Weekend Reads for July 11th

Weekend Reads

The End of Reading Is Here. (The Atlantic – gift link)

I Am Agent Orange of Middle Age. (The Blue Hour Paris via Substack)

Why Does Everyone Wear White at Wimbledon? (GQ)

Are people really making $500k a month on ShopMy? (Financial Times… and no I am not in any way, shape, or form)

Female US rower completes historic solo journey from California to Hawaii. (The Guardian)

If like me and K, you like a mocktail in a can for summer festivities, Cann just came out with one and I'm psyched it's one of the few without stevia in it.

I found a new-to-me jewelry brand and I'm obsessed and I think some of you will really dig it too. Calling all goddesses and witches…

Can you buy taste? (Your Brain on Money via Substack)

Where Has All the Cottage Cheese Gone? (New York Times – gift link)

First the words, then the face, then the body. (Ijeoma Oluo: Behind the Book via Substack)

How fun is this swirly colorful clutch?

What the AI afterlife industry gets wrong about grief. (Modern Loss)

Madison Square Garden Kept a List of Gay Celebrities. (Wired)

The Best Vintage Home Stores in 50 U.S. States, Part One. (The Souvenierist via Substack)

I'm loving staining lip oils this summer; color remains while lips look glossy and feel hydrated. A current favorite is this one in Lucky Lotus. I've also been enjoying this one in Souci d’Automne since spring.

Madonna Has Become an Avatar for Our Fear of Aging. (New York Times – gift link)

How Lizzo Became One of Pop Culture’s Great Flops. (The Atlantic – gift link)

Have you heard of At Home? It's my new Amazon alternative for things like storage containers, kitchen gadgets, and small appliances.

TikTok Shop Did $15 Billion Last Year. Half Its Stores Sold Nothing. (Camille Moore via Substack)

The Gift of Getting Weirder With Age. (New York Times – gift link)

“Hag” Is My Armor. (Gloria)

I Spent a Week As My Friend’s Facelift Nurse. Here’s What No One Tells You. (Allure)

Do you agree? The 39-ish Most Stylish People of 2026, So Far. (New York Times – gift link)

What if it's not the phones? (The Atlantic – gift link)

Style Inspo & Sale Alert

Banana Republic has 60% off sale plus an extra 20% off and this includes a lot of summer stuff and even some pieces if you want to stock up now for fall. I gathered some of my picks here on ShopMy or you can peruse the carousel below:

The Old Navy July Clearance Sale is on with items as low as $3.99; shop the sale at this link. My favorite from the sale? This dress, which is the perfect no bra sit on the front porch and sip iced tea dress (or WFH dress, or weekend at the beach dress, or any summer situation dress). I also own two pairs of these bike shorts; I wear them for morning workouts in my living room, threw them in my luggage for a recent trip and was glad as I ended up doing a long walk and needed activewear. The 5″ length is good for my leg length and keeps the chafing at bay.

Sanctuary is having its end of season Clearance Sale with up to 60% off. Offering Misses and Extended sizes, Sanctuary has been a new-to-me favorite and has some cool things on sale, including Sanctuary's iconic The Perfect Tee that comes in some of the coolest patterns (see one in this capsule wardrobe).

Rag & Bone is having a flash sale this weekend only with 25% off sitewide, no code needed. That means their viral Miramar jeans and shorts are cheaper than they will be in the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale. Also makes the price of this bestselling 100% wool blazer more reasonable (sadly it only goes up to size 12).

Parisa Wang is one of the hot mid-priced bag brands right now. I love the bags because they're very high quality and LWG-certified, chic yet timeless styles, and made in the same ateliers as designer brands like Miu Miu and Prada. And I got us a code! Use ALISON12 to get 12% off your purchase at Parisa Wang. This is the perfect timeless shoulder bag, and this is such a gorgeous bigger bag for work etc.

See/Hear/Read

My friend this week said she was looking for “brain candy” TV. She began the newest season of Survival of the Thickest on Netflix, but episode 5 had something triggering to her (fertility) and she wouldn't go forward. I told her to watch The Five Star Weekend (Peacock), a series based on the Elin Hilderbrand book of the same name.

I read the book when I was on my Elin Hilderbrand binge after my mom's passing and was excited to see this (the book's protagonist is a famous food blogger). So excited, I did a free trial of Instacart+ so I could get a free two-week trial of Peacock (I made a reminder on my calendar to cancel it the day before it ends).

I have watched three episodes and it's just like the beach read book, but with a star cast that includes Jennifer Garner, D'Arcy Carden, Gemma Chan, Regina Hall, Chloë Sevigny, and even some Judy Greer, Timothy Olyphant, and David Denman. It's gorgeous, it's women in midlife who are beautiful and imperfect and the house is so lovely and all the food…

Each commercial break, Karl has made some joke about his testicle shrinking, he's mainlining estrogen, this show is the visual form of MHT, he was able to guess Gigi's connection and Timothy Olyphant's role before they were shared, but he says he wants to keep watching it with me and agrees it's fun “brain candy” for a summer break.

Some was filmed on a stage in Hollywood, but three weeks of filming took place on Nantucket and real restaurants, shops, and places are used in the series (and the book, as are all Hilderbrand's novels). It's far less dramatic than The Perfect Couple, a series on Netflix also based on a Hilderbrand novel. The Five Star Weekend reminds me of how my mom always loved Nancy Meyers/Diane Keaton movies because they felt relatable but also fantasy.

As for books, this week I finished The Other Side of Now by Paige Harbison. I almost DNFed this book when I realized it was sort of a Sliding Doors concept where the protagonist ends up in another version of her life if she had made a different decision about college. But I persevered and am glad I did.

This was a cute story, and well-done story about grief over the loss of a friend, both in death and in life changes. A little romance, a hint of steam in one chapter, a nice resolution and a reminder that we can change directions at any point in our life, no standing stones or flights to Ireland necessary.

For Your Entertainment

Do you ever learn about a newer band or artist and think your teenage self would have LOOOOVED it? That's how I am about The Last Dinner Party, an English-Australian rock band that formed in 2021. They are theatrical, modern, retro, a bit gothic, a bit romantic, often considered baroque pop. Id totally be singing along to it while dying my hair with Nice ‘N Easy Blue Black in my sponge-painted bathroom wearing my Doc Martens and babydoll dress from Urban Outfitters.

“Knocking at the Sky” is from Pyre Deluxe, a newly released deluxe version of their 2025 album, From the Pyre. Regarding this song, the band shared in a statement, ”Knocking At The Sky” is the final tale from The Pyre. After creating an album about storytelling and world-building, we thought it apt to end this act with a story set in the sinister myth world itself: Los Angeles. Hollywood is the ultimate fairytale; the stakes are at surreal heights, the landscape is unruly and plastic, and it’s populated with a cast of Grimm characters all striving and struggling at the center of their own hero’s journey.”