Welcome back, cult members.
Media Watch
📚WHAT I READ: “The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires” by Grady Hendrix.
Set in the 1990s in an upper-class Charleston suburb, the main character, homemaker Patricia Campbell, is violently attacked by her elderly neighbor, leading to an escalating series of disturbing encounters with the neighbor’s nephew.
Socially isolated due to her disconnected teenagers and misogynistic husband, Patricia relies on her true crime-obsessed book club of stay-at-home moms to investigate the evil weaving its way into their community.
Why It Works: The exploration of sexism, family dynamics, and racial tension added some realism and depth to this supernatural thriller. The main character was well-written — her struggles with her family and her community’s societal expectations were given equal weight with her battle to expose the vampire.
The plot gradually unfolds as the general sense of unease increases, heightening the creepy vibes of “something is wrong in suburbia.”
Why It Doesn’t: The timeline jumps were a bit hard to follow. There were frequent gaps of months or years, and I was left wondering what the heck Patricia was doing with all that time.
Read It? Yes, even if you typically don’t like horror. The plot has a lot more nuance than you would expect from the title and cover. Fair warning, though: some parts are gory and disturbing, especially if you’re afraid of creepy-crawlies. 🪲🐀
Rating: ✨✨✨✨.5/5
News & Links
🧠 TikTok and iHeartMedia are joining forces to launch up to 25 shows on the new TikTok Podcast Network. Not enough brain rot for you? They’re also rolling out TikTok Radio, a station that exclusively plays trending TikTok sounds. Middle-schoolers are never going to recover.
💅 10Beauty’s five-step robotic manicure machines are now available at select Ulta Beauty locations. For $30+ a pop, a nail Roomba will pamper you for 25-45 minutes. Of course, you have to download a special app for the damn thing.
👁️🗨️ Vizz, a new FDA-approved eye drop, aims to help adults with age-related blurry vision. Priced at $79 a month, it claims a person’s vision will improve for up to 10 hours, so they won’t have to wear reading glasses. If this actually works, this is groundbreaking.
💉 The recently announced TrumpRx is a portal that allows consumers to purchase meds directly from Big Pharma for discounted prices. Yes, that includes Ozempic. No, you can’t use your insurance. Will this be a good deal? Time will tell.
👹 “The Devil Wears Prada 2” film dropped its new poster … and it’s literally just a second shoe. My god, the creativity.
FROM THE ‘GRAM
🐦⬛ Maxxinistas and bird watchers alike, break out the hot chocolate, the garlands, … and the gay cardinals. (Not the Catholic kind.) ‘Tis the season!
🎄Before you go: What’s your Christmas decorating style? I hope it includes bird snowglobes.
✨ Cults are all about recruiting. Pls share this post with friends and enemies.