Weekend Reads #294
Weekend Reads
The 77-year-old artist making sculptural costumes out of her Tribeca apartment. (Shop Rat)
When the private equity firm Carlyle bought Beautycounter, the skin care brand that people sold at kitchen tables, everything changed. (New York Times – gift link)
Could social media support healthy online conversations? New_ Public is working on it. (NiemanLab)
How Kamala Harris became part of Charli XCX's ‘Brat' summer. (NBC News)
How stylists are helping WNBA players elevate their drip. (Andscape)
Gojira is the first metal band to perform at the Opening Ceremonies. Here’s who they are. (Washington Post – gift link)
As a blogger, I often go through my archives to fix any broken links or images without alt tags (descriptions so those with screen readers can know what's being shown). I recently updated a post I wrote a few years ago about Black-owned fashion and beauty brands. Most of the links that were broken were items no longer sold, but some were due to brands no longer in business. One site I was glad to see still in business was Andrea Iyamah. Her pieces are so gorgeous! These earrings! This kaftan! This dress! No, not cheap, but when you think of the true cost of creating quality items by a small business, her collection is awesome.
The Pop Craveification of Breaking News. (Taylor Lorenz's Newsletter)
Why NASA just beamed a Missy Elliott song into space. (Dazed)
My “mesearch,” then and now. (Oldster)
The new pornographers. (The Bitter Southerner)
Sustainability, cultural significance, and high fashion: the top five uniforms to look out for at the 2024 Paris Olympics. (The Conversation)
They wanted to foster a child. Overnight, they got 3: ‘Can we do this?’ (Washington Post – gift link)
I love The Sak, have since I was in middle school. I have this bag in black leather and wore it a LOT until it got too hot for a black leather bag on my body. Now I'm digging the Los Feliz in the black and white crochet. And with some of these charms off it? So cute. The Sak is a sustainable brand and if you use code ALISON20 you get 20% off your order through the end of August.
Want to spot a deepfake? Look for the stars in their eyes. (Royal Astronomical Society)
Living with the Alzheimer’s gene. (Intelligencer)
Meet the teen boys getting perms. (The Cut)
How can I get healthier hair? Here’s what the science says. (Washington Post – gift link)
25 years in, SpongeBob SquarePants is succeeding where The Simpsons has failed. (Polygon)
Got a white dude in your life? What's he doing Monday night? (Google Doc)
heeled sandal | hair bow | bag with gold clasp | woven bag | hat | stitched tote | light denim small bag | wedge sandal | pump | belt | tote
Hear/See/Read
When I shared on here that I didn't like the book, Lessons in Chemistry, folks took it personally. I even had one person tell me it was the straw that caused them to unfollow me. I fear some of you may again be upset because I also didn't like Sandwich: A Novel by Catherine Newman.
I see why this book is so loved. The protagonist is a 54-year-old mom of two young adults. She, her loving husband, her two kids, and her one kid's partner all go to Cape Cod for a week. This family has been going to the same house for decades. The story is about the week, but it's also about being a woman, about marriage, motherhood, menopause, shame, honesty, and growth.
But I just did not like the protagonist. I mean I know women like her, I am friends with and love people like her, but I just did not like this specific woman. I felt for her husband. But go on Goodreads and scroll through some other reviews and don't base it just on me. I mean, I think I was one of the only people who didn't like Lessons in Chemistry, you can't rely on my opinion.
Okay I know I said you can't trust my opinion, but now I want you to trust me and check out the Indigo Girls documentary, It's Only Life After All. (Netflix) This was beautiful and powerful and insightful and funny and sweet and tender and I think one would love it even if they were a casual listener to Indigo Girls. Loved this so much.
We watched Anything But You, a romantic comedy on Netflix starring Sydney Sweeney (Euphoria, White Lotus S1, Madame Web) and Glen Powell (Top Gun: Maverick, Twisters, Hit Man). A very loose adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing, Sweeney and Powell have a meet cute, a misunderstanding, more misunderstanding, a super lavish home and wedding vacation with way too much food, and they all live happily ever after.
This is a stupid movie, but it's so darn pretty. It takes place in this gorgeous home on a cliff in Australia and everyone is beautiful and so wealthy money is not a factor and no one scrolls on their phones and they all have great sex and the lighting is always perfect. It's fun to watch like a cheesy but satisfying romance novel.
Hear/See/Read
The music I listened to growing up is the music my daughter and her friends are listening to. It floors me that she knows all the lyrics of songs I don't even know the lyrics to (we didn't have Genius Lyrics or Spotify, just the occasional album liners). And new bands are coming out that I would totally expect to hear on WHFS or 120 Minutes. One is The Last Dinner Party, a British band just formed in 2021. This song, this video even… my 17-year-old self is loving it.
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The kaftan link does not work. Thought you might like to know!
Darn it! I’m on travel but will try to remedy this asap. Thank you for the heads up!
I loved Sandwich even though I didn’t like Rocky and it has everything to do with my stage of life right now. I knew as soon as I read it that it would not be for everyone Though. I’m with you on Lessons in Chemistry.
Are you seeing the Indigo Girls at Wolf Trap? We’re going on Sunday night!
I hated Tom Lake, the book EVERYONE loved last year! I couldn’t even get through the audiobook, which Meryl Streep read! And normally I love books with female protagonists. I didn’t read Lessons in Chemistry, loved All the Light We Cannot See. I’m excited to read Sandwich because my grandparents lived on Cape Cod, so for nostalgia’s sake. A book I highly recommend is “Girls They Write Songs About” by Carlene Bauer. Fabulous book about two friends pursuing work in music and writing in a grungy 90s NYC and their friendship and lives over the ensuing 25 years.
Did not like Lessons in Chemistry. But I was pretty sure I would find it enraging from the reviews, even the favorable ones. And… yep. Why not read The Change or An Embarrassment of Mangoes instead?
I also ferociously disliked Lessons in Chemistry. (And… deep breath… I disliked All the Light We Cannot See even more. If you need company when you dislike the books everyone else loves, come sit by me.) What I love is the Alma Thomas painting at the top of the post.
Also a Lessons in Chemistry hater! It’s pretty apparent that the author has never met a middle aged lady scientist (I am one myself). I’ve never known anyone in my cohort to act like that character does!
Alison, I continue to love WR—thank you for continuing to write this for us! I laughed when I saw your comments on both Lessons in Chemistry & Sandwich. I do trust your opinions but felt differently about these books. It’s crazy how upset some people get over differences of opinion. Even though I liked both (& enjoyed the TV series for Lessons as well), I’m aware of quite a few others who did not like either one. So, you are not alone.
For Sandwich, I will say that I had to go at it slowly. There were parts of it that made me sad or anxious, just due to where I’m at in life these days, and I could only take so much. After finishing it, I had to pick up a book that is more of my preferred type—mystery/thriller—so I could get out of the funk it left me in. Magpie Lane by Lucy Atkins—really good!
Thanks for mentioning the documentary on The Indigo Girls—how exciting to be seeing them soon! My husband & I may get a chance in October (fingers crossed).
Re Lessons in Chemistry, If it makes you feel any better, my mother who graduated with a degre in chemistry in 1959 from a STEM school, (she was one of 15 women at the school) did not like it. I liked it, but didn’t love it. I felt it started strong, took a wrong turn somewhere and ended in a rush.
Love that the WNBA is finally getting the attention deserved!
I enjoyed the Lessons in Chemistry TV series. It hit the spot while I felt the book did not.
I did like the series, I agree it was more of what I would have liked from the book.
I enjoyed the Lessons in Chemistry TV series. It hit the spot while I felt the book did not.
I love the Indigo Girls. I’ve seen them multiple times in concert, and I will see them again in September in a small, quaint theater in my city. They still sound amazing and funny, too. *gushing*. I wasn’t a big fan of Lessons In Chemistry either, so I’ll be skipping Sandwich. Thanks for the tip! Finally, I laughed because my 13-year-old son just got a perm! It was my idea (his hair was taking over his beautiful face, and it was so important that he get it “just right”). He washed it yesterday for the first time. He’s getting used to it, but once he figures out how to style it, skies the limit (or at least he’ll be ready for the school bus in under 20 minutes, fingers crossed)
I love that you have first-hand perm experience! I too am seeing Indigo Girls, next month with Melissa Etheridge! Can’t wait!
OMG – what a dream concert! I hope you tell us about it
I’m going, too. Sunday night. We could have a Wardrobe Oxygen meetup!
I hated Lessons in Chemistry and did not like Sandwich. You’re not alone!
Thank you, glad to know I am not the only one!