Instagram story viewer> @thelitlist__> Posts

𝖗𝖆𝖈𝖍𝖊𝖑 𝖘𝖔𝖔 𝖙𝖍𝖔𝖜

@thelitlist__

244.7K

followers

1815

following

Writer, Reader, I Love You I Hate You on @substack
2026 Content Creator Of The Year @fashionquarterly
Partnerships : [email protected]

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

Download All

oh September, you were a beaut 💌 by @thelitlist__

1k

39

14 hours ago

“This is what Aids is after all, isn’t it? One long set of disappearing acts. First is watching the friends and family disappear. Second act is when people try to disappear you. Third act is watching your body vanish from itself and wondering where the fuck you going, piece by piece, until all of you gone … If there is a fourth act it’s when everybody erase your name as if you were never born in the first place. Certainly no Christian church ever christened you.”

~

YOU’VE SEEN HIGH PRAISES ON SOCIALS.
IS IT WORTH READING?

Hell yes. And here’s why.

Marlon James’s The Disappearers (shortlisted for The Booker Prize 2026), offers one hell of a confronting examination on queer identity, violence, and survival within the deeply homophobic social landscape of 1980s and 1990s Jamaica. Before I dive in, the blurb itself already reveals that there will be a scathing and brutal attack on a group of queer men rehearsing for Fortune and Men’s Eyes, so the anticipation and shock for what was to come wasn’t completely unforeseen but still left me anxious for how this was going to play out and shape the overall narrative. With a side -step into the first quarter of the novel the characters are introduced to us a month preceding the assault; a cast of eight men set against a backdrop of Jamaican queerness, heat and chaos, each dealing with the bigotry and homophobia that exists around them. Fragments of race, class, fears, insecurities and motivations seem to swim within these pages with a fury that is both epic and intimate and it isn’t until you reach the pages where the brutality explodes, that you start to recognise James’ intentions in highlighting structures of social oppression and the lasting consequences of trauma.

(CONT. in pinned comment below) 👇 by @thelitlist__

3

10

4 days ago

currently reading • browsing • feeding • eating • not sleeping • repeat ✅ by @thelitlist__

3

8

7 days ago

💌 THE POSTPARTUM SAVIOURS 💌

Four weeks postpartum and these products have done the heavy lifting in not only getting me through the days where I have ZILCH time anymore, but also making me feel somewhat put together. Self care is now a scarcity (does this last forever? Ha) and one that I feel like I took for granted before having a newborn but I’m slowly feeling like myself again and it’s down to these power players…

➡️ swipe for all the dets …

🩵 HAIR & THERE

So apparently hair loss is on the cards : shedding typically begins around two to four months after delivery as estrogen levels drop back to normal and fullness of hair doesn’t come back until your baby’s first bday eeek. So I’ve been using these products by @kerastase_official to hopefully prevent this from happening at all or at least slow down the process. The reviews on the anti hair-fall serum are better than any other hair serum I’ve seen so watch this space…

• Kerastase Anti Hair-Fall Fortifying Serum
• Kerastase Chronologiste Longevity Potion (scalp care)

🖤 DOWN UNDER

After giving birth naturally and landing myself with a 2nd degree tear internally and externally, I’m still using maternity pads, doing 360 breathing and using oil on my belly. The post-shower routine now has additional steps; from oiling to using a belly band to taking ginseng to working from bed because it’s a softer surface. It’s a journey guys. Also p.s just take all the medications prescribed to you - you’ll honestly need all of them truly.

• TOM Organic Overnight Pads
• Augustinus Bader The Hydrogel Face Mask
• Belly Band (with spine stability)
• Pure Mama Belly & Body Oil
• Skin Control Glass Skin Under Eye Jelly Masks
• Hemo Him Atomy Ginseng Sachets

❤️ GLOW ON

Carrying on the discipline I had when I had gestational diabetes and having to have a healthy diet because of it, has made me more conscious of how I’m hydrating from the inside out - from collagen peptides to electrolytes to maintaining blood sugars, it’s all about routine and balance and recovery.

• Cadence Hydro Babe Electrolytes Powder
• Vida Glow Natural Marine Collagen Sachets
• Eve Wellness Blood Sugar Babe Powder

💚 WHEN THE BOOK BECOME by @thelitlist__

3

11

8 days ago

“My mother is the source of my unease in the world and thus the only person who can make me feel at home in the world.”

~

Daphne Merkin’s Enchantment is less a conventional coming-of-age novel than a psychological autopsy conducted with considerable wit and uncomfortable precision. Let’s just also say that right after giving birth to a girl, that perhaps this novel felt in some way tense, unsettling and I just wasn’t in the right frame of mind to read about a young New Yorker whose consuming attachment to her mother transforms the familiar language of love into something far more cruel. The mother in question, Margot, has the sort of affection one can deem unpredictable, alternating between tenderness, indifference, and calculated cruelty, leaving Hannah, our protagonist, perpetually suspended between approval and rejection. For her, this uncertainty becomes almost addictive - almost as if the emotional suspense is proof of being alive.

Each page seems to perfectly capture the awkward theatre of adolescence, where childish vulnerability and premature sophistication compete for the same stage. Hannah can advise her mother on cosmetics yet remain devastated by a humiliating winter coat - a small indignity that somehow feels like a constitutional crisis. Beneath the humour, however, lies a darker argument - that inconsistent nurturing can distort a person’s understanding of love, dignity, and self-worth. That ole mother-daughter conundrum we see time and time again...

Enchantment ultimately argues that psychological development begins with the most basic form of love: steady, affirming attachment. Without it, desire does not disappear, it mutates. Overall, this is a beautiful novel that reaffirms all the feels about mother-daughter tensions; the good, the bad, and the ugly. The secrets and the lies. The yearning for approval and the downfalls of rejection... truly a must-read.

💗 by @thelitlist__

744

15

13 days ago

adulting ☁️ by @thelitlist__

783

18

17 days ago

Let’s call this one ‘postpartum book mail’. 🤌

It’s still wild to think I gave birth last Wednesday; the whole experience was so surreal and not only that but the days since then have all somehow merged into one and all sense of time has disappeared, along with any time I have to pick up a book before the next feed. Oh the luxury of time !

These beauties however have curbed my enthusiasm and I’m super excited to throw myself into The Disappearers (longlisted for the Booker Prize) next and then The Song Of Stork and Dromedary (a reimagining of the Brontë sisters) - both hefty reads but I’m craving something with depth atm…
And might as well throw in the 2nd instalment of Gillian Anderson’s anonymous compilations of sexual desires for funzies. Ha

Let me know if you’ve read these or if any of them are on your radar? by @thelitlist__

603

17

19 days ago

Emerson Tilly Crabtree 💗.

This lil Virgo appeared earthside 9th September 2026 weighing 3.2kgs and already has the sass and milk chugs to match (@emersonsbrewery no wonder you guys and the Bookbinder just made sense for the name inspo 😉).

Oh, and here’s a little nursery tour.
Kinda jelly of it tbh.

x by @thelitlist__

2k

384

23 days ago

Slow down, relax and get creative with T2’s latest collaboration with CARDIGANG to crochet your own tea flask holder! The kit contains everything you need and is perfect for anyone wanting to crochet for the first time. ☁️

Head to your local T2 store (if you’re in New Zealand, these stores are located in Albany, Queen Street and St Luke’s!) to experience it for yourself and create your own meaningful morning ritual.

AND if you use the promo code RACHEL15, you’ll receive 15% off full price items in-store and online. T&C’s apply.

@t2tea

#t2tea #ExtraordinaryMe #MakeTheEveryDayExtraordinary #AD by @thelitlist__

254

7

23 days ago

Being pregnant really puts into perspective the weight (excuse the pun) that women deal with on the daily - the responsibilities, the lists, the expectations, the values and the way we’re still supposed to show up and somewhat be there for others at the same time.
It’s really fucking hard. And the costs can be immense.

From career archetypes to finances, to choosing ourselves and healing from the toxins of the past, this collection of essays really delves deep into the inner - the inner thoughts that shape our actions and our values and realising that we have the freedom after all, to do it all or do nothing (the choice is forever ours).

UPDATE:
LINK CRASHED SO HEAD TO MY SUBSTACK LINK IN BIO FOR ACCESS TO ALL ESSAYS

** oh and yea, there’s an extra piece included for y’all this week ❤️🤌 by @thelitlist__

93k

30k

a month ago

Every road trip, every visit to a bookstore gets me excited when I spot these spearmint covers; spanning from a range of classics to avant-garde essays, radical polemics, newly translated poetry and great fiction, these are brilliant snippets that celebrate a wide range of diverse voices from across the globe.

At this stage my September reading list may be consisting of these short and sweet babes as we head to the hospital this week (👀👀👀)!

I’m still looking to add to the collection as I know there’s about 50 in total in the complete box set, so let me know what titles you loved and I’ll add it to the birthday month cart (yes, month, because why not stretch this out haha).

@penguinukbooks by @thelitlist__

3

12

a month ago

Healthy hair = Healthy ends.

My secret?
Daily hair oiling using Kerastase Elixir Ultime Hair Oil. Lightweight, strengthens and protects, and delivers incredible shine.

@kerastase_official AD #kerastaseelixirultime #healthyhair #hairtips #kerastase #hairoiling by @thelitlist__

156

10

a month ago