​issue #15 - the one on Beyoncé, black maternal mortality, and breast pumps

If you can’t stop watching/listening/reading about Beyonce all week, I get you.

I’m in the same boat.

#ThingsILove This Week

• I can’t control how many times I wake up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom or change positions (and frankly, I’ve lost count). But I can control my bedtime and wakeup routines, and the Casper Glow Light has been a welcome addition to both. I use the light as my new alarm clock, as it slowly brightens from 5:30-6 a.m to gently wake me up. At night, I flip it and let it slowly dim over the course of an hour to mark my reading time. Once the light is off, I close my book and go straight to sleep. I have a feeling it’ll be a lifesaver during nighttime diaper changes once the baby is born.

• Whole Foods’ frozen pad thai has become a new favorite and grocery staple for us. I cook it in the microwave per the instructions, and then toss it in a hot wok with extra sprouts, veggies, Sriracha, and lime juice for a little bite. Totally worth it.

• Did you know LeVar Burton has a podcast that’s basically Reading Rainbow for adults? He reads an incredible short story on every episode. It is DELIGHTFUL.

• My old pump went missing, so I have to get a new one for R2. Thanks to my incredible IG family, I got a new Spectra S2 pump (the overwhelming favorite!) fully covered by insurance through Aeroflow, which made the entire process a breeze. There were votes for the Willow (which I’m getting from a friend), renting the Medela Symphony (a hospital grade pump), and a handful for the Pump In Style (the pump I had last time - it was okay).

• Watching: Homecoming. Listening to: Homecoming and Cuz I Love You by Lizzo.

• I finally got my hair colored this week, but these headbands were a lifesaver in covering up my roots for the past couple of weeks.

• Have you seen the Flower Home collection yet? I bought this basket set to corral some of R2’s things, but I also have my eye on this bedding set, this colorful globe, and this throw.

What I read/am reading this week:

• The Women’s War - Finished it. Loved it. Eagerly waiting for a sequel, though it doesn’t require it. I do want to acknowledge some of the criticism the book received - it’s completely absent of LGBTQ characters, and all the characters are white. This is a common criticism of the entire fantasy genre, and my only downside of this book. If you are looking for wonderful fantasy books that are richly diverse, I highly recommend Children Of Blood And Bone, A Spark Of White Fire, and The Tiger At Midnight. One #smartreader recommended NK Jemisin’s work to me, which I’ll be checking out soon.

• Fleishman Is In Trouble (coming in June 2019, ARC provided by NetGalley) - I’m calling it right now - this may be my favorite book of the year. It’s raw, ridiculously funny, razor-sharp, and just one hell of a book. I’ve never loved and hated characters more, and the ending was just perfect. Pre-order it now. You won’t regret it.

• American Princess (coming in July 2019, ARC provided by NetGalley) - historical fiction, focused on the women accompanying the most powerful people in history (in this case, Teddy Roosevelt) is one of my favorite sub-genres to read. Alice Roosevelt's story in American Princess is no exception. I classify this as smart brain candy - it's very readable and slightly salacious, but by no means silly or poorly written. If you liked The Kennedy Debutante or any of Philippa Gregory's books, I think you'll really enjoy this one.

• Song Of Sacrifice (review copy provided by NetGalley) - if you loved Circe or all things mythology, this is the first book of the Homeric Chronicles and its a prequel of the Trojan War, which I find fascinating! Easy reading, compelling story, and I'm glad the sequel is available and also on Kindle Unlimited

You can find every book I’ve read this yearhere, and myAmazon favorites here.

The Top 5

1. PSA: Stop Asking Pregnant and Postpartum Women If They Plan on Returning to Work (JWI)

2. Jean Chatzky On The Top 15 Things Every Woman Needs To Know About Her Money (Forbes)

3. These Women Are Only On Facebook For The Groups (BuzzFeed)

4. If You’re A Mom On The Verge Of Breaking, Read This (Scary Mommy)

5. The Mueller report, explained (Vox)

The Catch Up

Monday

• US-Russia chill stirs worry about stumbling into conflict (AP)

• The Art of Not Having an Opinion (Man Repeller)

• Black Mothers Are Dying At Alarming Rates. Rep. Lauren Underwood Wants Congress to Do Something About It. (Elle)

• Trolls hijacked a scientist’s image to attack Katie Bouman. They picked the wrong astrophysicist. (Washington Post)

Tuesday

• A Baby Boom in the C-Suite: How a new generation of leaders is redefining working motherhood (LinkedIn)

• This Time Is Different: Why U.S. Foreign Policy Will Never Recover (Foreign Affairs)

• U.S. measles cases are "accelerating" amid "global crisis” (Axios)

• You Haven’t Seen What Arlan Hamilton Is Capable Of Yet (Wear Your Voice)

Wednesday

• Why and How Capitalism Needs to Be Reformed (Parts 1 & 2) (LinkedIn)

• See Luxury in a New Light with Designer Rebecca Allen (Dandelion Chandelier)I am an investor in Rebecca Allen NY.

• Biologics Are Natural Monopolies (Part 1): Why Biosimilars Do Not Create Effective Competition (Health Affairs)

• Is that Katie Porter or Katie Hill? New California congresswomen keep getting mixed up (LA Times)

Thursday

• Mom vs. Dad on the Road to 2020 (The Cut)

• Most people pay less than $5 per month for the drug. But some pay $11,002 (STAT)

• At the crack of dawn, Yogita Raghuvanshi gets behind the wheel and hits the highway all alone. (LinkedIn)

• Erin Lee Carr Remembers Her Late Father—And Finds Her Own Voice—InAll That You Leave Behind (Vogue)

Friday

• The gig economy is distorting U.S. economic data (Axios)

• Beyoncé’s ‘Homecoming’ is an illuminating two-way street (The Undefeated)

• Secrecy, Self-Dealing, and Greed at the N.R.A. (The New Yorker)

• Serena Williams Has Secretly Been Investing in Diverse Companies for the Past 5 Years (Marie Claire)