photos) | Is this real life? | Sadly, this is not real life (but it’s giving Fake News a good name)
what I’m wanderlusting:
Trying to figure out how I can see these carved sandstone caves in New Mexico.
what I’m watching:
Planet Earth 2. It’s entertainment in its purest form. Please watch it so we can talk about the flamingoes.
what I’m arting about:
The creme de la creme of avant-garde performance art is happening in backyard shack in Brooklyn. Please go see a show at Otion Front.
what i’m writing about:
I took thousands of photos when I was in Morocco. Here are 15 of them.
what I’m coveting:
A vintage Uzbek suzani jacket, like this one.
what I’m listening to:
what I’m reading:
Days of Abandonment
Elena Ferrante
This book is everything I wanted it to be. It’s harsh and violent and intense and actually pretty traumatizing. I loved it. I read it in one sitting, but I wish I had savored it a bit more.
Did it make me cry: No.
Did it make me laugh: No.
Did it make me miss a subways stop: No.
Would I recommend it: YES! If you liked the Neapolitan Novels, you’ll love this book. If you couldn’t get through the Neapolitan Novels, you’ll like this book because it’s a shorter better stronger version. If you haven’t read the Neapolitan Novels, read this book because it will give you a taste of Elena Ferrante without diving into 2,000 pages of grief.
Would I read it again: Yes.
Would it be a good movie: I want to write this screenplay and I want Natalie Portman to win an Oscar for it.
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine
Gail Honeyman
This book has a really rough start, but I ended up loving it. It’s funny, it’s sweet, it’s dark, and it has one of the most unique narrators I’ve read in a long time.
Did it make me cry: Yes… more than once. This book just gets so cute at the end.
Did it make me laugh: Yes! I laughed out loud multiple times.
Did it make me miss a subways stop: No.
Would I recommend it: Yes… but not to everybody. If you can make it through ⅓ of the book, I don’t think you’ll regret finishing it. But, it’s just a little too precious.
Would I read it again: No.
Would it be a good movie: I think it has a lot of potential, but I think the casting would be impossible. They’d probably pick some manic-pixie-dreamgirl like Emma Stone, who would ruin everything.
Dear Ijeawele: A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
I love everything this woman does.
Did it make me cry: I had tears dripping down my face the entire time I was reading this short book (it only takes about 25 minutes to read).
Did it make me laugh: There are some cute parts that made me smile.
Did it make me miss a subways stop: No, but it took less than a subway commute to read.
Would I recommend it: Yes. READ THIS BOOK. Buy this book for everyone you know who’s a father. But this book for everyone you know who’s a mother. Buy this book for anyone you know who knows a child. It’s not on sale until March 7, but you can preorder it.
Would I read it again: Yes, this is the kind of book everybody should read over and over again until it’s memorized.
Would it be a good movie: Well, no. It’s a letter written to somebody, so there’s no plot or anything. But I would 100% watch a movie of her reading this book because I love the sound of her voice.
what I’m reading right now:
So far it’s horrible, but I’m into it. Remember that movie Smart House? It’s kinda like that, mixed with Girl On The Train.
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:
The Association of Small Bombs
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
The new Bernadette book
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
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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