Books and looks, May 2025

On Princess Diana, zebra print, and the Real(ish) Housewives of the Cotswolds

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Hello from the first month in at least six where I’ve remembered to say “rabbit rabbit!” MAJOR. Who else does this?! I’ve tried to identify an American regional root for this monthly superstition but have found that there’s no rhyme or reason to who does or doesn’t say it, at least in my circles. Anyways, I’m looking forward to my luckiest month of 2025 yet as a result.

As ever, we are here to do what Books & Looks says on the tin: convene to discuss my fashion finds and favorite books (and, in this month’s case, reads in general) of the month. Let’s get INTO it.

In May 2025, I…

(Re)discovered the joy of an airport bookstore

I started the month in one of my favorite places on earth: an airport bookstore, a place where you can became whatever type of reader you want to be for the duration of your vacation. I’m not talking “the books section at Hudson News.” I’m talking about a tried-and-true bookseller. The airport bookstore I had the pleasure of patronizing in May was The Tattered Cover, a very well-stocked spot within the labyrinthine confines of the Denver airport. I purchased two books: Sociopath, by Patric Gagne and Dianaworld by Edward White.

I hadn’t heard of Dianaworld, but the cover caught my eye. It bills itself as “the story of an obsession,” not an actual biography, and while I wasn’t sure what that meant, I was intrigued enough to pick it up.

Learned what 19,000 diaries had to do with Princess Di

Dianaworld’s author, Edward White, is aware of how large Diana (still!) looms in global consciousness. He also knows that most of us interested enough to pick up a book screen-printed with a closeup of her face are probably already fairly knowledgable on the cut-and-dry biographical Diana intel (if you’re not: start with The Diana Chronicles and/or listen to the six-part podcast series on her from You’re Wrong About).

And so, Dianaworld does not waste time furnishing us with basic fact. It is not an entry-level life story. There are no “inside scoops” from silver-tongued palace courtiers. Instead, White draws on public records to paint a picture of Diana as refracted through the eyes of various communities. Diana as she was seen—not as she was.

In lieu of the aforementioned courtiers, White relies heavily on two public projects, The Mass Observation Archive and The Great Diary Project, to tell Diana’s story.

The Mass Observation Archive was a social research project in Britain that recorded the reactions of “everyday people” to major national events. Originally active from 1937 to 1955, it was revived in 1981, the year of Diana and Charles’ wedding.

The Great Diary Project, founded in 2007, is an archive of 19,000 previously unpublished diaries, written not by notables but instead everyday citizens.

Through the diaries of thousands of civilians and interviews with thousands more, White offers up a clear view of Diana through the eyes of her “subjects,” some of whom liked her, others not so much — and many who simply, as the English might say, “didn’t give a toss.” (would they say that? I don’t actually know).