Booked & Busy: We Call This Balance
7/11/25
All the fixin’s, fully mised: a little reading, a little streaming, and a Google search we regret. Booked, busy, and balanced. Hope you’re hungry!
In Our Bag
Here are two recommendations from the club (shared over Bunny Punch and Nerd gummy clusters at last month’s High Tea discussion of Bunny by Mona Awad).
The Lying Life of Adults by Elena Ferrante
The Pisces by Melissa Broder
For Your Information
By now, you’ve definitely heard of Miranda July’s latest novel, All Fours. And, if you’re a Substack obsessive like us, you’ve come across her profile. July recently shared a note riffing on Shakespeare’s famous Twelfth Night quote, “Some mothers are born angry, some achieve anger, and some have anger thrust upon them,” effectively acknowledging the power in sharing these thoughts as to “ not become numb” by feelings of propriety or isolation. Find her on Substack for more short notes, long essays, plus an incredibly engaged and active community of subscribers.
While we’re on the subject of Substack, Cultured just released a list of 15 Newsletters That Your Favorite Writers Can’t Get Enough Of, and it’s safe to say…we’re interested. As you might guess, Miranda July is not only featured on the list as a rec from author Suleika Jaouad, but she also contributes her own devotion to Dad Bod by Ali Liebegott. Let us know in the comments which newsletters are piquing your interest this summer! Maybe we’ll include a roundup in a future B&B ;)
Extra Lit
If one of your hobbies is finding and dissecting TV adaptations, we’re right there with ya! Let’s follow this thread from our bag to the screen with The Lying Life of Adults, shall we? Released in 2022, this limited series follows the coming-of-age story core to Ferrante’s novel of the same title. While duly noting mixed reviews on this series’ accuracy to the novel, we’re eagerly giving this one a read before having a watch and making our own call. Available on Netflix.
Bonus mention to Ferrante’s additional screen adaptations: The Lost Daughter on Netflix, and My Brilliant Friend on HBO Max.
The National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture in Chicago’s Humboldt Park is hosting the 25th annual Barrio Arts Festival this weekend, featuring more than 50 vendors showcasing unique art, clothing, home goods, jewelry, cuisine and more. There has never been a better time to support this Chicago cultural institution and the community they represent. This week, more than 15 people who said they worked with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) arrived at the museum to conduct what museum staff described as "gestapo-style intimidation" tactics, according to Axios Chicago. Latino community leaders are encouraging the public to attend the festival this weekend “to show solidarity at a time when the Latino community is under attack,” per Axios’s report. Read more here.
On The Books
Reminder, this month is Double Bound, and we have two official book club selections for your consideration: Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid and A Woman Is No Man by Etaf Rum. Double Bound was our cheeky reference to the idea of two books being bound together, but this week Kaylen actually Googled “double bound” when she meant to search her own text messages for the same phrase, and she learned it actually has a decidedly negative connotation. Per Webster’s, double bound is “ a psychological predicament in which a person receives from a single source conflicting messages that allow no appropriate response to be made.” We take umbridge! Atmosphere and A Woman is No Man dovetail beautifully. So with that, we have an important question: are you choosing one book to read? Or are you diving into both? Let us know in the comments, it will help us shape our programming for discussion at The Hoxton on 7/30!