The New Jon Ronson, Masculinity in Literature, and Elizabeth Holmes' Blinkless Mien.

Greetings, friends. It RAINED this weekend! Literally nothing makes me feel more like myself than rain. The week was great — my son had the best birthday, the whole family watched Ratatouille together, and the new season of Taskmaster premiered. I really cannot complain. Thanks for reading Always Reading, Always Snacking! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. What I Read Last Week: Masculinity Crisis Edition First, I will say that masculinity is not a top five topic for me in terms of reading, because who the fuck cares? However, when my boy Jon Ronson writes a book, I'm gonna read it, which brings me to what I read last weekend:The Castle. From the publisher: 'His only child is lured to a mysterious castle in the forests of New England late one night, sending Jon Ronson on an extraordinary adventure into a dark world of unmoored men desperately searching for purpose and control—whatever the cost. With zero warning, the crisis of masculinity and its bizarre, wrecking-ball manifestations had crashed into Jon's life. As his investigation deepens, urgent questions come to light: What exactly is 'Princessing'? Why did a lawn care influencer dress as a baby in front of billions of online viewers? How did a paid-up member of the Skeptic Society derail his life in the name of a warped vision of chivalry? And, more pressingly, why are two recently released murderers on their way to pay Jon a visit? In our rapidly changing society, many men have become detached from reality; some are behaving like separatists, while others have fallen deep down ideological rabbit holes. Is this a complete fracturing of society, a new era of disinhibition where anything goes? Drawing on his trademark brand of humor, psychological insight, and unrivaled prescience,The Castlemarks Jon Ronson's long-awaited return to the written page in his darkest and most insightful book yet—one where he throws open the doors to the Castle and reveals a new lost generation of men.' Well, I don't know. What I liked: time spent with Jon Ronson is always entertaining. He's got a really light touch, he's funny, and he picks great weirdos to write about. He makes an interesting argument about why so many men feel adrift and lost right now: basically, the institutions that used to organize the lives of men (the factories they worked for, mainstream media) have collapsed, and no one knows exactly how to live in the absence of these institutions. I mostly feel like that's a reasonable take; it particularly applies to men whose lives have been destabilized by the loss of industry in their towns. What did not work for me is the central character in the book. Basically, Ronson seems to be arguing that this one man's problems stem from a larger societal threat to men. However, that feels pretty shaky to me, because the man has severe mental illness (as written about in the book, I'm not making assumptions) and the only reason he isn't homeless or in jail is because he is wildly rich. Honestly, every chapter about this one man was more distressing than the next, because it was so clear to me that he was dangerous to himself and others, and Ronson just kind of kept bopping along, using his exploits to draw conclusions about masculinity as a whole. And there were several other men in the book who did not seem to me to be struggling as the result of collapsing institutions, but rather because they need therapy and refuse to take accountability for their own actions. The chapters about a YouTube dad named Greg Chism (omg what a last name, poor dear) were my favorite, for sure. Ronson goes HARD on YouTube, which I loved, also. Those are some nefarious fuckers! Read if you: used to love Malcolm Gladwell and theFreakonomicsguys before they all got debunked; can't believe that any of us used to view Hugh Hefner as an eccentric hedonist instead of the absolute creep he really was; need a reminder that Dan Bilzerian is anall-time turd. What You Should Read: Masculinity Edition Well, now that I'm talking about masculinity, I might as well keep going. Today I'm going to recommend three books with interesting, nuanced, and hopeful depictions of straight white masculinity. First up, a book that ruined me with its enormous heart, Leif Enger'sI Cheerfully Refuse. From the publisher: 'Set in a not-too-distant America,I Cheerfully Refuseis the tale of a bereaved and pursued musician embarking under sail on a sentient Lake Superior in search of his departed, deeply beloved, bookselling wife. Rainy, an endearing bear of an Orphean narrator, seeks refuge in the harbors, fogs and remote islands of the inland sea. Encountering lunatic storms and rising corpses from the warming depths, Rainy finds on land an increasingly desperate and illiterate people, a malignant billionaire ruling class, crumbled infrastructure and a lawless society. Amidst the Gulliver-like challenges of life at sea and no safe landings, Rainy is lifted by physical beauty, surprising humor, generous strangers, and an unexpected companion in a young girl who comes aboard. And as his innate guileless nature begins to make an inadvertent rebel of him, Rainy's private quest for the love of his life grows into something wider and wilder, sweeping up friends and foes alike in his strengthening wake.' Obviously I loved this because it's cli-fi and weird and lightly futuristic, but this book has SO MUCH gentleness in it. The prose is really vibrant here; I felt entirely transported by it into the world of Lake Superior. Rainy is a wonderful character — he's a man who feels things deeply and takes his responsibility to the world seriously. So, basically the opposite of the guys Ronson writes about in his book. Read if you: love Kim Stanley Robinson and Emily St. John Mandel; never get tired of reading about sailing and often think about what you would have done if you were Shackleton on the Endurance; are passionately Team Peeta. Next up, a book that I can't believe I haven't written about before, David Mitchell's perfectBlack Swan Green. From the publisher: 'Black Swan Greentracks a single year in what is, for thirteen-year-old Jason Taylor, the sleepiest village in muddiest Worcestershire in a dying Cold War England, 1982. But the thirteen chapters, each a short story in its own right, create an exquisitely observed world that is anything but sleepy. A world of Kissingeresque realpolitikenacted in boys' games on a frozen lake; of 'nightcreeping' through the summer backyards of strangers; of the tabloid-fueled thrills of the Falklands War and its human toll; of the cruel, luscious Dawn Madden and her power-hungry boyfriend, Ross Wilcox; of a certain Madame Eva van Outryve de Crommelynck, an elderly bohemian emigré who is both more and less than she appears; of Jason's search to replace his dead grandfather's irreplaceable smashed watch before the crime is discovered; of first cigarettes, first kisses, first Duran Duran LPs, and first deaths; of Margaret Thatcher's recession; of Gypsies camping in the woods and the hysteria they inspire; and, even closer to home, of a slow-motion divorce in four seasons. Pointed, funny, profound, left-field, elegiac, and painted with the stuff of life,Black Swan Greenis David Mitchell's subtlest and most effective achievement to date.' Obviously I am a David Mitchell devotee, so it's not surprising that I love this book. What's so interesting about it is how different it feels from everything else I've read of his — there's no time travel or robots or secret societies, just a regular teenage boy trying to survive his life. The prose is, naturally, pitch-perfect; I've come to expect that from David. But it's just so special to see the interior life of a teenage boy and not feel horrified or disturbed. Jason experiences insecurity and longing and loneliness, and David Mitchell treats him with dignity and humor. An absolute masterpiece, and up there withCloud AtlasandJacob de Zoetin my Top 3 David Mitchell Books of All Time. Read if you: experienced the horrors of puberty and want to relive that time period from a safe distance; always foundCatcher in the Ryeto be overrated and off-putting; will never get over the premature loss of Freaks and Geeks. Finally, a book that literally made me WEEP, the phenomenal memoirA Heart That Worksby Rob Delaney. From the publisher: 'In 2018, Rob Delaney's two-year-old son, Henry, died of a brain tumor.A Heart That Worksis Delaney's intimate, unflinching, and at times fiercely funny exploration of Henry's beautiful, bright life and the devastation of his loss--from the harrowing illness to the vivid, bodily impact of grief and the blind, furious rage that followed through to the forceful, unstoppable love that remains. In the madness of his grief, Delaney grapples with the fragile miracle of life, the mysteries of death, and the question of purpose for those left behind. Profound, painful, full of emotion, and bracingly honest, Delaney's memoir offers solace to those who have faced devastation and shows us how grace may appear even in the darkest times.' I cannot believe I am recommending a memoir, but here we are, because this book fundamentally changed the way I think about grief, parenthood, and community. What's so amazing is the way that Delaney shows up as a dad and as a husband throughout this horrifying experience of his child's illness and death. He's not stoic or tough, and he doesn't want to be; he wants to feel the pain of this enormous loss because it honors his son. He writes so beautifully about what he wants from the people around him — for them to mention Henry by name, to remember cute stories about him, to keep his memory alive. What's also extraordinary about this book is that Delaney doesn't just focus on his own pain; he also talks about the importance of the NHS, and the incredible health care professionals who took care of his family when they most needed it. Rob Delaney's version of masculinity is vulnerable, authentic, loving, and powerful, rooted in a desire to make sure that other families are taken care of just as well as his was. Also, he's fucking hilarious. Read if you: were obsessed withCrying in H Mart, but need less food and more jokes; get angry every time you think about how broken the healthcare system is in this godforsaken country; have a lot of tears stuck in your brain and need to get them out, because if you can read this book without sobbing I think you may be actually an android. Pop Culture Moment I'm Thinking About This Week: More Elizabeth Holmes Edition As mentioned a few months ago, Nathan Fielder has made a documentary about Elizabeth Holmes, everyone's favorite scammer/loon. A trailer has been released! Does she blink ever? It's profoundly unsettling. 'I'm always being real' is a WILD statement from someone who's about to go to prison for 11 years for being a literal liar. I really like her house. It's got a nice little mid-century coastal vibe. How do you make a documentary with a pretty white lady SO creepy? Like, we can hear a tiny baby coo in the background, the walls are paneled in pine, we KNOW she isn't going to stab him, but still, I feel like I'm watching The Shining. If I could chat with Elizabeth Holmes, I would ask her why she consented to being filmed. Did she think she could possibly come out of this looking good? There is no redemption arc available to her, ever, unless she changes her entire personality. Her skin looks great, though. I watched the Raygun documentary this weekend. It was fine, entertaining enough. Yet again I am forced to ask myself what I could accomplish if I had a tenth of these women's self-confidence. What did their parents do differently than mine did? Can I do it for my children? Candy News: Still More Cinnamon Toast Crunch Edition My sister surprised me with this candy at dinner on Monday: This is the Kit Kat Ghost Toast, aka a Cinnamon Toast Crunch-flavored Kit Kat bar. I invited several other candy fans to try this with me, namely my sister, my brother-in-law, my 10-year-old nephew, my daughter, and my husband. Nephew: 'Tasted horrible.' Sister: 'It was a no for me.' Brother-in-law: 'Pretty good.' Daughter: 'I like it!' My husband: 'It's circus peanut orange.' Of the Cinnamon Toast-flavored candies, this certainly beats the Butterfinger and the M and Ms, which were truly disgusting. The Kit Kat texture is aces, I think we can all agree. And I theoretically like the cereal flavor, but it's really strong. And the color is ROUGH. To me, it looks like someone dipped a regular Kit Kat in bottled Russian dressing, which is objectively the most disgusting of all salad dressings. I will not purchase this again, but I am happy I ate it because going through a difficult time with your family is supposed to bond you to each other, and I really feel like we all suffered whilst eating this. But I am going to be honest, I've eaten two more fingers of it while writing this, and it wasn't all bad. So maybe these are an acquired taste? What I'm Excited About This Week: GBB Edition The gentlest and most life-affirming of all tv competition shows is back on 9/22, people! Here are some highlights from contestant bios: And in case we've all forgotten the true pinnacle of television, here is a 'Lupita Nyongo' cake: You know what that Lupita cake reminds me of? Oh, man. Sometimes the world is very, very entertaining. That's all for today. See you next week. Thanks for reading Always Reading, Always Snacking! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.