The Reading List: August 2, 2019

Elizabeth:

”Little Women” was a book I admittedly picked up because it was 35 Accelerated Reader points (I wanted to win, even as a third grader), but it became one of my favorites! I pick it up once every year or two, and I get something new out of it every time. While I loved the old movie with Kirsten Dunst, Winona Ryder, and a v dreamy Christian Bale, I am so so so excited for this new version with Greta Gerwig and Saoirse Ronan.

I’m a big food blog follower, and Deb @ Smitten Kitchen is easily one of my top 5. I loved this look behind the scenes of running her blog, and I definitely added some more things to my “to-make” list, which is almost as long as my TBR.

I may not have mentioned this directly on here, but I’m originally from Alabama, even though I live in DC now. With the political news since Roy Moore (or the Luv Gov??), I’ve found myself saying “Not all Alabamans” more than anyone should. I think I should just start carrying this tote around instead?

Side note: I can’t be the only one with 9 million tote bags floating around to only want more, can I?

Have you ever had the Impossible Burger? I tried it once, and I was unnerved by how much it resembled beef - I thought that I had been given the wrong meal, tbh. This article about how it has grown in popularity was fascinating!

In my day job, I am tangentially connected to the big opioid litigation happening right now in Ohio — I know! super uplifting! — and so I pay close attention to those news stories. This one, about a consulting firm that helped increase Oxy sales, was eye-opening, but also super gross.

And to start your weekend on a much more uplifting note: I hope you enjoy Lizzo’s Tiny Desk concert as much as I did!

Moira:

I’ve been reading a lot about the medical patriarchy recently. Let me add a huge caveat here that I love doctors, (literally) some of my best friends are HCPs, I’ve had mostly great experiences with doctors, I’m speaking about systemic problems and not individual, etc., etc. I’m also a huge skeptic and not at all woo-woo, and prone to thinking even my own physical symptoms are a product of my sick little mind. So I loved this article about Chronic Lyme in The Cut, which points to women’s symptoms being historically ignored as one reason this (fake) disease gained traction. I could sum it up with “your symptoms are real, your diagnosis is not,” but that doesn’t fully grasp the totality. But, um, don’t read the comments.

I’d rank my baseline level of anxiety at or around “newly adopted cat hiding under a bed” (this is a very strict medical definition, obviously). I love CBD as a natural, effective, non habit-forming remedy. There are so many CBD tinctures, and many are excellent, I am sure. (Lord Jones offers a 20% teacher’s discount, just FYI!) However, I really love Sunsoil because it’s a high dose for a reasonable amount of money. New Yorkers, I bought it at LifeThyme Market on 6th Ave between 8th/9th, and the adorable man (owner?) let me try all his tinctures before buying this one.

If you’ve been reading from the beginning, you’ll know I love Taffy Brodesser-Akner. I enjoyed her recent article from Real Simple Magazine about how the pursuit of mindfulness is not necessarily wholly beneficial. I loved this quote:

Here is the thing about mindfulness and routine and slowness: They are great in theory, but when they become more important than the things they were supposed to provide you, they are a danger. They can drown out the voices that are telling you how to live, and that’s what I’m afraid of. These thoughts that everyone is spending so much time trying to chase away—they’re gifts. They are blessings. They are the thing that makes us alive.

Anyhow, I can’t say I agree with all her conclusions, and I have found the pursuit of mindfulness an effective strategy for dealing with life, but I love a good, loud dissenting voice, and she provides exactly this.

Shannon:

This Vox piece about the recent rise of seltzer brand Spindrift was fascinating. (Who knew so many words about seltzer would be so interesting?) Compared to a behemoth like LaCroix (which is not my first choice brand, don’t @ me), Spindrift is still small, but it’s continuing to grow while LaCroix’s sales (and stock price) are falling. (PSA: Spindrift is also delicious.)

Queer Eye’s Antoni Porowski shares his beauty routine with Into the Gloss, which is just as glorious as you think it is. There’s a fun anecdote about bottling ocean water to use on his hair, not realizing actual salt water goes bad. (Followed by a shout-out to Bumble and bumble Surf Spray.) (Disclosure: I am a Bumble and bumble employee.)

This week’s political read is a look at then-Governor Ronald Reagan’s blatantly racist remarks to President Richard Nixon. The piece delves into Nixon’s private racism and how that racism affected his policy decisions. Here in 2019, our current president continues the racism of (some of) his predecessors; it’s fairly depressing to think about how little progress we’ve made.

Michelle Obama responds to some questions from The Duchess of Sussex in September’s British Vogue. Need I say more, really?