wanna join my bookclub?
Hello! It’s almost Friday!
There’s one major thing I need to tell you, which is that my friend Dylan and I are starting a book club. Do you want to join us? The first book we’re reading is Conversations With Friends by Sally Rooney and our meeting is on April 25 around 6:30 pm. Location is TBD (in New York) because we have no idea how many people will be joining us. Let me know if you want to come!
this week’s style inspo:
Fran Bera, kickass pilot.
what I’m clicking:
Lena Waithe in Vanity Fair | The (potential) Nobel Laureate bartending in a dusty Australian town | I’m sorry, I know I’m basic, but I love the Wonderful World of Wes Anderson | The boy who lived on ledges | Describe yourself like a male author would . . . with this handy chart | The internet hates women | Inside the last Blockbuster in America | Walking from Selma to Montgomery | Caught between MS-13 and ICE . . . and how journalism can help | Junot Diaz’s heartbreaking story about the legacy of childhood trauma
what I’m wanderlusting:
Petra, Jordan
what I’m coveting:
These vintage map scarves from Bonhomme
what I’m listening to:
The Atlanta Monster podcast. It’s a riveting story that I had never heard before about a supposed serial killer in Atlanta in the 70s and 80s who targeted black boys. The murders were never technically solved, but one man went to jail and it’s a fascinating story that will make you question everything.
what I’m watching:
The Assassination of Gianni Versace. It can’t really compare to the OJ Simpson story, but this was pretty excellent. Disturbing, but fun to watch.
what I’m writing about:
South Africa’s most underrated city
what I’m preordering:
I have a new section of my newsletter! In the age of Amazon, pre-ordering a book is the best way to support your favorite living authors. Here are some of the books I’ve ordered and can’t wait to read. Don’t wait until they are released!
My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh
Tell Me Lies by Carola Lovering
Anything else I should add to the list?
what I’m reading:
Rosie Walsh
I really enjoyed this book but I have two main thoughts about it: 1.) If the gender roles were swapped, this would be an absolutely HORRIFYING read. 2.) I think that 99% of the time people get ghosted, it’s because the other party just isn’t that into it. This is a book about the 1%, but I kinda wish it were about the 99%.
Did it make me cry: It did not, but I honestly would not be surprised if it makes you cry.
Did it make me laugh: Yes! She’s writes some really fun witty banter (and I met the author last week in person and she’s hilarious in real life too)
Did it make me miss a subway stop: No, but it’s pretty riveting. I was sort of rolling my eyes in the beginning because I thought I figured out the “twist” within the first ten pages, but it turns out I am a FOOL and I totally fell for her trap. I audibly gasped at the real denouement.
Would I recommend it: Summer is almost here. Pre-order this book and read it on the beach.
Would I read it again: No.
Would it be a good movie: Duh.
Chloe Benjamin
The premise of this book is a total eye roll, but I really loved reading it anyways. It’s one of those books with really creative characters and perspectives I haven’t really read before (an up-and-coming circus performer in San Francisco, a monkey researcher in Hawaii). And even though you know what’s going to happen, you don’t know how it’s going to happen. It makes you feel things, but not too many things (in a good way).
Did it make me cry: No.
Did it make me laugh: I can’t remember.
Did it make me miss a subway stop: I don’t read on the subway anymore because my commute is on the bus. I need to change this question.
Would I recommend it: Yes. It’s somehow light but memorable and it’s just a perfect book to read on vacation. It’s engrossing but not haunting.
Would I read it again: Maybe.
Would it be a good movie: No, it would be so hard to make this into a halfway decent movie. It would come off way cheesier than it reads.
what I’m reading right now
I’m starting a book club! The first book we’re reading is Conversations with Friends and we’ll be meeting to discuss on April 25. I’m also still reading Game of Thrones (it’s gonna be awhile).
the best book I read in…
March: History of Wolves
February: Homesick for Another World
January: Anthropology of an American Girl
what’s on my bookshelf waiting to be read:
We Were Eight Years in Power
Killers of the Flower Moon
The Beautiful Ones Are Not Yet Born
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
M Train by Patti Smith
That Patty Hearst book
Seveneves by Neal Stephenson
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.
My Year of Rest and Relaxation
Stranger Things Happen
What are you reading? (You can reply to this email and tell me)
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our friends to sign up! http://tinyletter.com/theodora