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📚 The Crane Wife by CJ Hauser: Ten days after calling off her wedding, Hauser traveled to the gulf coast of Texas to join a scientific expedition studying cranes. Her account—of the birds, but mostly the small things in her relationship that made her feel “burdensome and less than self-sufficient”—went viral in 2019 and is the title of her new collection of essays. It’s full of insightful and darkly funny gems, like when an ill-chosen blue neckerchief leads her to vow, “never again to wear any article of clothing that you could not survive the mortification of being dumped in. This has proved to be a good rule.” The essay is wonderful, but the book illuminates a more complete picture of a life in the context of relationships.

🎥 ‘Where the Crawdads Sing’: Yes, Daisy Edgar-Jones’s hair is more prom queen than marsh girl, and there’s one too many CGI pelicans, but I still loved this adaptation of Delia Owens’s novel, which came out last week. Kya’s love affairs with the North Carolina marsh she calls home and her childhood love, Tate, feel fated, even with her traumatic upbringing, until she’s charged with murder. The movie holds the tension and secrets of the book until the very last shot, for a satisfying summer romance.

Issue #48: Are You a "Someday" Collector?

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