Welcome to Curated & Saved, a personal collection of things I’m loving right now.
Can you believe we’re in double digits?! I’ve been enjoying this wander back into posting on the Internet again and Substack had been a lovely launchpad to do so. I know I teased more long-form style posts but I’m definitely still building up my confidence to write and post those. There’s a lot in drafts and ever the perfectionist, I’m never feel like I’m quite ready to release them into the wild (not to mention a worry that they won’t seem relevant or timely anymore, and oh boy that’s a topic I maybe should write a Substack about because I don’t remember that being an insecurity when I used to blog!).
That aside whilst these Curated & Saved posts have been a lovely safe space to play around in, I don’t want to restrict myself to a specific format each week (especially as what I consume changes wildly depending on what’s happening). So, yes, there will still be recommendations but I want to lean in heavily on the curation aspect and not feel too pressured to have something in each header I’ve been sticking to in the past few posts. Gotta love a bit of experimentation!
To those reading, thanks for sticking around!
Currently Consuming
📖Reading: Victorian Psycho, Virginia Feito
Nothing quite like a deranged gothic-horror novel to ring in Spring, eh? Dripping with all of your favourite tropes (and plenty of blood), Victorian Psycho follows governess Winifred Notty as she arrives at Ensor House in the employ of the Pounds family. For the most part this feels like the start of a novel where we dutifully side with Notty as she navigates the family’s dynamics, mood swings and demands. What soon unravels is Notty’s own peculiarities that allude to much darker motivations for her arrival on the Pounds’ doorstop.
Victorian Psycho comes from the Otessa Moshfegh/Lara Williams school of visceral storytelling i.e. if you are of a nervous disposition (and stomach), maybe skip this one. The writing for the most part feels very pacey and atmospheric but I’m in two minds about Notty’s generally detached narrative voice. It works for her character, but doesn’t do much to build empathy with her plight - at least until the last part of of the book. Despite this I am solidly sold on reading Feito’s debut, Mrs March now.
📚In Progress: Fragile Threads of Power, V.E. Schwab & Every Version of You, Grace Chan1
📱Scrolling through: Conclave TikToks
I found out about the Pope dying by a text from my Catholic mother on Easter Monday and have since been inundated with Conclave TikToks ever since (is a sentence that is wild when you think about it. Favourites include the whole situation lining up with a longstanding Roman in-joke, an idea for a muder mystery/Conclave mashup, and a unitentional Derry Girls meme (which takes a swing at JD Vance) Gotta say it’s moments like these that I really love the Internet and the ridiculous, satirical, humorous creativity people have.
📰🚨News alert: Sunrise on the Reaping casting
Just when my Hunger Games obsessions was subsiding Lionsgate only go and drop this into the arena. I personally love we’ve got a relatively unknown for Haymitch. I was lowkey getting bored of seeing the same names over and over again, most of whom we far to old for the role anyway. Whitney Peak is a curveball, though I for one have always like the idea of casting an POC for Leonora Dove. I’m less convinced for her in the acting front, but would argue she’s not had a huge amount to play around with. And of course we have McKenna Grace as Maysilee Donner, which is solid casting too.
💻Watching: Emelie’s Literary Corner
The YouTube algorithm delivered Emelie’s videos into my feed like a calming dose of cosiness. Documenting her day running a small bookshop in France, Emelie’s videos are perfect to pop on in the background whilst you’re having a cup of something warm. I’d love to see more content like this so 1. drop your cosy bookshop/library day in the life recommendations in the comments and 2. I’m hoping watching her videos is enough to spur the algorithm to do its thing and send more my way.
🎶Listening to: What was that, Lorde
Our Lorde and saviour has risen what I am already going to boldly call the song of the year. It’s giving Melodrama 2.0 and made me hit replay immediately as soon as the song finished. I honestly don’t know how she does it but she is maybe one of few artists who somehow manages to capture that very specific feeling of being in the midst of a sweaty, pulsing crowd signing loudly and euphorically whilst also feeling like your heart is breaking into a thousand pieces. Between this an Haim’s new album, it truly might be a return to an indie-girl Summer.
The Long Form
The woman who did make space empowering, Bimbo University
If your still reeling from the fallout of sending a bunch of rich, female celebrities up into space, let me provide a palate cleanser in the form of learning about astronaut Kalpana Chawla. It’s truly a much better tale of resilience, empowerment, and paying it forward.
I would also like to highlight the stories of two of the women on the Blue Origin flight, Aisha Bowe, and, Amanda Nguyen, both of whom carry equally exceptional stories of overcoming the barriers for women in STEM.
The Backlist
Melodrama, Lorde
Honestly a quick backlist rec to go back and listen to Lorde’s Melodrama again. I can guarantee it’s been a while since you’ve enthusiastically headbanged to Green Light or happy cry to Supercut or skip down the street to Perfect Places. An truly, impossibly perfect pop album.
Thanks for checking out this week’s Curated & Saved! I’d love to hear what resonated with you, or if you’ve got any hidden gems to share.
Thanks to VERVE Books and NetGally for my advanced reader copy of this book