curledup roundup: Jul

A very NYC month, and a lil more

Shelby

Aug 02, 2024

Salt air… here are some things that filled me right up during the month of July. Enjoy!

I started this month off on the dazzling island of Nantucket. While there, I decided to do as the locals do: read an Elin Hilderbrand novel. The amazing family that we stayed with has a tradition of reading her latest novel each summer, and therefore had a few to choose from. Upon their recommendation, I chose Hotel Nantucket, about a cast of characters running a hotel that’s haunted by a ghost of Nantucket’s past. It was sweet and endearing and … breezy. A couple days after finishing it, the algorithm algorithmed and I saw this TikTok of a snippet of Elin Hilderbrand’s interview with CBS Mornings. I thought her perspective on the role of ‘beach reads’ was beautifully sincere, and a powerful articulation of the role and purpose of the genre. Life is really hard sometimes, and finding an adequate, safe way to escape from the pressure of it all is such a gift. Books, specifically those of the lighthearted, effortless variety, have the power to do that: to take us out of this world, if only for a moment, and put us somewhere a little less heavy, somewhere like Nantucket.
@cbsmornings Author Elin Hilderbrand's newly-released novel, "Swan Song" is her final Nantucket-based beach read. She shared with Jeff Glor why she has written. #beachread #nantucket #booktok #summer
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The New York Times crushed this piece on the 100 Best Books of the 21st Century. Not only did they accomplish the feat of crunching the numbers of 503 people’s picks, but the it felt like EVERYONE was talking about it, which, of course, we love. I’ve read 20. I tagged 31 of the list as ‘want to read’ — a good amount of which I do own, but alas… time. It inspired me to start reading Pachinko!

I’ve dove headfirst in the rabbit hole of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy. See you never. I started reading Once Upon a Time, a biography by Elizabeth Beller, and now the quiet luxury queen is plastered all over my Pinterest. A 90s icon, we know of her natural beauty and impeccable style, but the book tells of her extremely kind heart and empathetic nature too. She’s cemented in the figurative style history books, and the literal ones too: this coffee table book about said style was recently published too, and yes, it’s already OTW to me.

I finally visited Book Club — part bookstore, part cocktail bar — in the East Village, and it was glorious. Reading good books and drinking fun cocktails, two of my favorite hobbies! Will be back!

I saw The Outsiders on Broadway, and what 👏 a 👏 show 👏 I bought tickets right after it won Best New Musical at the Tony’s (bandwagon), and I see what all the hype is about! I adored the book, one of the first — and only — books I remember actually enjoying when forced to read it in middle school. And the musical rendition is so heartwarming. Brotherly love and sacrifice, the insecurities of youth, the desire for belonging, vulnerability bubbling up to the surface — it was all there. The actors were so full of heart, and the choreography and set design were both so impressive. There was rain! And fire!

This poem 🥹

I read Housemates by Emma Copley Eisenberg, and enjoyed it! It’s about two friends with individual baggage and mutual sexual tension, on a road trip. One’s a photographer, one’s a writer, and together they navigate the highways around Pennsylvania as well as their art. The book is vulnerable and deep, the narrator’s language was so aware, I felt like I was in the car with them.
Speaking of cars, I accidentally got our car towed :/ And this hilariously earnest manifesto on the walls of what had to be one of the most depressing government buildings in New York City, softened the blow.

I finally made it to Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion, the exhibit at the center of the Met Gala this year. It was obscenely crowded on a Sunday afternoon, but a gorgeous experience nonetheless. The pieces, new and old, were stunning. The technology was fascinating — AI generated video of what pieces from centuries ago would look like flowing in the wind, and a chatbot with a New York socialite from the 30s where you can ask her questions about her wedding day (the dress in the bottom right photo below). To make this somewhat book related, this excerpt from “The Nightingale and the Rose” (1888) by Oscar Wilde was an audio component of the multi-sensory (even smell!) exhibit.