No F*cks Given® Newsletter | 7.29.24
Theo James, snack jewelry, and 50% off on a life-changing journal.
Here we are again, my fabulous fucklings: the NFG Newsletter roundup is upon us, and per usual it contains great deals, fun links, book recs, and random AF musings from me to you.
HOUSEKEEPING:
I’m taking the month of August off from newsletter stuff. What does this mean for you?
If you’re a PAID subscriber, this is the last original post you’ll get ‘til September, but the NFG Chat will remain open and I’ll pop in from time to time. You can also continue to access the full archive, so dive on in and read anything you may have missed so far! PLUS, as a courtesy to my existing VIFs, I am comping y’all a bonus month to make up for my time away. The extra 30 days will be automatically applied when your existing sub runs out.
If you’re a FREE subscriber, you can still read all of the unlocked posts in the archive, and upgrade to paid at any time to access the rest—including these crowd favorites:
So that’s the summer vacay scoop. Any questions, let me know in the comments! And now, back to our regularly scheduled newsletter…
What’s up?
Since last we spoke, the hubs and I have watched the updated Guy Ritchie joint, The Gentlemen, a Netflix series starring Theo James, aka Cameron from The White Lotus S2, aka the esteemed/doomed Turkish diplomat Mr. Pamuk from Downton Abbey.
And if I just blew your mind with that fact, then join the club because I was absolutely gobsmacked when I found out THIS guy was the same as THIS guy.
PS: The Gentlemen was very good. Totally stuck the landing and I hope they make a second season.
NFG DEALS
The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a Fuck JOURNAL is 50% off in paperback on Amazon US! I have to tell you, I’m really proud of the way this little buddy turned out. It packs a punch: all the greatest hits of the original book laid out in a tighter, snappier format; plus new exercises and stuff I came up with to make the experience more interactive. It’s a great introduction to the NotSorry Method, mental decluttering, and the whole NFG oeuvre.
What else?
We’re still in New York, still using our insanely expensive US health insurance to get all kinds of middle-aged people shit done to our bodies and then receive invoices that we should not actually have to pay and thus spend hours on the phone with “Billing” to re-re-confirm the coverage they already knew we had when we booked the appointments and submitted front and back copies of our health insurance cards the first two times they asked for them.
Oh, America. Oh you.
In more exciting “When in the Big Apple” news, we Olds managed to get out to a show at the Knitting Factory a few weeks ago to see a friend do his extremely impressive thing.
Spose is a hip-hop artist from my home state of Maine and he and I went to the same high school, so that makes two distinguished WHS alums who say “fuck” a lot in their chosen careers. Our guidance counselor would be so proud.
Ooh, and I have tickets to see Cole Escola’s one-act play Oh, Mary! on Broadway, which has been described as “howlingly funny” and “one of the best comedies in years.”
As I understand it, the show imagines Mary Todd Lincoln as a former cabaret performer who gave up her vaudeville dreams to marry Honest Abe (and become his beard…), and now hates her life with flagrantly alcoholic passion, wreaking havoc on everyone around her while her husband is off “doing Civil War stuff.”
Suffice it to say, I cannot wait to see it, and I shall report back.
NFG NEWS
Folks, our Life-Changing Magic movie dreams are still alive! I’m told the new script has now been evaluated by the studio big-wigs (or perhaps the studio big wigs’ low-paid assistants) and changes have been requested in that Hollywood way where everyone is SUPER EXCITED about the project even though they apparently want MASSIVE REWRITES that will take SEVERAL MORE MONTHS. So cross your fingers and toes, and if anybody knows how to get in touch with Aubrey Plaza, let me know because I want her to play me in this thing. (Assuming a “me” character even still exists after all the rewrites, LOLOLOL.)
Book recommendations
As longtime subscribers know, I was a book editor myself for fifteen years and I like to use this newsletter to shout-out my recent favorite reads. I don’t take requests or PR trades or anything like that; whatever I recommend is because I truly enjoyed it and think other people will too.
Fiction:
Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe. This novel about a young single mom who turns to OnlyFans as a way to support herself and her newborn baby was a delightful surprise. I’d never read Thorpe before and happened to see it recommended by two trusted readers in the span of a few days, so I bought it on a whim, and I really enjoyed it. If you like comic absurdity that also makes you think and grows your perspective about complex issues, this is an Alissa Nutting-esque winner.
Perfect Remains by Helen Fields...and the six other books in the series. One of you recommended these Edinburgh-set procedurals to me after I was bereft at finishing the Jane Casey “Maeve Kerrigan” detective novels, and they definitely hit the spot—so thank you!
All Fours by Miranda July. I don’t have much to say about this absolutely CHAOTIC “Great Perimenopause Novel” that hasn’t already been said by readers and reviewers around the world, but rest assured it will haunt my dreams for months—if not years—to come. Holy hot flashes, Batman.
Nonfiction:
The Menopause Brain: New Science Empowers Women to Navigate the Pivotal Transition with Knowledge and Confidence by Lisa Mosconi, PhD. I guess I’ve been on a menopausal reading kick lately. (Gee, I wonder why…) I first became aware of Dr. Mosconi by way of Deborah Copaken’s publication, Lady Parts, which sent me down a rabbit hole to this interview about the link between menopause and Alzheimer’s. And boy do I want to preserve my brain health into my old age, so off I went to see what else she had to say! I found the book clarifying and informative, and I highly recommend it to the Change of Lifers among us.
The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War by Erik Larson. My husband and I conducted our first-ever marital book club with this one, which is just us reading the same book at the same time and me trying not to get too far ahead. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it) when it comes to the Civil War, there aren’t a lot of spoilers, so it was great for discussion even if I did finish first. This [excellent] book made me So. Fucking. Angry. Both for how the events leading up the war played out, and for how tragically similar it all was to events that are still playing out today in the US of A. Will we never learn?
LINKS & LIKES
My husband bought me this epic piece of jewelry that I am excited to wear to an upcoming wedding. (It’s a Cheez-It trapped in
amberglitter.)You guys! These peel n’ stick tiles legit look fantastic, and the white chevron pattern is now disguising a hideous green glass brick situation that came with our kitchen. All you need is a metal straight edge, a cutting board, and a box cutter or craft scalpel and you’re in business.
The Defenestrations of Prague, but make them comedy gold, by
“When my grandkids come to visit, I cannot for the life of me remember their names” and other Zillow Problems, Zillow Solutions from
Alrighty folks, that’ll do it for my monthly(ish) NFG roundup. As always, thank you for reading, and until next time: I see you, I appreciate you, and I sincerely hope you’re out there giving fewer, better fucks and living your best life!
Sarah
RECENT POSTS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED:
Drat, the link to my epic Cheez-It necklace was broken in the original newsletter email. It's fixed now for posterity, but for instant gratification, BEHOLD: https://www.glitterlimes.com/products/cheeseit-necklace
Thanks for pointing me to Rebecca Makkai on substack.