Thotz
Did anyone else feel like this past week was really weird? Like...I’m kind of shaking and crying. Every interaction I was a part of was…off. Do any astrology girlies know what the moon was up to?
Internal drama aside, Rose threw an absolute banger of a soiree. She looked lovely in her white slip with flowers tucked behind her beachy blonde waves. It was Midsommar magic (minus the sacrifices…of course…).
I made the mistake of purchasing a Posh (Mint Ice) and now my throat is ON FIRE. If those above the influence ad campaigns don’t keep you away from a nicotine addiction let me be the one to tell you that it is the most embarrassing thing in the world to buy a USB port at a vape shop.
Don’t do it! Just say no!
I just texted my little sister that I am more than ready for spring to be sprung. Did that groundhog have to go another year without immersion therapy? Six weeks is too long to suffer.
Readz
Last Wednesday glowed like a gorgiana 40-degree day so I busied myself with made-up errands and direct sunlight. I bought four new books that have been collecting digital dust at the bottom of my To Read list on Goodreads (well, I’ve already listened to the audiobook of Know My Name by Chanel Miller but her writing is so stunning I have to reread).
The four books I bought are:
Greedy: Notes from a Bisexual Who Wants Too Much by Jen Winston
I saw this book in a gay Chicago bookstore and thought it hit a little too close to home to not read. I’m hoping it will tease some self-awareness out of my brain worms.
Freedom Is a Constant Struggle by Angela Davis
Bestie Mary McLoughlin read this for a class (last semester?) and they cannot recommend it enough. It’s only 200 or so pages but I know I will be annotating and taking notes the whole time so it will require twice as much time as a book that size usually would.
Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism: And Other Arguments for Economic Independence by Kristen R. Ghodsee
I don’t know anything about this book except it has an awesome title. It’s going to be pretty academic so I will read it over a period of a few months before I actually digest anything it’s saying. If anyone has read this or wants to read it with me please hit my line. Or if anyone has any ideas about socialism or better sex feel free to comment as well.
Elyse McMahon and I listened to the audiobook together last year and I will speak for both of us when I say that this is a life-changing read. Chanel Miller constructs beautiful prose that wraps its words around your chest and manages to be politically activating and emotionally brilliant. I can’t wait to reread the actual text.
The books I finished this week are The Maidens by Alex Michaelides, and Heavy by Kiese Laymon.
The Maidens was very fun as an audiobook (famously I love to listen to thrillers) and even though the twist was unpredictable it was not NEARLY as satisfying as The Silent Patient. However, Michaelides did include a crossover convo between the narrator (Dr. Theo) from The Silent Patient and the narrator from The Maidens that scratched my continuity itch. I love when a writer uses the same universe for different books.
I listened to the audiobook for Heavy while riding my bike by the lake and going on walks by the river. It was an active and poetic read. I hate to sound like a broken record but the writing is truly beautiful. The opening paragraph sent goosebumps down my back. The whole book is a powerful piece about growing up as a fat Black boy in the South as the son of a Black academic woman with her own hurt. Each sentence is singed with pain, hope, and humor. If you use Libby you already know how many libraries have sung praises for Heavy, but this is a reminder to check it out and come to your own conclusions.
The next two books I learned about from Samantha Irby’s newsletter. She has impeccable taste and I fell in love with her after reading all three of her books and listening to her episode of Caleb Hearon and Shelby Wolstein’s podcast Keeping Records. Everything Sam Irby touches is side-splitting and concrete evidence that she’s an undeniable tastemaker (she’s written for Shrill, And Just Like That, and has her own TV show coming out that is co-produced by ABBI JACOBSON if you need any more proof to trust her opinion).
I’m listening to Razorblade Tears and God Spare the Girls as audiobooks so it adds an extra emotional element to the experience. This book follows two fathers after the deaths of their sons and how they wrestle with that shared loss and their own pasts. It is a fascinating and heartbreaking examination of fatherhood, masculinity, and the racial dynamics within both. I haven’t finished it yet but I have to take breaks at points because it gets so raw.
This book is about two sisters that are the daughters of a famous Southern Mega-Church pastor who confesses to having an extramarital affair (I just watched the first episode of Righteous Gems with Drake & Dwards AND listened to the January 10th rerelease of the You’re Wrong About episode about Tammy Faye Bakker. So it seems fair to say that megachurches are having a MEGA moment in culture). So far God Spare the Girls has been a brutally accurate depiction of sisterhood and otherness within a family. I can’t wait to see how Caroline and Abigail’s relationship pans out.
Mediaz
Don’t worry–I did more than read this week. I listened to Claire McHugh’s suggestions and started Issa Rae’s Insecure and Michaela Coel’s I May Destroy You. I’m on episode three of I May Destroy You and episode two of Insecure.
My Insecure thotz–SO FAR: I know Lawrence is objectively a bad boyfriend but he is so cute I think I give him a pass (note: I’ve never been in a five-year relationship so I don’t know the devastation that might occur when you’re 29 and realize you spent your twenties on a relationship that isn’t going anywhere). I'll also be brave and admit that I love Molly and Issa’s friendship. Claire McHugh and I agree that it makes us treasure adult female friendships even more than we already do.
I May Destroy You thotz–SO FAR: Michaela Coel is maybe the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen on TV. I watched the first season of Chewing Gum when it originally came out on Netflix and can’t believe it took me so long to watch I May Destroy You. The first three episodes are gut-wrenching and brilliant. I’m already in love with the character Arabella and can’t wait to learn more about her and her world.
You may remember me talking about how much I love Abbott Elementary. Well, Ava, the hilarious principal is played by comedian Janelle James. Everything she says makes me laugh out loud so I’ve been watching her stand-up performances before bed. It's more effective than meditation when it comes to keeping nightmares at bay.
Drake and I were talking about PC games we played growing up and I completely forgot about “My Fantasy Wedding.” This game is comp-het to the max and I was truly addicted. It taught me to not go for a man without hobbies (cue Nicole Perkins’ TikTok). And I’m pretty sure I had my avatar wear a blood-red wedding dress to the ceremony #rebel #legend.
I love every song on this playlist. Spencer Creal introduced me to Miya Folick and I cannot stop blasting “Cost Your Love.”
Not really much to discuss here. She’s a mesmerizing performer and I used her as an example when one of my students asked what a pop star is.
Memez
Rose Dyar stumbled across this call to arms on her morning walk and I must say I've felt activated ever since seeing it.
What is it with Caroline Calloway and her chokehold on my friends and I? Please let us out of your clutches Ms. Calloway we're begging to think about anyone else.
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