The Reading List: September 6

Moira

This one is from my old place of residence, but I wanted to share my friend Kristin Watson’s 24 Hours from Charlottesville’s Scout Guide. She owns my favorite boutique cycling studio (and she was my boss at lululemon, and one of the few positive things about that store). Like me, she drinks her coffee almost white and eschews breakfast. She’s doing amazing things, keep up with her!

I love my cheap Amazon phone case so much that I ordered a replacement this week. This Vofolen case holds my credit cards so that I can leave work at lunch without my purse. I used to break my phone approximately quarterly, but between this and a tempered glass screen protector, I’ve yet to crack this phone (ugh don’t jinx me)!

Since it’s now September, can we talk about pumpkin spice? Why do people insist on being cynical about one of the most delightful flavors ever invented? Is it because they fear joy? I’ll admit to rolling my eyes at the pumpkin spice manicure offered at a salon near my office, but if you’re looking for me, I’ll be sipping a grande iced coffee with two pumps of pumpkin spice.

Check out this very important piece of journalism on a definitive ranking of Netflix films.

Elizabeth

I saw recently that most bookstores make their annual profits between September and December, because that’s when the “blockbuster” books come out! I have a fun habit of pre-ordering books for myself and then forgetting because I have no short-term memory; that makes Tuesdays a fun surprise with packages of new releases. All that to say, I have mostly likely ordered several of the books on this list of Most Anticipated Reads for Fall — thanks, past Elizabeth, for new reads from Margaret Atwood, Zadie Smith, and Elizabeth Strout.

Drew Magary is an American treasure (I will fight you if you don’t agree with me on this one), and I love his “Why Your Team Sucks” roundup to kick off pro-football season. Admittedly, I follow college football more closely, but this is such a treat. As a Saints fan, Drew is not wrong when he says “I’m gonna have to spend an entire season hearing about how VENGEANCE is now this team’s 12th man, before they lose to the fucking Eagles or something in the Divisional round.”

I loved this roundup of the week Man Repeller founder Leandra let her instagram followers dress her! I am a little sad that we didn’t get to see the outfit where she would literally be in a pickle, though.

In your weekly depressing read of the state of 2019, this article about the deterioration of traditional “American” values — faith, family, and patriotism — stood out to me. I am a little conflicted if those three are a myth that we tell ourselves about the good old days, but it is an insightful look at how the bedrock of this country is rapidly shifting.

Last Saturday, I was walking past a tattoo shop in my neighborhood, and I was struck with the urge to get a new ear piercing. This is not something I have ever considered (Momo and Shannon will attest that I’m one of the least impulsive and more preppy people they know), but now I can’t get it out of my head. I think having something like this would be delicate and pretty and unexpected.

Shannon

I always love reading about others’ beauty routines (shocking, I know) so I was so happy to see that Into the Gloss finally published a Top Shelf with Ashley Graham. Reading about her journey in modeling was fascinating, and I loved the story about how she and her husband ideated the name of her podcast.

This piece in The Cut takes a look at how the year 2009 transformed the fashion industry as we knew it—the proliferation of personal style bloggers, the advent of Instagram, celebrity stylist culture, and celebrities themselves. (It also reminded me that Lindsay Lohan was once appointed the artistic advisor to Ungaro, which…wow.) I work in digital marketing for a brand that is involved in New York Fashion Week (and we just kicked off last night), and it’s fascinating to think about the effect that Instagram has had on fashion; Alexander Wang is quoted here as saying, “the way that we shoot it, the way that we showcase it and the way that we make the clothes and design them changed.”

This week, the woman who was sexually assaulted by sexual assaulter Brock Turner (just repeating it for his SEO purposes) revealed her name: Chanel Miller, and the fact that she’s publishing a book in a few weeks. I was inspired to go back and reread her victim impact statement, and was once again blown away by how powerful it is. I can’t wait to read Chanel’s book.

For this week’s political read, check out The New York Times Magazine’s 1619 Project piece on how slavery is mis-taught in American schools. (Yes, I am obsessed with The 1619 Project and started listening to the podcast after Elizabeth recommended it.) I grew up and went to school in Georgia, and I certainly don’t remember being taught about the atrocities that were committed and how slavery contributed (and helped create) the modern capitalist society we live in today.

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