i forgot what day it was
Hi!
Sorry this email is a little late. I forgot today was Wednesday.
what I’m clicking:
Japan’s potato chip crisis | My friend was getting the airbag in his car serviced and he found an iphone. He had no idea who’s iphone it was (or how it got hidden in the airbag of his car?!) and what happened next is one of the best facebook comment threads I have ever seen. There’s mystery, a love story, and some pretty impressive amateur detective work that all got turned into an article on Huffington Post | Puppets of Instagram| A map of every country’s favorite book | Solo hiking the Appalachian Trail | Deciphering the photographic eye of Melania Trump | The myth of the cool boss | The travel food pyramid
what I’m wanderlusting:
what I’m eating:
I’ve eaten at some good restaurants in Brooklyn this week that are worth recommending: Cherry Point in Greenpoint for the perfect charcuterie board, Ichiran Ramen in Bushwick for a truly authentic* ramen experience, and Kings County Imperial for the best hipster Chinese food in New York (or maybe the world).
*I haven’t been to Japan, but this restaurant is attached to a ramen factory and there’s only one thing on the menu: ramen. Also there are these solo “flavor concentration” dining booths, which seems very Japanese to me.
what I’m watching:
I read this book a few months ago because I saw an ad for the HBO series and it looked… excellent. I read the book, which was trashy as hell but still pretty fun to read (although I would not recommend it). However, I would recommend this series - it’s short and sassy and somehow way smarter and more sophisticated than the book (but still pretty trashy). Plus, one of the stars is my #1 style icon, Zoe Kravitz.
what I’m listening to:
If you have a high tolerance for second-hand embarrassment, fake crying, up-talking, and podcasts that don’t really have a story or a plot, I suggest you listen to this because despite that, it’s somehow extremely addictive. More than anything, it’s an incredible portrait of one guy and the town he lives in. I was sad to finish it.
what I’m reading:
Katherine Pancol
It’s trashy, but it’s French trash. It started out as a fun read: it’s set in Paris and everyone is having an affair. But as the book wore on, the plot just became completely unbelievable in a way that bored me. It was exhausting to finish and I actually had to put it down for a day or two and start something new before I could bring myself to finish it.
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: No.
Would I read it again: No, and it’s the first in a three-part series and I have no interest in reading the second or third book.
Would it be a good movie: No.
Ann Patchett
At times I found myself falling in love with this book, but I didn't actually love it as a whole novel. There are six or seven EXCELLENT scenes in this book: unforgettable, vivid, believable, exciting, and incredibly detailed and deftly written vignettes. Each of these is honestly strong enough to be it's own film and I think this book should have been published as a set of interwoven short stories (like my favorite book from last year, The Tsar of Love and Techno). Instead, this book is somehow like a recipe gone wrong, where each story on it’s own is better than the book as a whole. I loved these characters though, and I felt like they were drawn so well. Even though they're not terribly unique characters, I think that's what makes them great. You've met them before, or their siblings, either in real life or in other books.
Did it make me cry: Yes.
Did it make me laugh: No, but it made me smile.
Did it make me miss a subways stop: No, but I did not want to put this book down.
Would I recommend it: Yes.
Would I read it again: I would read certain scenes again.
Would it be a good movie: Probably not as a whole, but if you only took certain storylines from it, it could be amazing.
Carrie Doyle
This is the second in a series of Hamptons murder mysteries that I read a few weeks ago. I don’t know why, but I really enjoy reading these stupid books. I’m going to read the third one, too.
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: No.
Would I read it again: No, but I’m definitely going to read the third one.
Would it be a good movie: Absolutely not.
what I’m reading right now:
The Idiot by Elif Batuman. It’s very cute.
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
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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