Midwesthetic: R.E.P.O.R.T. #02

I scrolled deep into my phone and even deeper into my brain for this one.

🚨 Would you like to contribute a R.E.P.O.R.T. to Midwesthetic? I want you to. As another favorite Substack states, cool people like cool things. And who are you to deny the masses access to your inner-most recommendations? But seriously, I am looking to get some new thoughts into this newsletter. So, if you’d be interested in gracing us with your current (or past!) obsessions in a report hit me up here on Substack, respond to this email if that’s where you’re at right now, or just hit me on Instagram.🚨

Don’t embarrass me by not reporting!

R: Reading

Let me open by saying, shout out to the library. That shit rocks. It’s one of the few (if not only) wholesome public institutions we have left. Glad I started with a compliment, because I’m about to deliver a devastating blow:

I’m not really reading anything right now. 😔 You’ve caught me at a rare and exhilarating time of finishing not one, but two books this week.

The first, Conversations on Love by Natasha Lunn. I talk about in last month’s report.

TLDR; this book holds a lot of value. Personally, I could get the entire first chapter tattooed on my back and would carry a pocket mirror with me everywhere so I could revisit it every time I use the bathroom or walk by a shiny surface.

The second was too much of a snooze to waste valuable blog-time on. BUT!

I go to Florida next week (Anna, you’re always on the coast aging yourself 10 years and giving yourself sun-poisoning, weren’t you in California last week? Yes!) My beach-read table is full and here are some highlights of what’s to come:

A Hell Called Ohio:

I have an unexplainable soft spot for the industrial midwest. And yes, we need to talk about Ohio. In pop-culture, recent internet vernacular and beyond. Don’t worry it’s coming.

This one follows a factory worker grappling with the indifference that surrounds his life, career, and outlook on love. All while he considers escaping Defiance, OH for good.

Thank You, More Please:

Hard pivot alert! This one’s a non-fiction little number about modern dating. I’ve followed the author, Lily Womble on Tiktok/Instagram for awhile and seeing this former matchmaker (yes, those very much exist) turn her series’ into a book feels like a parasocial proud-mom moment. Next!

Sophomores:

Technically historical fiction (in takes place in the 1980s, oh my God) I also have a love for the sharp edges of suburbia and unpacking difficult family dynamics. This one follows a teen boy in Dallas, Texas as his sophomore year unfolds and so does cracks in his family, etc etc you know the drill.

Last but not least! Happy Place.

SoOoO many of you suggested Emily Henry as the queen of the beach read and I believe you! Google calls this, the tale of a couple working through a break up and deciding what happiness really means. Fits the light beach read criteria I have in mind, I’ll keep you posted!

E: Eating

I have an always will be someone who gets deeply addicted to one, single meal. So much so that my dietitian had to sit me down and say, “I love that you can stay so consistent but you need more nutritional diversity.” That diversity has shown itself in the full baking sheet of nachos I eat every night. Let me walk you through it:

First layer: Chips. Any tortilla will do, if you’re feeling especially silly goofy do a Dorito. Sprinkle shredded cheese, you could grate it yourself but let me ask you, what are you trying to prove and to whom?

Second layer: More chips. You want depth. Have you seen the Guy Fieri trash can nachos? You’re going to then hit it with whatever meat or bean of your choosing- hell, do both.

Third layer: More cheese, diced tomatoes, pickled jalapeños, and exceptional and concerning amount of red onion. This next step depends heavily on your mental state: add a little queso from a jar. What’s stopping you?

Finally, toss that in the oven, when it comes out add the Cool Toppings (sour cream, salsa, lettuce, more onion) and eat it while hunched over your coffee table watching Insecure on Netflix.

P: Playing

MJ Lendermann

Let’s spotlight some of the good people of Asheville, NC.

Alt-country, Y’allternative, whatever you want to call it. MJ Lendermann’s music hits right there. If he looks/sounds familiar to you that might be because he’s also in the alternative (but I’d argue also, subtly country) band Wednesday. Aaaand he recently grassed Katie Crutchfield’s (Waxahatchee) latest album Tigers Blood.

Alright, here are my recs for first-time listeners:

She’s Leaving You - this song bangs, it’s textbook perfect against my rubric.

Knockin’ - wow, another textbook perfect song!

Someone Get the Grill Out of the Rain - if I had the opportunity, I would be so far into this man’s face asking him about the process of writing this one.

He’s gotta new album coming out this September, Manning Fireworks. Here are a couple lyrics I want to spotlight:

“Please don't laugh only half of what I said was a joke. Every Catholic knows he could've been pope.”

“How many roads must a man walk down 'til he learns he's just a jerk who flirts with the clergy nurse 'til it burns. I wouldn't be in the seminary if I could be with you,
if I could be with you.”

Southern, snarky, and subtle themes of Catholicism? Damn, just like me.

O: Obsessing

This is fucked and I’m so sorry. I’ve fallen into the trap of SFRB. What’s that? Its Sugar Free Red Bull, I honestly can’t and shouldn’t expand on this anymore. It’s probably the nutritional equivalent of consuming unleaded gasoline. But something about it (the caffeine and sugar) fills me with love and light (gives me an insane sugar rush and seismic jitters that power me through chores, work, whatever.)

Am I OK?

R: Recommending

I’d hate to turn this tear-jerking and emotive, but I think you should probably ask harder questions and not be embarrassed about it. You’ll be happier knowing the answers and whatever mortification will inevitably fade. That’s all!

T: Treating

I have a few ideas here and if you don’t do them I will. (I probably already have.)

You should… purchase a large deli sandwich.

You should… get a massage if at all possible.

You should… go to bed at 9PM at least one time this week.

You should… eat out 2/3 meals one day.

You should… put your gross raw toes your bare feet in the grass 1X.

You should… fix your toes if they look a little ragged. (Sorry!)

Hey let me know if you’re looking for new friends, I have some spots opening up!