📚 Reading
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The Trees by Percival Everett
A Jeselnik Book Club recommendation, The Trees might be the best book I’ve read all year. A satirical supernatural thriller, the book takes place in Money, Mississippi (known for the lynching of 14-year-old child Emmett Till) and focuses on racial violence and vengeance. It’s about 300 pages and I read it in the course of a day. It’s that compelling.
One moment, you’ll be laughing out loud and you’ll turn the page to grim horror which will make your skin crawl. I couldn’t recommend it more.
The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix (get it on Bookshop.org)
The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix (get it on Bookshop.org)
Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix (get it on Bookshop.org)
I went on a bit of a Grady Hendrix kick this month starting with The Final Girl Support Group which takes the clever self-awareness of Scream (which I wrote about here) and takes it a step further, blurring the line between movies and “real life.” This is a really entertaining book and I can see it being an excellent series.
Then, I picked up The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires which is basically Steel Magnolias meets True Blood. As someone who loves Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I am all about women fighting the forces of darkness because let’s face it - that’s what women do and I especially loved this take because it’s not often that you get to see a bunch of moms getting to do this. I mean, Joyce Summers never got into the mix…which is a shame because Buffy got it from somewhere and it wasn’t her negligent-ass dad. Unrelated but what the actual fuck, Hank Summers. Your ex-wife dies and you don’t immediately go to your children? Jesus.
Anyway, sorry. Where were we? Right. Vampire-slaying book club. It leans more into horror than camp but it’s a great read and definitely worth picking up.
Which brings us to Witchcraft for Wayward Girls which is the book I had the hardest time with. The premise is dark - teenage girls sent to live in maternity homes where they will be “cared for” (read: hidden away, shamed and basically be treated abhorrently) until they give birth at which point, their children will be stripped from them, possibly never to be seen again.
Fuck.
I know that this is rooted heavily in reality (Baby Scoop era, Magdalene Laundries…) and I hate all of it. I was pregnant during the pandemic and not being able to see my family during this time was incredibly difficult. If I had my baby taken away from me after all of this, I would have fucking eaten someone.
Anyway, the girls discover witchcraft which I thought, yay! Finally! Some agency and power but nope. This was not the case and the path merely grew more crooked and darker.
This story crouched heavily on my chest for a good week after I read it and I came away from it with a fiercer love of teenage girls, of mothers, of women and a deeper, more primal desire to protect us.
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
I had never read any of Agatha Christie’s work before which perplexes the both of us because how and to no-one’s surprised, I loved this book and couldn’t figure out whodunit at all.
Which lead me down a rabbit hole in which I discovered Murdle and boy, do I suck at it but I love it and want to sharpen my deductive reasoning skills.
Anyway, check out Agatha Christie, read all about how super racist this book used to be and see if you can figure out who the killer is.
🎧 Listening To
Radio Rental (Podcast)
Do you guys remember Scary Stories to Tell In The Dark? This is the grown-up version of that, so obviously - it’s a podcast. Hosted by Rainn Wilson (Dwight from The Office), this podcast “takes place” in a local video store and every week people come on and tell creepy, weird allegedly true stories. If you’re a fan of spooky stories and a vibe that seems just a little Dutch-angled, you’ll probably love this.
Far Behind by Candlebox
I loved this song when I first heard it as a teenager and it still holds a special place in my heart. It’s got this aching to it which sadly enough, you relate more and more to as you get older.
Great for singing in the car loudly when you’re on your way to school pick-up.
🎦 Watching
Only Murders in the Building - Season Five (Hulu)
“Wait, she’s on this show too?”
My husband and I don’t watch too much TV together which makes no sense to me because his reactions to whatever I’m watching never fail to entertain me. Yes honey, Christoph Waltz, Renee Zellweger, Meryl Streep and Nathan Lane are all featured in the fifth season of one of the best “cozy murder” (how the fuck is that even a genre?) on television.
I’m utterly charmed by the cast, I didn’t know that Da’Vine Joy Randolph won the Oscar for The Holdovers (she should have won a damn Emmy for High Fidelity and that show should have done five seasons and another movie), I love that the Godfather house made a cameo this season and I am so excited for next season.
🍳 Dining
Banana Maple Cold Brew at Foxtail Coffee
Fall is split up into two distinct entities - Apple Fall which is earlier in the season and Pumpkin Fall which takes us through Thanksgiving and to Marzipan Winter (This needs to be A Thing because no matter what those toothpaste and chocolate loving weirdos say, Peppermint Mochas are an abomination before our Lord, John McClane).
The only flavor which is strong enough to carry us through the whole season is maple (Vermonters, rise up - you know the truth) and the banana maple cold brew at Foxtail features a spiced maple which basically makes your drink taste like banana pancakes on a chilly fall Saturday and it’s just the best of all things.
Not the best of all things - the fact that it retails at almost $7 for a regular.
Roasted Red Pepper Hummus at The Federal
Will and I went to a craft bazaar at War Memorial a few weeks ago and popped into The Federal to grab a bite before the hour-long trek home.
This was a great decision because this is one of the best hummus dishes (non-Levantine restaurant division) I’ve ever had.
Pita was pillowy, the hummus was well seasoned, loved the big hunks of feta, the cucumbers added a bright and necessary freshness and the chickpeas were actually crunchy.
Not only would I come back here for a meal again but I’m 100% stealing this concept for when I serve hummus at home.
Butternut Squash and Spinach Lasagna
This is my new favorite meal and it’s perfect for the fall. It’s not complicated but it’s a little labor-intensive, so make it on a weekend and share it with someone you love while watching a great movie.
🤷🏽♀️ Misc.
Voting
Hey! You know what you should do?
Read banned books and vote for smart women.
If you live in Florida, this means Angie Nixon and if you live in Palm Beach County, this means Emily Gregory.
If you live in Michigan, you should vote for Dr. Abdul El-Sayed and if you live in Texas, you should vote for James Talarico.
If you live in the United States and are eligible to do so, you should fucking vote.
You have a voice; use it to scream the walls down.
Marc Sinan’s Instagram
It reminds me of Esquire Magazine in the best way and as someone trying to raise a good man, I really appreciate the content he creates.
