The Week In Recommendations 10.18.23
A mat-leave check-in from Claire, the glory of "Golden Bachelor," wide(r)-leg jeans, and a stunning studded black coat.
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Claire has been reading… 📖
Since I last updated you all, the baby has gotten a bit less sleepy — we’ve officially outgrown the phase where he just conks out on your chest all the time and are now in the phase where you’re always taking him on walks to keep him snoozing — so my reading has taken a bit of a hit. But I have been reading! Currently I’m double-fisting Ann Patchett’s “Tom Lake” and Zadie Smith’s “The Fraud,” but here are some of the ones I’ve finished:
“Love Your Life” and “The Party Crasher” by Sophie Kinsella: My forever favorite airplane reading. Kinsella’s books (including her hit “Confessions of a Shopaholic” series) are fairly one-note and predictable, but it’s a note I happen to very much enjoy: ditzy heroines who are forever getting themselves in embarrassing pickles, whether they’re big (significant credit card debt) or small (doing something dumb in front of a handsome man), but who are also basically competent adults. Bridget Jones, but actually good at their jobs. They’re funny, light, and digestible — perfect for sleep-deprived late-night reading.
“The Custom Of The Country” by Edith Wharton: Brandon Taylor’s tweets finally got me to read this Edith Wharton opus, which is an absolutely vicious depiction of an American social climber without an original thought in her head. Wharton’s depiction of Undine Spragg’s inexorable rise to the apex of high society shrewdly captures the specific mores and etiquette of turn-of-the-century New York. But, as Taylor promised, Undine is chillingly familiar to a contemporary reader: centerless, tasteless, valueless, and constantly chasing whatever form of social status she doesn’t already have. Her whole life is a self-branding performance — apparently an American tradition that goes back further than I’d realized.
“Piglet” by Lottie Hazell, an upcoming novel (due March 2024) about a young woman — known to her friends and family, rather cruelly, as Piglet — who is on the verge of escaping her dull, working-class roots and securing her dream life. She’s a cookbook editor with a blossoming career. She and her handsome, old-money fiancé Kit share a tastefully appointed home, where they host casual but exquisite dinner parties. The vibe: Alison Roman, but English. Then, as the wedding approaches, Kit makes an explosive confession, and her life begins to unravel. Food has become a site of status for her — she’s a tastemaker, a gourmand, a gifted home chef and hostess — but in her despair it becomes once again what it was as child: a source of comfort and perhaps of self-harm as well. It’s compelling and sharply written, tipping into a sort of mundane horror as Piglet moves toward her wedding day.
Emma has been reading… 📖
I have to admit that I’ve still been in a state of shock, depression and doom-scrolling due to the news about what is going on in Israel and Palestine. And the discourse has somehow made it far worse. So much pain and grief, with so few places to put it that feel productive. So instead we are seeing a lot of lashing out with fury on social media — both understandable on an emotional level, and also sure to do more harm than good. More and more horrors just keep piling on, including the violent murder of a Palestinian-American child by his racist landlord in Chicago.
I have taken solace in
’s newsletter, . Her words have always resonated with me, but I was so very grateful for her essay “a lot of things are true,” and I wept reading her latest post about “a peacemaking lens.” I am especially holding onto this line: “We are obligated to be involved in what happens to other people — to keep them safe, to keep them from harm.” Period. Point blank.I also loved reading
’s essay “How Millennials Grew Up And Got Old” in quick succession with ’s “The Upside of Aging Out.” As I stand on the precipice of middle age, there is a lot to grapple with, and these pieces clarified some of my personal feelings and situated them within some larger generational trends. (Also… the joys of being washed are not lost on me.)Claire has been watching… 📺
“Love Is Blind” and “The Golden Bachelor.” I think it’s clear that the reality TV powers-that-be live in fear of my unforgiving eye. Why else was such a bonanza of reality dating content scheduled to drop before I got back from maternity leave? Very clever, guys.
My “Love Is Blind” verdict: It’s weirdly satisfying to see the “experiment’ simply… not work. I’m sick of Nick and Vanessa Lachey patting themselves on the back and demanding Netflix show babies!! Love is not blind! This experiment does not follow the scientific method! So yes, I have been smugly gratified by the catastrophe that is this season, and all its outlandishly bad behavior. I have been mesmerized by Lydia’s turn as the villain of her very own psychological thriller, Uche’s turn as the actual villain who is only fully revealed later in the movie, and by JP’s decision to keep an American flag as a pet. It’s a very bad season but I love it and I mostly hate everyone involved.
“The Golden Bachelor” is the mirror image of “Love Is Blind”: Everything about it is new, wholesome, and a smashing success. Do I want to watch Gerry bond with 15 hot over-60 singles over their various paths to widow- and widowerhood? Absolutely I do! Do I want to see Gerry deliver cheesy lines like “no one has fun like we have fun!” while doing some sort of shuffle with a roomful of silver vixens? A thousand times yes.
Emma has been watching… 📺
“Bachelor In Paradise,” “Love Is Blind” and “Golden Bachelor” have been dominating my life over the last month. So much content to recap!!! But I have found time to dip into some other new series.
I watched the first few episodes of the CW reboot of “FBoy Island,” and while I will always love this show, I found myself kind of disappointed by this new iteration. It feels a bit neutered by its new broadcast home, which is fine, but my real sadness is at the lack of a Nice Guy Grotto — and more importantly, no Limbro!!! Limbro and Nikki Glaser’s FBoy retraining sessions are my favorite part of the show, setting it apart from other “are they there for the right reasons?” earnest dating shows. I’m going to keep going, and it’s fun to see Katie Thurston in such a different reality dating setting, but jury is still out for me.
I also watched the premiere of the Apple TV+ adaptation of “Lessons In Chemistry,” starring Brie Larson. So far I am intrigued — the performances are great and the production quality is high — and I am excited to watch more after my recapping bonanza slows down.
Claire has been listening to… 🎧
“Bachelor In Retrospect”! I have basically two passions in life: looking at pop culture through a serious critical lens, and goofing on old seasons of The Bachelor. (If you’ve ever been to one of our live shows, you’ll know that a vintage Bachelor episode brings out an exuberance in us, as recappers, that few other topics can.) So I have been deeply enjoying this new podcast, hosted by comedy writer Carrie Rosen and media studies professor Annemarie Navar-Gill, which looks back on old seasons of The Bachelor and Bachelorette as cultural artifacts of their time. Every episode, Annemarie outlines some historical context — for example, the founding of the Proud Boys around the time of Jake Pavelka’s season — and the duo analyze the culturally loaded choices made by production in each episode as well as media and audience reactions at the time. They’re currently covering Ali Fedotowsky’s season, and it’s both delightfully funny and eye-opening about where the franchise (and our cultural ideas about working women, masculinity, and gender dynamics in courtship) was in 2010.
Emma has been listening to… 🎧
The new season of “Heavyweight.” Jonathan Goldstein has long been one of my favorite audio storytellers, and the first episodes of season 8 of “Heavyweight” have not swayed me from that feeling. I also love that Goldstein is willing to pass the mic over to his talented staffers from time to time, like he did with #53 (the second episode of the new season), hosted by Kalila Holt. During a moment where we need to feel connected in a real human way to other people — even those who are strangers to us — we need the compassion of “Heavyweight.”
Claire has been buying… 🛍️
Madewell Perfect Vintage Wide-Leg Crop in Cresslow Watch. After a year of leggings and stretch-waist pants, the arrival of crisp weather made me long for proper denim. None of my old jeans fit right now, so I took advantage of the Madewell Insider sale to try out some of the new wide-leg styles. And it turns out my millennial heart just can’t go back to having a loose bell of denim draped over my shoes. I can’t do it! I feel like I’m in 2005, and that was not a great era for me, in terms of my style or my mental health. I ended up with the cropped version of the Perfect Vintage wide-legs, in a classic blue wash, and while they’re a bit wide for my comfort level, I’m getting into it. At least they still allow me to show off my ankles.
My new-mom recommendation right now is Tubby Todd. Something society does not warn you about prior to having babies is that many babies are crusty and pimply. It’s truly startling to discover that your baby will break out like a teenager and develop a dandruff problem from hell (known as cradle cap) at just a few weeks old. With our older kid, I avoided special creams (which I assumed, based on some googling about baby acne, were all snake oil), though I finally used a cradle cap shampoo once he was fully crusted. With the new addition, I was not having it. I read good things about Tubby Todd All-Over Ointment for baby acne and cradle cap, so I got some to spot-treat his zits. And it worked! So I also got their cradle cap shampoo and scrubber to deal with his burgeoning hair crust. And it also works! Now we marvel at our baby’s luminous skin. And does a baby NEED to have luminous skin? Of course not. But he doesn’t need to be crusty either.
Emma has been buying… 🛍️
My friend Liv introduced me to this fabulous British brand, Never Fully Dressed, and I have been lusting after everything they have. She bought this sparkly denim trench, which I have truly never seen get more compliments from random people on the street. I didn’t want to fully copy her, so I went for the brand’s Black Studded 55 Coat. I don’t have a long black coat for fall into winter other than my puffer, so this felt like a worthy addition to the outerwear collection — PLUS it has a bit of sparkle. (Pro tip: The code GEORGIA10 worked for me to get 10% off, which for a coat, is no insignificant discount.)
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