Weekend Reads for August 22 & 23

Weekend Reads

What's going on in Gary, Indiana? How thousands are still without power nearly 2 weeks later. (NBC Chicago)

Forbes Fired Top Editor After Discovering He Received Secret $6 Million Payment. (New York Times – gift link)

Loving the Awe Inspired x Practical Magic 2 jewelry collection!

Where did all the XXL clothes go? Fashion brands are scrapping plus sizes in the GLP-1 era. (The Guardian)

The clothes you donated are ready to be recycled, but the system in between is not yet. (Futures, Worn on Substack)

This would be so pretty now and into fall… and code ALISON10 gets you 10% off!

Puerto Rico is rationing water, but many residents stopped trusting the tap long before the drought. (The Conversation)

I’m Not Going to Lie About My Neck. (New York Times – gift link)

For those who prefer cotton underpinnings, did you know Hanky Panky has a Supima cotton collection? I shared why Supima is supreme in this article about fast fashion and price.

Mail-Order Music Club Columbia House Is Ceasing Operations. (Consequence)

We Tracked a Shipment of Rare Books. It Ended at an Amazon AI Training Facility. (404)

Your Favorite Old T-Shirt Might Now Be Worth a Fortune. (Wall Street Journal – gift link)

Why does everything feel like a scam? (Your Brain on Money on Substack)

OMG, I think I need to get a pair for Em; her generation is SO into this show!

Power belongs to those who control access: Edith Wilson by Rebecca Boggs Roberts. (In Pursuit on Substack)

They Divorced. Years Later, They Married Each Other Again. (New York Times – gift link)

I Was a Writer Before I Became Content. (Anything But Subtle on Substack)

Brands Suddenly Care About Reddit. Redditors Don’t Return the Feeling. (Wall Street Journal – gift link)

Is the World Getting Uglier? (Time)

Stormy Morse lost two partners to gun suicide. Then the NRA came to collect. (The Trace)

Did you know that a law buried in a government spending bill is set to make 95% of existing hemp-derived THC products federally illegal on November 12th? (source) Industry groups estimate $28 billion in annual market value and 300,000+ jobs are at risk. Hemp-derived THC products are used for a multitude of reasons; I know folks who use them for appetite during chemotherapy, sleep during perimenopause, and for chronic pain as well as for social, spiritual, etc.

If you believe hemp-derived THC products should remain legal with proper regulation, let your congressional representatives know. Cann Social Tonics created Don't Ban Cann, a site that helps you with contacting your representative.

Style Inspo & Sale Alert

Style Inspo

The casual pant goes in and out of fashion. An alternative to jeans, it can be a welcome change. But with casual pants, the silhouette matters more than with denim; one false move and you look as though you just got off your shift at Blockbuster.

Top row, left to right: one | two | three (code ALISON15 for 15% off) | four
Bottom row, left to right: one | two | three | four (link to petites)

This year, the casual pant is back and it's a utility pant with volume. Barrel legs, full cropped legs, or just a slouchy 90s silhouette is key. Shades of olive, rust, and slate are the most popular and IMO the most versatile options.

On top, you can do a graphic or striped tee, a lighter-weight sweater tucked in or a chunkier one that is shorter and hits just around the waistband. These pants also look great with button-front shirts; half tuck, cuff the sleeves, unbutton one extra button at the neck. Pair with sneakers, loafers, structured flats, Birkenstock sandals, and come fall with a lug-sole lace-up or Chelsea boot.

Sale Alert

Through August 28, ELEMIS has 25% off sitewide with code FF25. You also get a free 5-piece gift ($119 value) with $145+ purchase. And if you spend $240+ you also receive The Lymphatic Brush, bringing the total gift value to $197! This continues to be one of my favorite SPF moisturizers.

We've talked in the Facebook group about Universal Standard giving us whiplash with the sale after sale, but I think this one is worth it if it's a category you like: The stretch linen is at least 50% off, if not more. Now, this is a final sale, but it's also end of the season and Universal Standard removes linen from its site until one weekend full-price preview in spring and then the full launch at the beginning of summer. So if you already know you like it, you know how it fits, you want to prepare for next year or live in a tropical locale… this is the sale for you. For reference, here is my Universal Standard stretch linen review.

I feel so bougie, but we got L'AVANT laundry detergent and all-purpose cleaner and the stuff is goooood. No fakey heavy fragrances, enzyme-based cleaning, even K the fragrance-adverse is now a fan. And purchases $100+ get a free multipurpose cleaner!

See/Hear/Read

See

We began watching The Shards (Hulu), a Ryan Murphy production based on Bret Easton Ellis' book of the same name. We've only seen one episode so far. We hate it, but we want to know what happens next.

No surprise, it's like Less Than Zero Lite. Homer Gere wishes he was James Spader; Kaia Gerber wishes she was Jami Gertz. I think Igby Rigney is more… correct than Andrew McCarthy, who always seemed confused and dazed in his roles.

The early 80s fashion/music/decor is pretty on point, but it so makes me realize this is for GenZ what shows like Happy Days or The Wonder Years were for me. Am I a cast hater because I grew up on the Brat Pack, or are they really the made-for-TV kind of actors they feel like in Episode 1? We shall see, because we will be watching more this weekend.

We finished the series, Lucky, on Apple TV. Starring Anya Taylor-Joy, Annette Bening, Timothy Olyphant, and a bunch of other famous faces, this just missed for me. It tied up in a nice bow at the end, but there were a lot of times I was rolling my eyes and just not completely understanding why the script was written in the way it was. It focused too much on the action and not enough on the story so you didn't leave really caring who lived or died.

And then because this is the kind of stuff I always focus on… Taylor-Joy cutting off her hair and bleaching it blonde… I get it because it looks cool, but honestly brown would have made far more sense (and some bangs). And Bening's character… I couldn't figure out what kind of person she was. Clearly wealthy, but she did things like really visible lip liner and her suit in the last scene just didn't seem like something she'd wear. The whole thing felt like a 70s-esque action movie, but made with Rivians and smartphones.

Finally, we watched Tow, a 2025 film starring Rose Byrne. This is based on a true story of Amanda Ogle, a Seattle woman living in her car who has her car stolen and towed and then charged with the tow bill. She couldn't afford the bill, she fought the towing company, and eventually won.

But this went for well over a year, and it really shone a light on problematic fines and predatory towing companies. Ogle was featured in this article in The Seattle Times, which inspired this film adaptation, and the real Amanda Ogle is seen at the end of the film.

This was a charming film, with an incredible cast. Octavia Spencer, Demi Lovato, Ariana DeBose, Corbin Bernsen… I could go on. You will see many familiar faces and unlike Lucky, there is great character development where you really get to understand and connect with them.

Hear/Read

I began listening to Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder… and it's not a book I want to listen to. It's a book I want to read, and maybe highlight and underline and dog-ear and write in the margins and then pass it on to my daughter well after she either decides to have kids and they're in school, or she decides otherwise.

If you've read this book, you likely understand why I feel this way. Wow, do they read this in Women's Studies college classes? Because I feel this should be in the same curriculum as The Yellow Wallpaper and The Awakening.

So I switched directions and began Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage by Belle Burden. I read the other “rage bait” book of 2026, and when Libby made this one available, I figured why not? It's much easier to listen to, and I can do it at 1.45x speed and not finding it frantic. So far I am not ragey but I feel I am getting close to the point where one may start questioning or getting ragey (I'm 40% through).