AUDACIOUS BOOKCLUB HAPPENINGS
Our February book club selection is Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar. We will be in conversation with Kaveh on February 27th at 8 pm EST/5 pm PST. Registration is now open. I hope you can join us!
THE NEWSLETTER WEEK IN REVIEW
The Book Club Discussion Begins…
PERSONAL PROFESSIONAL NEWS
New work friend featuring a manager making difficult decisions with unanticipated consequences, a person who disagrees with a colleague’s personal yet political choice, a woman who doesn’t want to have to play games to do her job, and an employee with autism struggling to get clarity from managers.
I’m looking for interesting questions for my Work Friend column. If you have a burning professional query, please do reach out to workfriend@nytimes.com.
My essay series, Roxane Gay Presents, with Everand has launched. First up: Julia Turshen with Built For This: The Quiet Strength of Powerlifting.
READING MATERIAL
Ummm… J. Lo spent $20 million of her own money to make a three-part project (album, movie, and movie about the movie) about her love story with Ben Affleck. There really is such a thing as having too much money though I am very happy for the couple. She is on the cover of Variety.
Chris McCandless died in an abandoned bus in the Alaskan wilderness. And now that bus will be part of… a museum (and there’s more to the story than that).
Electronic Mah-jong tables! I’m into it.
An interview in People with Julia Turshen!
Here’s an interesting essay about women butchers.
The quest for the perfect Japanese noodle!
Hannah Grieco writes on raising a child with schizophrenia.
Jet Toomer on love.
The University of Kentucky Press has created a new imprint edited by Crystal Wilkinson and they’re accepting submissions from Black writers until mid-March.
Ruby Franke, the “mommy blogger” in Utah who abused her children, has been sentenced to prison. So has her partner in crime, Jodi Hildebrandt.
The Alabama Supreme Court has decided that embryos are people and already the University of Alabama Birmingham has halted IVF procedures for fear of prosecution. I’ve said this before and I will say it again—feminists have long said that The Handmaid’s Tale is a cautionary, plausible one and the decisions and tactics of the rabid pro-life lobby make it clear that in certain states and maybe even the country if Trump is re-elected, women of a certain age are in grave danger.
The new season of True Detective, Night Country has concluded and it was incredible. Issa Lopez DID THAT. I loved the entire series, directed by Lopez and starring Kali Reis and Jodi Foster. Nic Pizzolato, the guy who created the first season of the show, is in his feelings about not getting his way with this fourth season so he has been PUBLICLY resharing criticism of the new season. It is so damn classless. Anyway, Kali Reis, who is an incredible actor and gorgeous to boot, has made it clear that it’s pathetic what this guy is doing. I’m also glad to see that viewers think the show is pretty great because they’re actually tuning in.
And the backlash against progress in Hollywood representation, continues. So predictable.
Emily Gould wrote a great essay about considering divorce, grappling with mental health, and the resentments that accumulate in a longterm relationship. It’s also about much more and people, as usual, have very strong feelings about the piece because they also have strong feelings about Gould. Now, you can critique the piece as nothing is perfect but if you’re talking about it, the writer probably did something right.
Also, Gould is now doing advice for The Cut. The first installment is a doozy. (Who is the writer???)
Reminder: Feminist Press is hiring a senior editor. The New York Times is hiring a non-traditional media reporter.
The Silvers Foundation is accepting applications for grants for nonfiction works in progress.
A profile of thee Solange Knowles. A profile of thee Jodie Foster. A convo with thee Beyoncé about her new hairline, Cécred. A profile of thee Julianne Moore.
Beyoncé has released two new songs, Texas Hold ‘Em and Sixteen Carriages. They’re both country and she has debuted at number one on the country chart! The songs are great. As you might expect, some country stations tried to not play the music but the Beyhive activated. DO NOT tangle with that hive. I’m excited for Renaissance Part II, which is being released on March 29th. Make sure your Beyoncé Savings Account is ready.
The Super Bowl also happened but I don’t care about it.
The widow of the assassinated Haitian president Jovenel Moise has been indicted for the role she may have played in his death. Messy af.
An essay from a Black American attending the Africa Cup of Nations (a football tournament).
A nonbinary child in Oklahoma was beaten to death by their peers. No one called for help, an ambulance, ANYTHING. They died. It is a travesty, may they rest in the peace they were not afforded in this life. Their name was Nex Benedict.
In West Virginia, legislators have decided that it’s okay to prosecute librarians.
If you have to say “I’m not racist” as you try to explain something you did, you’re probably racist.
A conversation with Lyz Lenz, who has a new book out about the joys of divorce (It’s also about much more.) And a conversation with the utterly original Kelly Link.
Here is a summary of that fifty-installment TikTok series about a woman who married a pathological liar.
In monopoly news, Capital One is buying Discover.
The secret life of husbands. And apparently competitive bed making is a thing. And the more you know… Middle-schoolers? Over wearing coats. A grandfather shares his thoughts about T. Swift. German chocolate cake is not German.
A fascinating look at an art fraud. FASCINATING.
Leslie Jamison on dating after divorce. And an interview with Jamison about her new memoir, Splinters. And another interview. And Yvonne Conza interviews Leslie Jamison and writes about Jamison’s new memoir.
Two lesbians get married! They’re both writers!
A former president keeps not winning and racking up massive fines and legal bills.
Alexei Navalny was murdered in a Russian prison by Putin.
A lot of Vision Pro early adopters are returning their headsets. I must confess that for the first time ever, I returned an Apple product. The headset is absolutely the future of computing. It’s absolutely incredible. But the headset is too heavy. There are very few native apps. It’s not clear what you’re supposed to do with it. And the price point is just so staggering for something that is so limited. The next version is going to be mighty interesting and I will revisit the gadget then.
What went down at the 2023 Hugo Awards…. whew. What a mess.
This story about a woman being scammed out of $50,000 is WILD. I cannot stop thinking about it. She put $50,000 in a shoebox, WALKED IT OUTSIDE and handed it to a stranger in a car. Thinking the like CIA was working with her. Now, I do believe anyone can get scammed. That is why scams exist and scammers thrive. But this is a lot. It is. A. Lot. I wish I would.
Daniel Lefferts and an essay on his year of dating men in finance.
A profile of Blake Butler, as he navigates the aftermath of publishing his memoir Molly.
I loved reading these one hundred small acts of love.
You won’t believe who this news story is about and then you absolutely will.
Kristen Stewart is on the cover of Rolling Stone.
Terry McMillan is going to make some Lifetime Movies. I, for one, cannot wait. I love her. She is so kind and generous and a wonderful writer and consummate storyteller. She has been so lovely to me over the course of my career and I sure do hope I’ve paid it forward.
God I love these roundups. Best commute home accompaniment.
(I’m on a train, not driving. Just FYI)
I love these roundups. Highlight of my Saturday morning. Today, most of all, I loved your kind words about Terry McMillan. It made me appreciate you even more, Ms. Gay.