You can find me at the mall

Two podcast episodes, a new album, and something to read when you're done with all three.

I find online shopping incredibly frustrating.

Convenience aside, there’s something both unsatisfying and impractical about buying stuff online, whether it be groceries, clothes, or beauty products. I like to feel things before I buy them—pick the apple with the least spots, check if a jumper is going to make my neck itch, swatch three lipsticks on the back of my hand before I remember I hate wearing lipstick.

This weekend, I spent Sunday morning shopping with a friend in the city. It turns out, in-person shopping has all the same benefits of running errands with someone. We tried on dresses, ate lunch in a food court, and I finally tried and bought the ILIA Super Serum Skin Tint. (Hot tip: the shade I was matched with in-store, was the exact same shade I was matched with on the Mecca website—so check out that quiz if you’d rather buy this product online, because it obviously works.)

I’m already mentally planning my next shopping trip, where I plan to try on at least 30 bras before, hopefully, finding one I don’t hate the way I have hated almost every bra I’ve ever bought from a minimalist DTC website.

Meredith Haggerty @manymanywords

How can this many places “finally” be selling me “the perfect bra” and I still hate every bra I own?

This week, for something a little different, I’m recommending three things to listen to. May you and your ears enjoy!

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A Podcast Episode About The Joy Of Logging Off

Like everything other extremely online millennial woman, I’ll listen to whatever Jia Tolentino says. Earlier this week, Jia spoke to Pod Save America’s Jon Favreau about taking a year off Twitter, having a baby in a pandemic, and the way the internet is slowly but surely eroding our brains. If you haven’t already listened to the episode, it’s a good way to spend 50 minutes. You can find it on Spotify here and Apple Podcasts here.

And A Podcast For Anyone Who Read And Loved Sorrow And Bliss

If you haven’t already read Meg Mason’s novel Sorrow and Bliss, consider this the most important recommendation of this newsletter: go read it. It is, by far, the best book I’ve read this year.

Meg recently went on the How To Fail With Elizabeth Day podcast and it was an incredibly earnest and emotional listen. In the interview, Meg talks about the process of writing Sorrow and Bliss, why she decided not to name the illness in it, and her regrets about writing her memoir, which honestly broke my heart a little. It’s a really lovely listen, which you can find on Spotify here or Apple Podcasts here.

And Finally, A New RÜFÜS DU SOL Album And Interview With The Band

Last week, I had the pleasure of editing an interview with RÜFÜS DU SOL about the making of their new album, Surrender. After I recovered from the shock, and following emotional spiral, that RÜFÜS released their first album almost nine (!) years ago, I loved diving into the story behind their latest, which involved eight weeks of lockdown in California’s Joshua Tree. The album itself is, as expected, very good and I can’t wait to listen to it all summer.

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Have a lovely week!

Gyan x