SUBJECT: EVERYTHING
Links
“Florence Welch On Addiction, Eating Disorder Recovery, And Finding True Happiness In Her 30s” by Florence Welch (I used to believe that sadness made me profound and intellectual and artistic and apparently, I wasn’t alone in that sentiment but now, like Florence, I’ve experienced a change in ideology.)
“A Revolution in Time” by Sam Dresser (I found this so interesting and interesting because time is something that is omnipresent but that we rarely really consider and this article does the work to consider it from both scientific and historical perspectives.)
“So the President F*cking Hates My Girlfriend” by Sue Bird (Megan Rapinoe is a real American hero and her girlfriend is clearly brimming with pride and rightfully so. I’m a fan anyway)
“The Cheap, Shrill Patriotism of Trump’s Fourth of July” by Tom Nichols (As James Baldwin said, "I love America more than any other country in the world, and, for exactly this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually,” which is relevant now more than ever.
“Hideous Men” by E. Jean Carroll (The last paragraph of this piece caused me to take a sharp intake of breath and I don’t think I’ve let that breath out in the week and a half since I read this piece)
“Secrets and Lies” by Edward Klein (The fact that I haven’t seen a decent picture of JFK Jr. without Carolyn Bessett made this article sadder than I think the author intended it to be or maybe I’m just maudlin and overtly sentimental.)
“The Making of a Millennial Woman” by Rebecca Liu (This is one of the few articles on the Internet that I’ve read which is not dripping in laudatory praise for Fleabag and as someone who didn’t love the show for a variety of reasons, I appreciated that a lot. Moreover, it’s really well-written which I can’t say for most of what I read.)
“Why Society Goes Easy on Rapists” by Lili Loofbuorow (Loofbuorow is on point as always and this article is a particularly sobering look at our highly flawed criminal justice system.)
“The Neurologist who Hacked His Brain— And Almost Lost his Mind” by Daniel Engber (This article is brilliant and spurred me to go down a rabbit hole of neurological articles, which led me to the tragic tale of Rosemary Kennedy and if you want a reason to hate the Kennedy’s beyond the Chappaquiddick incident, look it up.)
"The Work You Do, the Person You Are” by Toni Morrison (Morrison is one of the true geniuses of our day and she is not only brilliant but articulate and frank in her work, which is what differentiates her from her contemporaries. She doesn’t hold intellect as a privatized resource but rather demands it be disseminated to the masses.)
Book of the Week
Marriage for One by Ella Maise
I’m a well-documented romance truther and this book is longer than most romance novels I’ve read and also MUCH better than almost all of them as well. First of all, fake dating/marriage of convenience is one of my favorite plotlines and this book executes the trope perfectly. Jack and Rose (and yes there are numerous Titanic jokes in the book since it’s self-aware, which again sets it apart from most other romance novels and novels in general if I’m being honest) are the perfect couple bare the perfect couple because they start out being prickly and awkward and clashing all over and I know the fact they end up together is a foregone conclusion in the genre but Maise does it in a charming and innovative way. The love story is gripping without being gimmicky and most of all, I really enjoyed that they both really worked for each other’s love, especially Jack. Maybe that’s what romance novels are all about — yes women like to read about hot guys being hot or whatever but moreover, we love to read about hot guys growing and changing and becoming better people in order to be worthy of the women they love. Then again, the fact that men improving as human beings is seen as a female fantasy is horrific and downright yikes worthy at best but that’s a whole another point.