What I've Been Reading #1
On following through on New Year's intentions + a list of things to read
Update: If you enjoy my writing and want to support this newsletter, please consider pledging a paid subscription. As always, the majority of my posts will remain free.
One of my yearly intentions is actually to read the articles I save across social media. I love getting recommendations from people. I love hearing what people are excited about. I tuck them away in folders and the Notes app, and, more often than not, I accidentally forget about them. Those days are (hopefully) over!
This new What I’ve Been Reading series is my attempt to correct that. I’m not letting the interesting articles fall by the wayside in 2025. Below, you’ll find a list of long-form writing that I’ve read recently. From celebrity profiles to topical essays and more, I want to share some of my latest favorite reads with you.
I usually like or repost Substack reads I enjoy, but if you’d like to see those in What I’ve Been Reading, I can include them in the next one. Happy reading!
This Kieran Culkin profile at The Guardian because I’ve been enjoying every bit of the A Real Pain press tour even though I haven’t seen the movie — yet
As someone who came of age during the era of BookTubers, I have found the shift to BookTok and Bookstagram fascinating. So, I enjoyed this read by Lauren Puckett-Pop about bookfluencers.
I loved Daisy Buchanan’s Substack post about her relationship with reading, so, of course, I also loved Buchanan’s essay for The Telegraph. Needless to say, I will be picking up a copy of Read Yourself Happy.
I have been gravitating toward rewatches out of comfort. My latest: The Bold Type. I always come back to this piece by Bolu Babalola about the show.
So many of my best friendships have become long-distance ones, so I appreciated this read by Josiah Gogarty for GQ.
Pamela Anderson + Martha Stewart — a duo I never knew I needed but couldn’t be more obsessed with.
On the other hand, Renée Zellweger + Hugh Grant is a duo I’ve loved for many years and absolutely adored reading in conversation for Zellweger’s British Vogue cover. (Who else is extraordinarily excited about Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy? More on that soon!)
Basketball star Angel Reese announced she was entering the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) draft through a Vogue feature in 2024. Then, she returned to Vogue on the cover (!) in January 2025 with a story by Maya Singer about sports and fashion combining.
Hunter Harris, who writes the incredible Hung Up, profiled Brenda Song and Macaulay Culkin for Cosmopolitan. I keep rereading it — I can’t get over how tooth-achingly sweet it is.
Robert Beck’s legendary photo of Brandi Chastain after scoring her winning penalty at the 1999 Women’s World Cup final is unforgettable. I think I knew about that photo before I understood the moment’s magnitude. I appreciated reading Sophia Hartley’s oral history of the photo — 24 years later.
I’m obsessed with Robbie Williams. I have always been and will always be a boy band girl, so it shouldn’t be shocking in the slightest. I could make a list entirely dedicated to all the things I’ve listened to, read, and (re)watched recently (Thank you, Better Man promotional tour!). Instead, I’ll leave you with this Robbie Williams interview with Olivia-Anne Cleary for TIME.
What have you been reading lately?
Until next time,
💌 Shelby