The Week In Recommendations 8.9.23
A check-in from Claire! Plus a structured vest, a night-feeding binge-watch, a sturdy co-sleeper, juicy novels and a juicier podcast.
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 the “Real Housewives of New York” reboot! Rich Text is a reader-supported project — no ads or sponsors!
💛 Note from Claire: Hi!!! It's my first check-in from maternity leave, and frankly it's coming earlier than I expected. I was in a pretty dark place at two weeks postpartum with my first son -- recovering from a long and complicated labor, up at all hours pumping and bottle-feeding him because his latch resembled the ruthless bite of an alligator, crying all the time thanks to the sleep deprivation and plunging hormone levels -- but so far things are going just a touch smoother this time! And the newborn's cluster-feeding sessions are giving me plenty of time to read and catch up on TV shows I missed. Also, I miss everyone already! 💛
We’ve been reading… 📖
“Bad Summer People,” Emma Rosenblum’s delicious debut novel about… bad people… in the summer… on Fire Island. (This is one of those books where the title really truly tells you what it’s about!) This novel scratches two itches for me simultaneously: the desire to read about wealthy people being miserable and behaving badly, AND the desire to read sumptuous descriptions of vacation-land. Plus, there’s a side of murder! I guess, sometimes, women can have it all. I started this novel in one of my best reading locations: sitting by a pool, this time in New Mexico, and I devoured it fairly quickly. -Emma
The Kindle app has been my constant companion over the past two weeks. I only have one hand to spare most of the time, which means scrolling on my phone rather than holding a book, but I am trying to resist falling into the kind of Instagram or Twitter k-hole that reliably wrecks my mental health. (The sheer number of mommy influencer reels the apps served up that seemed to have been specifically selected to inform me that the most recent, very normal parenting decision I'd made for my child was, basically, abuse, contributed to many anxiety meltdowns in my first son's infancy).
I've read Emily Henry's "Happy Place," which was fun but not quite as absorbing to me as her previous romances. I've also read Jessica Knoll's "Bright Young Women," the fictionalized take on Ted Bundy's cross-country killing spree, which was gripping and pacey enough to keep me engaged even during 3 a.m. feedings. Aside from a rather irritating proclivity for cutesy comparisons meant to emphasize the recency of the killings (a victim would be the age as Michelle Pfeiffer if they had survived, though they never got to taste Snapple), Knoll's writing is sharp and the characters are well-developed and human in a way serial killers' victims are rarely given the opportunity to be in mass media.
I also have been enjoying BD McClay’s newsletter,
. McClay is one of my favorite critics, and her brief musings on whatever is in the zeitgeist -- Lizzo or Taylor Swift, therapy language, replacements for Twitter -- always offer some clear insight that otherwise seems lacking in the discourse. I also loved her recent piece in The Drift about our cultural fixation on so-called illness fakers, which explores how navigating chronic illness can resemble performance. Both faking illness and seeking treatment for real illness, the essay suggests, can involve exaggerating (or downplaying) symptoms, endless complaining, researching plausible diagnoses to ask doctors about, and generally crafting an image as a believable patient. -ClaireWe’ve been watching… 📺
I’m still watching “And Just Like That” and “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” both of which bear a resemblance to shows (“Sex and the City” and “Dawson’s Creek”/every WB teen drama) that once made my whole being feel seen and spoken to. And yet I have a bundle of mixed emotions watching both. Luckily, both shows make for excellent podcast fodder, so look out for future Rich Text episodes coming when the season finales air of each. -Emma
"Beef," a show that I hoped would be about a restaurant called The Bear rebranding as a sandwich place called Beef, but is instead about a road-rage incident between tightly wound entrepreneur Amy (Ali Wong) and self-sabotaging handyman Danny (Steven Yeun) that spirals into a vicious feud. It's a show that wavers between inspired and ridiculous -- especially the bizarre and trippy finale -- but there's something undeniably fun about how it just goes for the over-the-top twists, unexpected character arcs, and absurdist details.
I've also started "The Afterparty," which is now in its second season. The cast of season one is absolutely stacked with some of my favorite comic actors: Sam Richardson (or, as he will eternally be known in our home, Richard Splett), Zoé Chao, Ben Schwartz, and Ike Barinholtz play high school classmates who are attending an afterparty for their 15th reunion when their most famous peer, pop star Xavier (Dave Franco) falls to his death from a balcony. Tiffany Haddish and John Early play the inept detectives determined to solve the case by morning. Each episode takes the shape of one character's witness statement about the evening -- and each is rendered in a different movie genre, from romcom to psychological thriller. The concept is a little overly cute in its framing, but it's hard to go wrong with all the comic chops in the cast, and I'm finding it to be a perfect trapped-on-the-couch-feeding binge. -Claire
We’ve been listening to… 🎧
Since “Scamanda,” I’ve really been down the rabbithole on fake cancer stories, so I was excited to discover a new Dear Media podcast, “Believable: The Coco Berthmann Story.” I had never heard of Coco Berthmann, but I quickly learned that she was an advocate for victims of human trafficking, who had gone viral online after publicly sharing her story of being sex trafficked by her own mother for most of her young life in Germany. As an adult, she moved to Utah, became a member of the LDS (Mormon) Church, and became internet famous (at least in part due to her much-publicized interview on Dear Media’s flagship podcast, “Skinny Confidential.”) In 2022, she was charged with communications fraud for raising money for a fake cancer diagnosis. In “Believable,” investigative journalist Sara Ganim takes on Coco’s winding story, trying to parse fact from fiction. I appreciate that Ganim takes pains to portray Coco has a full human being, and not to write off every part of her story before taking each claim seriously and really looking into it. It’s such a compelling listen, I can’t recommend this one enough. Only four episodes are out, and I cannot wait for the rest of the series. -Emma
One thing I haven't really found time to do is listen to much of anything! But I did enjoy an Endless Thread episode, recently re-aired for a summer "best of" series, about what makes the first documented bar joke funny. -Claire
We’ve been buying… 🛍️
Vests have been everywhere since the start of summer, but I haven’t quite figured out how to make them work for me. And then I saw this Attersee sculpted vest. I’ve been drooling over it for months, but alas cannot justify the price point. So I went on a hunt for something similar but a bit more reasonably priced. I found this beautiful Posse one, which has been everywhere since Sofia Richie Grange wore it in white (and thus is mostly sold out), so ultimately I went with the Reformation version! I snagged the Aspen Linen Top in black, and might go back for the white if it’s as good as I hope it will be. I’m also obsessed with the Tonya Top which gives off a similar effect but feels a bit more fall forward since it’s made of a suiting material rather than linen. (I still will be dreaming about that Attersee cream tonal striped top though. It’s truly perfect. Note to any family members who want to get me a collective future birthday or Hanukkah gift.) -Emma
The baby's arrival has meant finally getting to try out some of the new things I hoped would make this baby's first months easier. And the reviews are in!
Solly baby wraps! They're soft, pretty, and super light-weight. Being snuggled into a wrap seems to instantly put the baby to sleep, and I can easily walk down the stairs of my apartment building and out the door without fussing with a stroller. I've taken him out for walks, errands, and even out to dinner in the wrap, and I'm already sad to think that it won't be this easy forever.
Babybay co-sleeper/bassinet! One of my biggest regrets from baby #1 was not getting a bassinet at all. Our bedroom was so cramped that I figured it would be fine to just put him in the minicrib we'd set up a step or two from the bed. I didn't anticipate that by the third nighttime wakeup, that step or two would feel like a cross-country hike. This time, I was determined to have the baby as close as safely possible; I became fixated on this sturdy wooden cosleeper, which latches to the side of the bed but keeps the baby on his own sleep surface. Every night, when I'm dangling my hand over to pat his head while he's trying to settle, or when I'm easily pulling him over to nurse without getting out of bed, I mentally shower this humble piece of furniture with praise and gratitude. It was a real splurge, but I love that it's sturdy and made of wood rather than plastic. However, I also saw great reviews for this somewhat more reasonably priced co-sleeper. -Claire
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We’ve missed you, too, Claire!
Also, “Bad People Summer” summary is giving “White Girl Problems,” and I appreciate the recommendation!!
I wish I had known about those side sleepers when I had my second baby! Sweet baby girl needed to be touched every moment of her life, and this would have helped!