Kiss, Marry or Kill: 60

We're ALL talking about this book, right? Plus, how to be a better speaker, the kitchen appliance IDK how I lived without, what's your AQ (and why it matters), and how to actually score good dupes

This is my weekly series for subscribers only, where I’ll share things that caught my eye this week in a fun and flirty way (kiss), a sustainable way (marry), or a not-so-good way (kill). And yes, this trendy game is technically “f***, marry, or kill” but we run a family-friendly-ish show around here.

Kiss (things I like right now)

📕 Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke (←read with my eyes)

Note: No spoilers here, but I am going to give away the shape of the book. Skip this section if you want to go in totally blind, but I wish I had a bit more context before diving in.

Yesteryear was not what I expected, and I haven’t yet fully landed as to how I feel about it.

This has been one of the most hyped books of the year, and it’s topical as hell. The premise (as far as I understood it): A “trad wife” influencer (think “millions of followers, kids as content, organic, low-tox, #farmlife #blessed”) wakes up one morning magically transported to the late 1800s, where she learns what it really means to be a trad wife in pioneer days.

I assumed this would be a fun and snarky beach read. This is how it went in my head: The influencer would be exposed for the hypocrisy of promoting “trad wife” values while building a literal empire through influencing. She’d be a fake internet persona, calculated in her image-crafting and hiding much of her reality from her fans. (Underneath it all, she’d be likeable. Maybe even relatable.) She’d be booted back in time in an ironic twist of fate, designed to teach her a lesson about values, gender roles, and what’s really important. She’d then… (here’s where it got vague for me—I didn’t know how it would end, but I was excited to find out).

I was right about some of it. I could not have been more wrong on the rest. It was so much darker than anticipated. And weirder. I felt like I was being seriously jerked around, which means the author is talented, as my experience mirrored that of the protagonist. Maybe the author is also dark and weird? Either way, Burke surprised me, but not in a, “Surprise, I brought home the cupcakes you’ve been craving.” More, “Surprise, I got the kids a puppy that neither the kids nor I will be training or walking, and also the puppy is a coyote.” Does that count as a spoiler?

I could say much more but (a) I err on the cautious side of what you’d consider a “spoiler,” and (b) I don’t share books I didn’t love, and I’m ON THE FENCE HERE. Let’s just say, I either loved it against my will… or it was one of the worst books I’ve read since I Who Have Never Known Men. (Note, this is embodied in the comment section of every TikTok review I’ve seen.)

To summarize, if you’re looking for, “trad wife gets an ironic but cute comeuppance with a satisfying redemption arc,” for your summer vacation, this ain’t it. But I’m still recommending it, because I have to talk about it with someone.

🗣 How to speak

I’m asked often for pointers on public speaking. I speak quite a bit, on podcasts, TV, and at live events. I don’t use filler words, I appear comfortable on stage, and I’m able to roll with any direction the conversation takes.