Viv Groskop, The Anna Karenina Fix: Life Lessons from Russian Literature. My best friend recommended this book to me, and as a bibliophile (with ¼ actual Russian heritage, hah!) I loved it. This wasn’t my immediate reaction, though. I think the book’s title is misleading; I understand why they did it (self-help books are big business) but I think it does a disservice to the book, which is actually a love letter to Russian literature (and the Russian spirit) and a memoir of sorts. Once I figured this out, I settled into the book and enjoyed it. If you like reading about books and their authors, and about the love of reading, this is a book for you. But don’t expect actual “life lessons”. If I had to sum up the “life lesson” part – which, by the way, is accurate of my Russian grandmother’s attitude in life (take that for anecdata) – it’s this: life sucks, sometimes because you make terrible choices and sometimes just because, and then you die. The end.

Tanith Lee, Red as Blood: Tales from the Sisters Grimmer. My best friend also loves Tanith Lee so I decided to look her up on Amazon. I ended up choosing this collection of short stories because I love reading revisionist takes on fairytales (like Daniel Mallory Ortberg’s The Merry Spinster: Tales of Everyday Horror). Lee’s takes were a mix of horror and fantasy for the most part, with a little sci-fi action thrown in for good measure. I really enjoyed the stories, especially “Red As Blood”, “Wolfland” and “Beaty”.

Dorothy Sayers, Whose Body; Clouds of Witness; Five Red Herrings; Strong Poison. After binge-reading her short stories, I moved on to Sayers’ mystery novels and quickly devoured most of those as well. By the end, I came to appreciate Peter Wimsey more than before; he’s still not my favourite classic detective (that would be Ngaio Marsh’s Roderick Alleyn) but he’s moved up the list for sure.

James Runcie, Grantchester mysteries (volumes 1, 3, 4, and 5). I recently picked up the 5-volume set of mysteries featuring Canon (and later Archdeacon) Sidney Chambers at Value Village mostly because the cover art was appealing and the books looked new. I previously watched season 1 of the TV show, so I kinda knew what to expect but was still pleasantly surprised. Each book features a series of connected vignettes from the life of Canon Chambers, focusing mostly but not exclusively on his detecting adventures with his friend, Inspector Keating. Some chapters can only very loosely qualify as “murder mysteries”, and even the murders are very … mundane, for lack of a better word. No locked room mysteries or fiendishly clever villains. Just everyday life in the English countryside with a dash of crime. Even so, there was something very soothing and pleasant about breezing through the books; I also enjoyed seeing the way Sidney’s relationships with friends and (spoiler alert) his wife developed over the course of a decade or so. [NOTE: the only reason I wasn’t able to read volume 2 is because my mom borrowed it to take it with her on a 2-week vacation. I binge-read the whole series in the meantime, but will probably circle back to volume 2 now that she’s back.]

Ophelia Field, The Favourite: The Life of Sarah Churchill. I haven’t seen Yorgos Lanthimos’ recent movie The Favourite but I hope it turns up on Netflix soon. In the meantime, I read this biography of Sarah Churchill, long-term favourite (hence the title) of Queen Anne, the last Stuart monarch. I pick up biographies of historical figures, especially women, whenever I can find them at the thrift store because (a) I love this genre, and (b) they are otherwise expensive and sometimes hard to find in bookstores or online. [I looked it up, and the hardcover of this book is currently $52 on Amazon; I paid less than $5 for an older hardcover edition, in great condition.] Anyway, this is a very thick tome, and some of the historical details were a tad boring (which I skipped, no shame in my game). Still, I enjoyed it for the most part. The book offers a glimpse at a period of English history with which I am less familiar than, say, the Tudor or Victorian eras, from the perspective of a (important) side-player. Sarah seems to have been a pretty interesting character for the era, and she had a front-seat to much of the political maneuvering that took place during her lifetime, which gives her biography plenty of scope. After reading the book, I am more intrigued than ever to see what Lanthimos has done with these characters in his movie.   

I knew as soon as I spotted this Jeoffer Caoc dress at Value Village that I wanted, nay, needed it in my life. The dramatic collar. The midi length (with a sexy split!). The material, a wool-silk blend, feels and looks luxe AF. It also has a bit of elastane in it, so it has stretch to it which makes it more comfortable than the silhouette would suggest. But it still has weight and structure, so it doesn’t mould to every bump. It’s body-con but covered up at the same time, and that’s my current jam.

The one slightly weird thing about it is the zipper. The zipper runs from about mid-back to the top of the funnel collar. Except it runs on the side opposite from the clothing label, which normally denotes that back of a garment. The way the dress is cut, including the slit, makes it look like the side to which the label is sewn is actually the front. Maybe that wasn’t the designer’s intent, but that’s how I’m wearing it anyway.

I added a cool brooch that I thrifted on the same trip. I like that it’s a slightly deconstructed take on your typical vintage brooch.

Here are a few more photos of the dress sans blazer:

Have you thrifted something lately that brought instant joy (thanks, Marie Kondo) into your life?

I didn’t watch the Oscars this year. I forgot the show was on until I checked Instagram on Sunday afternoon and saw the red carpet photos. I felt no desire to watch the actual thing, which was probably good considering that I might not have been able to anyway – we cancelled our cable last year. And it wouldn’t have mattered much, because I haven’t (yet) seen any of the nominated movies. I’m pretty sure I only saw one movie in the theatre last year, which was Hotel Transylvania 3 and you won’t need 3 guesses to figure out for whose benefit that was.

Wait, did Black Panther come out in 2018? If so, let me revise my earlier statement: I saw 2 movies in the theatre last year. [I have also reached the point in my life where all years begin to blend together, and EVERYTHING from, say, 2008 onwards feels like it happened anywhere from six months to 2 years ago. More often than not, I have to refer to the ages of my children to figure out a moderately accurate timeline.]

Anyway.

This is not a post about how I am over the Oscars. Because, let’s be very clear, I am not. As a profoundly cynical person, I love everything about Hollywood. With Hollywood, I can safely assume nothing is as it seems, and simply enjoy the spectacle. It doesn’t make me feel bad about my cynicism, you know? So, I love the Oscars. I just don’t have the time or the inclination to consume it first-hand. Give me the highlight reel, the memes, the reaction pieces. I love “watching” the Oscars through other people’s eyes.

Come to think of it, that’s how I consume most of my pop culture these days. How else can I make sure that I am able to opine on everything people are talking about any and all of the time, and still remain a somewhat productive person? Because, oh yes, I have opinions. I must! Having opinions about things one has never actually seen/read/experienced for themselves strikes me as being very au courant, don’t you think? [needless to say, I write that sentence, and the rest of this post, with tongue firmly in cheek.]

So, in this post, let’s talk things about which I know nothing except what I’ve read on social media. Yay, fun!

Best Actor/Actress

Let me reiterate that I saw none of the nominated movies. I hope to see The Favourite at some point (come through for me, Netflix!) because I’m a history nerd and I’m curious about what Yorgos Lanthimos does with the story of Queen Anne and Sarah Churchill. With that said, I am happy that Rami Malek won  because he’s a tiny, adorable-seeming person and not an old, white dude. I also grew up listening to a lot of Queen music, so I appreciate that Rami won for this particular role, though the movie as a whole is problematic. But, best of all, it means that Bradley Cooper lost. Hahahahahaha!

Sorry, guys. If you love BCoop, I hope we can still be friends. But, if not, at least let’s be thankful that we didn’t fall out over something truly silly, like deciding who’s the best Chris.I am also happy that Olivia Colman won, because she was fantastic in Broadchurch and seems like a wonderful lady. I hear her acceptance speech was very endearing. My favourite speech will forever be Sally Field’s – it’s basically what I want to say anytime someone lets me up on a podium with microphone access – so I do love me a good “aww, shucks” moment.

But I am also a little sad that Glenn Close didn’t win, because I really like her as well. Someone said that Glenn might have played the Queen Anne role a few years ago, and that it SO TRUE! Remember Dangerous Liaisons? Her Madame de Merteuil is one of my favourite female characters on film.

Best Picture

As far as I’m concerned, they should have given this to Black Panther. Look, I saw that movie and it was great, OK? Also, Chadwick Boseman wears a cape on the red carpet very well, and that should count for something.

Lady Gaga

Surely she must have better things to do than try to sell me Bradley Cooper as a lust object. I won’t have it, Gaga!

The Fashion

I have yet to see an outfit from Sunday’s red carpet that totally blows me away, but I’m happy there was a lot of colour for once. All the pink gowns were fun, even though I didn’t really like any of them. Better than black, anyway.

“But, Adina, how can you say that” you might ask. “You wear a lot of black.”

Here’s the thing: if I ever end up on a red carpet, I will probably wear black.* Because it’s a classic, it doesn’t immediately look dated regardless of style, and it feels comfortable and safe. I get why people gravitate to black. But, as an observer, black is boring. The details, which might be stunning in real life, largely get lost in photos. I want drama on the red carpet, and I want colour. Is that so much to ask for?

Anyway, this year, I really enjoyed Awkwafina’s outfit. It had a certain DGAF-ness to it, whilst still being appropriate for the occasion. I appreciate subtle subversiveness. I also appreciated Nicholas Hoult’s draped suit sash situation. It was almost as good as Timothee Chalamet’s bejeweled harness from the Golden Globes. And that cape of Chadwick’s. Who knew that men’s accessories could be so much fun?

* Scratch that. I’ve pondered this further, and on balance, should I ever end up at the Oscars, I would like to wear some kind of dark green velvet, maybe with sequins. I basically want to look like a sleek, slightly intimidating lizard. Fun!

The Chris Evans

So Chris Evans Chris-Evaned at the Oscars and a good two-thirds of social media went weak at the knees. Listen, it’s better than when people lose their minds over Bradley Cooper. But it seemed a tad overblown given that, much like Kooky Klumsy Jennifer Law, Gentleman Chris Evans has become an awards show staple. Hold out for more! You won’t have to wait long. Just give Chris Evans a minute; I’m sure he’s about to rescue a one-eyed puppy from a burning building or something.

And that concludes my Secondhand Opinions About the Oscars I Didn’t Watch. Tell me yours in the comments!