this week’s style inspo:
King Ploobis and Queen Peuta from The Land of Gorch (inspired by the Jim Henson exhibit at Museum of the Moving Image)
what i’m clicking:
Downeast Drama in Maine | The fake birkin dealer who’s scamming socialites | Confessions of a wedding planner | The lows of the high life | How hip hop conquered the world | Sean Paul is still busy | The fandomization of news | Connecting with the past on Kilimanjaro | How psychedelics can heal a broken heart | The case against travel
what i’m wanderlusting:
The steppes of Mongolia (via Nat Geo)
what i’m watching:
I was on a plane a few months ago and watched an episode of Below Deck and now the entire household is addicted.
what i’m coveting:
Summer is NOT over and I need this Brazilian leopard print bikini I wrote about for Conde Nast Traveler.
what i’m listening to:
I’ve had Little Simz on repeat all summer and I get to see her in concert next month!
what i’m recommending:
I have finally succumbed to the fanny pack, particularly this recycled one from Cotopaxi that’s not even trying to be chic.
what i’m book clubbing:
We’ll be discussing Big Swiss this month in the West Village. Let me know if you want to join us :)
what i’m reading:
Lisa Taddeo
I have been meaning to read this book for years–I’ve been putting it off since I hated Three Women. I thought her writing style was distractingly weird but it turns out I love her weird writing when she’s doing fiction. This book is so dark and creepy and the main character kind of scared me a little bit, which is something I can’t really remember feeling before. I never want to meet this woman, but I want to know everything about her. It gave me a huge sense of dread every time I picked it up but I couldn’t put it down! What a singular and refreshing talent! This was by far my favorite book I read this summer (although I have to add a caveat that The Guest (which I loved) was really The Book of the Summer).
Did it make me laugh or cry: No, but it stressed me out a bunch.
Would I recommend it: Yes I want you all to read this book! Even though I think most of you will absolutely hate it.
Would it be a good movie: Somebody needs to cast Aubrey Plaza as the lead.
What else I read this summer:
The School for Good Mothers - Jessamine Chan
A perfectly believable bureaucratic dystopia.
The Spare Room - Andrea Bartz
This book got bad reviews for being too slutty but honestly it wasn’t slutty enough.
We Have Always Lived in the Castle - Shirley Jackson
A wonderfully creepy book for wonderfully creepy tweens.
Checkout 19 - Claire-Louise Bennett
Please remind me to stay away from experimental fiction.
The Clementine Complex - Bob Mortimer
Quite possibly the most idiotic book I’ve ever read.
Dear Edward - Ann Napolitano
How can a book about a plane crash be so utterly boring?
Other People’s Clothes - Calla Henkel
An objectively silly book about murdery club kids in Berlin that I absolutely loved.
House in the Cerluean Sea - T.J. Klune
A fantastic and sappy book about magic gay children.
The It Girl - Ruth Ware
She’s a knock-off Agatha Christie but I kinda love her.
The Searcher - Tana French
I worship at the altar of Tana French but this one was kind of a miss compared to The Witch Elm.
All Adults Here - Emma Straub
Forgot everything about this book the second I finished it.
The Pink Hotel - Liska Jacobs
Shoulda been a short story instead.
How Beautiful We Were - Mbue Imbolo
Great idea, weird and boring execution.
Bad Summer People - Emma Rosenblum
Disappointing.
The Glass Kingdom - Lawrence Osborne
Totally disappointing.