I will die on the hill that my comfort read is Persuasion and my comfort film is Ever After. I love witches so much I feel like I'm going to explode, absolutely loved this! The best witchy thing I've read in recent memory was The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow, loved it! I tried also watching A Discovery of Witches but found it too YA for my taste (sad).
Once and Future Witches is for sure on my fall TBR, I’ve heard wonderful things about it!! The writing in Discovery of Witches was troublesome for me, so I agree. Ever After is one of THE great ‘90s films
Loved this: “suddenly I don’t know if I’m human or a ChatGPT knockoff since clearly I’m so heavily influenced by the internet as to have lost all original thought.”
Hmm, I know the feeling, Miss Natalie 🤔😆 (I just ordered my husband to buy me Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter!).
I’m not so into witches, but I’d say my comfort reads are anything by John Irving or Tracy Chevalier. I know I will get lost in anything they write.
I truly need to spend some time offline, clearly lol. Love Irving but haven’t read any Chevalier gonna have to check it out! Can’t wait to hear what you think of Pretty Girls
She wrote The Girl with the Pearl Earring. That might be a good one to start with, though I also loved Burning Bright and Remarkable Creatures. She takes true historical figures and weaves a tale of fiction around their lives, with lots of research to enhance her work.
Now that you got me thinking (yes this is my second comment deal with it) I do love witches, but I want them snatching babies so they can live longer and dancing naked around fires in the middle of the woods absolutely scaring the shit out of the near by town people. I want scary chants and high pitched spells being cast out in the middle of the night causing their victims to suddenly fall under their trance and unwittingly start walking towards the middle of the woods becoming unwilling victims of self sacrifice all in the name of keeping this vicious cycle spinning…🤷🏻♂️ I’m a sick pup
Why it’s not witches that tickle my fancy is as good a guess as any… BUT… I am a man and maybe it’s in our DNA to gravitate towards strong men and for me it’s watching my favorite anti-hero Don Antonio Soprano, yes Tony Soprano and his crime family from Jersey that’s quite possibly as dysfunctional as his immediate family at home. And quite possibly my most ‘male’ characteristic being the joy it brings me watching men fight for control of what’s theirs (or what they decide to take as their’s) and defending their honor while sticking to an old code everyone agreed to years ago. The thought of entering ‘the life’ as they call it where everyone knows the rules and you pay for your mistakes with your own life is the apex of giving your life to something that is bigger than you are. Now a strong love for true crime and mostly organized crime helps one think in these terms. I’ve watched this series to the point of easily reciting every line and I don’t know why but there comes a comfort with just having it on in the background no matter what’s going on. Now everything is not for everyone, but when you find your secret sauce in life that brings you comfort and helps you escape whatever real life event decided to kick you in the face this week, you gotta take what you can get. I’ve watched it so much the characters feel like family, another crazy, insane family life I can pop in and out of at will. 😉
Superb content as ever Natalie. Urgh I LOVE witches. I just trust them with my life and am never not intrigued in media that talks about the history of witches. They just have great vibes! I really wish I could meet a witch that was burned at the stake, you know? Like how powerful and great must a woman be that you decide she has to die? 🧙♀️ Also love to hunger games rewatch!! I TOO made my partner watch it all for the first time last year and he was initially skeptical and then after we watched said he couldn’t believe he’d never seen it and that it was amazing (duh). I can’t wait to watch it again soon (along with a trusty twilight rewatch). Carrying on the theme of comfort rewatches, aside from those two movie franchises, it has to be: Gilmore Girls, Gossip Girl, New Girl (heavy on the girl theme here) and The Office (US version). They just never fail me ever.
Re Gilmore girls, hard agree that Emily just gets better and better with every rewatch. Especially as you age. When I first started watching I was Rory’s age, now I’m closer to Lorelai’s which is SO weird. I used to not like Emily when I watched when I was 15 but now I adore her? Along with Paris one of the best characters. Have you listened to the ‘Gilmore To Say’ podcast? If you haven’t heard of it RUN you’d love it. It just talks about Gilmore girls in circles forever which I could also do x
Great choices on comfort watches!!! And yes I totally agree as you age you’re just like, I understand you Emily! I haven’t heard of that podcast I for sure need to check it out 😍
Thanks for another fun read. As befits an old white guy, I find comfort in Dickens (things could be worse) and Proust (enter a different world). Like you, can’t wait to read Fraud. Long, fascinating piece on Smith and the evolution of historical fiction genre in latest NYRB. The writer says Smith is the best literary/cultural critic of her generation (gen x). I want to read her criticism as well as her new novel. I read her first one but nothing since.
I am so impressed the Proust is your comfort read! Along with the very great Dickens, that I can definitely see. Do you watch any of the adaptations? And if Smith is a representative of Gen X I see why I love her work so much - although I am technically an elder millennial, so much of gen x culture resonates with me. White Teeth was extroardinary.
I will die on the hill that my comfort read is Persuasion and my comfort film is Ever After. I love witches so much I feel like I'm going to explode, absolutely loved this! The best witchy thing I've read in recent memory was The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow, loved it! I tried also watching A Discovery of Witches but found it too YA for my taste (sad).
Yazmin, you are officially my 100th subscriber! Thank you so much for being here :)
Once and Future Witches is for sure on my fall TBR, I’ve heard wonderful things about it!! The writing in Discovery of Witches was troublesome for me, so I agree. Ever After is one of THE great ‘90s films
Loved this: “suddenly I don’t know if I’m human or a ChatGPT knockoff since clearly I’m so heavily influenced by the internet as to have lost all original thought.”
Hmm, I know the feeling, Miss Natalie 🤔😆 (I just ordered my husband to buy me Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter!).
I’m not so into witches, but I’d say my comfort reads are anything by John Irving or Tracy Chevalier. I know I will get lost in anything they write.
I truly need to spend some time offline, clearly lol. Love Irving but haven’t read any Chevalier gonna have to check it out! Can’t wait to hear what you think of Pretty Girls
She wrote The Girl with the Pearl Earring. That might be a good one to start with, though I also loved Burning Bright and Remarkable Creatures. She takes true historical figures and weaves a tale of fiction around their lives, with lots of research to enhance her work.
Now that you got me thinking (yes this is my second comment deal with it) I do love witches, but I want them snatching babies so they can live longer and dancing naked around fires in the middle of the woods absolutely scaring the shit out of the near by town people. I want scary chants and high pitched spells being cast out in the middle of the night causing their victims to suddenly fall under their trance and unwittingly start walking towards the middle of the woods becoming unwilling victims of self sacrifice all in the name of keeping this vicious cycle spinning…🤷🏻♂️ I’m a sick pup
Ok so this is how we know opposites attract because I love creepy cute and you love just scaring the shit out of me 🥲
Why it’s not witches that tickle my fancy is as good a guess as any… BUT… I am a man and maybe it’s in our DNA to gravitate towards strong men and for me it’s watching my favorite anti-hero Don Antonio Soprano, yes Tony Soprano and his crime family from Jersey that’s quite possibly as dysfunctional as his immediate family at home. And quite possibly my most ‘male’ characteristic being the joy it brings me watching men fight for control of what’s theirs (or what they decide to take as their’s) and defending their honor while sticking to an old code everyone agreed to years ago. The thought of entering ‘the life’ as they call it where everyone knows the rules and you pay for your mistakes with your own life is the apex of giving your life to something that is bigger than you are. Now a strong love for true crime and mostly organized crime helps one think in these terms. I’ve watched this series to the point of easily reciting every line and I don’t know why but there comes a comfort with just having it on in the background no matter what’s going on. Now everything is not for everyone, but when you find your secret sauce in life that brings you comfort and helps you escape whatever real life event decided to kick you in the face this week, you gotta take what you can get. I’ve watched it so much the characters feel like family, another crazy, insane family life I can pop in and out of at will. 😉
Superb content as ever Natalie. Urgh I LOVE witches. I just trust them with my life and am never not intrigued in media that talks about the history of witches. They just have great vibes! I really wish I could meet a witch that was burned at the stake, you know? Like how powerful and great must a woman be that you decide she has to die? 🧙♀️ Also love to hunger games rewatch!! I TOO made my partner watch it all for the first time last year and he was initially skeptical and then after we watched said he couldn’t believe he’d never seen it and that it was amazing (duh). I can’t wait to watch it again soon (along with a trusty twilight rewatch). Carrying on the theme of comfort rewatches, aside from those two movie franchises, it has to be: Gilmore Girls, Gossip Girl, New Girl (heavy on the girl theme here) and The Office (US version). They just never fail me ever.
Re Gilmore girls, hard agree that Emily just gets better and better with every rewatch. Especially as you age. When I first started watching I was Rory’s age, now I’m closer to Lorelai’s which is SO weird. I used to not like Emily when I watched when I was 15 but now I adore her? Along with Paris one of the best characters. Have you listened to the ‘Gilmore To Say’ podcast? If you haven’t heard of it RUN you’d love it. It just talks about Gilmore girls in circles forever which I could also do x
Great choices on comfort watches!!! And yes I totally agree as you age you’re just like, I understand you Emily! I haven’t heard of that podcast I for sure need to check it out 😍
Thanks for another fun read. As befits an old white guy, I find comfort in Dickens (things could be worse) and Proust (enter a different world). Like you, can’t wait to read Fraud. Long, fascinating piece on Smith and the evolution of historical fiction genre in latest NYRB. The writer says Smith is the best literary/cultural critic of her generation (gen x). I want to read her criticism as well as her new novel. I read her first one but nothing since.
I am so impressed the Proust is your comfort read! Along with the very great Dickens, that I can definitely see. Do you watch any of the adaptations? And if Smith is a representative of Gen X I see why I love her work so much - although I am technically an elder millennial, so much of gen x culture resonates with me. White Teeth was extroardinary.
Great post! I'm making my list of witchy reads for this October. Had a few hits last read.
I will read every single witchy list anyone ever shares, I love it so much! Would love to see yours when it's done :)
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