GHOSTS, SUBSTACKS, AND CAGES WE WANT OUT OF

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!!

Haunted: 10 months ago I purchased Rebecca by Du Maurier while I was visiting London, at the strong urging of my dear friend Anne-Marie. This novel centers a shy young bride who arrives at her husband's grand estate to realize that her sense of self, and her marriage, lives in the shadow of a memory...of someone else. Well, I finally read it, and I could not peel myself off my porch Friday night or risk putting it down. When I say it was worth the wait, I mean it was one of the most consuming and absorbing literary experiences I've had in a very long time. It's no wonder this book was a runaway bestseller almost 100 years ago. Because beneath the suspense, the novel shows the brittle expectations placed on women, and how society can warp feminine ideals into a battleground. Listen to me like I didn't listen to Anne-Marie, and read this now.

What I'm writing: I launched a new Substack newsletter, Maxiemize, for ambitious creatives and it shot to the top #100 in business!!!! Thanks team!! In My Library isn't going anywhere, but if you want to be reading this new advice column every Friday, subscribe to Maxiemize. The first reader question I answer is “Is AI making my creativity irrelevant?” and I think you'll enjoy my answer.

WOMEN’S STUDIES

What gets passed down becomes our history.

The AI Alogrithm Pushes Women to Stay in the “Good Girl” Cage. If your feeds are full of protein & bikinis, before & after injections, sunset yoga selfies & affiliate code unboxings, micro-needling reels & skincare routines, sourdough starters & vacuum lines, you're seeing how the algorithm turns women's ambition and stuffs it into the good girl cage. Celine Levy is a very talented sex & power practitioner (who I'm lucky to work with!!) and this article is worth every second of your attention. It also reinforced why I feel so great after three weeks of being signed out of Instagram.

When Beauty Standards and Body Positivity Collide. I'm giving you a double whammy on algorithm call outs, because this article perfectly captured the nonsense of being whiplashed around by the constant messages of “love yourself” all the while screaming the unsaid: must contort into an ever-skinnier, Ozempic-smoothed mold...and how body positivity is weaponized against the very women it was meant to set free. This one was a mind-bender, but I'm so glad someone called it out.

PASS IT ON

Stories are heirlooms. Here's one of mine:

What does almost 100 years of Happiness Research tell us? Spend more time with people. Spend more time with people. Put down your phone, close your laptop, get up from the couch, and spend more time with people. The people at the coffee window. The people at your church. The people at your neighborhood meeting. The people in your family. The people who know your secrets. The people (person? lol) you wake up next to. Get amongst people, people!!

Oh, and “why is personal styling so difficult” was a great listen, and reinforced why my closet edit with expert help (Emily Lacey!!) that I told you about in a previous week continues to be such a confidence booster.

Woman on xx

PS, don't forget to RSVP to Daisy on May 16th at E. Shaver Books, located in the historic Gingerbread House in Savannah.