what i read last month
h e l l o from t h e o
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this week’s style inspo:
Amanda Gorman, the star of the inauguration
what I’m clicking:
Everything is farmville | Why the best screenplay adaptations pervert their novels of origin | The customer is not always right | The future isn’t female, it’s gender neutral | The devil sells Prada | With Kamala Harris’s cover, Vogue got too familiar too fast | Why is fashion still ignoring its #metoo moments? | CRISPR and the splice to survive | Trolling the great outdoors | Twelve minutes and a life | We’re all missing the point of the Armie Hammer cannibalism scandal | Whatever his kink, Armie Hammer is an abuser | GameStop mania is leaving a trail of destruction | Travel used to be my identity. How do I move forward? | Why Black progressive women feel torn about Kamala | The collective suicide of the liberal class | In Hong Kong, we thought we had more time | Deplatforming fascists is a good thing. Twitter having this power is a bad thing | Why so many white supremacists are intro veganism | How QAnon infiltrated wellness instagram | What the Trump era showed white Americans about Whiteness | An army of white men helped fuel the capital riot | Platforms must pay for their role in the insurrection | The GOP plan for minority rule marches on.
what I’m wanderlusting:
A luxe ecolodge in Egypt’s Siwa Oasis
what I’m watching:
Fake Famous, a new HBO documentary about the vapid world of social media and the lengths people go to in order to appear famous. It’s fascinating (and pretty cute!) and I highly recommend it. I’m one of the few people I know who’s relationship with Instagram hasn’t soured (yet) but it definitely made me feel like I need to be more selective about who I follow and who is worthy of my attention. In general, I feel like I don’t follow that many people who are fake famous for having a lot of social media followers (two that come to mind off the top of my head are @aureta cause I love her over-the-top fashions and @emelinaah cause I think she has great taste in vacations and her house is chic as hell). But I also wonder how long it would take me to notice if I didn't see their content anymore (probably never!) Also--I ended up following the fake influencers from the documentary because I found them so endearing. Maybe I missed the message of this documentary, now that I’m really thinking about it. I have a headache.
what I’m coveting:
A tie-dye onesie from Orenda Tribe
what I’m reading:
Mateo Askaripour
Before I get into this, I feel like I have to add a caveat that I don’t like satire for the same reason I dislike sketch comedy--I just find it a little too heavy-handed. That said, this book was a wild ride. I really loved the main character at first but then it gets sort of Uncut Gems-y in the middle where you’re just like “No! Why did you do that! Please stop! Listen to your mother!” which made it kind of stressful to read and I found that I couldn’t really dive in for long periods of time—I had to read it in short spurts. I think that it’s an important read for white people and anybody working in a corporate setting.
This might be a really bad take, but I wish at least SOME of the racism was a bit more subtle. It’s easy to read this book as a white person and be like “wow, I would never think/say/do that to one of my coworkers” but I think it would have been more powerful to have some characters who think they are “good white people” slipping up with micro aggressions and unintentional racism.
Did it make me cry: Yes, I definitely got teary more than once.
Did it make me laugh: I don’t like satire but I think some of the dialogue was pretty funny.
Is it a good pandemic book: Everyone should read this book before they go back to work in an office.
Would I recommend it: Yes! It’s fun, it’s powerful, it’s a great read.
Would I read it again: No, it gave me too much anxiety. 10/10 would read a sequel or another book by Mateo Askaripour, though.
Would it be a good movie: I like it more as a TV series, but maybe that’s been done before.
Douglas Stuart
Oh my god. This book! It’s so beautiful and tragic. It reminds me a little bit of A Little Life because every time you pick it up, it rips your heart open. Shuggie Bain is such a creepy little kid, but I loved him so much.
Did it make me cry: I cried when I finished this book and I cried the other day just thinking about it.
Did it make me laugh: Yes, some of it is pretty cute and funny.
Is it a good pandemic book: Um, I don’t know about that. It’s deeply sad and if you’re stuck in a bad situation in lockdown, it might make you feel worse. If you’re far away from your family and loved ones, it might make you feel worse. There’s a lot (but maybe not enough) of sibling love in this book and it made me miss my sisters.
Would I recommend it: If you’re ready for some heartbreak, please dive in. It took about 100 pages to get into the rhythm of the book, but after that I couldn’t put it down.
Would I read it again: No, it’s way too sad.
Would it be a good movie: I kept thinking about this the whole time I was reading it and I think yes. I would love to see who they cast as Agnes. It would be the role of a lifetime.
Diksha Basu
As many of you know, I’m constantly looking to fill the Crazy Rich Asians-shaped hole in my heart and this book seemed to fit the bill. It was a fun read--I’ll enjoy reading almost any contemporary fiction about India--but it left me wanting more.
Did it make me cry: No.
Did it make me laugh: I don’t think so, but it’s a cute book.
Is it a good pandemic book: There’s a little bit of escapism, but if that’s what you’re looking for, there are better options out there.
Would I recommend it: If you happen to stumble upon this book or want to borrow my copy--sure! It’s light, it’s fun, and it’s a quick read.
Would I read it again: Probably not, but the writing was really good--I would love to see what this writer comes up with next.
Would it be a good movie: It would be decent, but I don’t think this movie needs to be made.
Jenny Offill
I already forget everything about this book because it was so short in only took me like 20 minutes to read it.
Did it make me cry: No.
Did it make me laugh: No.
Is it a good pandemic book: No, it will give you anxiety about the impending environmental apocalypse.
Would I recommend it: Sure, why not.
Would I read it again: No, but I did enjoy the writing. And I loved her previous book, Dept. of Speculation and I would probably reread that one day.
Would it be a good movie: I don’t think there’s enough of a plot to make this into any sort of visual story.
Mohsin Hamid
A fellow travel writer recommended this book to me and I was surprised because I didn’t realize Mohsin Hamid wrote a bunch of books before Exit West came out (I love that book, by the way. If you haven’t read it, get your hands on it ASAP). I loved this book. It feels kind of dated now, but it’s still so, so good.
Did it make me cry: I think I did get a little teary, actually.
Did it make me laugh: No.
Is it a good pandemic book: It’s a good distraction since it really sucks you in. The way the story is told just makes it so you NEED to find out what happens next.
Would I recommend it: Yes, it’s short and beautifully written.
Would I read it again: Oh, definitely.
Would it be a good movie: So apparently this already IS a movie, but I assume it’s really bad cause I’ve never heard of it. I have a crush on Riz Ahmed so I will probably watch this one day.
Bryan Washington
I loved this book and I wouldn’t be surprised if it made it into my top 10 favorite books of the year. It felt so tangible and sensual--I felt like I was reading with all five senses. Maybe it's all the food scenes.
Did it make me cry: It’s really sad at some parts.
Did it make me laugh: No.
Is it a good pandemic book: No, it’s pretty depressing.
Would I recommend it: I really loved this book, but I have read some mixed reviews of it. I felt like there were some Sally Rooney vibes in the style of writing, which I mean as a compliment.
Would I read it again: Yes, definitely.
Would it be a good movie: I don’t know. I think there are a lot of feelings and emotions in this book that a movie would fail at capturing.
Alexander Chee
Ok, so this book seemed like a great idea and I love a good 19th-century opera scandal, but it totally missed the mark. First of all, it’s way too long. And then once you’ve invested 500+ pages and you get to the end you’re like “Huh? That’s it? Ok…”
Did it make me cry: No.
Did it make me laugh: No.
Is it a good pandemic book: There’s definitely some escapism to be had here.
Would I recommend it: Not unless you’re really into opera or 1800s Paris.
Would I read it again: Definitely not.
Would it be a good movie: Absolutely, 100% YES it would be amazing. Although it’s a little too similar to the plot of Moulin Rouge... suspiciously similar, in fact.