Weekend Reads for May 9&10

Weekend Reads

Honored to have my Substack mentioned on Go Fug Yourself; I have been a GFY fan since the very beginning!

Meet the Young Wikipedians Writing the Front Page of Music History. (Pitchfork)

The Life and Times of an American Tween. (The New Yorker)

This dress is adorable and looks so hot weather-comfy!

The Administration Investigating Smith College Over Transgender Admissions. (New York Times – gift link)

How Silicon Valley’s Brightest Parents Broke Their Own School. (Wall Street Journal – gift link)

This is begging for a destination wedding. Code ALISON15 gets you 15% off.

An Orange County street was renamed after Charlie Kirk. Then TikTok descended. (SFGate)

He Couldn’t Land a Job Interview. Was AI to Blame? (Wired)

I want this laptop cover.

Sergey Brin Moves to the Right, With a ‘MAGA Girlfriend’ by His Side. (New York Times – gift link)

America is giving dying mall vibes. (The Golden Hour by Karen Attiah via Substack)

This tee is too cute.

The Disappearance of the Public Bench. (Places Journal)

Palantir Comes to Campus. (Intelligencer)

OMG how badass are these shoes?

The Trump Administration Aims to Penalize Disabled Adults Who Live With Their Families. (ProPublica)

The O.G. packable, durable, UPF, water-friendly sun hat. Stop buying mediocre each summer, buy one and done.

This shift dress is a work of art.

Asian mothers, bad feelings: notes on an all-conquering stereotype. (The Guardian)

I Miss My Old Life. (Intelligencer)

Replace your shirtdress self belt with this.

The TikTok-ification of Autism Language. (Bustle)

Was It Worth It? (Longreads)

It's a sunglasses case, it's a bag charm, it's genius!

I Grew Up in Poverty. Spirit Airlines Was My Lifeline. (Intelligencer)

Study Finds A Third of New Websites are AI-Generated. (404)

How beautiful is this necklace? Code ALISON10 gets you 10% off.

Why Even Broke People Look Rich on TV. (Total Rec via Substack)

Style Inspo & Sale Alert

Sale Alert

Ruti has $55 off your purchase with promo code 55ONUS. I am a fan of the viral On The Loose work pants, have them in black. I now want to get these.

Rag & Bone has 25% off full price styles and all markdowns (exclusions apply) for TODAY/Saturday only. Rag & Bone is a favorite for clothes that are edgy, cool, but somehow also classic and trend-resistant. Like this top, and this top, and this jacket, and hello denim track pants!

Mango has TOMORROW/Sunday that if you spend $260+ you get 30% off your entire purchase and free shipping. Mango is great for those interesting pieces at a low price to jazz up your closet staples and is stellar if you're looking for a non-boring and non-kazillion dollar cocktail or wedding guest dress. Like this top with these pants, this dress and this dress and this dress, this dressy bag and this dressy bag, this skirt and this top.

J. Crew has up to 50% select items at this link. Dresses, swimwear, and more! Is anyone surprised I love this dress? I also think this dress is so pretty.

J. Crew Factory has 50-60% hundreds of styles at this link. Plus, spend $125+ and get an extra 20% off! I recently crafted a new J. Crew Factory capsule wardrobe; I also recommend these shorts and this shirt.

Style Inspo

I love a swim capsule wardrobe. Mix and match, go from glam to active. I saw this print at Soma and loved the hint of lavender/periwinkle and it inspired this mix of black, white, and lavender that can go from lounging in a cabana to stand up paddleboarding to a morning hike to a sunset cruise.

Top row: rashguard | black top | bandeau top | print top
Middle row: boardshorts | printed bottom | black bottom | swim skirt
Bottom row: skort dress | beach shirt (I own) | print skirt | mesh caftan
Accessories: straw hat | ball cap | polarized sunglasses | personal fan | arch support flip flops (I own) | water hiking sneakers | waterproof belt bag | sunscreen stick (I own) | waterproof tote

If this isn't your jam, I hope it shows how you can shop smart and with a capsule mindset even for swimwear. Tips when creating your own swim capsule:

• Most swimwear is essentially the same fabric so you can mix and match from different retailers. Look out for texture, matte or metallic finishes, or overlays but otherwise play with brands
• Find an accent color, even if it's not in the swimwear. Lavender, Barbie pink, red, and coral are colors I find are usually available at a range of retailers. From your bag to your flip flops, this is a fun way to tie everything together and have your own personal spin on it.
• If you're going on vacation, look for pieces that can do double duty. The boardshorts can be worn to the gym or for casual street wear, the beach shirt can be tied at the waist and paired with shorts or pants, the skirt can be dressed up with a black blouse and sandals, a full-zip rashguard can double as as a lightweight jacket.
• I haven't tried this waterproof belt bag but I found it when searching for something else online and I am intrigued! And the flip flops? Sooo worth it; better than cheapy ones and way better than the Amazon “dupes” I bought last year for my cruise.

See/Hear/Read

I read Wuthering Heights back in… maybe middle school or early high school. It is a part of culture, especially as a woman, so even though I didn't remember the story well I knew it, you know what I mean? That was until I watched the most recent Wuthering Heights film starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi (now on HBO). Other than the character names, this felt like a completely different story. I ended up spending a good portion of the film on my phone, researching the book, making sure I wasn't experiencing the Mandala Effect.

Friends warned me; this was nothing like the book. But I have seen so many films that weren't true to the novel that still were… good. For example, I liked Jacob Elordi's portrayal of Frankenstein. But this film? This was not good.

I read somewhere in my online research that Emerald Fennel aimed with this film to evoke the intense, emotional experience of reading Wuthering Heights as a teenager. Maybe I'm too old and cynical to appreciate it? Because it felt pretentious as hell. It wasn't artistic enough, visual enough, compelling enough, or even horrible enough.

This movie looked as though it was very expensive to make, but the result didn't land the way I think it was supposed to. I saw so many reviews discussing the amazing use of color… it was so blatant yet so easily disregarded. Oooh Cathy's bedroom… I thought it was something we wouldn't fully realize but it was clearly explained by Edgar when we first saw it. Things like the parties, the clothes, the piles of bottles… they were quick blips in the film and if composed differently may have made a more powerful and artistic impression.

And then, the movie has a different ending from the book. And it ends and you think… that's it? Wow, that was five hours of my life I will never get back. And then you realize Wuthering Heights was only 136 minutes long.

Now, on to something that is actually enjoyable… Widow's Bay (AppleTV) is the kind of television we've been needing. I read someone described it as Parks and Rec meets Twin Peaks and I think that's pretty on point. I would call this a horror mystery comedy. Like hysterical laughing but also plenty of jump scares and each episode makes you want to know what happens next.

Widow's Bay is a fictional small island town in New England; its mayor (played by Matthew Rhys) iis courting a New York Times travel writer to help it become the next Martha's Vineyard, but it seems the place is cursed. Like legit sea hag, haunted inn, church bells that ring themselves cursed.

Matthew Rhys plays creepy oh so well, but in this show he plays the straight man who is so funny oh so well. You will also see plenty of other familiar faces (yes, Wyck was in Office Space, and yes that guest at the hotel is BJ from The Righteous Gemstones and yes that is Joel from Somebody Somewhere and yes Rosemary has been in absolutely everything). Totally an enjoyable and funny and creative show.

For Your Entertainment

For my UK readers, you may recognize Ruti Olajugbagbe who goes by just Ruti. Winner of The Voice UK in 2018 their rendition of “Dreams” by The Cranberries was Top 20 on iTunes and the UK Singles Chart. The 26-year-old London-via-Essex singer/songwriter recently released their latest single, “I'll Be Your Friend” and as your friend, I think it's worth a listen.