Best Recs #8

Marilyn, weather warnings, and Hamilton

I started writing this post while still in the UK in late June shortly before my laptop took a holiday of its own (i.e., it broke).

At the time, it was hot. Red weather warning hot. Danger to life hot. (And things seem even worse now across much of the Northern Hemisphere.)

I tell myself that I can acclimatise to hot weather wherever I am given that I live in Hong Kong where we regularly experience amber and red heat advisory warnings.

Yet one thing that I’ve noticed between the UK and Hong Kong is that the heat hits differently. Both places can be muggy, but the sluggishness can feel more pronounced in the UK than I recall experiencing in Hong Kong. This is likely attributed to the availability of air con in most buildings here (lucky, I know!). When you start to feel the heat, you can slip into a shopping centre where you’re likely to be blasted with temperatures of around 16 degrees Celsius. You are freezing within seconds. Meanwhile, when I was wandering around London, I felt like my brain was cooking in its own juices, especially on the underground.

Anyway, that’s enough talk about the weather! Here’s the latest Best Recs, an occasional round-up type post where I write about some stuff that I’ve been enjoying.

ICYMI - here is Best Recs #7:

Best Recs #7 🔔

If there is anything that you want to share, please post in the comments!

Sarah

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My date with Marilyn

Beyond avoiding the hottest periods of the day, I enjoyed my time in London. As is pretty standard during a visit to the capital, I head to a few museums and the odd paid-for exhibition. This time, my paid-for event was to the National Portrait Museum to see Marilyn Monroe: A Portrait.

I’ve long been fascinated with Monroe. Part of this fascination stems from the gossip around her private life, which she partly cultivated, but she was also a damn good actress. My favourite movie is Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, where I fell for the goofy and playful nature of Lorelei Lee.

Also, Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend is an iconic show piece, as well as a feminist anthem:

“He's your guy
When stocks are high
But beware when they start to descend

It's then that those louses
Go back to their spouses
Diamonds are a girl's best friend”

There is a sense from the mythology around Monroe that we know her somehow. Of course, this is an illusion. We all have different shades to ourselves, and this was something that came through in the exhibition.

Marilyn Monroe taken by Andre de Dienes, 1949

Marilyn Monroe taken by Allan Grant, 1962

Marilyn Monroe taken by Bert Stern, 1962

Monroe knew how she wanted to be seen, at least most of the time. She cultivated friendships with several photographers, and as she became more successful, she played an active role in the presentation of her image, something that is assumed among modern day celebrities. (I think of Monroe as a ‘star’ rather than as a celebrity.)

And I wonder how Monroe might have taken to the act of self-promotion in the era of social media, if she were alive today. Would she have hired a mega-PR whizz like Taylor Swift’s, Tree Paine to ensure that the messaging about a particular release was right, or used a post on Instagram to soft or hard launch a romantic relationship? Unlikely, if Arthur Miller or Joe DiMaggio had something to do with it. Or, would she have documented the humdrum aspects of her day like influencers? Similarly, I think not, but obviously, we’ll never know.

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Not so Daunted by books

New books can be pricey in Hong Kong and that’s when you can get hold of what you want - not all publishers release books here, partly for reasons that I won’t go into in this post. There’s a local book store near me that I support, but otherwise I pick things up second hand through Gentle Books or swap with friends. (An exception to this was following a work trip back in May when I went crazy in Bookazine, a Waterstones-type shop in Hong Kong.)

However, when I visit the UK and London in particular, I like to visit Daunt Books in Cheapside, although there are several locations around the capital. Here are a few of the titles that I bought:

• Elizabeth Strout: The Things We Never Say

• Jem Calder: I Want You to Be Happy

• Janice Hallett: The Killer Question

But there may have been others that I picked up during the rest of the trip.

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Hamilton revisited

I first saw the London stage production of Hamilton in the summer of 2023. Then it was a solo treat to celebrate quitting my job, but this time, I went with my husband on a Friday evening.

The atmosphere was electric, and I cannot begin to imagine the energy required to put in eight shows a week. When the show was over one of the staff members remarked that it was of the team’s best performances.

There was something remarkable about the timing of the visit to see the show, too. My husband and I were due to fly out to the US that weekend and would be there for the 250th anniversary of independence from the British.

Therefore, here are some words from King George:

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Recent-ish reads, stuff I’ve been watching and listens

• This excellent post from Jeffrey Streeter

• It’s been 25 years (!) since Aaliyah’s self-titled album was released

• Fabulous episode of Desert Island Discs with the BBC journalist, Gary O’Donoghue

• Hannah Ashe has given me an idea of what to do with ALL of the postcards that I seem to have collected over the years

• If you’re based in the UK and haven’t been living under a bin, perhaps you’ve come across Count Binface:

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Extra time…

I cannot finish this post without mentioning the Men’s World Cup. Due to rights reasons in the US, I couldn’t enjoy much of the British commentary and instead had the joys of suffered through what Fox had to offer. The constant push for advertisements at every available opportunity made parts of the viewing experience awful.

That said, in my humble (and insignificant) opinion, England played their best in their final match of the tournament against France.

And about that half-time show during the final:

Thanks for reading! See you next time.

Sarah

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