"I hope your wildest fantasies become your truest realities"
August 2023.
August flew by before I knew it, and now it’s time for a new school year and (hopefully) cooler weather soon! Here are all my favorites from August.
books.
The Connellys of County Down by Tracey Lange. Lange followed up her debut We Are the Brennans with another novel about a tight-knit Irish-American family. Different dynamics at play in this one, but it was a good read. The beginning felt a little slow, especially as you waited to see how it all tied together, and it felt like it took too long to get to a few of the “reveals” that I thought were pretty obvious, but on the whole I liked it.
Public Secrets by Nora Roberts. A few times a year when I feel a reading rut coming on I’ll re-read an old Nora Roberts from my teenage / undergrad years to get me back into the habit. They’re never world-changing or significantly revealing, but they also never fail to do the trick.
Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson. I read a perfect review for this one — you can’t put it down in the moment, but after a few days you don’t really remember it — and that says it so well. I enjoy reading books set in New York now that I live here, but in the end I’m not sure I liked or rooted for any of the characters. Also the thing I can’t let go of [and I’ve seen this mentioned in a lot of reviews] is that a private-school, Brown-educated 26-year-old from an upper middle class Brooklyn Heights family would never have heard of the UAE. I couldn’t forgive Jackson for that one.
There There by Tommy Orange. This is one that has been on my shelves for years and I finally plucked it out of one of my moving bins to read. It’s a beautifully-written and thought-provoking novel centered around 12 Native Americans all getting ready for the Big Oakland Powwow. Their lives overlap and intersect in myriad ways, and it all culminates at the event. Will definitely be on my year-end list of top reads.
2023 book tally to date: 33 [2 away from my goal for this year!]
all of the book links are affiliate links through bookshop.org so if you use them to make a purchase I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you, and you will be supporting independent booksellers. for the remainder of 2023 I will be supporting Yu & Me Books as they recover from a fire in their building. you can see my full list of 2023 reads here.
movies.
I completed summer’s doubleheader and saw Oppenheimer one Sunday with Maggie and Daniela. We all know I struggle with movies over 2 hours, so at 3 hours this one pushed my limits, but it’s definitely a well-made movie.
other things I watched:
The Rewatchables did A Few Good Men so I obviously had to rewatch — purchase on prime video
Caitlin and I rewatched [most of] Miss Congeniality when she was in town — stream on max
tv shows.
I had covid the week of the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, so I spent most of my sick days watching the live coverage of that and then of course rewatching old Olympics videos on YouTube because that’s what I do.
other things I watched:
seasons 1-3 of Veep, after which I needed a small hiatus — stream on max
a few seasons of 30 Rock, always great for a meal break — stream on peacock
the Women’s Gymnastics US Championships because Simone Biles is back
podcasts.
Making Caring Professions Sustainable with Dena Simmons [Work Appropriate] — this one is for anyone who works in a caring profession who’s burned out but also loves what they do.
Regina Spektor on “Home, Before and After” [The New Yorker Radio Hour] — I love Regina Spektor a lot, and I really enjoyed this conversation with her.
‘A Few Good (Re)Men’ [The Rewatchables] — Bill, Chris, and Sean revisit one of the first Rewatchables movies and it’s very good.
How a Paradise Became a Death Trap [The Daily] — a look at all the factors that led to the massive wildfires on Maui.
What Does Damar Hamlin’s Football Future Look Like? [ESPN Daily] — this is just such a remarkable story on so many fronts.
The VC Fund Closing Equity Gaps — and Making Money [HBR IdeaCast] — this is such a great story and I wish I had heard of them earlier.
Master the Art of Empowered Refusal (Vanessa Patrick) [The Next Big Idea Daily] — for all of my fellow people pleasers who struggle to say no.
Paisley [Articles of Interest] — how the world embraced this print that is ubiquitous to India.
USA in focus [The Urbanist] — some great stories in here, including an interview with Carol Coletta around the 15-minute mark about the renovation of Tom Lee Park in downtown Memphis [re-opened as of last weekend!].
The Blind Side’s Blind Spots [Hang Up and Listen] — there’s a lot in this episode, including the story of Michael Oher and the Tuohy family as well as background on everything going on with the Spanish Football Federation.
Welcome to the Take Recession [Offline with Jon Favreau] — Kate Lindsay discusses the opinion fatigue she’s seeing happen with online “hot takes”.
Making Internships Worthwhile with Alice Wilder [Work Appropriate] — the age-old question of whether or not to pay interns, how to structure an intern program, and so much more.
Conversation with Jennifer B. Wallace — What do Do About Toxic Achievement Culture [The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway] — such a great conversation about the toxic culture we have created and how we can change it.
Siddhartha Khosla - Only Murders in the Building (Main Title Theme) [Song Exploder] — one of my favorite Song Exploder episodes this year.
Vacation, and why the U.S. takes so little of it [Planet Money] — our country has terrible vacation practices [see above re: toxic achievement culture], and we leave so much unused vacation time on the table. I am very passionate about using your time off, so feel free to get in touch if you’d like to take my seminar.
The Sunday Read: ‘The Fight for the Right to Trespass’ [The Daily] — if you’ve ever heard of the UK’s ‘Right to Roam’, this is an update on why that right is currently in jeopardy.
Getting Unstuck with Josh Gondelman [Work Appropriate] — advice on what to do if you’re feeling stuck at your job.
shopping.
Lots of things for the new apartment! Some of the standouts below:
kitchen shelf that houses my dishes and mixing bowls and maybe eventually a plant [currently on a big-time sale online!]
staub stoneware casserole dish set [and still on sale as of this writing!]
Also SIX is going to be at The Orpheum when I am in Memphis for Thanksgiving so I am taking my mother as a belated birthday gift. I’m so pumped to see this show again and to share it with her.
And finally, I got this and this for Lauren and Sam’s wedding / general fall events. Shoutout to the Gap Factory store in my neighborhood and my extra $25 in rewards.
articles + other links.
My girl Katie Milligan is part of the inaugural Obama Foundation’s 100 Leaders USA! obama foundation
Xochitl Gonzalez’ thoughts on Barbie. I especially loved this line — “Perhaps no truth is more uncomfortable than the fact that men might not always be the center of women’s thoughts and worlds”. the atlantic
^ Anne Helen Petersen on the role of internet recommendations. culture study
Life before cellphones. This is hilarious. slate via nisha chittal
My friend Alexa was featured in the Furman Alumni spotlight. furman university
^ Fatima Asghar’s thoughts on Partition. fati’s thoughts via the juggernaut
Also a good read: how Asghar and the Ms. Marvel team included Partition in the show. Best episode of the season. the juggernaut gift link
A great video about bringing Partition to life for Ms. Marvel as well as the importance of the Partition Archive. you tube via diaspora co
Another Xochitl Gonzalez goodie — on what ending legacy admissions means for the children of Black and Latino alumni. the atlantic
^ An incredible think piece about Bama Rush. culture study
What happens to all the stuff we return. new yorker
The reality of the impact of the Dobbs decision. time via design mom
A really nice profile of Andy Roddick. gq via roxane gay
And a great one of Paul Mescal. esquire via anne helen petersen
^ What happens when you have too much choice. culture study
That’s all for this month. Happy September, friends!
xx