TueDo List: Natalie Merchant + Erotica Side Hustle + Spring Turtlenecks

Plus gravestone recipes, new Jenny Lewis and the return of Molly + Ally

Natalie Merchant releases her new album, Keep Your Courage this week. (Photo: Shervin Lainez)

THIS WEEK

📖 READ: Is therapy-speak making us selfish? Nicole Chung on the high costs of being a writer. Sari Botton on fighting for a uterine diagnosis. On aging, dating, and being beautiful. Normalizing “the hundred-dollar-per-person dinner in New York.”

👀 LOOK: The “secret” book-writing room at the New York Public Library. The oral history of LinkedIn. Pack like Marie Kondo. Gravestone recipes, resurrected.

🎧 LISTEN: Jennifer Romolini’s Stiffed podcast, from Crooked Media, about a lost-to-history 1970s feminist porn magazine. “Psychos” by Jenny Lewis. “Hunter” by Jess Williamson. Michelle Obama talks with an all-star cast on Higher Grounds’ The Light Podcast. A beautiful interview with Natalie Merchant — and watch her with Resistance Revival Chorus’ Abena Koomson-Davis.

🤣 LOL: “Honey, I’ve been 50 since before you was born.” Imagine trying to cast Love Is Blind in D.C. Taking a shit at Hermés.

🛒 ADD TO CART: Authentic Zuni jewelry from Keshi in Santa Fe, N.M. The Cole Haan Women’s Grand Crosscourt Tennis Shoe. Farm Rio for summer, always.

📺 WATCH:

• Wednesday: Single Drunk Female. Molly Ringwald joins Breakfast Club bud Ally Sheedy for Season 2 of this Jenni Konner-produced comedy. (Freeform Network; Thursday on Hulu).

• Friday: Personality Crisis: One Night Only. “The definitive story of the culture-defying David Johansen, notorious ‘70s glam punk lead singer of the New York Dolls (Showtime).” Seven Kings Must Die. Uhtred is back in this film topping off The Last Kingdom historical fiction series (Netflix). Rare Objects. Katie Holmes directs and stars in this film about a woman with a traumatic past rebuilding her life in NYC (Theaters, VOD).

• Sunday: Barry. Season 4 opens with Bill Hader in jail and the episode is titled “yikes.” Can’t wait (HBO).

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STORY: My Midlife Side Hustle Is Writing Erotica

Rachel with her books. (Image: Rachel Kramer Bussel)

By Rachel Kramer Bussel

I started writing erotica in the late 1990s when it became clear to me that law school, the career path I’d chosen, wasn’t working out. I was too enamored of all that New York City had to offer and, along with my sexual adventures in the city that never sleeps, I was exploring equally provocative literary ventures, from writing and reading erotica to later running an erotic reading series, where any kind of sex was easily pursued and enjoyed.

For me, erotica was an opening into a world I couldn’t have envisioned when I got started. In the beginning, I was exploring my own personal fantasies and chronicling my erotic adventures and misadventures. Over the last two decades, I’ve expanded that work to craft stories about characters who aren’t like me at all, and to help others translate the naughty images in their minds onto the page.

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TUENIGHT 10: Lydia Marie Wilson, Beauty Blogger

Your Age: 47

Basic bio: Lydia Marie Wilson is a beauty blogger, YouTuber and the face of  Beauty by L’Marie, a beauty and lifestyle website for women over 40. When she’s not playing with makeup or trying new skincare and beauty products, Lydia is out and about in Charlotte, NC finding something interesting to do. Her latest project is a spring beauty trends roundup.

Beyond the bio: How life has changed for me as I’ve gotten older is how free and comfortable I am with myself. I’m slowly accepting the graying hair and taking better care of my body so that I’ll remain as vital as possible. I wouldn’t trade this time in my life for anything…

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#GENXAPPROVED: Question of the Week

This week TueNighter Alison needs our help: She’s looking for a lightweight turtleneck for spring:

🤔 ASK YOUR OWN QUESTION! If you’re a premium subscriber, you can learn how to submit your questions here or head straight to the new section to chime in with your recommendations.

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Time to get outside, TueNighters!

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