Hello hello! Happy New Year! I am back after not getting around to writing one of these in the lead up to Christmas. To make up for it, because I have been an absolute vegetable all week, I have a LOT to talk about. Buckle up. Here’s a recap of my week:
Things I Read
Books
If you’re looking for a book to read, try this list of contemporary romance recs, or this list of non-fiction recs.
Sisters in Hate: American Women on the Front Lines of White Nationalism by Seyward Darby: Just some light holiday reading! This book is about three women who are currently, or were at one point, deeply entrenched in the far-right, white nationalist hate movement. I thought this would be a more wide-ranging book about women and white nationalism as a whole, but it is really just three case studies. Once I adjusted my expectations, I thought it was good! I learned a lot about how and why people become entrenched in this movement. One thing I think is so interesting is that these prominent women are always talking about traditional femininity and motherhood and gender roles, without ever acknowledging that their role as figureheads in this movement is them breaking away from those stereotypes and actually working a very rigorous job. This is exactly what Phyllis Schlafly did while leading the advocacy against the Equal Rights Amendment. These women are arguing that women should stay home and be caregivers while men work, but they are literally not doing that!
In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren: Every year I try to read a silly little holiday rom com and this was the one I picked up this year. This has a time loop plot: Maelyn has spent every Christmas at a cabin with her family and their friend, and this year’s trip has gone particularly poorly. On the way home her family gets in a car accident and she wakes up back on the plane on the way to the cabin a week earlier. There’s also a love triangle involved. This is silly and dumb but also cute.
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel: I have been meaning to read this for YEARS (it came out in 2014 and I have heard such good things) and just never got around to it, and then it became more of a priority for me when they announced they were making a tv show. I put this on hold at my library at the beginning of last year and then promptly froze it and never checked it out because this book is about...a flu-like pandemic that kills a significant portion of the world’s population. Last year me said “No thanks!” Anyway, the show is airing now and getting a positive reaction, so I finally picked this up. This book RULES. It is so good. I loved it. It takes place in the weeks leading up to the pandemic, and also twenty years in the future in an entirely changed world. So it’s not really about people getting sick, that’s more of an event that we know happened but the plot does not stay on it for a long time. I did not find this to be at all triggering re: covid, but YMMV. I don’t really even know how to describe this without giving things away, but I LOVED the writing and the character development in this. I cannot wait to watch the show. One of my favorite books I read this year (more on that later). Wow.
Articles
Gina. Rosanne. Guy. What do you do the day after you storm the Capitol?: This article about three people who stormed the Capitol on January 6th is so well written. It’s such a good profile of the types of people who were there that day, and a good portrayal of what the fallout has been like.
The Great Shoplifting Freak-Out: Recently there has been a lot of media talk about an uptick in shoplifiting, and I thought this article did a really good job of breaking this down. Media reporting on crime is really not sufficient. This article is an exception.
Things I Watched
TV
Emily in Paris: This show is such garbâge (please read the word garbâge in a bad French accent, tysm). This offers absolutely nothing of value, the clothes are terrible, the plotlines are dumb. Yes, I did watch the whole season the day it came out, thanks! Emily SUCKS, she is truly the worst! The men are hot. I mean, what can I say, this is trash and I will watch every season they make. If you like this show I am BEGGING you to watch Younger (Hulu), it’s made by the same guy (Darren Star) and so much better. On Netflix.
Dickinson: I loved this weird little show so much and am sad to see it end. I don’t see a lot of people talking about this but it really is so, so good. Hailee Steinfeld plays Emily Dickinson as she comes of age and strives to become a published author. So this takes place in the 1800s in Massachusetts, but this show is very anachronistic and has such a modern feel. The soundtrack is so incredible, I will remember this show for making impeccable music choices. Hailee is so great in this, as is the rest of the cast. It’s funny and smart and I just loved it so much. Absolutely worth a watch. On AppleTV+.
Insecure: I am so sad this is over, but I really loved this final season. I so appreciate what they chose to do with all of the characters, and really my biggest issue with the final season was that it covered so much time and I wish we could have spent more time on all these story lines. I love Issa and Molly and their friendship so much, and was Issa Rae did with this show is really incredible. There is also a documentary about the final season on HBO Max that is worth a watch. I will miss this. On HBO.
Movies
Don’t Look Up: Obviously had to watch this film that somehow has every famous person in it? This is directed by Adam Mckay (he made Stepbrothers, Anchorman, Vice, etc.) If you just take it for what it is, I think it’s funny. Plot: Jennifer Lawrence and Leonardo Dicaprio are scientists who discover that a giant meteor is heading for Earth and will wipe out the planet in six months. They go to warn the President, Meryl Streep, who doesn’t really take their concerns seriously. This is basically a satire about our current political environment/propaganda/”fake news,” etc. I actually find this a little annoying—I am not really interested in Adam McKay’s thoughts on the current state of our media landscape! I would prefer this rich white man stick to dumb comedies a la Step Brothers and stop trying to be profound! This movie is funny and I think it’s a good time if you just take it in without thinking too much about ~what it is trying to say~ or whatever. I am once again complaining that no movie needs to be 2 ½ hours long, this could have been 90 minutes. Especially because Timmy Chalamet does not show up until an hour and fifteen minutes in. Rude to me, personally. On Netflix.
Passing: Been meaning to watch this for a while because it’s getting Oscar buzz. This is based on a novel from the 1920s, and takes place in New York. Tessa Thompson plays Irene, a Black woman living in Harlem, who reconnects with her childhood friend Claire, who “passes” as a white woman. This movie is gorgeous to look at, it’s in black and white and I thought it was really beautiful. The two women give incredible performances, I’m sure one or both of them will get nominated. I thought the plot was a little slow in the beginning but I ended up enjoying this one. On Netflix.
The Power of the Dog: Another that was on my list because it’s getting Oscar buzz! This is a gorgeous looking movie, beautifully acted, the score is incredible, and also I was bored as hell until the last 30 minutes, SORRY. This is such a slowwwwwww burn. I had a similar experience with this as I did watching Nomadland (last year’s Best Picture winner). It is such a well-made film and everyone in it is so good, and I recognize that this is a really impressive film just technically speaking. But where is the plot??? Benedict Cumberbatch gives an excellent performance in this movie, I’m sure he will get nominated for it. Again, the score is really incredible and the cinematography is just gorgeous. But nothing happened for a good hour and a half, and I simply do not have time for that. On Netflix.
The Hating Game: This is an adaptation of one of my all-time favorite contemporary romance novels, an enemies to lovers story about two assistants who hate each other. I did not expect this to be very good because the main character is played by Lucy Hale, and if we are being honest with ourselves that is not a signal that a film will be high quality, I’m sorry!! I was right, this isn’t great. The book is so much better, I think because a big part of the story is hearing the inner monologues of the characters and that is missing in the movie. There is a movie with a similar premise called Set It Up on Netflix, and you should watch that one instead. Read this book though, it’s very good! This is in some theaters, on demand, or you can rent in all the usual places.
Things I Bought
American Eagle: everything here was very on sale so I got a couple of sweaters. I got this one and this one.
Ulta: I always do an Ulta order at the end of the year for two reasons. 1) all the holiday sets are on sale and 2) I usually need to spend a little more before the end of the year to maintain status for next year. This year I only needed to spend $20, so I tried to control myself. I bought this set from fresh, with the body lotion I love and a body wash in the same scent.
Skinstore: I don’t shop here a ton (I try to consolidate my skincare purchases to Sephora and Ulta for rewards purposes), but I couldn’t resist this holiday set. This is $500 worth of fancy products, and this kit is on sale for $75. I had to.
Corduroy Joggers: I am very into corduroy at the moment. I got an ad for these and clicked through, bought these really quick, and did not look at anything else on the Gap website because the sale was so good I knew I would spend a bunch of money. I got these pants for $24, so I consider this a success.
Christmas Content
Full list all the good stuff I watched this holiday season (plus a couple of New Years recs) here.
One Last Thing…
I wrote up my favorite things from this year! Some books, some tv shows, some movies. This was a good year and I had trouble narrowing this list down!
This newsletter continues to be a highlight for me, and I appreciate you all for reading every week. I would love if you’d share with a friend. I hope you all have a good week.
TTYL,
Emily