Friday Fourteen Issue 155
This week: The only review of Prince Harry’s book that you need, a must-read essay on grappling with bipolar disorder in all its nuances from Naomi Jackson, TikTok’s latest obsession with lucky girl syndrome, a golden thread of therapist advice, the Jennifer Coolidge speech that stole the Golden Globes, and more.
100 ways to improve your life without really trying
Cozzie livs might have given us all a lol, but it turns out abbreviations and diminutives actually unite Aussies
This is a must-read essay on grappling with bipolar disorder in all its nuances from the incredible Naomi Jackson (“I was once someone people would describe as steady, the kind of friend you turned to for advice on buying an apartment or negotiating your salary. The year before I became sick, I started tumbling, transforming from a high-achieving, fiscally responsible, and thoughtful person into someone you might call “messy.”)
Seven writers from around the world on how they rang in the new year
You don't need to get married or have a kid to have a party
The only review of Prince Harry’s book that you need
In tech news: TikTok’s security deal with the U.S might be on hold, Apple looks set to announce a VR headset to rival Meta’s Quest, an AI legal assistant will attend court for the first time ever in Feb, Twitter’s splitting your feed in two with a TikTok-esque For You page, Instagram is simplifying its navigation (cya shopping), Bing might *finally* rival Google as Microsoft looks to add ChatGPT to its search engine, and Elon is adding a rich text editor to Twitter
Interiors we bookmarked over the break include this 300-year-old Mallorcan farmhouse, this extremely unattainable but dreamy Notting Hill townhouse, and this chaotically colourful home in Massachusetts
There might actually be some merit to TikTok’s latest obsession with lucky girl syndrome
ICYMI HarperCollins employees have been on strike since December. This fascinating (and infuriating) interview between Culture Study writer Anne Hellen Peterson and associate editor Rachel Kambury explains the importance of diversity in publishing and the ramifications of poor working conditions for the industry at large (“One thing has become abundantly clear: the people who work in this industry absolutely inform what gets published, and who reads the books we put out … This industry is overwhelmingly composed of white people, with a majority of wealth consolidated at the top, and the resulting microaggressions (and sometimes outright bigotry) do not stop at the employee level”)
If you’re a “late person” (Vanessa 👋 ) this piece in the Cut will help you understand *why* you to tend to run late and give you tactics to reform your lateness in 2023
Roxane Gay wants to remind you that yes, your job is important but you are not your job
What's the most helpful thing a therapist has told you? (there’s so much gold in the comments)
Aaaaand in other news: Brad Pitt is in his flop era (even if Hollywood wishes otherwise), why are chickens so funny, deep down we’re all Tutter, this is what surprising your partner *actually* looks like, Harry Styles between songs at his concerts, these pass ag phrases are out in 2023, girls taking a candid video for their story, respectful memes, new love languages, we’ll never be one of those girls who washes her berries and that’s okay, reading a guy’s text to your friend when you’re sure he’s being off, different generations reacting to the doorbell and sending lyrics to people on Tinder, and Jennifer Coolidge gave a sensational speech at Wednesday’s Golden Globes and it made us all wish we had a Mike White in our lives
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Vanessa, content & strategy director
Reading: I read a lot over the break! Highlights include No Such Thing As Perfect by my former Telegraph colleague Emma Hughes (honestly one of the most enjoyable rom coms I’ve read in yonks), I’m Sorry You Feel That Way by Rebecca Wait (a sharp, wry and funny family drama), You Be Mother by Meg Mason (I loved Sorrow and Bliss and Meg’s debut novel did not disappoint), Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld (my third reading, could read this once a year and not get sick of it) and I finally finished Love Marriage by Monica Ali (loved the beginning, got lost in the middle a bit, loved the end)
Watching: She Said at the cinema. I loved the book and the film was everything I wanted it to be
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Maddie, social media coordinator
Doing: Adding a weekly act of kindness to my 2023 calendar (this week I’ll be on the lookout for any bees that need reviving 🐝)
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Ava, copywriter & content producer
Reading: I’m hooked on Colleen Hoover’s Verity – a novel about a down and out writer tasked with completing a famous thriller series by a now-incapacitated author (who, of course, lives in a slightly spooky mansion with her very steamy husband)
