Coffee Break #003: Hilary Duff, Hayley Williams, and a big mug of Earl Grey.
Plus: the first snow, some Star Trek legos, and my new favorite HBO series.
Dear Friend,
Happy Sunday! As I’m writing this, I’m watching the first snow of the season fluttering around outside my window and having mixed feelings. I’m trying my hardest not to dive head first into all things holiday, because I know I’ll be sick of the jingle bells and candy canes by the time it hits December 1st. It’s so difficult to be a ~content creator~ (I hate that term, but I do be creating content, so) and to also try to live seasonally and in the moment. I posted my gift guides last week, and that was still late by a lot of people’s standards. I’m feeling the intense pressure to be posting holiday content everywhere, but like… it’s still fall in my book! Let me live!
Obviously, the easy and correct answer here is that I don’t actually have to do anything, and if I’m not ready to post stuff about holidays, I don’t have to. And I won’t! But still, that weird pressure is there, and I just want to beseech everyone to cool it with the Christmas carols and tree decorating tips for like, a couple weeks. Please.
This week smells like…
Earl Grey steeping in my favorite mug.
Snow, a la Lorelai Gilmore.
Browsing through a dusty used bookstore on a Sunday afternoon.
This week sounds like…
evermore by Taylor Swift
Death With Dignity by Sufjan Stevens
Rivers and Roads by The Head and the Heart
This week feels like…
Watching the first snowfall of the season from your cozy spot inside with a mug of tea and a good book.
The first morning walking outside and realizing you need a scarf and gloves.
The calm before the holiday storm.
Reading updates, new releases, and more news from the stacks.
Just Finished
We Had a Hunch by Tom Ryan – This one kind of disappointed me! I was so excited by the premise, but it ended up having a few too many twists for me… It’s hard for me to put my finger on, but when a mystery novel has too many twists at the end, it sort of feels like it’s trying too hard to subvert the reader’s expectations and ends up sort of over doing it. It’s a personal preference to be sure, but overall this missed the mark for me.
Currently Reading
It’s Different This Time by Joss Richard – I’ve had this one on my NetGalley shelf for ages, but I think it officially released and everyone on my timeline has been gushing about it, so I’m excited to dive in!
Up Next
What Kind of Paradise by Janelle Brown – I’m officially in danger of actually being crushed by my physical TBR pile, so I desperately need to make a dent in it. This one seems like a good place to start.
Things I’ve read, saved, shared, or bought this week.
This is not a drill: Hilary Duff has released new music. This is huge for me personally, because Hilary Duff was my first concert ever, and the first artist I can remember being completely obsessed with. I listened to my Metamorphosis CD so much that it got irreparably scratched and my mom had to buy me a new copy. #just2003things Anyways, her new song, Mature, is amazing. It’s a pop-y, synth-filled excoriation of the types of men who love to tell girls way younger than them that they’re so mature for their age. (gag). I’ve always thought Hilary’s voice is just beautiful, and it still has that same quality that left me spellbound when I was nine. Love that for me.
And on that note, I mourn the shelved Lizzie McGuire revival every day. On a recent podcast interview, Hilary Duff revealed a bit more about why Disney cancelled it – namely that there were creative disputes about how grown up the show should be. Lizzie would be in her early 30s by now, and the original show didn’t shy away from the pressing issues that plagued pre-teen girls, like bullying, fitting in, buying your first bra, or accidentally becoming a pop star on your middle school class trip to Rome. So naturally, it would make sense that 30-something Lizzie would be dealing with whatever typical 30-something women deal with. According to Duff, “I wasn’t trying to have her wake up and do bong rips or anything, but she was a normal 30-year-old. There was some things I think they just weren’t totally willing to go there.” Sigh. I guess we’ll never know what could have been.
I never was a big Lego person, but they’re finally putting out a Star Trek: TNG set with the USS Enterprise and the full crew, and I kind of desperately need the Data and Spot minifigs. I could take or leave the rest tbh.
I’m so so late to this, but I finally sat down and listened to Hayley Williams’ new solo album, Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party, and GOD it’s so GOOD. I’ve loved Hayley and Paramore since I was 13 years old (truly can’t count the number of times I took her photo to my local Great Clips and asked for her hairstyle. It never worked out). I try really hard not to be parasocial about the celebrities I admire, but the whole lore behind her finally FINALLY getting together with her long-time Paramore band mate Taylor York, only for it to fall apart. This is an album of devastating heartbreak channeled into experimental, upbeat pop-adjacent tracks. It’s giving Stevie and Lindsay and it’s killing me inside a little.
Speaking of Stevie and Lindsay, I enjoyed reading this piece in Lithub about the parallels between Daisy Jones and the Six and Fleetwood Mac. I’ve been calling Daisy Jones Fleetwood Mac fanfiction since I read it (affectionately!) so this isn’t news to me, but it’s neat to see it all laid out like this.
We started watching The Chair Company this week and it is so hilarious. It’s definitely a specific type of humor, but if you enjoyed Tim Robinson’s sketch show I Think You Should Leave on Netflix, this is for you. It follows one man’s quest to uncover a conspiracy after a humiliating incident at work involving a malfunctioning office chair. As my husband put it, this is like watching the world’s dumbest detective.
MacKenzie Parker of Almost Sunny asked some bookish friends (including yours truly) to share what books they’ve loved this year and/or what books they want to finish before the year is over. Some really great picks on this list, and I added several to my TBR!
What I’m eating (or rather, what I’d like to eat) this week!
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Snacks
Drinks
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The Hilary Duff revival is getting me through these next few weeks!! Thank you again for participating in Mostly Sunny's reading recs, I loved rounding all of those up!
I adored Its Different this Time.
Also, A London Fog latte? Say less!