10 Things: Fire, Wood, Sumac
All my recommendations for when thistle bends to the rumor of a breeze
Hello!
First: Thank you to all of you for bearing with me as I work out the kinks of independently putting together a “watercolor sale.” I’ll respond to all of your emails individually, but for the time being, it seems that I may have come off as a tad dramatic in previous email iterations. I am fine! Everyone involved in this particular series of events, so far as I know, is fine. I am selling watercolors to raise money to deal with an unexpected expense, but nothing is falling apart. I plan to write more about this, but who knows! Maybe I won’t. I plan to to sell some more watercolors, too! I’ve learned many things. I am grateful to you. I am calm. End monologue.
The first three recommendations, as always, are free! Beyond the paywall are more musings than usual, and two recipes — maybe unusable, or maybe exactly the kind of usable you use.
IMMERSE YOURSELF IN: “Murder on Sex Island” by Jo Firestone, podcasted.
Last week,
said that this book was the thing that was “pleasing him” right now, and that felt like a pretty high endorsement. is — and I do not say this lightly, or in a way of, like, “oh she says that about a lot of people” — my favorite comedian. When I found out she had written a book that was a murder mystery that took place on a reality dating show that took place on an island, I think I felt a little worried. You don’t want your heroes to fall, and how could this be good?It isn’t good. It’s perfect. It’s not even out yet (October 17, INDEPENDENT!?!?!? — wait, HOW? Is it possible that no one BEGGED TO GIVE HER SEVEN FIGURES for this!?! This is quite possibly my favorite book of the whole year!?!?!), and I am ready to declare this quite possibly my favorite book of the whole year. Jo Firestone reads the chapters out loud as a podcast and releases them every week, and when I reached the end of what is currently available, and audibly yelped, “NO! NOOOOO! That’s it!? NO!!!!!!!!!!!!” Luke said, “Oh yeah, I get that way about my favorite podcasts.” And I was like, “No! You don’t get it! I’M INVESTED IN THE MYSTERY! I WANT TO KNOW WHO DID IT!” And also, weirdly, I’m invested in the romance!? Like, the characters have depth and I care about them!? Also, I have laughed out loud several times and that is so hard to do when you’re writing and reading out loud a book.
I can’t recommend this hard enough. Myq, thank you for pushing me over the edge and convincing me that I wouldn’t be disappointed. Of course I wasn’t. Vulture said it was “so smart at being dumb that it’s brilliant.” THAT IS WRONG. IT IS JUST ONLY BRILLIANT. IT IS MAGNIFICENT. I don’t even care if she can land the plane, I’ve already had such a good time I’m definitely buying this for people for the winter sugar holidays, the end
What could convince you to buy a candle based on a recommendation in a newsletter? Probably nothing, and this one is expensive. I bought it based on a few reviews from a few different places, wanting a woodsy candle that I could burn for a long time. This is the price I am willing to spend on a candle, because a candle is important to me. I need an excellent light source, an excellent chair, an excellent speaker to play good ambient music, at least three plants, and a candle. (Ugh, I just read that sentence and I hate me too.)
You probably won’t buy this candle, but it didn’t disappoint me at all. What I will say is that, in researching candles, I learned the term “throw,” and I think that’s useful. “Throw” refers to how smelly a candle is. The cold throw is how smelly it is out of the box, cold. The hot throw is how smelly it is when it’s burning. You can literally measure a throw in inches and feet. This has a throw that fills the whole upstairs and then down the stairs and then vaguely into the downstairs living room and then into the dining room and then a little bit into the kitchen. I care about this.
LISTEN: My Burgeoning Fall Playlist.
I get bummed out about it being fall.
To deal, I’ve started a playlist, and asked Luke to help, because what is more romantic than collaborating on a mixtape? I mean playlist? We will add to this all fall, follow and check in.
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