all my feral ways
Hello!
It’s Monday and I’ve got a new Twitter impersonator who has managed to already rack up 1,800 followers, nary a bot still standing (lol)!
As I read through all the DMs from folks this morning who I haven’t talked to in awhile reaching out asking why the hell I’m saying weirder stuff than usual, I thought about the bright side of occasional impersonators who bring me together with old friends: communication, engagement, smiles! Christmas cards in July!
On Saturday I took the twins on separate, individual dates (AS IN NOT WITH ONE ANOTHER, which, yes, I had to repeatedly explain), and I’ve rarely seen a level of temper tantrum-ing on that scale. Are they codependent? Yes. Are they dedicated to ensuring each date was not one minute longer than the other? Yes. Do they each creepily choose the EXACT SAME TABLE at the cafe where each date took place? Yes, yes, and yes.
There are other things, but honestly if I start recapping where the hell I’ve been I probably will lose this tab and not remember to revive it for another several years.
Cheers!
Dumpster Fires
Reading
I’m on book #65 of 2023, re-reading The Dhow House by Jean McNeil right now, for maybe the fourth time? Last week I read the very popular and wonderful Yellowface by R. F. Kuang and LOVED. Thanks Kirsten!
White lies. Dark humor. Deadly consequences… Bestselling sensation Juniper Song is not who she says she is, she didn’t write the book she claims she wrote, and she is most certainly not Asian American—in this chilling and hilariously cutting novel from R.F. Kuang, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Babel.
❤️
New Tv Shows Featuring Cannibalism
The Wagner Group is a Crisis of Putin’s Own Making
Tango to the End of the World: a great new podcast episode on Argentina and fantastic argentina reads from Strong Sense of Place. Thanks Mel!
Books in the Thirty-Something Babysitters Club Series
Kirsty’s Great Idea
After failing to make more than twelve dollars from selling clothes to Buffalo Exchange, thirty-year-old Kristy decides to post on Instagram, offering her services as a babysitter. Honestly, who wouldn’t want a thirty-year-old instead of their thirteen-year-old neighbor? It’s fine! It’s smart! It’s a business decision, nothing to get too worked up over.
Who Paul Newman Was, and Who He Wanted to Be
The Saga Over Elizabeth Gilbert’s “Russian Novel” Has an Uncomfortable Lesson—and It’s Not for Her
Let’s say a couple years ago, allowing for normal publishing timelines, Gilbert wrote a novel set in mid-20th-century Russia. The Snow Forest was due to be released in February next year, a book seemingly based on the true story of the Lykov family, who spent decades isolated in the Siberian wilderness amid the former Soviet Union’s drive toward industrialization. But now Gilbert, or her publishers, or both, has decided not to go ahead with publication after all. When the book went up on Goodreads, it was flooded with one-star reviews from people who could not have read it yet. “While Ukrainians are dying from russian terrorists, famous authors are writing books about them and romanticizing these bastards,” one commenter wrote. There are 532 such reviews as of this writing.
Startups, Etc.
Oh boy.
Sir Paul McCartney says artificial intelligence has enabled a 'final' Beatles song
Home pool rental startup Swimply expands to pickle ball courts
Smiles
I set a goal for myself to watch all of this season’s Vanderpump Rules to understand why the internet has been on more fire than usual regarding the insane cheating scandal of these past few months. It’s 100% been one of the smartest investments of time I’ve made in recent memory!
I hope you, also, are using your time wisely in this one bright life.
(If not, feel free to reread my 2016 book on productivity: Design Your Day. It’s been translated into several languages! Sarah Blakely has taken it on vacations on Instagram thrice! Since it was written before I had three children, I assume I follow nearly none of the tools inside! BUT YOU CAN.)
Claire
P.S. Lulu Lemon makes shoes now? Huh!