my new best friend
Hello!
Here’s what I’ve been up to this week:
this week’s style icon:
Julia Ormond in that garden scene from Legends of the Fall
what I’m clicking:
Beach style at Coney Island | Soccer stars in love in Iceland | Spencer Pratt in the New Yorker | I want to read this book! | The privilege of pretty | Don’t read this if you plan on having children | Lisa Frank’s rainbow gulag| The death of a Muslim Marine recruit | The myth of Instagram food | The myth of “French Girl” style |
what I’m wanderlusting:
The stone village of Monsanto, Portugal
what I’m coveting:
Basically everything from Cuyana, but I’ve been eyeing this hat for months.
what I’m reading:
August Rose
This book is so absurd, but I loved it so much. It mixes up almost too many interesting things - art theft, urban exploration, underground drug raves, singularity, particle physics, the deep web, and the list goes on. It is completely and utterly contrived and rife with plot holes but it is also absolutely mesmerizing. It’s by far one of the most enjoyable reads I’ve had all year.
Did it make me cry: No.
Did it make me laugh: No.
Did it make me miss a subway stop: No, but this is 100% the kind of book that makes you forget where you are and what you’re doing.
Would I recommend it: Yes! People are going to be talking about this book, so you should probably read it. The way I felt while reading it sort of reminded me of The Goldfinch and Nightfilm, but I don’t want you to be let down when it doesn’t live up to those books.
Would I read it again: I would, especially if it got made into a movie.
Would it be a good movie: This movie would be UNREAL. Please make this into a movie.
Roxane Gay
I don’t think you could read this book and then be like “Roxane just isn’t my kind of person.” She is amazing, and I want to be her best friend. In fact, I sort of feel like she already is my best friend - this book is SO personal that I feel like I know her better than people I know in real life. I read this book in about 12 hours but I sort of wish I had savored it more.
Did it make me cry: Yes, but it’s definitely supposed to.
Did it make me laugh: Yes!
Did it make me miss a subway stop: I didn’t read it on the subway.
Would I recommend it: I think it’s a book everybody should read.
Would I read it again: No, but I’m definitely going to buy her other books.
Would it be a good movie: I mean, no, not really, but that’s just because the format doesn’t make sense for film.
what I’m reading right now:
White Fur by Jardine Libaire. It makes absolutely no sense so whatsoever.
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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