07.03.25 : Ladies Who Lit is going on DND this weekend, so your weekly cultural digest is here a day early.
- kaylenralph
- Aug 4
- 4 min read
The month of July is the Saturday night of summer, and it’s looking extra lit. We’ve got an extra book in our bag, a dash of fashion, and charcuterie on the dashboard. And, as always, just enough culture to keep you booked and busy all month long. This week’s edition of B&B is a day early because Ladies Who Lit is going DND starting tomorrow (thank goddess).
In Our Bag
Running these picks back for a second week because July’s book club discussion is coming up on July 30 (RSVP on Pie)! Kick back with one (or both) of our July book selections this holiday weekend—the forecast is promising sunshine with 100% chance of Ladies Who Lit.
Atmosphere, Taylor Jenkins Reid (2025)
A Woman Is No Man, Etaf Rum (2019)
For Your Information
This week, the New York Times’s James Hill profiled Atelier Devauchelle, a family owned Parisian bookbinder that has been in operation since the 1970s, via this gorgeous photo-based postcard essay. Renowned for their technical and artistic practices, as well as their use of refined and rare materials, the Devauchelles have created familial tradition out of a lost art form. Our favorite quote of the piece is from Naïk Duca, who has worked at the atelier for 19 years:
“What I like is that it changes all the time, even if it seems I’m always doing the same thing. I need to adapt to each book according to its structure and materials.”
Check out Atelier Devauchelle’s website here.
This club loves celebrating unexpected connections between literature and the visual arts. So color us delighted to learn about SECRIST | BEACH Gallery’s Artist Library, a program in which the gallery invites solo exhibiting artists to curate a selection of books that share with viewers the inspirations for their creative work. The best part? The gallery partners with a network of small independent bookstores for purchase. Learn more here.
EXTRA, EXTRA: We have assigned ourselves the developing luxury book tote dialogue as our journalistic beat. Move over, Woodward & Bernstein! How much significance can we assign an item that is totally utilitarian at its core? Stay tuned. The latest iteration of this discourse answers one question we didn’t know we had: What is on Dior Creative Director Jonathan Anderson’s reading list this summer? The fashion house’s literary take on the classic Dior Book Tote gives us a few clues, and Rihanna is loving the Dracula iteration. We understand, because Mina Harker is that girl: “I suppose that we women are such cowards that we think a man will save us from fears, and we marry him." A bag celebrating a book that casually drags the entire institution of marriage under Victorian patriarchy? We get it, Riri.
Extra Lit
A long weekend or lazy afternoon make for the perfect moment to try out one of our extracurriculars. Try a new coffee, explore new perspectives, or just enjoy the new book-to-screen adaptation we’re loving this summer.
Exhibition Opening: The Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) presents City in a Garden: Queer Art and Activism in Chicago, an intergenerational group exhibition highlighting Chicago’s essential role in queer art and activism. The artists represent queerness through diverse mediums from documentation to sculpture, featuring archival materials related to groups combining artistic practice with activism.
On view July 5th, 2025 through May 31st, 2026 at The Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) in Chicago.
Based on the best-selling novel by E. Lockhart, We Were Liars has made its television debut. Coming to you from the couch, we haven’t stopped watching this show since Kaylen announced her #PrimeVideoCreator partnership rec on IG. On the surface, We Were Liars is about an East Coast family known for their generational wealth and close familial bond, but after a life-altering accident, everyone seems to have something to hide. We’re almost done—no spoilers! Available on Prime.
In French, allez means go. So let’s! Up to Logan Square for a coffee, maybe a matcha? I hear Allez Cafe makes a great brew, and they just launched a new location inside Cara Cara Club. I’ll grab the oat matcha latte with a cream top, you get the organic nitro cold brew, and we can share? Check out Allez Cafe’s Instagram for a taste of their full menu of pastries, sandwiches, and more!
On The Books
It’s time! July’s Double Bound book discussion has been announced for July 30th at The Hoxton. RSVP on Pie and join us for a night of conversation and literary community. This month, we’ve got two books for you to choose from, so take your pick! With the additional space we have to spread out at The Hoxton, you’ll be sorted into breakout groups based on the novel you choose to read this month. Head to Ladies Who Lit’s Bookshop.org store to grab your copy.
