The first ever newsletter -

Let's dive in

OMG! You are here! I am so excited you are here! I am launching this newsletter right on the cusp of February and March because February is traditionally the very worst of months, at least until March.

It is cold, it feels kind of slow (you know), everyone’s feeling a little under-challenged and a little annoyed by how cold and slow everything is (Or is it just me? There’s a reason this email is called “Very Breezy”, after all) - so HOW DOES ONE COPE?

In my mind, always by consuming art and entertainment (and some actual capitalist consumption - tiny gifts make everything better). So, a collection of February pick-me-ups, below: BOOKS + MOVIES/TV + A FEW SHOPPING RECS (+ as a side bonus: Ina Garten’s Spotify is a pretty solid detour / aural companion to this).

Books that are *not* thrillers:

• Personal Librarian - Marie Benedict & Victoria Christopher Murray - this was my neighborhood’s book club pick for the month (I promise to write a whole newsletter about this book club soon - because it is THE BEST). The story is amazing (and true) - in 1905 a Black librarian (Belle De Costa Greene) passes as white and becomes JP Morgan’s right hand in building his personal library and art collection (which we can all now see and enjoy in NY). The writing, however, felt a little medium and there were some real missed opportunities (not even mentioning the 19th amendment in 1920, despite Belle being surrounded by political minded (white) women etc). But a great book club selection - you go down all these google and other rabbit holes.

• In Memoriam - Alice Winn - Drop everything you’re doing and READ THIS BOOK. A truly perfect love story - that happens to be between two 18 year old boys, and happening during WWI. It feels almost inappropriate to say anything else - but this book will rip you in half, assemble you back together, throw a wrench in any other plans you have so you can read it, and then some other stuff too. It is also quite spectacularly written.

• Patricia Wants to Cuddle - Samantha Allen - I am in THE TRENCHES of S6 of Love is Blind (more on that below) and this was a perfect counterpoint to just how deeply, earnestly invested in it I feel. A pitch black satire of Bachelornation crossed over with a creature feature energy, with very strong Isle-of-Lesbos legacy vibes. Fun and quick and biting.

• Invisible Husband of Frick Island - Colleen Oakley - I figured one classic romance was due for February and this had a perfect little set-up: on a tiny island in Maryland (inspired by Smith Island, which we all have to go to, right?) a young, devastated widow starts pretending that her fisherman husband (who is lost at sea) is alive and with her. The whole island goes along, and then a young wannabe podcaster arrives and…. Dwayne The Rock Johnson plays a pivotal role in future developments, and the whole thing was just extremely cute.

• Secrets of Happiness - Joan Silber - A real masterclass in elegant, restrained, emotionally resonant writing. A series of interwoven narratives (with some throughlines: Dickens, Asia, fabric factories, wanderlust, missed connections etc) loosely connects a jumble of New Yorkers in search of, well, happiness. Poignant and universal, yet oddly specific, like all the best books are.

Thrillers:

(side note: the thrillers this month all had good premises but truly no stand-outs)

• The Second Stranger - Martin Griffin - I was SALIVATING at this set up: there is an ice storm at a hotel in Scottish Highlands. The receptionist and two guests open the door to a stranger who claims to be a police officer in search of an escaped convict. Then, the second stranger appears and says the same thing. It is all a bit downhill from there, but I will forever be attracted to snowed-in murders.

• Five Bad Deeds - Caz Frear - I loved Frear’s Cat Kinsella mysteries and was excited for this stand-alone psychological thriller about a Mom from a fancy British Village (love those) who has a smear campaign launched against her (it is all very Grantchester and Poison Pen letters type stuff). It pays off FULLY /WITH A DOOZY - but it is a little slow starting so… just keep that in mind.

• First Lie Wins - Ashley Elston - this book is Reese’s book club pick, a massive best seller, being made into EVERYTHING - and I sort of don’t get it. The idea is okay on paper: a cat and mouse game between a con-artist, her boss, her mark etc - but the problem is - you care about no one. I guess people like it, but I didn’t really have anything to latch onto to.

Bonus round:

Books To Put The Winter Blues Away (AKA “Books I keep recommending to people on my instagram DMs when they are in “need of a little pick-me-up”)

• Early Morning Riser - Katherine Heiny - small town drama, chosen families, lots of banter, and a truly tremendous sense of humor.

• Good Material - Dolly Alderton - think Nora Ephron crossed with Nick Hornby, but very 2024 and with A TWIST.

• Giver of Stars - JoJo Moyes - or as I like to call it “The Sisterhood of The Traveling Librarians” - I am not into historical women’s fiction almost at all, but I think about this book once a week minimum.

• Big Swiss - Jen Beagin - Super specific (Upstate New York, artful queerness etc) and intensely on point

• Home Cooking & More Home Cooking by Laurie Colwin - There’s something incredibly recharging about essays about cooking and entertaining and Laurie Colwin who was kind of a Ina Garten-Nora-Ephron cross-over (with some Dolly Alderton energy on top) is THE QUEEN of the pithy food-centric narrative. Just put it under your pillow or into your cupboard and use as needed)

• Any and all Elin Hildebrands - though, I genuinely do think you need to be in your 40s min to embrace this particular spa for the brain the correct way (in fact, since several of my VERY BEST friends turned 40 this January - the gift combo I landed on was a Hildebrand book to match their leisure personalty + a white cashmere T-shirt, and I feel that perfectly sums up my attitude towards this decade)

What I saw (and would recommend):

TV:

1. Deadloch (Prime) and is potentially the best thing I’ve seen on TV in a very long time. The less you know the better (and they do an amazing job of twisting and turning each episode) but it is like a hilarious, more defiantly feminist, much darker companion to Season 4 of “True Detective” (just trust me).

2. Woman in The Wall (Paramount+)- Ruth Wilson is MAGNIFICENT in this story of murder and madness and Magdalene laundries. Deeply devastating but a corker of a story, as they say.

3. Criminal Record (Apple+) - Maybe the best cinematic capture of gaslighting since, well, “Gaslight”. Cush Jumbo and Peter Capaldi are both flawed and perfect, and I cared about Errol and Patrick and everyone way more than I cared about a show character in a while.

4. Love is Blind S6 (Netflix) - I truly can’t look away. From Johnny and Amy navigating birth control options (this country’s education system is SO broken), to the Fury 365 level emotional roller coaster that Chelsea is unleashing on Jimmy (someone save that little fella), to the fact that they somehow HAVE NOT BROUGHT MATT BACK YET - I am in it to win it every minute (which is good because they certainly lost me in S5 a bit). Also, lets not forget: Season 7 is coming to DC!

5. FEUD: Capote v Swans (FX on Hulu) - Ryan Murphy is always a gamble, but I mean, it is pretty great, right? I also recommend perusing this Town & Country article and photo shoot as a companion piece (the magazine, after all, STILL selects their “Modern Swans” every year).

Movies:

1. American Fiction (available to rent) - SO GOOD. It actually kind of blows my mind that it got made but it is a truly rare example that Hollywood did something totally right this past year.

2. Next Goal Wins (streaming on Hulu) - A Taika Waititi directed true sports story about American Samoa soccer team that never scored a goal on the international stage, starring Michael Fassbender. Should have been buzzier, right? Anyway, in true Taika fashion - it is a little heavy handed at times but I was there for all of it.

3. Self-Reliance (streaming on Hulu) - Jake Johnson walks into Andy Samberg’s limo and ends up in a “most popular reality TV show on the dark web” where people hunt him for 30 days and if he survives he wins a million dollars. There is a loophole that he tries to exploit to maximum effect, and the twist is - IT IS A COMEDY (with Anna Kendrick, GaTa, Mary Holland, Emily Hampshire, Christopher Lloyd and others making very fun appearances).

4. Lisa Frankenstein (available to rent, but also in theatres still) - Imagine Heathers and Beetlejuice and Sixteen Candles and Edward Scissorhands and and and then stir it all up in a Diablo Cody soup and you get what is probably the most inappropriate and most underrated movie out there right now. Highly recommended.

What I couldn’t get into:

Monsieur Spade (too slow, and - someone has to say this - Clive Owen looks weird and not in a good way), Death and Other Details (truly, everyone just watch “Last of Sheila” instead), One Day (because I am (apparently) ancient enough to remember the Anne Hathaway movie (which was really not that long a go, right?), I just couldn’t get myself into watching effectively the sam plotline again, though Leo Woodall is extremely hot and I was born on July 15th), Anyone But You (No one loves Glen Powell and Sidney Sweeney more than me but that was slow and not funny, right? HOLLYWOOD, YOU CAN DO BETTER - also everyone please watch “Everybody Wants Some” for some PEAK Powell crushworthy energy)

What I spent money I didn’t need to spend on:

• Bright red blush - something about a truly pinched looking cheek in winter promotes hope - both MERIT (shade: Rouge) & Rare Beauty (shade: Grateful) came out with bright red cream blushes this season, and I spent money on both and can recommend both (and red is not a default setting for my olive-ish skin).

• Brandy Melville Sweaters - OK! This kind of deserves a whole newsletter, but I have never been to a Brandy Melville store (even when I was a teenager, I was not jr sized) but I did while I Charleston and:

  • a. everything is both very affordable (a sweater! for $38!) and surprisingly lovely to the touch (I own some $300 dollar sweaters (whatever, the pandemic made us all into instagram-ad-targeted-monsters) too and trust me, they don’t feel this nice)

  • b. while everything apparently comes in ONE SIZE, that size varies - the OVER SIZED labeled sweaters they have are just perfect for adults too. I got two of the stripey ones (100% cotton) and… who knows where this is headed next (probably nowhere good).

• Girl Scout Cookies - truly the ONLY legitimately good thing about this time of year. Now that I live in a Small Town - my favorite thing in the world is to walk into downtown on a weekend, grab 1,2,3,10 cookie boxes at assorted tables across the main street, and end up at the library.

• The Single Greatest Raincoat In All Land - Ok, so I actually already had one (influenced by my Horror Movie Club buds Kat and Erik who know how to survive in all weather scenarios) but I got one for Jason for Valentine’s day and now we match AND almost look forward to abundant rain. In the immortal words of one of my neighbors: “There is no such thing as bad weather, just bad gear”. Think about it.

• Random pieces of seratonin boosting merch - I am overall trying to shop less BUT I do love finding cool random-ish merch that will make my day and support makers/creators/whateverthelabels - recent hits include - this Seafood tower tote from Molly Baz ($15 well spent, truly) and this very Clare V-esque Crying in Public T-shirt (I like the colorful one too) from Madi Diaz (spotted first via @MegCalnan on instagram)

THAT IS IT!

OK, THIS GOT LONG! If you made it this far - thank you. If you even opened this - THANK YOU. If you wanted to share/ tell your friends that they should subscribe - THANK YOU. More soon and not always in this MASSIVE LENGTH, I promise!

P.S. All typos were on purpose to make sure you were paying attention. I stand by that.