The Week In Recommendations 1.3.24

A steamy romantasy novel, a NYMag must-read, twisty podcasts, a delicious one-pot dinner, and a handy travel accessory.

This is the free edition of Rich Text, a newsletter about cultural obsessions from your Internet BFFs Emma and Claire. If you like what you see and hear, consider becoming a paid subscriber. Rich Text is a completely reader-supported project — no ads or sponsors!

Claire has been reading… 📖

“I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness” by Claire Vaye Watkins (still). I keep buying more books, and I keep not reading them, but I’ve finally begun to make some headway. It turns out to be a weird, fantasy autofictional odyssey away from the demands of new motherhood and into the wilds of the West; narrator Claire shares many traits with Watkins, including a father who was part of the Manson family and a writing career that is losing steam after the arrival of her daughter. While on a brief work trip away from her family, she impulsively decides to abandon her return flight and take a sabbatical from parenthood while she wrestles with her identity crisis and her new vagina dentata.

I also read Tom Scocca’s article in NY Mag, “My Unraveling,” a long piece about his twin quests for a new journalism job and a diagnosis for his sudden proliferation of mystery ailments: pins and needles in his shoulder, swollen feet, low blood oxygen, decreased stamina. Scocca is a terrifically gifted writer and editor. His old Gawker piece “On Smarm” is the only blog post I’ve ever had bookmarked. It’s depressing, though not surprising, that someone so brilliant is struggling to find stable work in an industry that continues to contract. His medical travails are horrifying in an quite different way, having to do with the inevitable failures of the human body and the Kafkaesque task of chasing an elusive diagnosis through a thicket of booked-up specialists and unhelpful test results, but he weaves them together into an illuminating and perversely funny essay. In it, Scocca evokes the experience of moving through the world with a new awareness of one’s own vulnerability – financially and professionally, physically, emotionally. It’s not cheerful reading, but I highly recommend it.

Emma has been reading… 📖

I had been hearing about Rebecca Yarros’ “Fourth Wing” — a 600+ page novel that follows Violet Sorrengail as she enters the Basgiath War College in the fictional country of Navarre — for what felt like forever. However, fantasy isn’t really a genre I naturally gravitate towards, so I held off reading it. Then one of my best friends devoured it in ONE DAY right before I left for India, and I decided to download “Fourth Wing” onto my Kindle for the trip. I picked it up while we were spending a couple days in the Rajasthani countryside, and I read it cover to (virtual) cover within 48 hours. As promised, it is utterly engrossing and extremely sexy. (Xaden!!!!) I get it now! And yes, I have already started “Iron Flame,” the sequel.

Claire has been watching… 📺

“The Holdovers,” Alexander Payne’s new Christmassy film. Set mostly on the campus of a staid boys’ prep school in New England during the 1970 Christmas break, it stars Dominic Sessa and Paul Giamatti as, respectively, a moody teenager whose mother and new stepfather have left him at school for the holidays and a notoriously cranky (and smelly) history teacher who has been assigned to watch over any student holdovers. It’s visually beautiful, with painterly shots of the snowy campus; it’s often poignant, and even more often hilarious. Sessa and Giamatti are phenomenal as two outcasts who initially despise each other but slowly begin to build a bond of mutual respect. Da’Vine Joy Randolph is also phenomenal as the school’s cook, who is grieving the death of her only son, a recent graduate, in Vietnam. I watched it during my own family Christmas, with my dad and brothers and sister-in-law as we all hovered over our various baby monitors. (Greg and I were the lucky ones that got to watch it all the way through before our baby started crying.) My highest compliment: it was a worthwhile use of two precious hours of free time.

Emma has been watching… 📺

I know I’m late to the party, but on one of my two very long flights home from Delhi, I finally watched the live-action “Little Mermaid.” And it was a delight! I remain creeped out by skinny Flounder, and the story is certainly a ~problematic fave~ but I thought Halle Bailey was fantastic as Ariel. (Her male co-star on the other hand was… meh.)

Claire has been listening to… 🎧

I’ve finally just begun “Ghost Story” (previously recommended by Emma, I believe), Tristan Redman’s spooky yet all-too-real podcast about the ghost in his childhood bedroom – which, through an extremely confusing coincidence, he comes to believe is linked to the murder of his wife’s great-grandmother, Naomi Dancy, who lived next door to Redman’s childhood home. I had to take a hiatus from listening last night because it was too unsettling after sunset. I have a long to-listen backlog, and this is first on my list. So far, so gripping!

Emma has been listening to… 🎧

“Smoke Screen: My Fugitive Dad,” a new-ish podcast which investigates the story of Ted Conrad, a bank teller who walked out the front door of Society National Bank with $215,000 in a paper bag in 1969. He eluded the authorities for decades, changing his name, getting married and having a daughter. His family only learned about his past when he was dying of cancer in 2021. Conrad’s daughter, Ashley, co-hosts this series, and it is gripping.

Claire has been buying… 🛍️

An actually warm and good-quality baby-wearing coat from Seraphine. My first winter baby mostly lived inside, but I actually have to spend a lot of time at the playground this winter, so I finally upgraded my flimsy Motherhood Maternity baby-wearing parka to this fancy one with plush velour lining and actual down. It actually keeps us warm, without being stifling when the temperature creeps up throughout the day, and it looks pretty sleek as well, even worn as a normal coat without the baby panel zipped in. I get questions and compliments about it on almost every walk. My only irritation is that it assumes a low-riding carrier so that you can zip your child fully into it; I use a soft Solly wrap meant to be worn high, so there’s no way to cover my son’s head entirely. However, there aren’t many good alternatives, and I can put a hat on his head. Plus, as of this writing, it’s on sale!

Emma has been buying… 🛍️

The AirPods I’d had for a few years finally came to a sputtering end just before I left for 11 days of travel, so I last-minute purchased a new pair of AirPods Pro — this time the second generation. I regret to inform you that they are absolutely fantastic and worth every penny. I love the adaptive feature, which automatically adjusts the noise cancellation to your environment and lowers when it detects you speaking. Magic! I also got the AirFly Pro, which allowed me to use my AirPods to connect to the in-flight TV screens. (It also lets you connect two pairs of headphones at once, so Adam and I could watch a movie together!)

Also, did a little shopping in Jaipur. We popped by The Gem Palace, a famous jewelry store where Princess Diana once shopped, and bought a tourmaline ring. (Did I kindly request that they point me towards the less expensive display cases? Perhaps.) I also raided the gift shop at the Villa Palladio Jaipur, a truly magical 9-room hotel on the outskirts of the city. Its interiors were to die for, so naturally I had to buy the beautiful robe they had in each room, as well as a branded tote bag with an extremely chic red-striped interior.

The ring, featuring the henna design I got during the Mehndi ceremony at the wedding I attended in Jaipur.

Claire has been making… 🧶

My sweet calm baby recently decided he’d been making things a little too easy for me, so he rummaged in his bag of tricks and came up with a milk protein allergy. This means I have to cut out all dairy in my diet (no milk, not even mixed into pancake batter! no butter, not even baked into a biscuit! no cheese!!??!) and I am not handling it well emotionally. It’s a great way to discover how much of your diet contains dairy; in my case, I would say, conservatively, about 70 percent. 

I’ve been combing through the NYT Cooking app for dairy-free recipes, or ones easily made dairy-free by subbing a drizzle of olive oil or omitting a grate of Parmesan. Last night, we had Yasmin Fahr’s outrageously delicious one-pot sausage, tomato and spinach cavatappi. It was so comforting, with a hint of warmth from the cumin and red pepper flakes, that I had to remind myself to chew before swallowing and shoveling in another bite. My preschooler initially refused it, because he is four, but once he tried a bite he had to admit it was good (by taking about 15 more bites). Greg gets full credit for actually making this dish, and perhaps adding a sneaky sprinkle of Adobo seasoning, but from across the room it seemed relatively quick and easy to make, with a huge flavor payoff.

Emma has been making… 🧶

Traditional block print art! When we checked into the Fairmont Jaipur for the wedding we attended last week, we were given a tote bag. Guests were instructed to bring these totes down to the welcome party, because there was a block printing art station! Jaipur is famous for its block printing, so it was really cool to learn how it is done and leave with a useful souvenir. I will treasure this tote forever.

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