BEST BOOKS, MY BELLY AND WHAT 10 YEARS CAN DO

LIFE OF A BOOKMAN

Bookman: 1. a person who has a love of books and especially of reading. 2. a person who is involved in the writing, publishing, or selling of books. Oh, hi that's me!!

Well, well, well I didn't read any thing new last week because I spent all of my free time with my buns out at Ipanema beach. But I did recommend a handful of books over the last week in conversations with my galpals, which I'll share here: Project Hail Mary if you need a very fast read and you like space. One of my favorites from last year! The Thornbirds if you like an epic saga, historical fiction, that will have you weeping by the end. Birth Control: the insidious nature of men over motherhood, because there's nothing like talking about all the ways women's health is completely forgotten while watching a beautiful sunset in Rio.

What I've been writing: More journaling, more journaling! I did a really fun exercise of looking at where I wanted to be in ten years, by first looking at where I was ten years ago. Just to anchor in how much is possible in a decade. Ten years ago I had the first draft of a crappy book proposal for You're Not Lost...I hadn't met my agent yet....I didn't know I'd get into ghostwriting...I had just returned from a year in Bali with bad BO and no apartment to call my own...I hadn't met some of my absolute best friends that I couldn't live today without. I hadn't played beach volleyball in Rio, or watched the Olympics in Paris, or ever visited Savannah which would become home. I didn't know how to write fiction, and I hadn't met my dog Skye!!! It's just so wild!!!! It's a fun exercise you can try in your journal, or you can use these reflection questions for more structure.

WOMEN’S STUDIES

What gets passed down becomes our history.

How to Build a Girl in Modern America. Oof. This was a heartbreaking read(for me)...18-year old girls on Ozempic...the TikTok influencer Kylan biting her nails off from anxiety while describing her elaborate beauty routine...The gap between the performance and the person underneath. These are just young women!! They're trying to find their way, while trying to survive a system that's eating them alive, with no language to name it.

AI's Memorization Crisis. Welllllll, if you're keeping an eye on AI, you want to read this one. New Research shows that the models can spit out near-verbatim chunks of copyrighted books and images. They say LLMs don't store their learning material, but in fact...looks like they do. This is way more than just understanding patters and could have huge implications. Super interesting read in The Atlantic!

How Masculinity Became the Language We Use to Diagnose Economic Strain. I used to be a dedicated Scott Galloway fan, and over the last six months, since his content made a sharp turn toward the men & boys conversation for his new book “Notes on Being a Man”, I've found myself uninterested. Not because I don't feel strongly about this topic, the health of men & boys is important for the health of society. But because he seems out of his lane here, and conflating wealth with masculinity. This was a good breakdown on why this argument from him and others doesn't hold up.

Other stray links: I watched One Battle After Another with Leonardo Dicaprio and wow wow wow, what a movie! This great Instagram Reel on Why I No Longer Suck in my Belly. Oh and I bought a couple gorgeous pieces from Maria do Rosaria, an amazing designer who has designed for Osklen and now has her own brand – Dare you not to love her stuff!

PASS IT ON

Stories are heirlooms. Going to another country for an extended period of time is a great way to return to the basics on how to make new friends. In 2025, one of my intentions for the year was to be a better listener. ZERO clue if I achieved that, because wow what a journey it is to learn to settle, to pay attention, to really listen, to ask questions...without having to insert yourself of your experiences into the matter. I read a funny stat that in a speed dating experience, the people who were rated the highest and got the most amount of interest/second dates were the ones who asked a SINGLE follow-up question. And how easy is a single follow-up question!!! So easy!!! So here in Rio, surrounded by amazing women who are friends of friends, who are friends from the volleyball court, it's a good playground to learn how to build connections: ask questions, listen, and ask a follow-up questions. It's so simple!?!? If 2026 is a year where you'd like to build new friendships or rekindle old ones, I highly recommend you listen to my old but very relevant conversation with friendship expert Shasta Nelson.

Woman on xx