i wrote a book
h e l l o t h e o
this week’s style inspo:
Arctic explorer Peter Freuchen and writer/illustrator Dagmar Freuchen-Gale shot by Irving Penn
what I’m clicking:
The weird thing about this Lena Dunham story is that it feels like it was specifically written in order for people to hate-read it (which was actually really fun) | In the age of influencers, who’s facade is it anyway? | The fight for gender equality in surfing | Look! A new restaurant is opening in town | Where NOT to travel in 2019 (or, ever) | Stop telling me to travel like a local, OK? | Meanwhile, the flat earthers are setting sail | LIZZO IN PLAYBOY | Funky beats make a funky cheese | Help, I have an addiction to procrastination | Blurring the line between working out and everything else | Oh hey, I wrote a book (and it’s available for pre-order!)
what I’m listening to:
Broken Harts. I think I might have been traveling when this story happened because I only remember hearing little dribs and drabs before it dissipated into the 24-hour news cycle ether. But I’m sort of shocked that more people aren’t talking about this? The details of the case are so disturbing and fascinating but mostly, there’s so much we DON’T know.
But, just because this is such a great (probably not the right word) story doesn’t mean it’s a great podcast. The hosts were an odd choice and I would have liked to hear the perspective of somebody more relevant than two random white ladies who aren’t connected to the story at all. So much of the story is about race, mental health, and privilege and they barely touched on those topics.
what I’m wanderlusting:
The Blue Mountains of Australia.
what I’m watching:
Pen15. I wanted to like this show so badly and it came highly recommended, but I hated it. The gist of the show is that two 30 year olds wrote and acted in a series about seventh grade. It’s sometimes funny, but mostly a dumb, plotless series about two little jerks who are objectively terrible people. Also, I just cannot suspend disbelief long enough to entertain the idea that these actresses (who are literally 30 and 31--I looked up their ages because I was so confused) are pretending to be 11. The even weirder part is that they’re acting alongside actual 11 year olds, so I’m just not sure who this series is for. Definitely not me.
what I’m coveting:
In this month’s installment of *things I regret not buying while traveling*, I’d like to talk about charm necklaces. I found this necklace in Kenya that was a gold chain with lots of different colorful bead charms but I was way too overwhelmed by how much cool stuff there was for sale that I barely bought anything. It looked just like this $400 necklace I found on Instagram, which is a little more than half of what a plane ticket to Kenya will cost these days.
what I’m writing about:
How Russia is the destination of your champagne dreams and caviar wishes and why you should visit America’s coolest tropical island
what I’m reading:
Angie Thomas
I really really liked this book, but I think it could have had a few more tweaks to make it an incredible read. I realize it’s YA, but I felt like all the characters were too one-dimensional. Everybody was either good or bad--with no in-between. There was no nuance to anybody’s personality. But, it’s still definitely worth your time.
Did it make me cry: Yes.
Did it make me laugh: Yes, there’s some good dialogue.
Did it make me miss a subway stop: No, but you will fly through this book.
Would I recommend it: Yes! You have to read this book.
Would I read it again: Probably not?
Would it be a good movie: YES.
Tara Westover
If you haven’t already read this memoir, RUN to your nearest bookstore. It’s frightening, shocking, eye-opening, and heartbreaking, but also sort of redemptive and positive in the end. I love reading memoirs where one small action seems to alter a person’s life drastically.
Did it make me cry: Maybe.
Did it make me laugh: No.
Did it make me miss a subway stop: It’s not *quite* a page-turner, but it’s definitely engrossing.
Would I recommend it: Yes. I feel like it’s impossible not to be floored by this story.
Would I read it again: No, I don’t think so.
Would it be a good movie: Hmmm. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a memoir adapted properly into a movie and I feel like this one probably wouldn’t work either.
Aja Gabel
One of my favorite things about reading a good book is that many times, it takes you into a world full of people and concepts that might sound boring but turn out to be juicy and fascinating. The Ensemble is far from one of the best books I’ve ever read, but I was totally enthralled by the behind-the-scenes look at the lives of chamber musicians.
Did it make me cry: No.
Did it make me laugh: No.
Did it make me miss a subway stop: No.
Would I recommend it: Not exactly.
Would I read it again: No.
Would it be a good movie: No, but this book really NEEDS a soundtrack. I could see it working well as a cheesy-as-hell ABC primetime series.
Patti Smith
I was told not to read this book but I finally did it anyways and you know what? I kinda liked it. There’s something about the way Patti Smith travels (on super long trips to places where she instantly develops a routine) that sort of has you longing to be a bohemian poet holed up in a crumbly cafe in French Guiana. (But if you’re wondering, it in no way measures up to Just Kids.)
Did it make me cry: No.
Did it make me laugh: No.
Did it make me miss a subway stop: No.
Would I recommend it: No.
Would I read it again: No.
Would it be a good movie: No.
Michelle Obama
It IS as good as the reviews say it is, as long as you can get past her (extremely boring) formative years to the moment she meets Obama. This book gave me so much nostalgia and hope that it was such a joy to read.
Did it make me cry: I cried a COMICAL amount while reading this book and then again while looking at all the photos and captions in the special insert.
Did it make me laugh: Not particularly?
Did it make me miss a subway stop: No. But the good parts of this book really fly by.
Would I recommend it: If you haven’t already read this book, you're probably not a Michelle superfan and therefore I would not recommend it.
Would I read it again: No--the beginning was so much work.
Would it be a good movie: Too sad, TBH.
Nafkote Tamirat
I have a low tolerance for magical realism but I have to say that most of this book really entertained me with a Pynchon-esque plot of Boston’s immigrant underworld. The rest of it was not great, tho.
Did it make me cry: No.
Did it make me laugh: No.
Did it make me miss a subway stop: No.
Would I recommend it: No.
Would I read it again: No.
Would it be a good movie: No.
Andrew Sean Greer
Who wrote this book? Who published this book? Who gave this book an award? You are all culpable in exalting the talents of mediocre white men.
Did it make me cry: No.
Did it make me laugh: No.
Did it make me miss a subway stop: No.
Would I recommend it: This is 100% the most pointless Pulitzer Prize winner that has ever been written.
Would I read it again: No.
Would it be a good movie: No.
Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor
This book was a doozy. Another Pynchon-esque plot with fascinating characters and wild scenes. I wish this book could have gone further and deeper with shocking twists and turns and it’s almost there but then it just...ends. In this totally illogical sequence of events, all the characters just seem to kind of get bored and wrap it up before going their separate ways.
Did it make me cry: No.
Did it make me laugh: No.
Did it make me miss a subway stop: No.
Would I recommend it: No.
Would I read it again: No.
Would it be a good movie: I could be a beautiful movie, but there are too many plot holes.
Sigrid Nunez
Eh, this was fine I guess because it was so short, but the whole thing feels like some kind of academic literary circle jerk. It’s one of those books that makes so many references to other books that it needs to come with a syllabus. And even though I was familiar with a couple of the references, I’m still not sure why this book exists, what it’s about, or why so many people loved it.
However, I would be remiss in not noting that there are some great underline-worthy passages, of you’re into that kind of thing. $50 says your favorite writer read this book and posted her favorite quote on Instagram.
Did it make me cry: No.
Did it make me laugh: No.
Did it make me miss a subway stop: No.
Would I recommend it: No.
Would I read it again: No.
Would it be a good movie: Not possible.
AJ Finn
I had no interest in this book until that infamous New Yorker article came out. (Side note: SO many people sent me this article because it was very on-brand for me: scams, social climbers, and gossip.) Then, I gave this fool even more money by pre-ordering the paperback. It was fine, not great, not even good—but I could not put it down. I’d go to work and just long to get home so I could finish it.
Did it make me cry: No.
Did it make me laugh: No.
Did it make me miss a subway stop: I devoured this book. I would have missed all the subway stops.
Would I recommend it: Not particularly, but if you’re in need of some mindless distraction, yes.
Would I read it again: No.
Would it be a good movie: Yes, of course.
Sally Rooney
I think I love Sally Rooney. Conversations with Friends was the first book we read for book club last year and I loved it, even though I actively disliked the characters. This time around, I also disliked one of the main characters, but I’m still sort of rooting for them both. I couldn’t put this book down because I had to know how it ended and I had to know that everything turned out ok for them in the end.
Did it make me cry: No, but it’s a fundamentally sad book.
Did it make me laugh: No.
Did it make me miss a subway stop: No, but I couldn’t put it down.
Would I recommend it: I think so! Not to everybody. If you like weird complicated relationship books about college kids, sure. I wish we had read this in book club because there are a lot of things that I want to discuss.
Would I read it again: No.
Would it be a good movie: No. I don’t think the characters would come off very well on-screen and somebody might try to make it into a rom com, which it’s not. I don’t think many people would like it (but some people would love it).
what I’m bookclubbing: We’ll be discussing My Sister the Serial Killer on April 11 in Brooklyn!