The Reading List: April 18, 2020
Shannon
If you haven’t read Vogue’s profile of Rihanna, what are you waiting for?
The signs when they quarantine. As a Virgo, I actually don’t feel like I’ve been super productive over the past five weeks but some of this does ring true.
Related (and from the same website), how quarantine is bringing out our best and worst selves.
I know I’m not the only one whose sense of time is being screwed with by coronavirus.
I have found myself googling, “when does mustard expire” this quarantine, among other weird food questions. So, I found this guide from The New York Times quite helpful. (And I have a bunch of canned beans and lentils that a previously occupant left in my apartment—that I’ve lived in for five years—so I’m psyching myself up to try them now.)
Related to being unproductive: all I’ve done for the past two weeks is lay on my couch.
Elizabeth
I’ve been re-watching some of my old favorite shows during shelter-in-place, and obviously, “The Office” is on that list. “The Dinner Party” is one of my favorite episodes of television…ever…and so I wanted to share this oldie-but-goodie: an oral history of this TV classic.
I like Stacey Abrams, and I am also discomfited by her, at times. This article helped me articulate why — I think, as women, we are taught to be quiet and meek and not ambitious, but she turns that paradigm completely on its head. It’s refreshing to see a woman acting with the confidence of a white man, but with the bonafides to back it up.
Like so many people, I have hopped on the sourdough starter train during quarantine — I’ve actually joked with people that I’m on the Jesus diet of bread and wine — and I am still learning how to manage it. I am going to attempt my first two recipes this week: crackers and English muffins.
Relatedly, this tour of the Sourdough Library in Belgium (of course it’s in Belgium! I love that country so much!) IS SO GOOD.
Finally, to relax, Nancy Meyers recommended her favorite feel-good movies.
Moira
As I imagine we all are, I’m so grateful to our healthcare providers during this time, and I think it’s important to acknowledge the serious sacrifices they’re making. This doctor hasn’t seen her children in a month, and I loved her account of the good, bad, ugly this entails.
I’m blessed to work in a business casual office (and casual casual in the summer when the kids aren’t in school), and I’m here for killing the dress code. The line about the incompetent providing work outfit advice on Yahoo! answers is everything to me.
Some fashion brands to support if you have the ability and inclination to shop at this time.
These people are my neighbors, and while they’re clearly too cool to actually want to be friends with me, I’m still going to try and score an invite to their apartment when this is over.
