Reading List: Schadenfreude Is A Lifestyle, Y’all.

It’s been a while since I’ve done a Reading List - I’ve been a bit of a stressful funk for the past couple of months, and this has led to less-than-ideal coping behaviors, like scrolling TikTok and binging Blacklist episodes, instead of healthier ways to distract my hummingbird brain. But as is the case when you have a mind like mine, it’s time to force myself to make better decisions by making it as easy as possible, so I’ve restarted my reading via horror audio books and easily-digestible Kindle friendly reads. So we’re back attempting mindful content consumption - one day at a time!

ANYHOO, LET’S GET TO THE LONGREADS!

Riley Sagar, The Only One Left - I just started this gothic tale and it is great. And if you haven’t read Sagar’s The House Across The Lake, you should read that too - both are excellent summer reading material.

Kelly Gilblom and Thomas Buckley, Mattel’s Risky Bet on a Feminist Barbie Movie Just Might Work (Bloomberg) - I am so crazy excited about this film, especially after I saw someone on TikTok saying that you should watch Singing In The Rain (my favorite movie, naturally) if you want to catch all of the cinematic references because Greta Gerwig is a huge fan of that Hollywood soundstage spectacular. And since I identify much more with Kate McKinnon’s marker-covered trash Barbie, I’m glad there’s representation for all LOL (I didn’t have a Ken doll so I took a shorthaired Barbie and drew a mustache on it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ )

Don Van Natta Jr. and Seth Wickersham, ‘’He was free and clear': How the leak of Jon Gruden's email led to the fall of Commanders owner Dan Snyder’ (ESPN) - Listen, I am the furthest from a sports ball fan (I have little to negative patience for football games WHY ARE THEY STANDING AROUND SO MUCH, THE LACK OF EFFICIENCY IS FRUSTRATING), but I am HERE for some good old fashioned office drama, mmmmkay?

JP Brown, What Really Happens to a Human Body at Titanic Depths (Medium) - Look, this isn’t for the squeamish, I am warning you.

Lawrence B. Glickman, The Overlooked Origins of the War on Bud Light and Other “Woke” Companies (Slate) - A quick reminder that none of these reactionary tantrums thrown against any form of public inclusion is new. 

Molly Lipson, No more Fridays (Business Insider) - I love everything about this idea and hope companies will continue to explore the efficacy of adjusting the traditional work week. And while I know there are jobs (like mine, tbqh) that require a small level of constant awareness and interaction with clients, it would be so cool to rotate that fifth day off amongst a team so everyone gets more time for activities.

Michael S. Schmidt and Maggie Haberman, Prosecutors Ask Witnesses Whether Trump Acknowledged He Lost 2020 Race (NYT) - Um, since this headline literally buries the lede (that witness is Jared Kushner!!), let it be known I cannot wait for video of this questioning because I wanna watch that badly-botoxed princeling face squirm. 

That’s it, my loves. Have a wonderful weekend, and be kind to each other, won’t you?

Xoxo Amy