A Whale of a Time
So many recommendations!
I saw NINE whales while on a whale watching boat ride this weekend in Santa Barbara. It was absolutely UNREAL.
I’m still basking in this gorgeous landscape and the beauty of nature and the healing power of time spent with friends who know me deeply, so this week I’m leaving you with just this photo and a lot of recommendations.
I hope you have a whale of a time reading them!
This Week’s Recommendations
On My Shelf
Over the Influence by Joanna “JoJo” Levesque - I love a celebrity memoir where the celebrity does not seem all that concerned with preserving their image. JoJo’s new memoir fits perfectly into that category and this is a great read if you are a fan of her or her music or if you want the down and dirty on some of the not so great sides of the music industry. I love that after family struggles, her own “hungry ghost” of addiction, and 20 years of back and forth with fame, she is really stepping into her own power and sharing what she has learned with us.
There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak - What a soaring epic! The way Elif Shafak writes is achingly beautiful and I was hooked from the very first description of the water and the memory and history carried in the water. It moves between time periods and locations without ever seeming confusing or overwhelming and it all comes together in the end perfectly. Absolutely gorgeous from start to finish.
Showmance by Chad Beguilen - This was beyond adorable! It's cute and sexy but also absolutely made me cry at the end (several times actually!). The way the author weaves together a romance with self-discovery and beautiful notes on family relationships was masterful. Chad Beguilen is a Broadway show writer (he wrote The Prom, among others) and if you are a fan of musical theater, this is an absolute must read. Thank you to Penguin Group and Netgalley for the advance copy. This comes out tomorrow, October 1.
On My Screen
Vamps - This 2012 romp on Amazon Prime is a perfect fun spooky season movie! It’s a tight 90 minutes and Alicia Silverstone and Kristin Ritter are having a blast the whole time. It’s nothing to take seriously but great to put on if you are in the mood for vampire vibes with a laugh.
In My Ears
As a journalist, there is nothing better than creating work that results in meaningful change. A few months ago I recommended the fantastic Sold a Story podcast about how teaching kids to read had changed (and failed) for decades. They have now released a series of impact episodes (Episodes 8-10) about how things have changed since the podcast was released and hearing from the children and families was really powerful.
In My Tabs
The U.S. reached a grim milestone with the death penalty and this week felt darker than most with multiple innocent men executed by the state. But don’t let those cases confuse the issue - the death penalty is wrong regardless of “guilt.” The state should not have the power to decide who lives or dies.
I have many fond memories (and some not so fond…) of taking the Megabus to cheaply get to NYC. I may have upgraded to Amtrak now, but I still loved this ode to Megabus as its service route to New York comes to an end.
Please tell me you saw the BLEAK Bridgerton-themed scam event making the rounds on the internet this week! This interview with the POLE DANCER(?!?!) they hired for it made me giggle.
“Club music without the grit or danger, divorced from a sense of gravity, reminds you why people grew to resent the EDM crossovers of the 2010s. Do we really want to relive that crash?”
That Prebiotic Soda Might Be Causing Your Supremely Smelly Farts
“If everyone is willing to conform to patriarchy again, we could be a family.”