i'm not over it
hey.
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this week’s style icon:
Yves Saint Laurent in Marrkech
what I’m clicking:
There’s no diversity in modeling | My girl Susan Miller | Cheating and men who fake their deaths | Stop telling Hillary Clinton to get over it
what I’m wanderlusting:
Yala National Park in Sri Lanka
what I’m watching:
Insecure, Season 2
Guys, this show was good last season, but this season it is straight-up excellent. If you’re not watching this show, you need to be. It’s only 8 episodes and the season just ended, so you could watch them all by the time you read this newsletter next week. And, Issa Rae just got signed as the newest Cover Girl.
what I’m reading:
J.D. Vance
Even though it’s written by a white straight dude, this is probably one of the most important books I’ve read this year. It’s heartbreaking and fascinating and most of all really, really eye opening. It’s a memoir, but it’s a bit more than a memoir; it’s more of a sociological study of “hillbillies” and the places they live. I think this book (unintentionally) makes a serious case for going full Norway and offering a universal basic income and 100% free education.
Did it make me cry: Yes, multiple times.
Did it make me laugh: Yes.
Did it make me miss a subway stop: No.
Would I recommend it: Yes! If you are angry about Trump, read this book. If you’re visiting Ohio soon (I’m so sorry), read this book. If you have an important dinner party coming up and you want to sound smart, read this book.
Would I read it again: Probably not? I mean, it’s great but I really don’t think I’d get anything out of it on a second read.
Would it be a good movie: Yes. It has that quintessential narrative arc, where things are bleak, and then really bleak, and then something horrible happens, and in the end, things are still really fucking bleak, but with a sliver of hope.
what I’m reading right now:
Wreck and Order (it’s weird), The Paying Guests (it’s boring), and Chasing the Scream (what better follow up to Hillbilly Elegy than a book about the war on drugs?)
the best book I read in August:
the best book I read in July:
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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