I'M BACK!
Hello!
Sorry for my hiatus last week. I’m back and I want to make sure you’re getting my emails. Add this email address to your contacts so my emails don’t get stuck in your spam folder every Wednesday (or if you're on gmail, drag this from your promotions tab to your inbox tab). I’ll also be posting on instagram each week when I send out my newsletter. And if you’d like to recommend this newsletter to a friend, go ahead and forward it to them. They can sign up here: tinyletter.com/theodora
this week’s style icon:
what I’m clicking:
A year in the life of a tree | The death-defying honey hunter of Nepal | The culinary inspiration behind Ratatouille | Poop transplants! | The zoot suits of Ciudad Juarez
what I’m wanderlusting:
A weeklong rafting trip on the Middle Fork of the Salmon
what I’m coveting:
This nifty glass diffuser from Saje Wellness
what I’m reading:
Helen MacDonald
I finally finished this book! It was a slog to get through. I didn’t really “get it” but I really really liked the author and I want to be her friend.
Did it make me cry: Somehow, it did.
Did it make me laugh: I think there was one part where I laughed.
Did it make me miss a subway stop: Absolutely not.
Would I recommend it: I think if one of your parents has died, then yes.
Would I read it again: No.
Would it be a good movie: It could! But the second main character is a bird with a very specific personality so that would be impossible I think.
The Ministry of Utmost Happiness
Arundhati Roy
I’ve been looking forward to this book since I first read The God of Small Things (one of my most favorite books of all time) more than 10 years ago. The scope of this book is huge, and it’s amazing to see how many characters and conflicts she can paint so well at the same time.
Did it make me cry: Yes.
Did it make me laugh: Yes, but only once or twice.
Did it make me miss a subway stop: No, but there are parts that are seriously engrossing.
Would I recommend it: Yes, but if you don’t have at least passing knowledge of partition, I would recommend reading a Wikipedia page or something about it before you start this book. And if that doesn't sound interesting to you, you might not like this book.
Would I read it again: Yes - it’s one of those books that’s so epic that I’m sure I would get more out of it on a second read-through.
Would it be a good movie: I really don’t know.
Edan Lepucki
After reading Woman No. 17, I really wanted to read another book by Edan Lepucki. I loved this one, but it definitely has some flaws. The post-apocalyptic setting is so fantastic that you’re kind of willing to look past some character development and plot issues (and I still have a LOT of questions at the end of the book), but I thoroughly enjoyed reading this.
Did it make me cry: No.
Did it make me laugh: No.
Did it make me miss a subway stop: It could have, but I didn’t read it on the subway.
Would I recommend it: Yes!
Would I read it again: No.
Would it be a good movie: Yes, yes, yes! SO good. I’m dying to see this movie.
what I’m reading right now:
The Ready-Made Thief, and it’s everything I ever wanted it to be.
the best book I read in June:
The Ministry of Utmost Happiness
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:
Anthropology of an American Girl
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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