No F*cks Given® Newsletter | 9.23.24
Silver anniversaries, adventures in IUDs, and recs galore!
Here we are again, my fabulous fucklings: the monthly NFG Newsletter roundup is upon us! Per usual it contains great deals, fun links, book recs, and random AF musings from me to you.
What’s up?
Honestly, folks, I don’t even know where to begin. I took a month off from the NFGN and in just the two weeks between my most recent therapy appointments, so much had transpired that my therapist was like “Okay…well, that’s a LOT.”
In short: get your Covid booster and (if you are lucky enough to still have them) call your grandparents.
In long: I am on a SUPER FUN MEDICAL JOURNEY that began when I went to get my IUD removed and one of the “arms” decided to remain locked in the loving embrace of my uterine wall.
Yes, this was just as unsettling as it sounds. And if it strikes you as TMI, just scroll to the cutie pies below and then you can keep reading.
Of course, the breakage happened a mere six days before we were scheduled to fly home (from NY to the Dominican Republic)—three of which were Labor Day Weekend—so there was no time to schedule a surgical retrieval; only enough to submit to a rather invasive ultrasound to make sure Ol’ Broken Arm hadn’t perforated anything.
And that imaging revealed a SURPRISE BONUS CYST on one of my ovaries. She is “large and complex,” which I gather is not ideal, cystically-speaking.
Anyway…I have a Zoom consult with the gyno surgeon this week, so if you have any relevant experience you care to share in the comments, I’ll take it!
In much more pleasant and uplifting news, in August, my husband and I celebrated the 25th anniversary of our first date. We went to an amazing new restaurant in our beloved old Brooklyn neighborhood (Sailor, in Fort Greene) and dined al fresco on a gorgeous late summer evening. No notes.
NFG DEALS
Calm the Fuck Down is (weirdly) 17% off in hardcover right now on Amazon US. I guess Jeff Bezos knows it’s election/Covid/flu/hurricane/wildfire/back-to-school season. Hope it helps you in your time(s) of need!
What else?
The hubs has recorded yet another new song, “Fireworks,” which he calls “an ode to love that stands the test of time.” (See above: 25 year and counting…)
I’ve been telling him this one is a certified bop ever since he first wrote it, and it seems the people agree—it’s getting crazy amounts of playlist placement and hit 5,000 streams faster than any of his releases so far. Listen on Spotify or wherever you get your music!
I regret to inform you there is no food left in New Orleans, because we ate it all.
In early September we visited my in-laws in the Crescent City, and culinary highlights included the breakfast sandwiches from Molly’s Rise & Shine (sister restaurant to sandwich magician Mason Hereford’s Turkey & the Wolf, another fave) and dinner at Ana Castro’s new, seafood-forward Mexican restaurant Acamaya. Her previous spot, Lengua Madre, was one of the best new restaurants we’d tried in many years, and this one follows suit! I also finally hit local legend Clancy’s and was positively ashamed of myself for never having made it there in all the years I’ve been going to Nola.
Forgive me, Clancy’s. I’ll be back!
As for entertainment: upon my brother’s strong recommendation we finally started Slow Horses and promptly binged the first three seasons in two weeks. Incredible.
Folks, not only is it that good—in Gary Oldman’s character, the greasy, gassy, MI5 burnout Jackson Lamb, we finally have a multi-Oscar award-winner giving a master class in Joey Tribiani’s “smell the fart acting.” Truly a sight to behold.
Since we have to wait a week between Season Four episode drops, we’ve started the French series Le Bureau to keep our armchair espionage skills on point. It’s also really good, though spy games are confusing enough without adding subtitles to the mix. (Definitely pause it if you have to leave the room for a few seconds, is what I’m saying.)
Baseball giveth and it taketh away. Currently my beloved Red Sox, who were en fuego going into the All-Star break, have slipped to below .500 and lost like ten of their last thirty games. My kingdom for a functional bullpen in 2025!
Book recommendations
As longtime subscribers know, I was a book editor myself for fifteen years and I like 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.
Poetry:
A Bit Much by Lyndsay Rush (aka ). Y’all. I’m not a regular poetry reader, but an advance copy of this collection made its way to me earlier in the year and I devoured it. As I told the editor: “The wit! The wordplay! The teeny-tiny dagger embedded in the heart of every poem! Every page is a fucking delight.” I also love the cover, which will look fab on your bedside table.
Fiction:
All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker. Somehow a sweeping love story, serial killer suspense novel, and multigenerational family/community saga all in one, I was so impressed by the way this book unfolded. There’s a sort of surreal or maybe “heightened reality” aspect to it that I don’t always go for, but he pulls it off incredibly well. No wonder it was a big summer book club pick!
Madwoman by Chelsea Bieker. I’ve been waiting for a new novel from her ever since I read and loved God Shot a few years ago, and Madwoman did not disappoint. A word of warning: the subject matter is quite dark (domestic abuse, among other things), but I loved it.
The Winner by Teddy Wayne. I liked this much more than last summer’s “eat-the-rich” beach read (The Guest by Emma Cline)—mostly because it had an actual ending. Oh, and what an ending it is…
Long Island Compromise by Taffy Brodesser-Akner. Another book I’ve been waiting for ever since reading and LOVING the author’s first novel, which in this case was Fleishman is in Trouble. Subject-wise, LIC proved somewhat less up my alley, but it was still a rollicking read, and Taffy Brodesser-Akner’s ability to assess (and skewer) the human condition remains deliciously on point.
Nonfiction:
Listful: An Exploration of Our Need for Lists and the Language and Materials which Shape Them by Jo Nolan. Another book I had the chance to read before it came out, and in this case EXTREMELY up my alley. (The section on “shared lists” was especially amusing, given my husband’s and my differing approaches to organizing our collective household to-do’s.) It’s a limited release, so if you’re a list maniac—or married to one—you can email listful2023@gmail.com to get a copy for you and/or yours!
LINKS & LIKES
I own one print from Jade Purple Brown and lately I’ve been itching to get another. I love her use of bright color and the playful, sexy attitude in her work.
So much great stuff from
lately, but this post on finding peace in a decluttered home really spoke to me.- wrote a really smart post about when to go all out in your online life and when to rein it in.
For those approaching cozy season, FYI the Bearaby weighted blanket is my jam. It’s not cheap, but I’ve tried many competitors and this one is breathable, chic, and guarantees me an hour-long nap every time. #winning
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
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Good luck on your appointment! I adore Slow Horses. Not only is the acting great, it’s a comfort. If Lamb’s misfits can (mostly) protect the world/get the baddies when they fuck up that much, then we’re in better shape than I think.
Hope you're feeling better soon - medical/illness rabbit holes are the worst. Take care of yourself ❤️