This Week In Recommendations - 24.08.23
Bama Rush TikTok, an author who gets my brain ticking, a comedy show that has had me laughing out loud and an incredibly moving podcast.
👋 Hello and welcome to This Week In Recommendations. I hope you are all having a wonderful week so far. We have so many new faces here, so welcome! This week I have been on a real reading roll after dusting off my kindle that I have neglected lately. I spent the tail end of last week and the weekend on the Bama Rush side of Tiktok which absolutely blew my mind!! I watched this documentary a few months ago that was a revelation for a U.K. girlie who had limited knowledge of sororities and fraternities since they aren’t a thing in this neck of the woods. In short, the Bama Rush is the process for girls to audition, I suppose, to become members of a sorority in an over the top fashion. This process was viral on Tiktok in 2021, and the internet went wild for it. It put the University of Alabama on the map, with many young women specifically applying to or considering this college due to this phenomenon. This article on The Los Angeles Times explained the internet trend in further detail, and it is pretty fascinating. Before I go on and on, let’s go into all the other good stuff I’ve been enjoying when I haven’t been down the bama rush rabbit hole...
Reading
📚 My poor kindle has been perched on its wireless charging port since I returned from my holiday in June and hasn’t been picked up since. I used to use mine to do the majority of my reading. I started using it again this week, and man, I forgot how convenient it is, especially as a mood reader. Instant download = chance to escape from a slump. I also love the option to download a sample of a book before purchasing it. A handy tip to save money! Anyway, I have two books I want to talk about this week. I did read a two-star book this week, but let’s keep it positive because I have so many thoughts on the first book I’m about to mention...
📖 I finally managed to sink my teeth into Penance by Eliza Clark. It was one of my most anticipated reads for the summer. I read Clark’s debut, Boy Parts, and when I finished it, I gave it three stars. I was puzzled by the hype. Since then, it has come into my mind a lot. Irina, the main protagonist, is a character that stayed with me for a while. On reflection, I feel like I was harsh on it and think it is funny how you can immediately rush to Good Reads and instantly shove in a star rating, but then later, you feel completely differently. So yeah, I ended up doing the same with Penance. I finished it a bit deflated because 1) it was chunky and 2) I didn’t love the last part. But since I closed it, I CAN’T GET IT OUT MY HEAD!!! It must be the impact Clark’s writing has on me. Penance is the story of the brutal murder of a teenage girl in a seaside town in England by three other teenage girls. Told in interviews, podcast snippets, and Tumblr posts, we learn more about each of the perpetuators, their relationship to the victim, and the victim's family too. It is gritty, dark, and set during the peak 2014 Tumblr era. I loved the throwbacks to that period and the dark subject matter and setting. When I closed it, I felt like, all that hype for that? But it was meant to infuriate you and mess with your head. I would now bump this up to 4 stars, and I do recommend this, but be aware that there are some TWs to check out. I definitely want to read more from Clark in the future.
📖 Then onto a much-needed, lighthearted palette cleanser in the form of Ms. Ice Sandwich by Mieko Kawakami. This was only 92 pages long, and the best word I can use to sum it up is cute. It was a super cute story of a young boy infatuated with a lady who works in a grocery store, who he affectionally names Ms. Ice Sandwich. Adorable and lighthearted, this is a quick, easy read that I highly recommend.
Watching
Ok, when it comes to TV this week, I have been fixated on one show that has been pretty much the only series I have been watching. I haven’t shut up about it to my friends and family. And I’m ready to rave on here.
📺 That show is The Righteous Gemstones!!! How did this show slip under my radar?! It is a hilarious black comedy about a world-famous televangelist family that may appear perfect, but they are far from it. A stellar cast, so my type of humour and I am halfway through season two. I do not want this to end (even though I still have season three to watch). I can’t wait to see how the rest of this season unfolds.
🎥 Movie wise, I watched The Worst Person In The World that hit me in the feels. This is a Norwegian movie following Julie, an indecisive young woman navigating love and life over four years. I have mentioned that I love to watch/read things about love, human connection and the complexities attached to them and this executes this perfectly. It is funny at times, sad, relatable and made me quite emotional. Renate Reinsve, the actress who plays Julie, won best actress at the 2021 Cannes film festival for her performance. Love, love, loved it. A solid 9/10.
LISTENING
I am someone who listens to a large volume of podcasts, she says, as someone who hasn’t listened to as many in the last couple of weeks. This week though, I am back to my usual quota and have tuned into some great, insightful things.
🎧 A brilliant series I have listened to is Confronting that was released in 2021. This is a series hosted by Columbine shooting survivor Amy Over. She revisits that day and then interviews other survivors, their experience of the awful event and how it changes their lives. Deeply moving and I learned so much about this tragedy that I had limited knowledge of before.
🎧 This episode of The Book Club Review podcast with special guest Chrissy Ryan, owner of London indie-bookshop Bookbar was great. It was on late summer reading and she shared popular bestsellers and personal recommendations.
🎧 This episode of Today In Focus on the wellness-to-conspiracy pipeline. Intriguing listen on how the wellness movement can be hijacked by people spreading misinformation to an extreme point.
🎧 I’ve been loving The Ride podcast hosted by comedians/internet personalities Benny Skinner (who I love) and Mary Beth Barone. It is a real hoot.
🎧 And looping into another podcast episode I recommended a couple of weeks ago on parent influencers, this ICYMI episode titled “The Child Content Creator Crash Is Coming” was a brilliant listen on this subject.
👩🏻💻 I loved this brilliant 1984 interview with James Baldwin in the Paris Review.
👩🏻💻 Insider on The Ripped Bodice - a new Brooklyn romance only bookstore.
👩🏻💻 Vogue’s Trust Me: Never Having Children Doesn’t Mean You're Going To Be Lonely.
👩🏻💻 Bloomberg Business on Is The Airbnb Dream Dead?
👩🏻💻 Vix on Is The AI Boom Already Over?
👩🏻💻 The Cut on In Defence Of Negging
🤳 Besides reading, Youtube is one of my favourite ways to unwind. I recently discovered Chelsea Callahan on the platform who is a breath of fresh air. She creates realistic vlogs of life living in New York City and shows the reality of what it is really like to stay in the big apple. It is such a change from watching influencers going to fancy events and flaunting new designer handbags. Her videos are so real but extremely entertaining!
🍎 On the subject of NYC, I have still been obsessed with the new cast of The Real Housewives of New York. I loved this piece on my favourite new cast member, Jenna Lyons, who may just be the coolest housewife ever? And on top of an extra article, I also loved cast member Erin Dana Lichy’s interview on the Not Skinny But Not Fat podcast too. The show is so fresh and I feel like it is what Bravo needed to do. Hopefully they do reboots of other cities that are in dire need of a revamp (Atlanta, I’m looking at you).
🛒 This week has been all about replenishing my skincare cabinet. I am now onto my fifth jar of Dr Jart’s+ Vital Hydra Solution Water Cream that is a miracle for hydration. I also picked up a larger bottle of the Pyunkang Yul Essence Toner that my skin adores, a bottle of the trusty The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid and I’m giving the CeraVe AM Facial Moisturising Lotion a whirl. I have restarted skin cycling (more info here) that streamlines my skincare routine and my skin seems to thrive when I follow all the steps.
Thanks for reading this weeks recommendations and I hope you find something you enjoy. There is now an option to pledge any £ to Online Amy as a nod to the time and work that goes into this Substack. And the newsletter has its own Instagram now so go follow for more content on there.
Thanks for reading. See you next Thursday!
