most interesting vol. 2

Taking a short break from my prepping series to share a snippet of what I watched, read, and learned lately. 

1) Watched Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette, which started out as a Hulu original, but has now made it to FX, which I have access to:

This series completely lived up to the hype as I devoured it in one lazy Sunday. The writing is so purposeful, no part of this series meanders or strays from the character building or storyline. Every single sentence spoken has a deeper meaning or threads a stronger weave, building and building. The casting was perfection. Such compatibility between everyone and they wholly delivered in their roles. So immersive, you will be in love and in heartbreak along with them. I highly recommend watching it, and then watching it again and again. 

2) Related to the above, I read some interesting articles in my quest to understand why zoomers are obsessed with the Kennedy's and old money aesthetic:

Gen Z has noticeably been struggling with a desire to return to a point before the heavily social media laden times they grew up in, presumably thinking that those living prior had it easier. They also seem to be in a constant battle against capitalism, while in tandem succumbing to every suggestion or whim of the influencers in their feed. Watching them go so deep into Little Woman and even creating the Cottage Core trend around it (turning slow living into the epitome of consumption), and now seeing mood board after mood board revolving around 90's fashion, it all baffles me. If they want a more simple time, why not just appreciate a show, book, or idea without having to make it one's entire being? Discuss it with friends and move on. This idea of wanting to return to a more analog time while turning to social media to share to such an excessive extent inspo, aesthetics, and products to achieve this life seems futile and honestly backwards to what they're trying to achieve. A quote from the GQ article embodies the confusion I have around this topic - "Personally, I find it fascinating that young people - in the midst of unprecedented wealth inequality, told that they'll never own a home, that the American dream promised to them may well be dead - are dressing up as the people who, in essence, ruined it all for them. I, for one, have noticed my TikTok feed filled with old money aesthetic slideshows of roguish types in Rolls-Royces alternating with vehement harangues of late-stage-capitalism, a perplexing juxtaposition." These articles didn't leave me better understanding why Gen Z gets so obsessed with trends, I still think they are very mis-guided, but at least I have a little more perspective I suppose?

3) Immersing myself in The Story Graph:

Diving back into reading this year with a vengeance had me curiously seeking not only a book tracking app, but a way to connect with other readers. Browsing through the popular sites right now, I landed on The Story Graph because it is not Amazon owned, rather it is a black owned business, founded by Nadia Odunayo in 2019. It also focuses heavily on analytics, using the books you've read and what other similar uses have read, to recommend books you might like versus it being a book selling site, which clearly has ulterior motives for prominently endorsing books. So far, I have found these tools and the overall setup to be successful in finding new books and authors to read. And, it has in depth tools to keep track of start and end dates, a TBR list, and even a place to keep notes while reading a book. Two things that would enhance the service would be showing reviews on all main pages rather than having to click into each book and then scroll down to the bottom of the page to see the average review (one more click even further than this is needed to actually read the reviews) and secondly to have the options to connect with readers at a deeper level, if desired. It has deliberately been set up the opposite of a social media app, a quieter space for readers to go. There is a Community tab where you can start buddy reads, join book clubs, and even discover other similar users. However, following and interacting with other readers is not common. I am all for a safe nook away from social media, however, it would be nice to have a happy medium. Neither of these critiques are planned as updates. Overall, I am enjoying it, though! And, do understand the why's behind the creators decision-making.