The Week In Recommendations 9.6.23

Speculative fiction about womanhood and murder, must-listen celebrity interviews, RHONY-approved fall jeans, and no-tie sneakers.

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 “Love Is Blind: After The Altar” season 4! Rich Text is a reader-supported project — no ads or sponsors!

While Claire is out on maternity leave, we’ll be featuring guest recommendations from some of the coolest tastemakers we know. This week, that guest is Miriam Mathis, a supervising producer on Bravo’s “Vanderpump Rules.” (Yes, she *did* work on last season, during Scandoval.)

Miriam has been reading… 📖

“Winter in Paradise” by Elin Hilderbrand. This novel is the perfect easy read for a beach vacation, which is exactly why I got it. The story follows Irene Steele, a mid-western wife who discovers her husband has a secret life in the Caribbean. The best part is, this book is the first of a trilogy so if you get as hooked as I did, there are two more parts. 

Miriam has been watching… 📺

Despite all odds (more on this in a minute), “Minx” season 2 is out now on Starz. “Minx” follows Joyce (Ophelia Lovibond), a young feminst as she joins forces with Doug (Jake Johnson) a porn publisher to launch the first ever erotic magazine for women. What's not to love about this show, LA glamour of the 70s, porn shoots designed for a woman's eye and most importantly Jake Johnson playing the porn king version of Nick Miller. 

Alsom everyone should support “Minx” because the entire cast and crew found out HBO canceled them... while they were filming the season. (One of the many casualities of David Zaslav's brilliant marketing rebrand to go from HBO Max to Max.)

Miriam has been listening to… 🎧

I felt like I needed a new podcast recently and I stumbled upon “Smartless” hosted by Will Arnett, Jason Bateman and Sean Hayes. Every episode the three hosts interview a guest, but only one of them knows who that guest is going to be ahead of time. All three are such talented improvisers and have such a natural rapport with each other which makes the interviews very fun to listen to! 

Also if you've been following the latest Scandoval drama and want a really honest and thoughtful response to Bethany Frankel's podcast interview with Rachel Leviss, give a listen to Scheana Shay interview Ariana Madix on her podcast, “Scheananigans.”

Miriam has been buying… 🛍️

I really wanted to find a one piece bathing suit that was sexy but I would also feel comfortable wearing on a family vacation, so this Skatie suit checked all the boxes. I love the ruching in the front and it comes in a variety of prints to chose from. I'm a big fan of Skatie for swimwear in general, my friend Lena turned me onto the brand when I was frustrated by all the standard options at Target, Victoria's Secret and Aerie. The suits are made from recycled materials and even though they're expensive I don't mind because they feel built to last and the patterns/cuts are all super flattering. Plus I love supporting a small woman owned company!

I also finally caved and purchase these Vejas velcro sneakers. I'd been eyeing them for a while because I'm lazy and wanted a casual sneaker that doesn't need lacing up and I'm very excited to add these to my fall wardrobe. 

Emma has been reading… 📖

I was in the vicinity of a pool for a few days, which means that I successfully started and finished a novel! This time it was “My Murder” by Katie Williams, in which five women, all victims of the same serial killer, are cloned and returned to their old lives by a controversial government agency called the replication commission. The novel is told from the perspective of one of these women, Louise, who is struggling to rediscover her place in the world and in her home. She no longer has her c-section scar, she chopped her long hair short when she returned, and her infant daughter cries every time this new Lou holds her. She is haunted by the gaps in her memory surrounding the events of her murder — short term memories don’t transfer when people are brought back via cloning — and is haunted by the bag old Lou packed away in her closet, making potential preparations to leave her perfect-seeming family. The New York Times called “My Murder” Domestic Science Fiction, and I think this sub-genre might be the sweet spot of my favorite kind of story.

I also loved Joe Garcia’s essay in the New Yorker, “Listening To Taylor Swift In Prison.” Garcia is currently incarcerated in California, and has been for nearly 20 years. He will be up for parole for the first time in 2024. Garcia’s writing is evocative and moving and sobering and hopeful, kind of like Taylor Swift’s is. “When I listened to [Taylor’s] music,” he writes, “I felt that I was still part of the world I had left behind.” You can donate to the Prison Journalism Project here.

Emma has been watching… 📺

Lots of TV for work that doubles as TV for pleasure! Namely, the “Love Is Blind: After The Altar” special, which I got to chat about with my friend Laura Stampler for Monday’s Rich Text pod, and the complete and utter chaos of “The Ultimatum: Marry or Move On” season 2, which we discuss this week on Love To See It. My main takeaway? The straights are absolutely and completely not okay.

Emma has been listening to… 🎧

While I decided to skip Bethenny Frankel’s aforementioned three-part interview with Rachel/Raquel Leviss — and frankly, from what I did see reported about it, I’m very glad I didn’t spend my precious time on it — I did decide to listen to Bethenny’s two-part interview with former Bachelorette Gabby Windey. Part 1 is just Bethenny and Gabby, and Gabby talks about how she met her now-girlfriend Robby Hoffman, what it is like to be in a truly happy and healthy relationship for the first time, and what it has meant to discover that she is queer in her 30s. In Part 2, they bring Robby on as well. The interviews are super conversational and honest and funny, and they mostly just served to deepen by obsession with Gabby and Robby. Highly recommend a listen, even for non-Bachelor watchers.

Emma has been buying… 🛍️

God damn you, Labor Day sales. I bought these Paige Harper Wide-Leg jeans after seeing new Housewife Brynn Whitfield rave about them on her Instagram (It’s me! hi! I’m the problem! It’s me!) and then seeing that they were a cool $100 off on Shopbop. They’re comfy (the denim has a nice stretch to it) and chic and will be perfect for fall — and with flat or heeled sandals during the transitional season. They now seem to be sold out, but the same jeans in a lighter wash are on sale at Saks, and in a darker wash at Bloomingdales. I’m a summer baby at heart always, but not gonna lie — I’m so ready for some fall fashion.

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