Weekend Reads #287

Weekend Reads

US blocks imports from 26 Chinese textile firms over suspected Uyghur forced labor. (CNN Business)

Patagonia’s new study finds fleece jackets are a serious pollutant. (Outside)

Can the influencers save Gucci? (Back Row)

The feminist roots of the Chinese qipao. (Elle)

Jean Smart discusses the third season of Hacks, which returned with new complications for both Deborah and Hannah Einbinder’s character, Ava. (Vanity Fair)

A mystery illness stole their kids’ personalities. These moms fought for answers. (Washington Post – gift link)

The last thing my mother wanted: Healthy at age 74, she decided there was nothing on earth still keeping her here, not even us. (The Cut)

Looking back, I would not want to have been my mother. But I would want to be her friend. (Romper)

Widowhood: A confession. (Pie & Chai Magazine)

Plastic allows farmers to use less water and fertilizer. But at the end of each season, they’re left with a pile of waste. (The Atlantic – gift article)

There are some products that cheaper versions work just fine. But over the years, I've learned it's worth it to splurge on a good lash curler and this one IMO is the best.

For Black ballerinas, painting ballet slippers is a tedious but essential ritual. (Elle)

Remember when streaming was supposed to let us watch whatever we want, whenever we want, for a sliver of the cost of cable? Well, so much for that. (The Atlantic – gift article)

In case you too watched Palm Royale, here’s everything that went down, what might happen next, and what you didn’t see in the final scenes. (Glamour)

One of the greatest rappers of our time in conversation with one of the most lauded culture writers alive. This is André 3000 and Hanif Abdurraqib on freedom, fame, flutes, and the burning question: ‘You gonna put some beats on that shit?’ (Bitter Southerner)

See/Hear/Read

The past couple of weeks have been a blur with working as an election judge for five and a half days and working to clear out our mom's house. I can hardly recall what I watched beyond spending Mother's Day really enjoying lounging on the couch, not being interrupted as I watched the new movie on Prime, The Idea of You.

The Idea of You is based on the novel of the same name. The novel came out in 2017 and had a LOT of hype, calling it Harry Styles fan fiction. I read it that summer in one day, not knowing anything about the author or the backstory and found it… fine. Not really my style of book at that time and not something I found at all relatable.

Since that first reading, I learned more about the author Robinne Lee and what she was trying to tell with her novel. (Time) It made me want to revisit the novel with fresh eyes (many say the audiobook version is fantastic, read by Lee). And when I heard it was going to be a film starring Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine, I was excited.

The film adaptation of The Idea of You is pretty similar to the novel except for the ending. And it does a good job of showing ageism and the dark side of celebrity while being, as I shared on Instagram Stories, “p*rn for middle-class white ladies.” Because this movie is steamy and felt far more relatable than my 2017 reading on the front porch from my Kindle.

There has been much talk about Hathaway, who is 41, looking unrealistic as a 40-year-old mother. But Hathaway plays Solène, a well-off 40-year-old divorcee in Silver Lake who owns an art gallery. Of course, she would be toned and trim, her skin and hair well maintained. Beyond the trailer and the Photoshopped marketing poster, in the film Solène looks and acts like a 40-year-old.

I recommend this film. It was fun and sexy with good acting, beautiful homes, and beautiful people. I will be revisiting that Kindle novel in the near future!

For Your Entertainment

It's interesting to see these teenage stars grow up and find themselves through their art. It's not easy going from adolescence to adulthood and even harder under a spotlight. But artists like Billie Eilish use the time many of us spent trying on new selves and trying new things by turning it into catchy tunes like, “Lunch,” the latest single from her third album. This is a sexy song and I think will be quite popular this summer.