Weekend Reads #312

This is the last Weekend Reads of 2024. Next weekend I will be off work, and hopefully completely off all electronic devices. But I look forward to resuming Weekend Reads in the new year. It's one of the most fun pieces I craft for Wardrobe Oxygen (right behind capsule wardrobes… I did make one recently and it's launching on the 30th).

I enjoy pulling together interesting articles and sharing what I'm watching, reading/audiobooking, and reading. Over the year I have played with additional sections of Weekend Reads – style inspo, sale alerts, etc. to see if they would do well. This year I committed to only showcasing art by women artists at the top of each post. But feedback is the best guide.

Let me know what you would like to see added to Weekend Reads in 2025… and what you would like removed or changed. Let me know your thoughts, and together, we can make this weekly series even more enjoyable!

Weekend Reads

California squirrels are eating another rodent for the first time, new study finds. (CNN)

‘The glasses are a prop’: Anna Wintour on her style and being told ‘no.' (BBC)

I was a health insurance executive. What I saw made me quit. (New York Times – gift link)

Vera Wang on why she’s selling her brand after 35 years. (Vogue Business)

Putting your marathon time on your résumé: Runners and other sports enthusiasts are humble bragging about their workout wins. (Wall Street Journal – gift link)

Rick Steves refuses to get cynical about the world. (The Washington Post – gift link)

Inside the 700-page book breaking down 250 years of Birkenstock brilliance. (High Snobiety)

Luxury vintage is totally over. (i-D)

Obscene prices, declining quality: Luxury is in a death spiral. (New York Times – gift link)

Need a random gift that's under $50 and will still arrive before Christmas? This heated floor mat is genius for those who sit at a desk, sit on a couch, or even stand in a kitchen or working desk in a cold room. I bought one for my mom a couple of years ago and now wish I had one myself!

On the same topic… did you know they carry heated rugs? So good for a converted garage, a basement, or just a drafty room!

Disability, pleasure and ageing: The pleasure principle. (Archer)

How Dostoevsky became a social media sensation. (The Guardian)

The hidden science swirling in ‘The Starry Night.’ (The Washington Post – gift link)

About 20 years ago, I was at a music festival, and a booth was selling the pStyle. Dreading the porta potties, I bought one, and it was one of the best buys I ever made. In fact, I still have it! So I just HAD to share this piece: The pure liberation of a personal urination device. (New York Times – gift link)

And speaking of which… Holding your pee can have dangerous health risks, experts say. (CNN)

The social history of the cardboard box. (Places Journal)

Chanel opts for craft over celebrity in choice of new creative chief. (The Guardian)

America is suddenly getting healthier. No one knows why. (The Atlantic – gift link)

It's Girl Scout cookie season here in the D.C. area, and my daughter is now a Girl Scout Senior, selling cookies and getting to work on her Gold Award. The sales of Girl Scout cookies are what pays for dues, supplies for her Gold Award project, troop trips (like Savannah, GS birthplace, in 2022), and projects they do to benefit our community (past projects include bat houses, building projects and providing supplies for the no-kill animal shelter, revitalizing and refilling a local food pantry).

If you do not have a Girl Scout in your area, you can shop from Em's online store and have them mailed to you. Don't want cookies? You can also purchase cookies to be delivered to deployed troops. Please choose “Have Cookies Shipped” unless you know you live in my zip code.

Hear/See/Read

Thanksgiving weekend, I finished my last audiobook and There There: A Novel by Tommy Orange was available for me on Libby. A fictional collection of stories about Native Americans living in Oakland, California in the 21st century, it felt fitting and I borrowed it. I enjoyed it, but when I had a 3-hour drive to and from Williamsburg the following week, I was able to consume it without breaks and I came to love it truly.

The concept is a half-Native student applies for a grant to gather the stories of current-day Native people living in urban and suburban environments. Each chapter is a different character, some that are part of the grant project, all that are interconnected in some manner. Their stories share struggles like poverty, addiction, fetal alcohol syndrome, depression, and SA and the difficulties of being “ambiguously nonwhite” in America.

If this sounds heavy and not very entertaining… it is heavy but it's completely engrossing. The audiobook uses a variety of voice actors to add depth and humanity to the stories. Seeing the connections between each character keeps you going, sitting in parking lots and driveways waiting for the end of the chapter, wishing you didn't have to leave your car and head back to the real world.

This year, Orange published Wandering Stars, his second novel and a prequel to . I don't plan on waiting until next November to read it; I've requested it on Libby and if it doesn't arrive in time, I will surely be using my next month's Audible credit for it.

For Your Entertainment

Everyone is sharing their Best of 2024 lists, and since this is the last Weekend Reads, I wanted to share some playlists for 2024.

First one is a request from many of you – a Spotify playlist of all the songs I have shared in Weekend Reads over the year. I always mean to make one of these playlist through the year but forget so I compiled it this past week. Better late than never!

And this one I called Earworms 2024. Most of the songs are from this year, but these are songs that were on repeat in my head, in my earbuds, and from my car speakers. Some may be familiar, some may be new to you.

Speaking of which, I'd love to hear what songs did it for you in 2024. What were your faves? What albums or concerts made an impact on you this year? What songs are you happy to leave in 2024?

And finally, the song that totally hit me this year. “Conceited” by Lola Young came up in my YouTube algorithm and I was an instant fan. This is a good workout playlist addition, and also great for a long road trip to spice things up. I hope Lola Young becomes a big thing in 2025!