The Week In Recommendations 1.8.25

Barreling right into the new year with some delicious baking and delicious reads!

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. Our latest subscriber post was about “Selling The City.” An episode about the beginning of “The Traitors” Season 3 is coming soon. Rich Text is a reader-supported project.

Claire has been reading… 📖

The end of “Enter Ghost” by Isabella Hammad, which I finally finished after the madness of the holidays died down. In the latter half, the West Bank production of “Hamlet” finishes rehearsals while contending with media scrutiny, internal dissension, and political investigation. This culminates in the seizure of their elaborate set, built at a massive scale right next to the border wall to give it “a run for its money.” The director, Mariam, brushes off offers to tour in Europe, or even in safer, quieter corners of the West Bank. The show is meant to draw the attention of the IDF, of Israeli officials. As in “Hamlet” itself, the play is the thing – a provocation, a confrontation. It forces its audience to look in the mirror, or at a ghost; it forces them to react, and their reactions tell the story. A must-read.

I also read “Sweet Fury” by Sash Bischoff, a new novel (out yesterday!) about a movie starlet who embarks on a feminist adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “Tender Is the Night” with her partner, a prominent director and self-proclaimed feminist ally. Meanwhile, the actress is seeking therapy to address childhood trauma – and what comes to light in her sessions threatens to rock her partnership and, with it, her career. This is a literary thriller for Fitzgerald fans; the sumptuous language is clearly influenced by his style, and the plot and characters are explicitly in conversation with the novelist. This lends an Old Hollywood aura to the whole novel; at times I had to remind myself that screen siren Lila Crayne was a contemporary of Jennifer Lawrence, not Elizabeth Taylor. The florid prose doesn’t impede the novel’s crackling plot, which kept me glued to my galley until the final page. (Full disclosure: Bischoff and I went to college together – at Princeton, much like Fitzgerald and several of the “Sweet Fury” cast.)

Emma has been reading… 📖

“The Meadowbrook Murders” by our pal, Jessica Goodman! I always love Jess’ twisty, turn-y mysteries, and her latest — which is coming out in February — is no exception. I devoured the whole thing in two sittings while I was in Mexico. The novel follows the aftermath of a brutal double murder at an elite boarding school in New Hampshire, and switches back and forth between the perspectives of Amy, the best friend of one of the victims, and Liz, a social outsider who also happens to be a student reporter looking for her big break. I adore Jess’ writing, and I love a Rich People Behaving Badly mystery, so this one was a no-brainer for me. Pre-order “Meadowbrook” so you can read it as soon as it comes out!

Claire has been watching… 📺

“Conclave,” a 2024 film directed by Edward Berger, which takes us inside the papal conclave following the death of a pope. Ralph Fiennes stars as a dedicated right-hand man to the late pope, who is committed to steering the conclave to a successful conclusion despite his personal, rarely voiced doubts about the Church and his concerns about several of the leading candidates. He and his allies hope to elect pope who will continue the progressive direction in which their faction has steered the church, but they struggle to coalesce behind one; conservatives are throwing their votes behind a charismatic reactionary. Meanwhile, outside the shuttered gathering, political violence roils the streets.

Somehow I’d gotten the impression that the movie would be spikier about Catholicism (maybe reactions like Megyn Kelly’s tweet, which excoriated it as an anti-Catholic hit job), but as a lapsed Catholic, it struck me as a rather loving examination of a flawed institution full of flawed humans. Despite their sins, and the cold mechanisms of bureaucracy that can also move the Church, what also comes through is the power of faith amid uncertainty, the beauty of repentance, and the redemption that can be found from bending away from selfishness and toward duty.

Emma has been watching… 📺

Adam started watching the second season of “Squid Game,” so I jumped on board. We both were unsure whether the show should have gotten additional seasons at all, since it worked so well as a standalone mini-series. However, the second season was surprisingly great! (Obviously I had to cover my eyes during a lot of the violence, but that’s fine.) Turns out that there’s a lot to mine when it comes to exploring dystopian games born out of very real structural inequality, debt and desperation. I didn’t love the finale, but perhaps that’s because it functions as more of a mid-point finale than a season/series finale, since seasons 2 and 3 of “Squid Game” were filmed together. Season 3 will be the show’s last, so I hope it sticks the landing.

Photo Credit: Netflix / Canva

I also saw Leslye Headland’s new play, “Cult of Love,” on Broadway! This show, about a dysfunctional family who is spending Christmas together, was dark and funny and beautifully rendered. If you’re in New York City, highly recommend getting tickets before it closes in early February.

Claire has been listening to… 🎧

“In the Dark: The Runaway Princesses,” a series from The New Yorker investigative podcast about the princesses of Dubai and why they keep trying to escape. It’s a chilling story about the power of money – a power that can shape diplomacy and overwhelm state law. It came out a year ago, but I missed it then, and it’s worth revisiting.

Emma has been listening to… 🎧

A whole lot of throwback tracks, because I’m putting together a playlist for the after party of my wedding! We’ve got Icona Pop and Robyn and TLC and Destiny’s Child and Britney and Natalie Imbruglia!

Claire has been buying… 🛍️

A Quince woven leather mini shoulder bag in black, which I’m hoping will become my staple black leather bag. I currently don’t have one, and I’ve been feeling the lack of it in my wardrobe. It’s an affordable dupe for the Clare V. petit moyen messenger bag, which comes in at a steep $385, and out of the package the Quince bag looks beautiful, with soft woven leather and two convenient strap options.

Plus, a gorgeous plaid blouse, the Sézane x MDLO Faustina top, which I saw my friend wear to a holiday dinner. I probably would never have tried the top due to its high collar – high collars always make me feel short-necked and stubby – but she had styled it with the collar folded back like a classic shirt collar, and looked so elegant that I was immediately influenced. I ordered in the larger of my two usual sizes, per the website, and it fits perfectly. I’m now a Sézane convert, and am eyeing all of their cute blouses with similar ruffly high necks, like the Ambre and Chlo shirts.

Emma has been buying… 🛍️

I’ve been living in this & Other Stories double breasted wool blazer. I love it open over a high-neck bodysuit or cami, or buttoned up as a standalone top. I’m especially enamored with the mismatched hammered buttons on the cuff. There’s something so wonderful about the contrast of a hyper-feminine button-shaped bow with a more hard-edged silhouette. Also… did I mention this beauty is now 50% off?

Also, this Paige denim trench! She’s perfect; the spring coat of my dreams. Unfortunately it’s approximately negative 1 million degrees right now in New York, so the idea of “spring” weather feels laughable, but once the temps rise back into the 50s, I will be wearing the fuck out of this coat.

Claire has been making… 🧶

A perfect apple pie for Christmas Day with my family! I am partial to the Smitten Kitchen Even More Perfect Apple Pie, which recommends slowly macerating a mountain of thinly sliced apples in sugar and spices for your filling, but I have never executed it perfectly. UNTIL NOW. Here’s what I did. 1) I macerated the apples for a long time – several hours. 2) I used a vegetable shortening crust (so that my dad, who has a dairy intolerance, could eat it), and I think it was sturdier and more flaky than my butter crusts past. 3) I REALLY pressed down the apples when filling the pie, which Deb does emphasize in the recipe. This minimized apple shrinkage during baking. 4) I made the pie on Christmas Eve. The idea was to avoid competing with the turkey and sides for oven time on Christmas Day, but this turned out to be absolutely crucial, because it meant the pie was cooled and could be sliced cleanly by the big day.

I also made my first ever lattice top crust. (My brothers are excellent cooks and put me to shame with their elaborate holiday spread, so I had to try something slightly showy.) It was more time-consuming than a plain top crust, but I found it more forgiving than trying to get one perfectly clean sheet of dough on top of the whole pie, and the result was more than worth the extra effort.

I also tried Alison Roman’s biscuit recipe for the first time on New Year’s Day, when I was throwing together a fun holiday breakfast for my family and recalled Emma’s repeated recommendation. And Emma was correct. They’re insanely delicious and pillowy and buttery, and much easier to make than they have any right to be.

Emma has been making… 🧶

Delicious bean dishes! You know I’m obsessed with that NYT creamy, spicy bean recipe for winter dinners, which is why I was so excited when I stumbled upon Instagram creator @gigi_goes_vegan’s video series “Full Of Beans,” which offers a bunch of simple, hearty recipes adjacent to the NYT Cooking one I love so much. This week I made her Harissa Butter Beans with Zingy Yogurt Sauce. It was delish! The weather has been absolutely frigid here in New York, so I’m on a really cozy stew-forward diet currently. (Adam claimed he couldn’t tell the difference between this bean dish and my previous obsession — LOL — which is perhaps why I liked it so much? Excited to try Gigi’s other offerings, though.)

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