Curated Vol. 01: Frothy books, Substack delights and the perfect white tee
Plus the most bingeable Melbourne TV show
Welcome to Vol. 01 of Others Recommend, a smorgasbord of literary and visual goodies to feast your eyes upon as the nights draw in and our Screen Time report steadily ratchets up.*
2023 has been a great reading year for me, and I credit that to three recent reads keeping me leaping from one new release to the next. These are books I’d categorise as frothy and pacy - modern day literary fiction, focusing on familial dynamics and the relationships with those closest to us. Throw in a bit of scandal (Becky) and those who create for a living (also Becky, and Romantic Comedy) and I’m hooked!
Reading:
Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackon
Set in New York City, Pineapple Street follows the wealthy Stockton family who have made their fortune buying property in the city’s affluent fruit streets. Set against the backdrop of old-money, the book grapples with identity and expectation, and what it lacks in depth it makes up for in pure escapism - an easy novel to lose yourself or an afternoon in.
Dubbed ‘a Vanity Fair for the mass media age’ by the Guardian, the story borrows two of Thackeray’s central characters (Rebecca ‘Becky’ Sharp and Amelia Sedley) and charts their rise and fall in 90’s tabloid era London, with much of the storyline building to the infamous phone hacking scandal by the now-defunct News of the World. Dark and frothy and still shocking over twenty years later.
Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld
The book you’ve seen all over the internet! This was my first Sittenfeld book and it did not disappoint. Sally is a sketch writer on TNO, a fictional take on Saturday Night Live and is jaded about love after a divorce in her twenties. So far, so predictable, but this novel manages to balance being witty, emotionally smart and also tender - Sittenfeld perfectly portrays the vulnerability Sally feels after divorce and her subsequent fierce independence and commitment to her career. It is charming and engrossing and page turn-y, even when you feel a bit lost with some of the US TV references in the first half of the book.
Watching:
Love Me (available on Binge)
This gorgeous Melbourne-made drama is back for its second season and I gobbled up all six episodes in two days. It picks up where the previous season left off and follows the Mathieson family as they navigate infertility, love after loss and new parenthood respectively. It’s so acutely observed - it’s hard to believe the Mathiesons aren’t a real family - and also manages to be dryly funny in places, too. And of course Hugo Weaving is divine as the lovable, sweet patriarch, Glen (who is also declared a ‘lovely, big-hearted bear of a dude’ in Ep2). The soundtrack is also *chefs kiss*.
The perfect white tee
…does exist! And it’s from the Jac + Jack’s men's section. Buttery soft, slightly drapey/oversized without being a tent and not at all see through. I’ve been looking for a quality white tee shirt that will last years and years, but found most fell short in either being too transparent or would start to degrade after a few washes. Camilla & Marc’s Huntington tee does come in a close second, but it seems as though they’ve discontinued the ones that don’t have any logos across the front.
Jac + Jack Mills t-shirt, $100
Links I’ve loved:
On reading habits, trends and the joy it brings:
I nodded so vociferously to this piece by Pandora Sykes, which makes the respective arguments for keeping books or giving them away. As someone who carefully curates the books I choose to keep (and donates the ones I’m not hugely attached to to book libraries or friends), I’m fascinated how other people file theirs | Are you a hoarder or a purger?
I’m always nerding out on the science behind reading fiction | Can reading make you happier?
On influencer culture:
This NYT story looks at one influencer who turned her back on her six figure career and pivoted instead to running workshops helping influencers use their skills to gain ‘normal’ jobs. Fascinating.
| Is there life after influencing?
On community:
We often look to those in the Nordic countries for inspiration on a life lived well, and the popularisation of saunas in recent years is proof of that. This story delves into why community saunas have become an antidote to loneliness and a ‘leveller’ (because so many of our status symbols are removed when we have no clothes on), as well as how being more in tune with our bodies and our environment can boost our wellbeing in a myriad of ways | The rise of community saunas
On heartbreak:
For a while it felt like heartbreak was having a moment, but I am in adoration of writer Danielle Gay, who has turned the breakdown of her relationship (of which the wedding invites were out and her honeymoon booked) into a beautiful newsletter community | The Gimlet Waiter Is Flirting With You
Coveting:
Two coffee table books I’m lusting after:
Rick Rubin’s The Creative Act
Bre Audrey Graham’s Table for Two
That’s it for now! See you next time! x
*A judgement free zone. Some of the best things live on the internet.