Bullet Points, April 2024
Bullet Points, April 2024
What I've been reading, buying & vibing with in April
It’s spring! The tulips are blooming, there are leaves on the trees, the birds are out! Vibes are high! Exclamation points are abundant!
Every month, I round up what I’m reading, buying and vibing with to bring to you– because I yearn for the high of internet influencing.
See you next month!
Reading:
The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine by Rashid Khalidi. This took me too many months to get through, because it was dense, but it’s also important, an overview of the history of the Palestine-Israel conflict. It was published in 2020, so the conclusion hits especially hard when you look at where we are now.
A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers. This is my second time reading it, and I’ve been really slow, savoring, thinking about this world she’s built– it addresses a specific issue that’s so relevant in all the conversations and concerns around AI.
Book Lovers by Emily Henry. Another reread and wow, oh my god, this one is actually better than I remember. Charlie Lastra, a king among men. Nora Stephens, hot and expensive icon. Reminder to self: slow down when reading EmHen’s newest book instead of trying to rush through it.
Funny Story by Emily Henry. I made it just under the wire (meaning I finished it last night), and loved it, of course. Emily (we’re on a first name basis) is just so good, she makes me want to be a better writer.
Buying:
From local bookstores. The last Saturday of April was Indie Bookstore Day, a holiday perfectly sandwiched between every new Emily Henry release and my birthday. My local indie is The Dog Eared Book— she’s been popping off on TikTok, so I stood in line for an HOUR to get in, and I bought a used (signed!!) copy of Come and Get it by Kiley Reid (bc I enjoyed it so much when I read it), the new EmHen, Funny Story, of course, and Yulin Kuang’s How to End a Love Story.
Little treats (I am incapable of self-control). A really good butter yellow nail polish1, this vanilla body spray that smells artificial in a way that reminds me specifically of some scented doll I had as a kid, the Starface pimple patches (these are wholly inferior to the Hero cosmetics ones btw).
This bodysuit from Old Navy— I’m going to a Taylor Swift themed night for my birthday, and this is giving lavender haze.
Vibing:
Playing dress-up. I’m trying to buy less clothes (it is not going well), and part of that is that I’m trying to play with the clothes I do have, instead of defaulting to a few outfits because they’re comfortable and I know they work. My Pinterest inspo board is really putting in the work.
This is a big season for music!! Maggie Rogers’ Don’t Forget Me (some highlights for me are The Kill, & It was Coming All Along.) Beyonce! (LEVII’S JEANS and II MOST WANTED are my faves, I think). And of course, the main event: The Tortured Poets Department. It took me a few listens to get the vision, and listening to 31 songs is like running a marathon2, but I made it. There’s a long list of favorites so far: down bad, fortnight, I can do it with a broken heart, the prophecy, the bolter, who’s afraid of little old me?, guilty as sin? (I’ll stop now)
Relentless optimism. The world is green and bright! I’m trying to pay attention to it and really enjoy it so I don’t sink into…ya know, depression.
It was Sally Hansen’s “Lemon zest” but appears to be MIA now.
I think. I’ve never run one, so I wouldn’t know.