(Slightly Late) September 2017 Favorites

Better late than never I guess. This month has been hectic and weird and everything I imagined it to be and more. I kind of hate doing these posts since I hate talking about products in such a tacky materialistic way but here we are. Cool.

+Music

-Feel like this section's only real use is to update on what Harry has done recently. ANYWAYS, I actually saw him last week at Radio City (tickets couresty of my friend's aunt who works for Columbia). The entire show was incredible- super minimal and Harry has become a perfect balance of Jagger and boyband. His recent Spotify session recording of "Girl Crush" is also noteworthy.

+Beauty

-NuMe's Octowand is kind of the greatest thing to happen to my hair recently (ok maybe my new Farrah Fawcett-esque haircut was better but you get the point). When I say I didn't know how to curl hair before this, I really meant there was nothing my hair was working with to get that Goy Curl I've always dreamed of. (Also everyone ever has made the joke about them looking like dildos. It's not funny anymore.)

-This isn't new but I think it's weird I've never talked about it here with it being my holy grail. Do yourself a favor and start using witch hazel. My red toned skin has never been more even or clean. Seriously.

+Television/Film

-I just got super into Community but also recently finished the latest season of Criminal Mind's on Netflix (my 8th grade self would be so disappointed to find out I was this late). I hate to say it was only because I wanted to see my true love, Matthew Gray Gubler, go to prison. Good stuff.

-I actually turned 18 last week and spent my last night as a "kid" watching Amelie and vomiting from eating too many raisinettes. I really do love Amelie. And raisinettes.

+Books

-I went to one of those 24 hour spas the other night and left my treasured copy of Ham and Rye on a couch I'd fallen asleep on. I really do miss it but also think it was a sign of some sort- really good book anyways. 

-Also after months, I've finally finished House of Leaves by Mark Z Danieleski and it was incredible. Still haunts me. Please read it. 

That's all I have to say. I really hate telling people to buy things but also have no other place to manifest my love in the tangible.

-Annie 

if it's just between us (+some favorites)

Things have been okay lately and I mean that in an indifferent manner. I haven't been in love with much but have been dying for the validation that others love me and found myself trapped this week hoping some guy thought I was intelligent because a small, yet ever so present, part of me longs for the word  "brilliant" to come out of a man's mouth in reference to me.

from a picnic in Tompkins with How Fitting old-timer, John

some misc things I'm into these days:
-Lorde's Melodrama, I used to be hardcore against the singer but think I've hit the perfect point in which every word that comes out that woman's mouth seems aimed at me. "Liability" is a lot for me but undoubtedly the greatest. Thank you Lorde for this one.
-Difficult People is also a hit at the moment for me. I'm always drawn to surreal and bizarre depictions of the narcissistic with shots of New York I can recognize. Billy Eichner you've done it again.
-Lavender incense deserves a real shoutout for helping me ease into my summer sleeping schedule/I've been trying this self curing technique for my chronic anxiety in which I continuously say "I'm not anxious" whenever I smell lavender in hopes that the scent of lavender will instantly cease my spiraling. As bizarre as it sounds, it's working surprisingly well.

-I kind of fell in love with Charli XCX's video for "Boys"??? It satisfied not only my emo phase (Brendon Urie laying amongst rose petals and Oli Sykes being his usual dapper self is enough to see the video) but that weird in between pastel goth "buy me candy floss and call me baby girl" period I had in sophomore year. Overall really good time and I'm unsure if it was commenting on the boy obsessed stereotype that is pushed on teenage girls but I thoroughly appreciated it regardless.
-My latest subway book has been Available by Matteson Perry- I don't think I've genuinely enjoyed reading something this much since Jessi Klein's You'll Grow Out of It. I actually originally heard of it through NPR's Modern Love podcast (something I *highly* rec) in which an excerpt of manic pixie dream girls was read- Perry is just so entertaining and I almost too much enjoy hearing of other's experiences in romance.
-Podcasts! Podcasts have resurfaced as my favorite thing (my ultimate dream of ending up as marketing director of NPR is yet to die) and I'd heavily recommend How I Built This (the Rent the Runway ep is a personal favorite, listening to Jenn Hyman speak about sexual harassment as a woman in power is incredible), This American Life  (a classic- the one on middle school continues to be my absolute favorite but they just recently did one on summer camp that I listened to on the way to a date and felt painful nostalgia for), and Mortified (this one is a little more lowbrow but very entertaining, I especially liked "Mortified Interrupted" in which in the second act, a man talks about how he convinced himself he was a writer/comedian/actor/musician when he'd done none of these things).

-I'm not going to pretend I like Neck Deep again but I was really feeling their video for "In Bloom". Nothing gets me like random artsy objects alongside pastel colors- it all reminded me of a concept for a Dazed or Wonderland editorial. I'd also be lying if I said I didn't vibe with the lyrics, I sometimes think I make up problems for myself to connect with moody pop punk but that whole "we're never going to put the pieces back together if you won't let me get better" bit got me on a weird level because I don't even understand how that situation connects to my life in any way, shape, or form. I blame it on my excessive empathy due to being an anxious-avoident lover.
-very vintage How Fitting but I made a playlist summing up my music taste over the past couple weeks- a lot of french pop and Jake Bugg. I think I'm just reliving another odd in between phase of mine.
 

-Annie 

What is "Chicklit"?

   My favorite novel is Forgive Me Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick. I love this book and would recommend it to anyone from my mom to my best friend (who has read it and loved it). There's a side plot of romance but other than that, the book mainly focuses on Leonard Peacock, a boy deciding to commit suicide on his birthday. The cover looks like this:

This book was obviously written by a man and even though I picked it up in the Barnes and Noble teen section, it goes as a good read for people way older than adolescence and of all genders. By my standards, this is an amazing book. Another one of my favorites is The Disenchantments, a novel about a band going on their final tour over the summer after they graduate high school and how their manager and best friend realizes that he has to eventually grow up and let go of this. The cover looks like this:

   In a recent video by Kristina Horner, she discussed how people market their books by the cover and how certain novels are seen as "chicklit" and trashy because they were written for females and almost every time, by a female. I'm not going to defend every single novel here- in my opinion, The Perks Of Being a Wallflower was better than The Statistical Probability Of Love At First Sight regardless of the genders of the authors and covers. But there is truth to this; when you see Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock at a bookstore, the simple cover is seen as gender neutral whereas The Disenchantments' cover with a teenage girl shown is seen as "chicklit". Think about how you decide which book you're buying at the store or reading next: how do the covers make you feel? Because The Disenchantments has a young woman on the cover, its quality can be immediately debunked and thought of as "light" or a beach read even though the topics discussed in the novel turn rather heavy and majority of this book is quite a lot to take in. Without even wanting to be told, buyers can see this book as lower quality than something gender neutral and immediate assumptions are made that The Disenchantments will be an easy read for the cover is "girly". When novels are called "trashy" it is more times than not written by a woman and usually because the cover looks something along these lines:

and why is that? Why does the immediate thought of a "trashy" book come to mind when a cover with a woman or a female name appears. Yet novels with covers like these:

are seen as high quality writing? All six of these books are bestsellers yet the top three were seen as "chicklit" and on multiple review sights marked as "girly" and therefor lighter and not nearly as meaningful as the bottom three. Why does the appearance of a woman make a novel less important or unacceptable for a guy to read? More importantly, why does something as trivial as a name make people perceive a novel as "fluffy"? If you notice, the top three books are all by women whereas the bottom three all have male authors and just to fill in if you haven't read all of these, have the same intensity. Even though we see ourselves as independent human beings who don't need parents or teachers to tell us what is acceptable to read, we continue to have a blaring red light of what is "trash" and what isn't. Even if someone isn't screaming in your face, something like a female name can set off a siren. An amazing example of this is Joanne Rowling, author of one of the biggest series in the world, Harry Potter. When publishing The Sorcerer's Stone, she was advised to have the cover say her initials instead so boys would want to read it too. Obviously this worked and Harry Potter is a success for all genders but why isn't it mildly disturbing that the name Joanne would drive the male market down? The cover has a picture of a young boy on it and there is a male name as the title yet the fact that that wasn't enough it rather scary. I could barely read when my dad read me Harry Potter in second grade yet second grade me still perceived this series as a "boy's book" because the name JK Rowling sounded like a man- it's alarming that I had such an idea of what was within my invisible "boundaries" as a girl when I was 7. 

     The reason why this is so important not only to me but to so many others is that this doesn't just hurt women. These ideas of what is and isn't OK to read based on a "girly" cover or woman author is of course harming the writers of these novels but also men. Why is it unacceptable for a guy to read The Disenchantments on a train? This isn't to say men don't read books written by women- of course they do but why is it so much harder to have a boy read The Sorcerer's Stone if the name Joanne is on the cover? All in all, what I'm trying to get across here that the label "chicklit" is completely useless, gender neutral covers mean nothing, and you should read The Disenchantments. 

I'd also seriously recommend watching Kristina's video on this because it was my main inspiration for this post 

and also checking out author of 13 Little Blue Envelopes, Maureen Johnson's #coverflip project here

Books I've Read On The Train

   I have spent the last three weeks commuting back and forth from New Jersey to New York City and though the train ride is only about forty minutes, it has given quite a lot of time to read a wide array of books. So here it is; my reviews of books I've read on the train.

One Man Guy
    Before I get into how fucking terrible this was, I guess I should describe the plot. Alek is just a average armenian kid who then has to go to summer school and meets Ethan. Ethan is about two years older than Alek and in a group called the D.Os (drop outs) who all talk like they're from the 90s and enjoy skating a lot and being the stereotypical "bad kids". Basically, for some unknown reason, Ethan takes an interest in Alek and forces him to go into New York City with him (Alek's parents don't allow him to go into the city alone) and Alek soon realizes that Ethan is gay. If the book isn't stupid enough, Alek figures out in ONE DAY that he is gay and just begins dating Ethan out of nowhere. Is it just me or was figuring out my sexuality a process not just a thought that hit me and then I decided I was gay? Like Alek literally says he never thought about being gay and then all of a sudden dates a boy. Anyways, the rest of the novel follows Alek and Ethan sneaking out a lot into New York City and is pretty uneventful (exempt for some AWESOME slurs towards lesbians because you know it's completely fine to support gay men and not women). The entire novel felt like it was written by a sixth grader and was extremely inaccurate towards the process of coming out. I am not saying that everyone is the same but I highly doubt that it's possible to just wake up and realize you're gay.

Firecracker
   OK this was one of the funniest books I have ever read and it makes perfect sense since it's by the writer of "New Girl" (it's a guilty pleasure OK?) and SNL. The novel follows Astrid Krieger and how she was recently expelled from Bristol Academy, a prestigious prep school, and now has to attend public school for the first time in her life. I usually never actually laugh out loud at books but this actually got me giggling! The entire novel is funny, witty, and extremely hard to put down.

Beyond Magenta
   This was one of the most gorgeous books I have read. Beyond Magenta is a collection of stories and photographs from transgender teens as they go through different phases of their lives. I have never really learned much about the whole trans community (aside from Tyler, the Rookie writer) and this really opened up my eyes to show that every single story was different. All in all, I would recommend this to anyone for it is absolutely wonderful.

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)

    I began watching "The Mindy Project" right after the Rookie post last year and have fallen head over heels in love with Mindy Kaling ever since so when she released a biography, I had to immediately buy it. The thing was that I never actually got the time to read it until I was spending eighty minutes in total everyday on public transportation. Mindy is just as hilarious, intelligent, and awesome on paper and I suggest anyone who even remotely is a fan of her's to read it.

Ann Shows You Clothes and Books

This weekend, I went to Forever21, my favorite thrift shop, and Barnes and Noble for a bit of early summer shopping and here are things I bought!
Thrift

   My mom found this somewhere in the woman's blouses section (I never really go in there) and her reasoning for why I should try it on is for "it's a good shirt to play ukulele with" (it's also pretty fabulous). It looked awesome on and I can't wait to wear it with a pair of high waisted shorts.

   This was on a wrack by the dressing room and I instantly fell in love with the lace at the bottom. They're a little baggy at the bottom but I will probably grow into them. Other than that, they look awesome and will be great with a tight fitting top since they're so loose.

   At a thrift shop, my first stop is always the men's shirts section for I tend to find a large amount of band merch there. On Sunday though, I wasn't very lucky but did find this loose fitting, black, muscle tee that will look great with about anything.

   I found this beauty in the vintage section and fell in love. I plan on cutting the sleeves and turning it into a V-neck but other than that, this top is super cute and will look great with about anything.

   I really lucked out on finding high waisted shorts that day. I plan on wearing these light blue ones with a cropped top or tank. They are a bit long but look great rolled up!

Forever21

   I love the grunge feel of these American flag shorts and they will look great with about any tee (I tried it with my Nirvana one and it looked ace).

   I needed a pair of just plain black shorts and these looked super nice with all my band tees. I like how they are slightly high rise and have small pleats.

   As you may be able to tell, I have a thing for high rise shorts and couldn't pass these up. Since I am rubbish at sizes, they are a little big but I'm hoping I'll grow into them!

   I am in love with the edgy and formal feel of these shorts and they give about every top I pair them with a more put together look.

   Viv gave me a pair of overall shorts a couple weeks ago and I have fallen in love so I instantly had to buy these cute polka dot ones! I love how silky and light weight they are and give off such a preppy vibe.

   These tapestry shorts are probably my favorite thing I bought that day. They're so unique and pretty and make about everything look rather classic.

Barnes and Noble

   I began reading this the minute we got home and instantly fell in love. I go into more detail about Girls To The Front in my post about my favorite books.

   I can't really say much about Cameron and The Girls since I only just started but the main plot is that a teenager named Cameron who has schizophrenia has gone off of his medicine and begins to hear voices in his head. From what I have read so far, it is pretty interesting.

My All Time Favorite Books

Hey guys! I realize this isn't a music post but I was all too excited about this post that I didn't want to hold it off. As you all may know, I am a huge lover of reading and here are my favorite books ever:

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Rapture Practice (Aaron Hartzler)
   When I first bought this book, I finished it in a single day it was so good! This memoir follows Aaron and how he rebels against his extremely conservative christian family. Rapture Practice is so endlessly interesting, funny, and at times, depressing. I also really loved it for how relatable Aaron is. Though most teenagers situations aren't as extreme as his, many readers could connect to the feeling that the adults around you don't understand and disagreement with the beliefs your parents have.

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The Vast Fields Of Ordinary (Nick Burd)
   I read this one last summer and what I loved most about the entire novel is how well portrayed all the characters were. The Vast Fields Of Ordinary  follows the Summer before Dade Hamilton goes off to college and the problems he deals with before he leaves including an affair his dad confesses to have had, coming out to his parents, and trying to leave an abusive guy. Though the book only takes place over a few weeks, it plays out so well and the characters are A+.

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Girls To The Front- The True Story Of The Riot Grrl Revolution (Sara Marcus)   I have fallen in love with the rock section at Barnes and Noble and all the biographies and novels about bands such as Pink Floyd (I was SO tempted to buy about three books on them) and The Rolling Stones but when I found a novel all about Riot Grrrl I knew this was a must read. I am a huge fan of the entire revolution (I have to thank Rookie for that) and the fact there is an entire book covering Riot Grrrl made me beyond happy. I ended up finishing it in one night and not only is the topic fascinating, but it is so well written and Sara Marcus not only covers the basics of the entire music revolution but really gets in depth. Even if you aren't a huge fan of the feminist punk movement (or don't even know what it is), I guarantee it will make you interested.

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Will Grayson, Will Grayson (John Green and David Levithan)
   At this point, I have gotten over my huge love for John Green books (I am of course a GIANT fan of Vlogbrothers and a nerdfighter I just believe though his books are very well written, have become overrated and don't like them as much as I used to), I still have a certain love for Will Grayson, Will Grayson just by how strange and unique it is from anything I have ever read. The novel follows two boys named Will Grayson (it is really complicated in the beginning if you can't tell them apart) and how different their lives are until they end up meeting up accidentally. It is so beautifully done and I would recommend it 100%.

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Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock (Matthew Quick)
   Yet another book I read in a matter of hours! I was pretty skeptical on reading it because a couple months beforehand, I had finished The Silver Linings Playbook (also written by Matthew Quick) and hated it but when I found this novel in Barnes and Noble and read the synopsis, I was too interested to reject it. The story follows Leonard Peacock, a teenager who has been abandoned by almost off the people in his life including his mom, dad, and best friend, Asher Beal. He has fallen into a depression and a state of mind that there is no reason to live. Therefor, makes the decision to kill himself and Asher on his birthday. But before committing the murder suicide, gives presents out to the few people that matter to him. As you get further and further, you delve into Leonard's past and the real reason he feels Asher Beal must die. The plot rages and character development of Leonard is phenomenal. One thing I would suggest for reading this book though is to highlight and take notes while reading. I do this normally whenever I read but it was especially important in Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock since some things are said very subtle and you really need to read carefully to catch important pieces.

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Somebody Up There Hates You (Hollis Seamon)
   At first, I couldn't stand this book due to how annoying I felt the main character, Richie, is but as I read further, I fell in love. What I love so much about Somebody Up There Hates You is the character development most importantly in Richie but also throughout more minor characters like his mother and uncle. You can really see how much these people's thoughts on death, their surroundings, and themselves change as the book ends and I find that to be super important. The novel follows a teenager diagnosed with cancer named Richie and his life in a hospice. Throughout the book, he deals with problems such as trying to comfort his single mother who will soon be alone (after he dies), having a relationship an adventurous girl named Sylvie (who also lives in the hospice), and really just trying to figure out his feelings on his soon coming death. The plot is extremely interesting and really keeps you guessing what will happen next.

Things You Must See: September

Well here we are and the Summer is soon coming to a close hopefully, the things I have put together will somehow cheer you up! 

Music

I have about three friends who are into the whole punk pop and screamo genres of music and after having my friend Elana basically tell me "Ann, if you don;t listen to Fall Out Boy then I will never talk to you again", I caved in and had a listen to their latest album, "Save Rock And Roll" I kind of sort of got addicted. I really love the intensity of Fall Out Boy and trust me, about all of their songs will get stuck in your head. 

Websites

I have recently discovered one of my new favorite blogs written by a ninth grader in my town. Crazerluzer is absolutely adorable and I love Luz's fashion taste. Her writing is amazing and just the entire website it so cute! 

Crazy Luzer

Television and Videos

I have two this month for I couldn't decide which one I wanted to blog more about! One day, while I was scrolling through YouTube, I came across one of my new favorite vloggers ever. Christian Novelli has this adorable personality and can just make me laugh how cute he is. Christian has this shy, clever, and really cute personality and just does so well in front of a camera. Only in a Christian Novelli video could someone write a One Direction fanfiction in which Harry Styles and Louis Tomilson play Scrabble and get into a fight or Chris could paint a wooden penguin statue and just simply say "I believe he is planning to overthrow the government." Next, I must talk about the thing that has been taking over my life. Supernatural. Though at first, I wasn't really sure if it my thing since I am terrified of everything, but once watching it, I was hooked. The plot of each episode is so thrilling and the character development is incredible. I mean it gets to the kind of addiction where I seriously finished an entire season in a day. A DAY. Expect a full out post about this show later on.

Movies

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This month, my friend Vivi called me up telling me there was a documentary about our favorite movie ever, "Trolls 2" and I had to see it. Best Worst Movie follows the lives of the actors after what was voted to be the worst movie of all time and their lives now. Not only do you see how the main characters from "Trolls 2" are doing but see the full out fandom made around this terrible horror film. Though I could talk and laugh about this for hours, I don't want to spoil anything for you! 

-Ann

Things You Must See: August

Well hello there lovely! We have hit the last month of Summer. As much as I would love to say that I had a two months so far full of going to the beach and partying, I have done absolutely nothing with my social life at all. I am not lying when I say that right when I realized that, I had to break momentarily just to text my friend about how I need to hang out with her. There is a point of my introversion where things can get a little insane.... Anyways, I am extremely excited to be writing about the things you must see for August!
Music
In my last three posts, I have suggested amazing artists such as Emma Blackery, Lights, and Sleeping With Sirens! I am also absolutely excited to talk about Tavi Gevinson. OK OK I realize that I talk about her every five seconds, but this is not about her fashion or Rookie. No Tavi is not only a writer and actress but she is an amazing singer on top of it all. One of my favorite covers would have to be "Case Of You" which she performed for Hello Giggles on YouTube (video above). Her voice is delicate and gorgeous.
Websites
With me having spent an entire day trying to think up some changes (for the good) of How Fitting and thought since I am on the Internet about twenty four hours a day, I figured that it would be appropriate to add a category on websites. One of the websites that I blame for distracting me from being productive would have to be Ask.fm a social network where people are encouraged to ask questions anonymously and have them answered by the person they were asked. This website can help others get closer to each other by asking the things they are a little too embarrassed to ask in person.
(My ask.fm: http://ask.fm/AnnPayne559)
Videos and TV

Tumblr- Benjamin Cook

yet again, I have not been watching about any TV therefor I turned this section into "videos and Television" so I am able to add what I watch about half the day: YouTube Videos. One of my favorite series on YouTube has been "Becoming YouTube" a documentary series hosted by the always lovely, Benjamin Cook who is himself yet at the same time kind of plays this overly emotional, angry person. One of the best parts of this series is that not only do we see Ben but every single episode features interviews from amazing other You Tubers such as Alex Day, Charlie McDonnell, Dan and Phil, Lex Croucher, Tom Milsom, Carrie Hope Fletcher, etc. Every single episode is different and touches different corners and topics of the popular video sharing website from musicians being on YouTube to what YouTube isn't, Ben touches everything. The entire series is deep yet hilarious with skits of some pretty ridiculous things. Last week's episode had to be the best one I have ever seen in which Tom Milsom writes a song titled "Becoming YouTube Was A Waste Of Time". What could be better than a man with bright red hair yelling and making fun of himself with other You Tubers?
Books

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Though camp was not exactly the time to read, before I left I read probably the best memoir I have ever written. Rapture Practice is a hilarious memoir following a young teenager trying to brake away from his extremely conservative Christian family. The entire memoir is not only down right funny but is also endlessly interesting. Being brought up as a Jew, I have never really had an idea of what Christianity was in depth. Though Aaron's family is a little extreme, it gives people a look into some of the different types of people out there. From having to transfer schools for buying his girlfriend a "Pretty Woman" soundtrack to playing hymns with a hangover, the entire novel is insane.
Movies
Aside from our lovely new writer, Fiona writing about movies every week, I still thought it would be OK if I write once a month about my own opinions. "Warm Bodies" was what you could call "the better Twilight" the movie provides comedy and still a rather interesting and intense romance. The one thing I was annoyed with was that they did not do nearly as many beauty shots as they should have with the hot zombie. I mean if you are going to make a teen zombie romance, glamour shots are mandatory.

Happy August!
-Ann
My favorite episode of becoming YouTube! (BELOW)