MATCHMAKING, F1 AND THE DAISY CHAIN

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!!

Breast and Eggs: I'm still moving slowly through Mieko Kawakami's Breast and Eggs. While I finish reading, here's the “official” nutgraph: Breasts and Eggs paints a portrait of contemporary womanhood in Japan and recounts the intimate journeys of three women as they confront oppressive mores and their own uncertainties on the road to finding peace and futures they can truly call their own.

What I'm writing: I'm trying out this new journaling style called: journal about anything and see how you feel. jkjk there's nothing new or revelatory about that but I have been opening up my journal more to write what I'm actually processing, from what's actually going on that day. Thanks to a BEAUTIFUL new journal and this piece that inspired it: Michael Phelps journals to find the best version of himself. When I tried it, the results surprised me. I've been saying I want to journal more liberally, and this was a good kick to do so.

WOMEN’S STUDIES

What gets passed down becomes our history.

Sexting with ChatBots. This Atlantic piece was...concerning. I read it in the actual magazine (a luxury!!) and had to put it down a few times because I so hated what I was reading – that this “teen friendly” chatbot was telling the (adult) author it wanted to tie her up and (insert)(insert)(insert). I remember how addicted I was to AIM, I can only imagine what teenager me would be feeling with an always on, always flattering voice on the other side of my keyboard.

The Materialists. I'm still so unsettled about this movie, where the main character played by Dakota Johnson has to decide between her perfect match or her imperfect ex. It had the style of an emotional thriller: slow speaking, no soundtrack, minimal dialogue...but the set up of a romantic comedy, minus the comedy. The movie seemed to be making too fine a point about modern dating culture, and it didn't work for me...but I did love watching these beautiful people??

Gender Relations Have Made Dating a Hostile Act. From the editor of Playboy, Magdalene J Taylor breaks down what happened over at Tea (the “review your (male) date” app...which btw was the subject of an allegedly retaliatory data breach meaning the identity of every woman who used it to review a guy is now plastered all over the internet.) From the first time I heard about this review your guy app i thought: uh oh. NOT good. I remember in 2012 something cropping up in San Francisco where we could give stars and dish on the men we'd met on dating apps (for the life of me I cannot remember the name!). But anyways, I thought this piece was a smart look at how we got here, from someone who works at the center of sexuality and culture.

F1: the movie. With a bucket of popcorn, two best friends, and a bunch of hi chews, I went to the actual theater to see Brad Pitt absolutely nail the character of...Brad Pitt. I won't spoil anything with my main critique, which is that the badass scientists in this film wasn't allowed to be purely badass, she had to have a love interest...a love interest that someone of her caliber wouldn't have pursued until the season was over. She'd worked too hard to prove people wrong for that to be believable!!! But alas, if you liked top gun, you'll like the motor race version in F1 ;)

Whose life do you want anyway? I loved this exercise from Suzy Walsh, and it's something I've thought about a lot...how we think we want something, but do we really? And what's behind what we actually do want? If you're trying to figure out what is next for you, this would be a great journaling exercise to decide how to move forward, or how to figure out what you're moving toward to begin with.

PASS IT ON

Stories are heirlooms. Here's one of mine:

I never knew one tablescape could make me cry...a lot. On Friday I brought together a handful of women that I wanted to meet Judy Walsh, an executive whisperer, public speaking coach, and wise leader. She's been responsible for teaching me things that have absolutely shifted how I show up in rooms, on stages, and in my writing. Well, Judy and our dinner guests surprised me by turning my little impromptu gathering into a real life Daisy chain. With Eucalyptus and Daisies lining the table, and all the girls placing their well-loved books, I ugly-snot-cried with gratitude. For the thoughtfulness of Judy, for the gift of true friendship with women that see me/love me/lift me. And for the joy of having different parts of my heart together in one place, telling stories, sharing laughs, and forging new bonds.

Woman on xx