The Week In Recommendations 5.22.24

Emily Henry's latest, three sharp reviews, re-watched "Felicity," and our GAP x Dôen picks!

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 podcast was about “Bridgerton” season 3 part 1. A pod about “Anyone But You” is coming later this week! Rich Text is a completely reader-supported project — no ads or sponsors!

Claire has been reading… 📖

“Romancing Mr. Bridgerton,” Julia Quinn’s original Polin text, after I realized halfway into our “Bridgerton” taping that I don’t really remember it anymore. So far I’ve been surprised by a few things: that controversial begging-for-a-kiss scene is almost verbatim from the book, joke and all; in fact, it is funnier overall than I recollected; Colin is more of a dick and Pen less of one in the book; and not only does Pen lose weight, every mention of her body is upsettingly fatphobic.

Also, some great reviews of things I have and haven’t consumed:

Katy Waldman on “The Idea of You” — one of my favorite critics on a movie that both seduced and bothered me. She dissects the movie, and the romance genre, in a way that I find clarifying, arguing that a rom-com is a “machine that converts shame into self-affirmation” and that “The Idea of You” is specifically addressing the shame of fandom. By giving the love story to a non-fan (Solène) and turning the fans into embarrassing and threatening external forces to Hayes’s life and their romance, the movie allows us to revel in a wish-fulfillment fantasy that has been bestowed upon the only worthy recipient: a woman who would never dream of wishing for something so fantastical to begin with. I had been semi-consciously put off by how the book and movie contemptuously conceives of the adolescent girls who fuel Hayes’s fame — a shrieking, entitled, vapid horde — while indulging in the exact fantasy those girls do, but I could not articulate this until I read Waldman’s sharp essay.

Laura Kipnis on Leslie Jamison and Lyz Lenz’s divorce memoirs — the kind of review that really makes me miss writing book reviews, just in hopes of writing one this insightful. I've shared my thoughts on both books already; however, Kipnis not only expresses some of the same critiques far more elegantly, but also asks some more challenging questions of the books, especially Jamison’s “Splinters.”

Kipnis also just wrote a devastating review of Nellie Bowles’s new anti-woke-activism polemic, “Morning After the Revolution,” which I enjoyed despite being unwilling to read the book itself.

Emma has been reading… 📖

Emily Henry’s “Funny Story,” which I think is her best yet! I had one of those rare nights this week where I stayed up until 1 a.m., because once I got to the last stretch of this breezy novel I just needed to finish it. I’ve long been a fan of Henry’s writing — there’s a reason she’s the current reigning queen of the romantic novel — but they haven’t all hit me like this one did. I was gripped by the situation that our main characters, Daphne and Miles, find themselves in — forced together into being roommates because their respective partners have left them… for each other! The central love story is sexy and swoony, but I loved that the novel also took space to explore Daphne’s relationships with her parents and her friends, and pick apart what can happen to adult women who subsume themselves into being a “we” and then have to rediscover themselves.

I also highly recommend Emily Nussbaum’s deep dive into the “Love Is Blind” work environment for the New Yorker. A lot of the information isn’t exactly new, but there are more details of the various lawsuits that Kinetic content is facing, which paints a really dark picture of the way that reality TV cast members can be treated in the name of entertainment. We love these shows and love to critique them, but that entertainment value must be predicated on the safety and compensation of the people that value is being derived from. It feels like the reality industry is at a turning point, and I hope we do see change.

Claire has been watching… 📺

“Felicity,” like Emma, for our upcoming episode on Felicity and Ben! I wish I had so much more time to rewatch, because every moment is perfection and I’ve forgotten so much since the last time I watched it, but escaping into this world is so soothing.

Emma has been watching… 📺

I’ve been re-watching key “Felicity” episodes in a frenetic binge to prepare for our deep dive into the Felicity-Ben relationship on Love To See It. (Episode coming later this week!) I’m so deep in a late-‘90s WB nostalgia hole that I’ve started You Tube-ing crossover promos from 2000. Not sure if this state of mind is concerning or delightful?

Claire has been listening to… 🎧

Greg was on a podcast this week! He has been covering Senator Menendez’s corruption trial, which has made my work-from-home office an unusually quiet place for the last week, and he appeared on The Assignment with Audie Cornish to give a primer on the charges and the trial so far. I think I (almost) know what’s happening with my own senator’s federal trial now, which is good.

I’ve also been preparing for our “Felicity” episode by listening to Juliet Litman’s Dear Felicity podcast, which dives into the show on- and off-screen, and is not only packed with interviews from the people who made the show but is actually co-hosted by Amanda Foreman (Meghan) and Greg Grunberg (Sean).

Emma has been listening to… 🎧

The Sicilian Inheritance podcast! Our friend

Jo Piazza

recently published a novel by the same name, inspired by murder of her great-great-grandmother in Sicily. After writing the book, she decided to dive into the real story and try to find out information about the murder and her great-great-grandmother Lorenza’s life outside of family lore. Like all of Jo’s podcasts, this one is so much fun — I binged all seven available episodes in a day and a half.

Claire has been buying… 🛍️

Summer dresses by the handful! This was the week I fell off the wagon. I ordered a few things from the Hill House summer drop, and then I went to order another color of my favorite Everlane tank when I got sucked in by their smocked cotton dress as well (in a chocolate stripe that sadly seems to have sold out). At this point I learned about the GAP x Dôen collab, and thinking quickly on my feet to justify making an order, I concocted a new plan: I would do all my shopping for the month in one wild binge, so that I could compare options before my return windows closed. My goal is to keep just one dress, and I’m leaning toward this Dôen denim eyelet, which is stunning, thick and drapey and soft in person. If they are able to restock it in the future (and I would expect there will be some returns, at least, from overeager shoppers), grab it. The Everlane dress is also lovely — light and breezy and nursing-accessible and easy to dress up or down — but I don’t love it quite as much. I absolutely don’t need another Hill House dress, so those all went back in the end, although the navy stripe Ellie is a lovely basic for those who do.

Also… I can admit I have a type:

Hill House, Dôen x GAP, Everlane

On a related note, I recently opened an LTK shop to try to keep track of the recommendations I make here. I plan to try to maintain a few collections of products I love – maternity- and nursing-friendly clothes, wardrobe basics, makeup, etc. – and to update them with my weekly recommendations. As with all LTK shops, if you purchase something after clicking on a link, I do get a commission. However, I will be approaching the recommendations the same way I did before: just sharing things I got for myself and loved.

Emma has been buying… 🛍️

I too dipped my shopping toes into the GAP x Dôen collaboration, and I am now deciding what to keep and what to return. (And also wondering if I should have ordered totally different things?? The eternal curse of online shopping and the danger of seeing Claire’s adorable dress photos.) I ordered the High Rise Khaki Trousers, the Cropped Floral Cami, the Cropped Eyelet Shirt in white (sold out in most sizes), and Oversized Icon Denim Jacket in a Kids L because the adult version was sold out. (It’s back now, but I might just keep the kids version since it’s way cheaper?) All of the pieces are high-quality, but I definitely can’t keep them all. The cami is a definite return because I got a S and it runs ridiculously large. But I’m unsure about the other pieces! Help lol.

My LTK shop has also been updated with some recommendation collections, and as always, my shopping recs here have and will continue to follow the same guidelines that Claire outlined above!

Claire has been making… 🧶

Last week I resorted to a classic last-minute weeknight dinner tactic: I found a protein, a starch and a vegetable in my home and Googled the three of them along with “recipe.” In this manner I went from someone in possession of a can of chickpeas, a package of spaghetti and a pint and a half of cherry tomatoes to someone who was very confidently cooking up a roasted tomato and chickpea pasta, complete with a shallot I found in my chaotic produce bowl, plenty of garlic, a bouillon cube, and a handful of baby spinach I added as a grace note at the end. The bouillon broth and a generous dusting of oregano added a lovely depth of flavor. Like many pastas, it was best out of the pot, while the brothy sauce was still plentiful and luxuriant; it got a bit dry in the refrigerator. But it’s going on the make-it-again list!

Emma has been making… 🧶

As a sauce-forward girlie, I was excited by Kay Chun’s Coconut-Caramel Braised Tofu recipe. I made it and can report that it is indeed delicious, though very much on the salty end. (Miso + soy sauce will do that — absolutely make sure to use LOW SODIUM soy sauce.) I ended up air frying the tofu and cutting the sauce with a lot of lime juice to balance it out. It wasn’t my favorite thing I’ve ever made, but it was super easy and quick, two things I need when I have a work week like this one and limited energy to cook for myself.

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