Weekend Reads #296

Weekend Reads

What even is a crew sock? (Big Undies)

Gen Z’s loneliness crisis may be changing entertainment tastes. Can Hollywood adapt? (LA Times)

A book start-up wants sexy reading to be guilt-free (no dragons, either). (Vanity Fair)

Brands love influencers (until politics gets involved). (New York Times – gift link)

The one thing you should look for on clothing labels when you go shopping. (Washington Post – gift link)

Conservative women have a new Phyllis Schlafly. (The Atlantic – gift link)

How to be more spontaneous as a busy adult. (Time)

Ageing occurs in dramatic bursts at 44 and 60, study shows. (Women's Health)

After seeing my piece about the tomato trend, my sister let me know that Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day has a sulfate-free hand soap that smells like tomato vine!

This one was shared in a Facebook group I am as it features my college and I was part of the Greek system while there: One rule for frat boys. Another for violent activists. (The Free Press)

What does hair have to do with music? Everything. Here, architects of pop-star hair reveal how a defining look can inspire fanatic devotion. (Bazaar)

An ode to Old Bay, the great American condiment. (The New Yorker)

The strange beauty of mourning online. (The Atlantic – gift link)

Pari Passu has launched size-inclusive made to order evening wear! I will be sharing my personal experience ordering some very soon. In the meantime, you can visit my Instagram profile and scroll to the circle/highlight that says Pari Passu.

As a reminder, I share what I found interesting, not necessarily what I believe or support. I think it is good to have some dialog about what we read and not stay in a news bubble.

Sale Alert

Universal Standard's End of Summer Sale begins today and runs through August 20th. These are the lowest prices you will see until Black Friday. We're talking $35 jeans, $40 dresses, swim 60% off (check out my Universal Standard Swimwear review). Use code INFS-SS10ALISON at checkout, and you'll get an additional 10% off your entire order!

Anthropologie has 30% off fall fashion faves, this week only, and the items on sale are available at this link. It's not all fall, you'll find great summer dresses like this one from Maeve (misses, plus, and petite) as well as these adorable denim overalls (misses, tall and petite). This is a great top that with jeans looks like a well-executed outfit (misses, petite, plus), and this bomber (misses) will elevate a graphic tee, striped top, or simple tank to Cool Girl status.

Hear/See/Read

Many weeks ago, I mentioned that we were watching The Sympathizer (Max). It was slow, and while we liked it, we didn't feel connected. This week we decided we might as well finish it. OMG, soooo glad we did! So glad, we're considering watching it again because the final episode pulls it all together and is weird and awful and beautiful and you want to go back with what you have learned through the series and see the beginning with informed eyes.

Hoa Xuande is amazing, and he reminded me so much of Brad Pitt with his mannerisms, and that made complete sense at the end. Robert Downey Jr. is a freaking genius in this, and him playing so many characters is such a brilliant move by the director Park Chan-wook.

I obviously didn't read the novel, but how it was morphed into a limited series has to be impressive. If you too dropped this series, I encourage you to go back. And if you haven't seen it and want to see something smart and thought-provoking and artistic… The Sympathizer is a good choice.

We're still watching Lady in the Lake, and like it so much we keep checking Apple TV+ for a new episode. It is beautiful and unexpected and mysterious and a look at race and ethnicity and gender in the late '60s and early '70s Baltimore. The cast is phenomenal; if there is a character you find a bit thin in the first couple of episodes, wait.

Natalie Portman is effing fantastic. I have always loved Portman as an actress, her style of fashion as well as how she deals with celebrity. She's so beautiful, but her beauty is what causes you to hold to the fact she is a victim when you realize she's an antihero.

The movie The Bikeriders is free on Peacock for a limited time and my husband and I watched it. My sister saw it in the theater and said it was great and I couldn't wait to see it. I mean, Jodie Comer, Austin Butler, Tom Hardy, Michael Shannon, Norman Reedus… and they all delivered.

Elvis, Villanelle, and Alfie Solomons walk into a Chicago bar… the movie is based on a 1968 photo book of the same name. It follows the evolution of a midwestern motorcycle club from a brotherhood to a multi-state violent gang. And I hope at least Tom Hardy if not also Jodie Comer, and yes even Austin Butler receive award noms for The Bikeriders.

As for books, I was almost finished with Golden Girl by Elin Hilderbrand and my Libby audiobook rental ended before I got to the end. And I had already used my Audible credit for the month. And my husband has the primary Spotify account for our family plan so he gets the free audiobooks. And I have it on hold again and figure if I can wait years for the next season of a TV series I can wait a few weeks to finish this book.

I am currently listening to Margo's Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe. I didn't do any research but saw a lot of folks loving it so I got it. It started and I did NOT like it. But I am now more than halfway through and I get why folks love this book. So many underlying currents about society and it's really interesting how it's written in the first and third person but it's still funny and heartwarming.

For Your Entertainment

Jorja Smith has been on the music scene for almost a decade, winning a Brit award and nominated for a Grammy yet I often meet folks in the U.S. who haven't heard of her. From Wassail, West Midlands, England, she was discovered when a friend uploaded her cover of Labrinth's “Earthquake”. Smith's first full album came out in 2018 and she has been creating ever since, also collaborating with artists like Drake, Childish Gambino, and Kali Uchis.

Smith recently released “High,” her first single since her 2023 EP. The video was filmed in her hometown of Wassail. Regarding this song, Smith said it's, “a song I wrote about finding a friend within myself, even through the lows, you have to find the highs.”