SCREENSHOTS #2: Baby Reindeer, Love Undercover, a book about NYC dogs and more
Movies, series, books and more: everything I've watched, listened to, read, and tried in May.
TV
Baby Reindeer
Perhaps I'm being repetitive, cause I feel everybody was talking about Baby Reindeer in May. But in case you haven't seen it yet, you should definitely put it on your watchlist. One day, a comedian and barman named Donny meets Martha, a lonely woman that claims to be a lawyer. She becomes obsessed with him after he offers her a cup of tea on the house. Martha starts to stalk Donny and things get really out of control. The series was created and starred by Richard Gadd - it's based on a true story and Richard is the the Donny of real life. I have to warn you: you will be angry at him and perhaps you will want to give up on the second episode, cause it gets your nerves. But I urge you to keep watching. The way the story evolves and how the protagonist is vulnerable and shares his flaws with the audience is beautiful.
Machos Alfa - Season 2
I'm obsessed with this series and I'm so happy it was renewed for Season 3. It's a Spanish comedy series where four friends in their forties are in the midst of a masculinity crisis, losing their privileges and identity. I love the cast and it's a perfect TV show for those nights you need something light to just laugh. The show is set in Madrid - among other locations in Spain, which is a delight. Plus, I love to watch Spanish series to practice my Spanish.
Love Undercover
One of my guilty pleasures is watching dating reality shows - but not all dating reality shows are equal, lol. I'm obsessed with Love is Blind, for example, while Too Hot to Handle is just too much for me, cringe. When I saw an ad about Love Undercover, I was intrigued. They bring five international soccer stars from Europe to Los Angeles on a secret quest for true love. The catch? In LA, they are just ordinary people. They can't reveal their identities to the single girls. I got obsessed with it. I probably shouldn't, cause there are a lot problematic episodes, but that's the thing about reality shows, right?
Books
Digital Minimalism
If you have read my post last week about deleting Instagram from my phone, you remember I mentioned I had started reading this book. And I'm, indeed, asking myself why it took me so long to read it. It is so essential. I'm pretty sure most of us will identify with a lot of behaviors detailed in this book. It's concerning. As the author explains, the key is using technology to support your goals and values, rather than letting it use you.
Related to the book, I also recommend watching this video. Surprisingly, it's from 2017 - but it sounds so familiar…
The Big New Yorker Book of Dogs
Not a new book, but such a treasure for dog lovers and NYC lovers. Got this as a gift for some friends who are leaving NYC (and have a dog). It's a collection of featured articles, fiction, humor, poems, cartoons, cover art, drafts, and drawings from the New Yorker magazine’s archives.
Readings
Now that I'm spending more time on this platform, I'm also discovering new Substack pages and I'm so glad to find meaningful and interesting posts. Here are some that I absolutely loved:
Finding Fame, Burning Out, and Leaving It All Behind - I loved this interview with Lyn Slater, who became a fashion influencer and model in her sixties. She talks about how fashion was something fun for her at the beginning, how has that changed with fame and how she got frustrated with the algorithm game.
The way we live in the United States is not normal - as a Brazilian living in the US, I never loved the idea of romanticizing living abroad. I am, though, very grateful for the experience I've been having here, but this article put in words a lot of my concerns regarding the life in America. When I first got here, I had a romanticized view of the things - and a little bit before the pandemic, that started to change. The healthcare system is probably the thing the pisses me off the most. I love how Kirsten shares her frustration about life here.
Beauty Felt Like A Second Job — One I Couldn't Afford To Keep - Jessica Defino shares the story about her period working for the Kardashian-Jenner Official Apps in 2015 while also interviews other former employees. Such a good piece!
NEW NEW NEW!
When I created The Tiny Apple, the main idea was to share fashion and beauty posts as well. But quickly I realized I had more than 40 ideas of posts about it and I concluded that these topics deserved more than just a single tag. So, I created a second Substack - The Stylish Apple - to share my fashion, beauty, and shopping tips. I don't want to dictate anything. I just want to share what I've been learning and discovering. And inspire you to use fashion to express yourself and feel good about yourself.
Other random suggestions:
Highly recommend subscribing to 92Y Insider newsletter. They promote so many cool events and the newsletter is a good way to keep you in the loop.
This year, I started to take private French classes and after procrastinating for some months, I finally organized a routine to study by myself - besides the private classes. I discovered a Youtube Channel called French Mornings with Elisa and I'm loving her videos. I had such a great time watching her conversation with a French that lives in Canada.
I've been OBSESSED with Reddit. You can find answers to so many questions! For example: I started to use Tretinoin three months ago and I've learned so much through the subreddit about this ingredient. Also love to save my favorite templates from Orangetheory when I'm not attending a class but I want to run on the treadmill at Planet Fitness. The members always share the templates on Reddit. And I definitely have been following tips and advice from the Ninja Creami community. There's a subreddit about everything!
That's all for today! I will be back next month with more recs! Meanwhile, please let me know your movie, series, books, podcasts on the comments!