Sunday marked the last day of quarantine; the shelter-in-place order has been lifted, and I’ve been back at the office as if nothing has changed.

Only everything has. I’ve read 106 books since the first full week I started working from home—and I’ve kept to this goal (a promise made with none other than myself) of reading one book a day. There still is no vaccine or insight on how COVID-19 can be stopped, and yet, we’re expected to proceed as if things are safe. (They aren’t, but turning a blind eye in for favorable numbers is this nation’s priority.) The country has erupted into a divisive war on and about race. (How people still can’t see the light and understand why #BlackLivesMatters is beyond me.) We have to keep fighting, and I’m figuring out how I can best continue that conversation.

In the meantime, these were the eight books that concluded by daily reading challenge. (Thanks for sticking along for the ride.)

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DAY 85: THE THINGS THEY FANCIED

I’ve been a fan of Molly Young’s work for a few years now, and when she announced she was publishing a zine “about the sick and twisted hobbies of rich people throughout history” (and even better, was knowing that this was researched and written during the start of quarantine), I bought a copy immediately. She delves into subjects of prurient curiosities with utmost wit and dexterity—leaving you silently lol-ing at the insane (but very real) frivolities of the 1-percent while in awe of her way with words.

DAY 86: A PAGEANT FOR EVERY ADDICTION

I may have to attribute this discovery to Molly Young, too. As I mentioned last week, I’ve been craving poetry (once a week for brevity and pause) and A Pageant for Every Addiction was everything I’d normally avoid when book-buying—but exactly what I needed for comic relief after these last few weeks. (To clarify: I’m not exhausted by allyship, but a change of pace helps refuel and ignite.)

It’s cheeky and kind of ridiculous; physical proof that depth need not be serious all the time.

DAY 87: THE CHIFFON TRENCHES

Where to start except that I’ve been anticipating André Leon Talley’s memoir for nearly a decade? For the last few months, I waited eagerly (anxiously, even) with bated breath at the release of The Chiffon Trenches. Yet when my copy arrived at the door, I couldn’t bear to start reading because it would be over too soon—so I did what any normal girl would do. I rewatched The Gospel According to André twice within a week to prep, prime, and prolong the process.

Of course it was worth the wait. To call him “fabulous” would be reductive; ALT is an icon, a mover, a shaker—a black gay man who sacrificed everything (including his health) and paved the way for visibility in the iciest of worlds. I can only aspire to have that sort of determination and vision.

DAY 88: THE END OF FASHION

Wall Street Journal reporter Teri Agins dives into the years leading up to the tipping point of when mass marketing changed the clothing business forever—ending Fashion-with-a-capital-F as we once knew it. The book is well-researched and written, as to be expected, and gives context to why icons like ALT aren’t appreciated (much less sitting at the helm of fashion). It’s a sobering study on consumption and how our society prioritizes (or, doesn’t) the arts.

DAY 89: WEAR AND TEAR

Despite the end of Fashion, I’m holding onto my love for clothing by devouring anything that honors it. Wear and Tear wasn’t the everyday-fashion-meets-memoir of my literary dreams, but I share Tracy Tynan’s attachment to every piece in her closet. A dress isn’t just a dress: it’s a conscious decision after much deliberation; a statement; a mood; a memory.

DAY 90: WAYS OF SEEING

John Berger’s Ways of Seeing was one of the first assigned readings in the “Sex, Race, and Class” elective that changed my life. (And I say this without hyperbole.) Reading it again reminded me of who I was then, and who I am now (someone who is about to place a large order of books from NYU Press, because there’s so much I don’t know—and so desperately want to learn).

This was the book that made me a feminist.

DAY 91: THE LANGUAGE OF CLOTHES

Forever Barbie is the book that keeps on giving. Alison Lurie’s The Language of Clothes was referenced and I bought it instantly; I can’t resist a study on clothing (in society, less fashion). Some of the language is dated, but overall, it’s so well done and beautifully curated.

If you’re interested in a quick study on the evolution of style and how it reflects society, this is a great Sparknotes primer.

DAY 92: HEART TALK

Cleo Wade’s Heart Talk was the perfect book for my current headspace—and a beautiful bookend to this one-book-a-day journey.

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xx