P.S. Toni, it's so hot.
Plus: Ube lattes, feminist bookstores, caprese salad, and statistical proof that middle school is the worst.
P.S. is a weekly-ish round up of things I’ve read, watched, bought, or enjoyed. If you like getting hyper-specific recommendations and recaps of my week, please subscribe! And, this email might get too long – click here to view in your browser.
Dear Friend,
Hello and happy Sunday! The weather in Chicago has been absolutely vile this week – I described it earlier as wading through thick soup, like a good hearty chowder. This past week I lost my reading momentum, but I did get my pre-order of Mayra in the mail, and I can’t wait to lose most of this afternoon to it.
On Wednesday, I took the day off work to have a little self care day, and it really was lovely. I got my hair done, then wandered around my favorite neighborhood (Andersonville) for a bit. I stopped into Women & Children First (the bookstore that was at least partially the inspiration for the Women & Women First feminist bookstore bits in Portlandia). Then I had a delicious ube latte at The Understudy, another bookstore and coffee shop in Andersonville that’s mostly theatre themed, and I adored it.
And on that note, I’d love to get some input about what people want to read about later this week!
Announcement Board
This week I took the plunge and reopened paid subscriptions. I finally feel like I’m in a place that I can commit to a consistent posting schedule. That being said, most of my content will remain at least mostly free. For now, these weekly Sunday roundups will always be free, and there will still be previews of extra content for free subscribers as well. Here’s the breakdown:
Free subscribers will receive…
Weekly(ish) round-up posts of thoughtfully curated things to read, watch, listen to, or experience.
The occasional extra essay, musing, post, or fun thing.
A preview of all paid posts (so if a book rec post has ten books, you’ll still get to see the top five or so).
Paid subscribers ($5/month or $50/year) will receive…
All of that, plus an additional weekly post that could include book recommendations, travel guides, lifestyle content, or long-form essays about culture, nostalgia, the internet, and more.
The ability to start chat threads & engage with the community.
Access to the full archive.
Founding Members ($100/year) will receive…
All of THAT, plus a super cute tote bag for your books (because you can never have too many of those).
So there’s that! I spend a lot of time putting these pieces together, which to be fair, no one asked me to do… but if you’re enjoying it, please consider upgrading to a paid subscription.
Book Report
Just Finished
Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry
Currently Reading
Sloppy by Rax King
Next Up
Mayra by Nicky Gonzalez
Reading List
Links, essays, Instagram captions, telegrams… anything and everything I’ve enjoyed reading this week.
Teenagers in Their Bedrooms, Before the Age of Selfies
By Rebecca Meade for The New Yorker
I love love love seeing bedrooms, especially teenager’s bedrooms, in different eras. There’s possibly an essay idea in this pathology. But something about how teenagers and young adults have been making their living spaces their own for centuries is so endearing to me. Obviously the book mentioned in this article is primarily from the 80s and 90s, but my point stands. I definitely will be buying the re-release of this book when it comes out!
The Middle Ages
By Alvin Chang for The Pudding
This interactive scrolling data-driven article was really fascinating. It goes through various statistics about how kids’ moods and thoughts change as they move from fourth and fifth grade (elementary school) into sixth grade (the dreaded middle school).
It shows that 68% of fifth graders feel like they fit in or belong in school. That number drops to 46% in sixth grade, and 38% in seventh. The article explains that humans go through a period of brain development similar to what happens from ages 1-3 years old. Instead of learning everything like we do as babies, around the ages of 11-14, our brands essentially rewire and reorganize themselves. Essentially our brains become extra sensitive what we experience, which is a large part of why this time of life is so very formative.
This quote really stood out:
One experience that is especially heightened is social interactions. During this period, we are more sensitive to social acceptance and rejection. So hanging out with friends feels better than it does at other points in our lives, while being rejected or bullied feels worse. These experiences rewire our brains; some neural connections get stronger, while others are cut off.
This makes a lot of sense to me, as someone who can still viscerally feel the highs and lows of middle school nearly two decades later. And I’m glad we can categorically prove that middle school is one of the worst times of your life! This article was interesting, and also kind of depressing… but it’s nice to know it’s a largely universal human experience, I suppose.
More to Read…
How to Write a Smart Internet Essay by Bea, The Digital Meadow
On Microdosing Bravery by Bel Hawkins, The Word Resort
Journal Prompts and a Playlist for Thought Daughter Evenings by
Treasure Chest
Things I’ve found this week to be coveted, consumed, or cherished.
I fell in love with this Sesame Street ringer tee when I popped into Women & Children First this week and had to snag it.
I’m really considering buying one of these tiny digital cameras because, for one, I’m a sucker for anything in miniature, and two, it seems like a fun, lofi way to capture memories. Plus it’s cheap enough so that even if I don’t remember to use it that often, it’ll just be a cute little keychain.
I am always a sucker for a delicious caprese salad.
Speaking of salads, I will never turn down pasta salad of any stripe, so I loved saving the recipes from the pasta salad bible by Katie at the Sunday Stack.
ICYMI
Recent posts on the ‘Stack.
Too Much is Never Enough
The full story of my decade as a failed influencer – or, how I gained 30k followers and lost my soul.
Mid-Year Reading Recap
My reading stats, 5-star books, and a little bookish tag because I miss the internet of yore.
My Most Anticipated Releases for July
July is coming in HOT (pun intended) with new releases that seem tailor-made to me specifically. Here's a glimpse at all the new releases I'm excited for this month!
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