My brain is in the deep fog of summer time—that is, moving languorously in the way time seems to in the summer. It’s prolonged and dappled by confusing light. Steamy afternoons become long evenings become late bedtimes become me waking up in my kids’ bedroom at 10 p.m. having fallen asleep reading more times than not in recent weeks.
I vacillate between craving the routine and regularity of the school year and appreciating what feels like a season of sensorial indulgence: sweaty skin covered in bug spray and sunscreen, sticky popsicles dripping down one’s forearms, chafed heels bare feet at the beach, water-soaked skin, tan lines and mosquito bites and sandy hair and grill smoke.
This is our first week back in a camp / work routine after two weeks of travel and true work break, so below are a range of recs from a space of luxurious disconnection, dsepite the world-is-burning flavor of the daily news.
Good stuff to listen to:
Cat Power on “How Long Gone” bantering as they love to do on this podcast.
A beautiful convo with Jhumpa Lahiri on the “Time Sensitive” podcast talking about how she writes in Italian, translates herself, and the action of translation itself.
Jenny Slate on “Smartless” talking about living in Massachusetts with her husband who runs a bookstore bar, Marcel the Shell with Shoes on, parenting, and so on.
Jia Tolentino on The Cut’s “Insider Her Shoes” podcast series talking about post-Roe, life as a new-ish parent, and her career. The interviewer and questions are extremely mediocre but Tolentino is so sharp she compensates.
To read:
I brought four books on vacation and actually read three of them (!):
I loved The Friend by Sigrid Nuñez, about a woman who takes on her mentor’s giant great dane after he passes, and the relationship that ensues.
Women Talking by Miriam Toews (which my friend tells me is being made into a movie by Sarah Polley) is a transportive dialogue between Mennonite women who consider their future after learning they were drugged and attacked by men in their colony. Do they leave what’s familiar or stay and forgive?
I finally read The Idiot by Elif Batuman, which came out in 2017 to much praise and was totally engrossed by the often mundane and droll internal debates of young Selin, a freshman at Harvard. I’ve just started the sequel, Either/Or.
Jia Tolentino’s New Yorker essay, “Is Abortion Sacred?”
This interview with Krista Tippett of On Being in the NYTimes (by David Marchese) on hope and possibility and the influence of the conversations she’s had. The accompanying reveals she’s not at all who I’d imagined in my head.
“Now is the Time for Treats,” from Kathryn Jezer-Morton’s column in The Cut, on letting kids have all the treats on vacation. Jezer-Morton studies and writes about mom-fluencers and this helped alleviate my guilt after my kids had ice cream and fries and zero vegetables every day for two weeks straight of vacation.
Miscellany:
Sandals: I’ve fully boarded the Teva’s train this summer and their new partnership with Cotopaxi is very cute. Kid Tevas are also adorbs.
Best Sports Bra Ever: The Nike Dri-Fit Indy Sports bra is actually the best sports bra and I immediately got it in like four colors. 5 out of 5 stars. (Currently 50% off at Nike.com).
Breakfast alt: Tahini on yogurt, added liberally, along with berries and granola is very delicious. I am in a post-peanut butter era of life.
Aspirational home decor: These beautiful quilts from Thompson Street Studio.
Summer movie: My kids loved “The Rise of Gru” and children doing imitations of how Minions speak is very cute. Best for a very heat wave-y day with lots of buttery popcorn.
The kids are reading:
Ada is loving the Teeny Houdini chapter book series by Katrina Moore, and also reading the Bug Boys graphic novels by Laura Knetzger.
Julian is obsessed with the Brownstone’s Mythical Collection series of four books from Joe Todd-Stanton including Marcy and the Riddle of the Sphinx, Arthur and the Golden Rope, Leo and the Gorgon’s Curse, and Kai and the Monkey King.
Extremely refreshing: De la Calle Tepache probiotic drinks. The rise of alternative seltzers and “gut-improving” drinks is truly befuddling to me but occasionally I do try them and these flavors are SO good for when you need to power through that 5 p.m. meeting.
To visit: All the miradouros in Lisbon. These are public spaces in high elevation points in the city that offer scenic lookouts, reasonably priced drinks + food, a place to sit and hang. Love the concept and the accessibility. Decidedly un-American.
See you sometime in August!
I always love your kids book recs (my kids are similar ages). Just ordered Teeny Houdini - thank you!