Dolly Alderton/Pandora Sykes

[Lanavalentine]

It looks to be in Waterstone's and Amazon's bestseller lists, but I don't know how to get an aggregated view of all the book charts, is it possible?



Did you read it in one go @Lanavalentine? I found myself really enjoying the first half probably more so than the second. It just felt a bit 'meh' by the end, and there was also a bit of a WTF moment which I found quite weird

I did read it one go, yes. I tend to do that though with this category of fiction about millennial women dating!

What was the WTF moment? I don’t want to write spoilers, am trying to guess but I’m thinking it could be a couple of different parts?

 

[Cloak]

What was the WTF moment? I don’t want to write spoilers, am trying to guess but I’m thinking it could be a couple of different parts?

the downstairs neighbour!

 

[blossombloss]

the downstairs neighbour!

That was just so jarring to the whole story, did they make her put it in there? Felt so out of the blue!

 

[Cloak]

That was just so jarring to the whole story, did they make her put it in there? Felt so out of the blue!

it did, didn’t it? I had to go back and re-read the first sentence of that... sequence of events to make sure I hadn’t misread it

 

[Love_hate_small_town]

That review of ghosts is brutal! I haven’t forgotten about the private eye, I just can’t find it! I’m moving house in the next few weeks so I’m hoping it will surface.

 

[Love_hate_small_town]

Regarding that review, I thought what he said about her jokes falling flat interesting. I find with her advice column that she tries too hard to be funny and the references end up sounding far fetched and over done. I think she is funny in real life (by which I mean on a podcast).

Did anyone hear her interview on shameless podcast. Does anyone listen to shameless? It’s an Australian rip off of the high low. It’s one of the most infuriating podcasts I listen to. Not sure why Indo it to myself. I do have a soft spot for both presenters though, especially when they market themselves as ‘smart women’ and then make spectacular errors ona regular basis. They are also terrifyingly young. This week they referenced the Dominic West affair story and said they didn’t know who he was (fair enough) and he was in some series called the wire. I’ll wheel myself out.

 

[Justlurking1]

Is it just me that finds Pandora’s decor tastes a bit...much? Swear I got a headache looking at that pic of her daughters room.

 

[Lanavalentine]

Is it just me that finds Pandora’s decor tastes a bit...much? Swear I got a headache looking at that pic of her daughters room.

Yeah, I think it’s par for the course for people like Pandora though. They all think they’re original but open any issue of House & Garden and all their homes look exactly the same.

 

[Shugsyshalone]

You took the words right outta my mouth.
That wallpaper reminds me of some late 80’s/early 90’s wallpaper that was on my brothers bedroom wall when we moved into a house when I was younger. I have no idea why but I was strangely fascinated by how awful it was.

Yeah, I think it’s par for the course for people like Pandora though. They all think they’re original but open any issue of House & Garden and all their homes look exactly the same.

 

[Mooordgirl]

You took the words right outta my mouth.
That wallpaper reminds me of some late 80’s/early 90’s wallpaper that was on my brothers bedroom wall when we moved into a house when I was younger. I have no idea why but I was strangely fascinated by how awful it was.

Yeah i thought it was horrible! It looks like the before pic rather than the after!

 

[TGreece76]

Is it just me that finds Pandora’s decor tastes a bit...much? Swear I got a headache looking at that pic of her daughters room.

It’s er, intense. Also love how she highlights that the table was £20 off eBay... she decorated the nursery with Christian Lacroix wallpaper Such a bargain hunter is Panda, a bit like the ‘Frugality’...

 

[Lanavalentine]

was anyone else as unimpressed by Pandora’s article in the Evening Standard as I was? I think this is a really important topic and I was disappointed to see such a brief, aimless article that kind of skims over the issue without addressing the root of the backlash; in my opinion, the obvious driver is misogyny.

There’s new candour around pregnancy and motherhood — but backlash too

Is it just me, or has there been a particular candour around pregnancy and motherhood recently? It’s likely exacerbated by current logistics, which add an extra layer of anxiety to the experience of birth, and borne of the Government’s obfuscation around Covid-19, and the ever-widening gender...

www.standard.co.uk

I’ve also never heard of or encountered people saying “but what if women stop having kids??!” in reaction to the candour of celebrity mums? Is that a thing?

 

[Mbella]

was anyone else as unimpressed by Pandora’s article in the Evening Standard as I was? I think this is a really important topic and I was disappointed to see such a brief, aimless article that kind of skims over the issue without addressing the root of the backlash; in my opinion, the obvious driver is misogyny.

I agree! And I don't think this is particularly a particularly new discussion either, other than Chrissy Teigen's strikingly raw photos. Plenty of other celebrities have spoken about baby loss and difficult pregnancies.

This reminds me of a discussion on the podcast a few weeks ago. They were talking about some celebrity who had said she was "proud" of the fact she'd given birth "naturally", and how this might affect other women. I thought that Dolly was far more sensitive and thoughtful in the discussion - she recognised that "pride" might not be the right word to use, given that childbirth is not something that most women have any control over. I certainly couldn't have chosen to have a "natural" birth - I needed an emergency C-section - so does that mean I'm a "failure"? Obviously not, but framing natural birth as something to be "proud" of risks this connotation.

Pandora didn't seem to get this, at least not as much as Dolly. I thought that was striking, given that Pandora is the one with children.

Also: "I've found myself recently grateful" - terrible wording! And what is going on with that first paragraph: word salad!

 

[Whiskers]

I agree. This is what I found with Bella Mackie - she wrote a piece in the Times/Sunday Times about whether or not to have children because of her mental health. I was expecting it to be really insightful given it was the Times and I know Bella speaks a lot about her mental health but it was really lightweight and just did a vague both sides and said she was happy for now. She did also mention she had miscarried which obviously is hugely sad and I applaud her for speaking about it and her mental health problems but I have to be honest I was disappointed because those pieces (done well) can be so revealing and also helpful to others.

 

[emm]

I agree! And I don't think this is particularly a particularly new discussion either, other than Chrissy Teigen's strikingly raw photos. Plenty of other celebrities have spoken about baby loss and difficult pregnancies.

This reminds me of a discussion on the podcast a few weeks ago. They were talking about some celebrity who had said she was "proud" of the fact she'd given birth "naturally", and how this might affect other women. I thought that Dolly was far more sensitive and thoughtful in the discussion - she recognised that "pride" might not be the right word to use, given that childbirth is not something that most women have any control over. I certainly couldn't have chosen to have a "natural" birth - I needed an emergency C-section - so does that mean I'm a "failure"? Obviously not, but framing natural birth as something to be "proud" of risks this connotation.

Pandora didn't seem to get this, at least not as much as Dolly. I thought that was striking, given that Pandora is the one with children.

Also: "I've found myself recently grateful" - terrible wording! And what is going on with that first paragraph: word salad!

I HATE this focus of a "natural" childbirth, there is no other medical procedure in which people would brag about not using pain, it is so bizarre

 

[lakawe77]

I HATE this focus of a "natural" childbirth, there is no other medical procedure in which people would brag about not using pain, it is so bizarre

It’s so bizarre! Just another way that women are pitted against each other and some women are made to feel inferior

 

[emm]

It’s so bizarre! Just another way that women are pitted against each other and some women are made to feel inferior

exactly! I have friends who are doctors who bragged about giving birth without an epidural, I just will never understand this!

 

[Doobots]

exactly! I have friends who are doctors who bragged about giving birth without an epidural, I just will never understand this!

Plus having the 'ideal' birth does not mean by default you will be the perfect parent. It has no meaning other than how your child came into the world and nothing else. Somehow we've managed to create a society where what happens over those few hours can cloud years of a woman's actual mothering because they feel they failed before the baby even arrived... I shall stop now or I will rant.

I am, having never read it before, reading Everything I Know About Love. While I think all of the really interesting things are Farly's stories more than Dolly's, I can't help myself wondering who the Guru is? I had a Google but nothing came up easily. Does anyone know?

 

[queenamber]

I am, having never read it before, reading Everything I Know About Love. While I think all of the really interesting things are Farly's stories more than Dolly's, I can't help myself wondering who the Guru is? I had a Google but nothing came up easily. Does anyone know?

I went down an Internet deep-dive trying to find out who the Guru was after reading it. I would love to know! I suspect she changed a lot of names and jobs to disguise them all.

 

[Doobots]

I went down an Internet deep-dive trying to find out who the Guru was after reading it. I would love to know! I suspect she changed a lot of names and jobs to disguise them all.

Yes I am sure she's disguised them well, although I do remember the day her ex got married to the actress she tweeted about it and I read the story on the sidebar of shame. Cannot remember for the life of me who the man and the actress were but at the time I remember thinking it wasn't as interesting as it sounded as the actress wasn't hugely famous (although if my own ex had married someone that sounds instantly glamorous in the way 'Hollywood actress' does, that's how I'd be saying it too)