Weekend Reads #259

I came across this setting several months ago and it is such a delight. The phone setting every parent should try. (Wirecutter) Two tips from using this photo shuffle lock screen:

Press down on the lock screen, it will minimize to make room for a button labeled, “Customize.” Click that. Then click Lock Screen. The click the three dots in the lower right corner.
- Tap “Don't Feature Photo” and that photo will not show up again. Very nice for the picture you may want to keep because it's sentimental/silly/etc. but you don't want to broadcast to those around you. It will let you scroll through a few photos and choose which to show and not show. Click “Done” (top right of screen) to save your work.
- Tap “Show Photo in Library” if you want to recall when or where the photo was taken, or to share with another.

Related: Last week's Weekend Reads.

See/Hear/Read

I have certain friends and influencers I follow for recipes, some for where to go in DC, some for what to read next. And seeing a couple of the folks I trust for reading recommendations rave about Adelaide: a Novel by Genevieve Wheeler, I decided to read it without knowing anything about the book beyond the first paragraph of the description:

“For twenty-six-year-old Adelaide Williams, an American living in dreamy London, meeting Rory Hughes was like a lightning bolt out of the blue: this charming Englishman was The One she wasn’t even looking for.”

Sounded like a good beach read to take for a weekend I was spending in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware; I added it to my Kindle. And Adelaide began as any “chick lit” you'd expect with the above introduction. But as the book continues and you get to know Adelaide better, you realize her life is not a tie in a pretty bow chick lit life.

Did anyone else watch the Lifetime series, UnREAL? It was about a show runner for a The Bachelor style show. It showed the underbelly of such reality TV and while I knew a lot of those shows were scripted and manipulated, this TV series illustrated it so well it ruined that genre of television for me forever. Adelaide is like that for the woman often portrayed in Lifetime movies, and of young women everywhere.

Adelaide is a story about love sought, about one-sided situationships, about mental health, about grief, about trauma, about families you're born into and families you choose. And I didn't fully appreciate the book until days after I read it. I keep thinking about it, and while it isn't a favorite book, it's a book I am glad I read it.

For Your Entertainment

Okay, so here's the tea. Keke Palmer, who was a child star who is now an adult superstar (TV and film actress, musical artist, morning show host, awards show host, reality competition show host, game show host, voiceover talent, etc.). Well, Palmer was in a relationship for a couple of years with a guy, and earlier this year they had a baby together. In July, Palmer went to an Usher concert and her boyfriend made a public statement about how he didn't approve of what Palmer was wearing, saying “It's the outfit tho.. you a mom.”

The two are no longer in a relationship, and this week this video for Usher dropped. I dunno, I felt pretty cool when my daughter brought this gossip up and I was able to say, “I know.” So I wanted to share with you so you too can feel smug with a Gen Z-er!