Horror movies, Billie Eilish, and judgy cats
This week's edition of Simon Says.
This is Simon Says, Rachel Simon’s weekly newsletter that’s part life updates, part pop culture recs, and part whatever else is going on in her brain at the moment. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram for more, and subscribe here to get this in your inbox every Monday night.
What I’m writing
I’m starting work on a *very* exciting freelance story soon for Shondaland that I can’t share the details of just yet, but I can’t wait to dive in! More info to come…
As for my novel, I didn’t make as much progress this week as I’d have liked, partly because I had some serious procrastination issues, as Mim Mim was kind enough to judge me for:
But I did get some stuff done. I’m at around 12k words now, and I had a pretty big breakthrough during a recent session that helped me get to know my protagonist/figure out her journey way better. Here’s to little victories!
Also, this post cut me to my core.
What I’m reading
If you love YA, be sure to check out Emma Lord’s You Have a Match, which is basically a Gen Z retelling of The Parent Trap that’s extremely cute and extremely funny. I finished it this weekend, and loved every page.
Now, I’m reading a very different book called The Innocents, a novel by Michael Crummey about two siblings forced to survive alone in isolated Newfoundland. I’m not sure if I’m *loving* it just yet, but I am intrigued, and it’s certainly an original page-turner.
What I’m watching
We watched the HBO movie Bad Education a few days ago, which was decent! Hugh Jackman and Allison Janney were great, and the IRL high school scandal at the center of the movie’s plot was fascinating, but it just felt a little lacking in… something. Still, a solid B+ overall.
After much convincing from Kurt, who is much better with scary stuff than I am, we also watched The Wailing, a Korean horror movie from 2016. I did not particularly enjoy it, but that was not the fault of the movie, which was clearly very well-made, but my own tolerance for gory exorcism-related content. Also, I fell asleep for the last 20 minutes, so I had to Wikipedia the plot to figure out what happened. Oops.
What I’m listening to
Although I haven’t gotten a chance yet to watch the new special episode of Euphoria, I did listen to and love the new song by Billie Eilish and Rosalia that soundtracked the hour. It’s a gorgeous, moody track that feels like a perfect fit for the show, and the music video is just as haunting.
Closing thoughts
This interview with Tavi Gevinson about the decline/revival of Rookie is a must-read for anyone who, like me, grew up religiously reading Rookie or is just interested in the reality behind the “girlboss” veneer.
ICYMI, JoJo Siwa—massively popular singer/dancer/brand who is worshipped by kids—just came out as LGBTQ+, which is a huge deal! I’m very happy for her, and the news made me revisit this profile of JoJo from 2019, which did a great job explaining what life is like for one of the most unique entertainers around.
Also, there are new episodes of Selena and Chef on HBO, and I, for one, am very excited.
Lastly, we gave Ellie doggie Xanax (aka Trazodone) for the first time because we left her at day care, and she became an adorable blob who decided that her 66-lb. self was now a lap dog. It went about as well as you’d expect:
I love her.
Thanks for reading, friends! Until next week,
-Rachel