Weekend Reads for November 15th & 16th

Weekend Reads

The mysterious ‘Louvre Detective’ was a 15-year-old passer-by. (New York Times – gift link)

How Millennials’ Y2K nostalgia is fueling this new round of TV revivals — including ‘Scrubs,’ ‘Buffy’ and ‘Malcolm in the Middle.' (Variety)

The evolving beauty of Sony’s Dream Machine. (Dirt)

I'm in love with this graphic print boucle shirt jacket.

MAGA-aligned influencers and media emerge as the new mainstream. (Reuters)

The goon squad. (Harper's)

THC gummies and drinks face ban under provision in government spending bill. (ABC News)

I love the pink of these pants. Imagine with purple, with red, with olive, with teal, with navy, with gray…

How Gen Z made Pinterest feel new again. (Elle)

This post should have been shorter. (Talking Points Memo)

Miss The Body Shop's White Musk? Check out Lake & Skye's 11 11 it's incredibly similar. ALISON15 gets you 15% off.

Everyone wants to explain the generation below them. Can young people rebuff those efforts by being completely absurd? (New York Times – gift link)

Is it weird that I really want this watch?

AI is supercharging the war on libraries, education, and human knowledge. (404)

How aging unlocked my creativity. (Oldster on Substack)

OMG have you seen these new necklaces from Baublebar? Sooo good and the price is also nice.

Italian pasta is poised to disappear from American grocery shelves. (Wall Street Journal – gift link)

Meta is earning a fortune on a deluge of fraudulent ads. (Reuters)

The world’s biggest brands tap this agency to sell desire. (Wall Street Journal – gift link)

Sale Alert & Style Inspo

Soma has 40% off sleepwear and this is a deal I always take advantage of. I am a bit Soma sleepwear fan; the pajamas are generously sized with XXL comfortably fitting size 20/22. You can buy tops and bottoms separate for a custom experience. Cool Nights is a light silky jersey that stays cool and the sets (tee and pants) are on special sale for $50. Embraceable is a heavier knit that is still stretchy and comfy and refined. They also have cozy waffle and flannel and the quality is excellent. The plush robes don't shed or thin with washings; I've had mine for years and it still looks new.

The Universal Standard Box is back, but this time it's no mystery. With promo code BOX, you can pick any of the items at this link and get two items for $94 each, three for $84 each, and four for $74 each. It's a good selection, including suiting, the new sweater dressing pieces, the gorg Karina chiffon dress, and closet classics like the Better Than Wool cardigan and various button-front shirts (including the chic Henning one).

Honeylove started its Black Friday sale early with up to 50% off everything. I can tell from my analytics y'all love some Honeylove; it's best to shop early while there is still stock as I think this sale is going to be mad popular!

DSW is also starting Black Friday early with 20% off boots with promo code MERRYBOOTS; sale through the 16th. A reminder that DSW is an excellent place to shop for wide calf boots, especially now that they're on sale.

Printfresh has 25% off its luxe satin collection. I LOVE Printfresh luxe satin; it's not the kind of fabric you think it is. Made from viscose sourced from forests following the principles of Sustainable Forestry Management, the pieces are silky but not slippery, breathable, and machine washable. Designed in Philadelphia and hand screen-printed by artisans in India, Printfresh is a sustainable and ethical company that offers sizes XXS-4X with petite, tall, mens, and kids options (hello family pajamas!). I don't know if it works on this sale, but ALISON10 gets you 10% off at Printfresh.

See/Hear/Read

I heard the 2025 Frankenstein film was beautiful but meh. That was good enough for me; I was down for a gorgeous film with a gorgeous cast that wasn't overly scary or gruesome. Now available on Netflix, we watched Frankenstein this week, and I did not think it was meh at all.

Starring Oscar Isaac as Victor Frankenstein, Mia Goth as Elizabeth, and 6'5″ Jacob Elordi as a totally endearing The Creature, this was a visually stunning film. The use of color from the red blood to the bold hues worn by Elizabeth was gorgeous. And if you're worried this film is very scary or violent, I didn't find it to be either. However, do know there is a lot of blood and a lot of cadavers and body parts that are dissected. Even so, it isn't close-up, but done in a more theatrical manner.

I've learned to stop trying to compare any film to its novel, and you can't do it here, either. Most Frankenstein films take a bit from Shelley, a bit from The Golem, a bit from Peggy Webling's play. The film was written and directed by Guillermo del Toro, who acknowledged he was influenced by James Whale's 1931 film adaptation as well as its 1935 sequel, Bride of Frankenstein.

We're olds, so we had to watch Frankenstein over two nights because we were getting sleepy. I think that actually benefitted us, as there was time to digest and remove ourselves from all the blood and Victor being so pompous and dramatic. Like an intermission, it gave us time to discuss, think about it, and come back in fresh to enjoy the second half. I may not have rated it as high if I tried to digest it in one sitting.

I created my For Your Entertainment earlier in the week, but had to also share that Robyn is back and shared a video for her new single, “Dopamine.” LOVE Robyn! And if you were wondering, she's 46!

For Your Entertainment

If you are around my age or older, you may have been too grown for Lizzie McGuire and the height of fame for 38-year-old Hilary Duff. But likely, you still know her from pop culture references, movies like Cheaper By the Dozen, her Y2K pop hits “So Yesterday” and “Come Clean,” or her role on the TV series Younger.

Well Duff is back, with her first song in over a decade. “Mature” is about a past relationship, but with some creative liberties. Some think “Mature” references Joel Madden, who she dated as a teen and he was almost a decade older. Others think it's about Leonardo diCaprio, who has some personal facts that line up with the lyrics. It doesn't really matter, it's a song by a grown-ass woman that I think many can relate to.