The January 2024 Monthly
New year...new platform
Hello, Substack! I launched Literally Obsessed in February 2021 via email (she’s an Aquarius - like ME - and she’s almost three) and have been wanting to migrate to Substack for almost as long.
While I may publish more of my archives (though those will go behind a paywall - I’m not in the business of embarrassing myself for free), this is my first official Substack, and it’s time for our monthly culture debrief.
For those of you who are new here, that means: enthusiastic (hyperbolic?) and detailed (verbose?) culture recommendations incoming!
First up: the television show I LITERALLY (not hyperbolic!) cannot stop watching.
Over the holiday break, my family was shocked to discover that I’d not only never seen Slow Horses, but had never even heard of it. And I call myself a Gary Oldman fan! I soon realized I hadn’t heard of it because it was on Apple TV+, and I’ve never remembered my Apple ID password for more than 20 minutes (including right now). But last week, I changed it for the 400th time, and remembered it for long enough to log into the platform and get watching, and genuinely only stopped to work/sleep. I can now say I’ve watched all three seasons (and I’ve also realized that, despite my previous insistence that I “rarely” binge watch TV, almost every time I like a show, I do end up bingeing it).
Slow Horses follows Gary Oldman in the polar opposite of his prime as Jackson Lamb, a slovenly MI5 (the UK’s CIA) agent who was a hotshot during the Cold War but has been relegated to a role as head honcho at Slough House, the place MI5 agents go when they’ve committed an error that’s not quite a fire-able offense, but does mean that they’re no longer serviceable when it comes to working for the main branch.
Each season addresses a different, one-off issue: the first season is a hostage situation; the second addresses tensions with Russia; the third, conspiracy theories (sort of - but hard to say more without spoiling).
If it sounds like a run-of-the-mill spy show, stay with me. Oldman is in the role he was born to play as the abrasive but surprisingly competent and somehow lovable Lamb, and his rapport with his Slough House employees lends the show a sense of humor that’s typically lacking in crime/police procedurals. Each season is tied up neatly without being too implausible, and the acting is fantastic. If you can’t tell by the speed at which I consumed the show, it’s somewhat addictive. 10/10 recommendation (and the Vulture recaps are ideal for filling in gaps when you inevitably look away for a single second and someone new is dead).
Up next: I’m currently halfway through Netflix’s Fool Me Once, and very much enjoying. Plot is pacy and Michelle Keegan is beyond stunning - great coats, too.
If you read my book blog (reviews every Friday!) or follow my IG, you’ll know I’m a serious Ferrante fan. I gave Ferrante’s My Brilliant Friend a five-star review in one of my first posts on the blog, back in 2015, and was blown away all over again after a recent re-read . In one of the first few editions of this very newsletter, back in 2021, I also gave Saverio Constanzo’s HBO show of the same name, based on the novels, a solid 10/10.
For those unfamiliar with My Brilliant Friend, it’s the first in a series of books (from 2012, I’ll be the first to admit this isn’t the freshest recco, but, to me, it’s timeless) by Elena Ferrante, an Italian author shrouded in mystery, called The Neopolitan Novels.
The series follows two friends from their childhood in a rough neighborhood of Naples, Italy, beginning in the 1950s. The story opens in the present; Lila and Elena have fallen out of touch, Lila has gone missing, and Elena decides to tell the story of their lives from the start.
The first book (My Brilliant Friend) covers their youth, the second The Story of a New Name charts their adolescence, while Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay addresses what Ferrante refers to as “the middle years,” and The Story of the Lost Child takes care of “maturity and old age.”
It’s one of those rare series where the story is as good as the prose, and damn this is some good prose. Ferrante has a habit of communicating the (seemingly) ineffable in a beautiful, natural way (and while my Duolingo Italian isn’t quite up to reading the book in it’s original form, her translator, Ann Goldstein, has been lauded for doing a spectacular job of maintaining the integrity of the prose). You’ll be completely drawn into Lila and Elena’s worlds, rooting for both of them (if you’re me, mainly Lila - she is my favorite literary character of all time) the whole way through.
The show is true to the books, with each series covering one (3/4 are out). Highly recommend watching the corresponding season after each book. I’ve written about it before, but it has the most stunning score of any show I’ve ever seen and the cinematography is out of this world. The second season in particular is a visual feast. These days, it feels rare to watch a television show that truly feels like art, but this is art in every sense.
Up next:
The Fury by Alex Michaelides, who wrote two of my fave sort-of-but-not-that-guilty pleasure books, The Silent Patient (MUST read if you love a good thriller and haven’t yet) and The Maidens (dark academia done very right, IMHO). It’s out on Tuesday and, if the speed at which I moved through his last two books is any indication, I’ll have devoured it and done a review by Friday.
While this piece of newsletter real estate might normally be the reserve of a movie or podcast recommendation, today we’re going to do things a bit differently and walk through some of my recent saves/screenshots/style inspo (but fear not if you’re a fan of the style specials - they’re going to be a monthly feature this year). If I choose to do this again someday, maybe it won’t look as tragic as this does…but time will tell. On y va!
Because of Alice has been VERY aggressively advertising this bustier top on my IG ever since I searched for a black version (still regret not getting this) and I’m edging ever closer to officially being #influenced.
The Great’s tuxedo shirt (also served to me via IG ads) is fab and I’m obsessed with sea foam in all forms (especially this top - very into nostalgic/romantic/feminine resort vibes, but we’ll get there in a few weeks).
Yes, I’m at the age where I get influenced by chairs, and this customizable one from Coley Home is so much fun. I just got a chair reupholstered but if I hadn’t I would be extremely tempted to add this to cart (more here plus tons of fabric options).
I’ve developed a recent obsession with both puffy hearts and chokers, so this feels up my alley. Not big on gold plating but as a fun statement piece you wear occasionally it’s a decent deal. I also love how fun these Jennifer Fisher puffy heart earrings look styled with a simple turtleneck. And as for the other chokers: I became obsessed with this one when I saw it on Matches this September and hovered over the purchase button many times - it’s now sold out and I really wish I had gone for it. I’m still looking for a choker that feels similarly fun and stylish at the same time, and while this Lizzie Fortunato one doesn’t entirely measure up, it feels fun to snap up for resort season (or, if like me, you don’t have any warm-weather trips in the pipeline - next summer).
’s newsletter on cold weather dressing was incredibly fab (as they always are) and she has me convinced it’s finally time to go all in on balaclavas.Evidence of my Ferrante fever, that’s all the pages I cornered down on the second book, The Story of a New Name.
Few online shops are better curated than Couper, and it’s via their selection that I discovered ESCVDO (this sweater in partic). They also collaborated with GOGO to create this number, which I simply cannot stomach, financially, but look at longingly at least once a week.
I only have 2.5 piercings (aka a half-closed second hole on my left ear that I repierce every other year), but this Stone & Strand ear stack has me convinced I need more - at the very least, I’m after those multicolored dangly crystals. Speaking of stylish accessories, my influencer obsession of the week (also courtesy of my explore page, is the Lisbon-based Vicky Montanari - if you’re not charmed by this shell bow situation I simply cannot help you).
I’ve been enamored with this Lapointe dress for over a year now. I simply don’t need more formal dresses but it won’t stop taunting me via IG. Someone get it and let me borrow, thanks.
In other constant IG advertising, I cannot log on without seeing ads for this shirt from Posse. 2024 is definitely a year of stripes for me (as you’ll soon see), but it’s more the styling than the shirt itself that caught my eye here - just love how it looks with the white wide-legged pants.
Ever since my bff wore a jade Elsa Peretti cocktail ring to her wedding I’ve been on the hunt for all things jade, and this one from Lizzie Fortunato is fun and reasonably priced.
That’s all for today! Thank you for sticking with me through this wildly long monthly edition. More tightly-curated content coming soon. Au revoir <3