The Week In Recommendations 8.7.24

Sweet summer reads, Olympic thrills, a culty podcast and Tim freaking Walz!

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 Ballerina Farm and “childless cat ladies”! An episode about "Love Is Blind UK” is coming on Monday! Rich Text is a completely reader-supported project — no ads or sponsors!

Claire has been reading… 📖

Emily Henry’s latest, “Funny Story.” Henry is wildly popular for a reason: she knows how to write a solid rom-com, complete with fully realized characters and simmering sexual tension. In this one, a reserved children’s librarian gets dumped by her perfect-on-paper fiancé for his gorgeous childhood best friend. Stranded in her ex’s hometown, where they had lived in a home purchased under his name, Daphne moves in with Miles, who was dumped by the childhood best friend. And, while she counts the days until she can leave the small Michigan town where her ex transplanted her, she begins to find herself charmed by her new roommate, a cute stoner with a scruffy beard and a talent for befriending everyone he meets. My attention problem has been acute lately — between the veepstakes and the general addictiveness of social media, I’ve been staring vacantly at my phone way too much — so I needed an easy-reading treat to nudge me out of my rut, and this fits the bill.

Emma has been reading… 📖

“Swan Song” by Elin Hilderbrand, the prolific author’s final Nantucket novel. Like with all of Hilderbrand’s dreamy summer novels — highly recommend starting with “The Perfect Couple,” which will soon be a Nicole Kidman mini-series on Netflix if you haven’t experienced Hilderbrand’s oeuvre yet — I couldn’t put this one down until I finished it. I was torn between needing to know everything that was going to happen and wanting to savor each chapter. Hilderbrand has a knack for crafting stories that are both tapestries of a contained society, in this case, the summer crowd on Nantucket, and also highly specific character studies. “Swan Song” weaves between points of view and jumps between two timelines, as we learn how and why a wealthy nouveau riche couple’s mansion burned down. But along the way readers are treated to a bevy of Nantucket-specific details — the oysters at Cru, the fresh produce, The Wauwinet resort, the beautiful beaches, dancing at The Chicken Box, and the ferry that keeps everything moving. There’s truly nothing so sweet as a Hilderband Nantucket novel.

Claire has been watching… 📺

Nothing new this week — just the Olympics, here and there. It occurred to me this weekend that the four-year-old is surely old enough to appreciate some gymnastics, as gymnasts get about as close as any actual humans do to achieving the daredevil swings and jumps of Spidey and his superhero friends. I didn’t account for the fact that gravity-defying tumbling passes are almost unimpressive compared to the superhuman feats his favorite cartoons can achieve. He also has zero patience for the warmups and tense waits for scores, but the uneven bars and floor exercises won some begrudging respect. While the floor and beam events were marred by some scoring controversy, I have overall been struck by the sportsmanship and good humor on display in gymnastics this Olympics — Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles bowing down to Brazilian Rebeca Andrade on the podiums after they took silver and bronze to her gold in floor, the American gymnasts planning TikTok content with their medals. And while Biles is indisputably the GOAT, and a joy to watch, it was a revelation to get to know some of her surprisingly tough competition, from Andrade to Algeria’s Kaylia Nemour, who looked like she was floating through the air during her gold-medal-winning uneven bars routine.

Emma has been watching… 📺

I’ve also been keeping an eye on The Olympics and reveling in their fundamental hopefulness! Like Claire, I’ve loved watching Simone Biles, Suni Lee, Jade Carey and Jordan Chiles alongside athletes from other countries like Rebeca Andrade. (Wow, is Andrade spectacular to watch!) I also continue to have a soft spot for swimming as a former swimmer, and have loved watching Maryland hometown hero Katie Ledecky absolutely kill it. And just last night, I watched American Cole Hocker shoot to a surprise victory (and an Olympic record) in the 1500-meter final, over Britain’s Josh Kerr and Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen — who apparently have a long-running public feud — in a stunning race. The drama! The thrill! The unexpected results! It’s like watching a great season of reality television.

Photo Credit: Getty Images

Claire has been listening to… 🎧

“Dangerous Memories,” a Tortoise Media podcast about a self-styled healer and personal development teacher who allegedly coached several young women, a set of young English artists who studied together in Florence, to believe that they had been sexually abused as children. I just started this one, but the subject (therapeutic malpractice bordering on cultishness) is definitely my shit, and I’m ready to buckle in for the whole ride.

Emma has been listening to… 🎧

All the commentary on Tim Walz, who I consider to be an extremely exciting VP pick. I completely fell in love with him after listening to him on The Ezra Klein Show, so of course I ran back to the podcast to listen to Klein discuss why Walz isn’t an indication that Kamala Harris is playing it safe, but rather an indication that the campaign is paying attention to who is breaking through and why. I also listened to Walz’s campaign kickoff speech at the Harris rally in Philadelphia — watched, not listened, because my friend was playing it on YouTube while we were in the car and I was driving — and damn did it get me excited and hopeful in a way I haven’t been since 2016.

Claire has been buying… 🛍️

A Framebridge framed photo of Greg with the kids — a 40th birthday present. (I think you can often tell what presents people would like to receive themselves by noting what they give you; for example, I am constantly giving him nice framed photos with the children and nights away from them at hotels. He got himself the thing he actually wanted most: tickets to a Green Day concert.) But it is a really quality print and frame — I opted for the indigo walnut — and I love the photo of the three of them together.

Emma has been buying… 🛍️

Some delicious snacks from Trader Joe’s, mainly Bamba dipped in dark chocolate, which my friend Kate introduced me to. (An absolutely delicious, satisfying and addictive treat.) I also ordered this cutie (and extremely budget-friendly) gingham matching set that

Grace Atwood

recommended over on her Substack. I will report back next week once I’ve gotten it and let you know if it lives up to the hype!

Claire has been making… 🧶

The Smitten Kitchen olive oil chocolate cake I mentioned last week, remixed with a peanut butter glaze per Greg’s request and covered with chocolate and rainbow sprinkles by my eager 4-year-old sous chef. It was, if I may say so myself, divine, a moist and crumby vehicle for the classic peanut butter cup flavors.

And for dinner, Kay Chun’s sausage and peppers pasta with broccoli, a slight twist on the classic sausage and peppers combo. Very quick, very easy, very satisfying; I only wish I’d had lemon on hand and real Parmesan instead of a vegan substitute.

Emma has been making… 🧶

Many, many, many chopped cucumber and tomato salads, because we were given a bag of GIGANTIC garden-grown cucumbers when we were out in East Hampton two weekends ago. I’m trying to use them all before they go bad, because they’re so delicious! And honestly, throwing a little olive oil, salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar and chunks of feta into the mix makes those summer veggies pop.

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