From time to time, instead of my usual email with one big idea you can read in 3 minutes or less, I share with you the best of what I’m reading, watching, and exploring. Enjoy!
Books
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan. A small novel with a big heart about a village in Ireland that holds a dark secret. Hard hitting but beautiful. (h/t Eliot Peper).Articles
Some People Really Are Mosquito Magnets, and They’re Stuck That Way. I KNEW IT! I’ve always thought that mosquitoes attacked me disproportionately, and now there’s science to back it up. Certain compounds in the skin make some people mosquito magnets, and that trait remains steady over time.Films
I say very little about the plot of the films that follow—in large part because I don’t want to ruin the fun. I refuse to watch trailers—or even read film descriptions—because I want to be surprised from minute one.
20th Century Women. (Hulu | Amazon Prime) A hidden gem from 2016 that I just got around to watching. I absolutely loved it. I’ll be thinking about the characters—and Greta Gerwig’s one-liners—for a long time to come. (If you enjoy this one, check out C’mon C’mon by the same director).
Causeway. (Apple TV) Heartbreaking, yet beautiful, movie about military-based trauma. Jennifer Lawrence and Brian Tyree Henry are an amazing pair.
See How They Run. (HBO Max | Amazon Prime) From the movie: “It’s a whodunit. You’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all.” A funny, witty, and original murder mystery. Also, Saoirse Ronan needs to be in more films.
Shows
White Lotus Season 2. (HBO Max) I loved the first season of this show, and the second season is just as good. It’s about a resort vacation gone wrong, and this time the setting is Sicily. Everything about the show is spectacular.
Modern Family. (Hulu) We recently started watching this show from the beginning, and it’s felt like reuniting with an old friend. One of the very best sitcoms of all time.
A poem that I loved
By Zara Bas, from I Have to Tell You Something
You once measured yourself in grades
numbers on scales
in certificates
Now look at you.
You no longer need a unit of measurement to know your value.
(h/t Monique Berarducci)
