Curated Letter N°24

June & July 2023 Edition

A sophistication focused selection of information

My Dear Friends,

I hope this finds you thriving and relaxed—or maybe elegantly navigating the seasonal switch between sunhats and finalising new goals.

With everything from inflation chatter to cultural comebacks vying for your attention, the Curated Letter June & July 2023 offers a sophistication-focused edit: thought-provoking, with a pinch of art, the odd idea, a new museum, a newly discovered language and just enough inside stories to keep things interesting.
Because being well-informed is personal power and sophistication– as always, it begins with being curious

Curious minds make confident investors. Meet you next month for more insights!

– Yours, Harper –

Bookology

For sun-drenched afternoons, shaded corners, and long flights you may or may not take—lightweight in format, not in substance.

Women who think too much, book cover, a book explaining women´s tendency to have negative feelings, experiences and thoughts

Women Who Think Too Much

Author: Dr. Susan Nolen-Hoeksema
Published: Piatkus; 2004

Many people, especially women, spend significant time dwelling on negative thoughts, feelings, and experiences. Renowned psychologist Dr. Susan Nolen-Hoeksema refers to this as overthinking. Her research highlights that a substantial portion of women, more than half in her study, experience excessive overthinking, leading to sadness, anxiety, and depression. This book identifies the causes and offers strategies to overcome negative thoughts, elevate your mindset, and live more productively.

Defining Wealth for Women

Author: Bonnie Koo MD
Published: Lioncrest Publishing, 2021

The scarcity mindset has historically affected women more than men, but becoming more knowledgeable about how you view money may help shift your mindset. Bonnie Koo empowers women in this book by challenging common myths like “money is complicated” or “budgets are money diets.” She explains what women can do to be in control of their finances through journal prompts and activities. Overall, this read will be a good fit if you aren’t confident about money but want to change your perspective on it..

book cover with blue and black printed on a creme colored background , the title is The Miracle Equation

The Miracle Equation

Author: Hal Elrod
Published: Harmony; 2019

“The Miracle Equation” presents a compelling framework that assures a potent formula for accomplishing our goals: unwavering faith and extraordinary effort. The book emphasizes the significance of effectively managing negative emotions, introducing an intriguing concept known as the five-minute rule. This concept caught my attention as it suggests dedicating a brief five-minute period to intensely experience negative emotions, followed by a conscious decision to release them and forge ahead.

The Covenant of Water

Author: Abraham Verghese
Published: Grove Press, May 2023

Immersed in the rich backdrop of 20th-century India, particularly the southern state of Kerala, “The Covenant of Water” is an epic historical fiction spanning 736 pages. In 1900, a 12-year-old girl, later known as Big Ammachi, marries a 40-year-old widower, thus assuming the role of matriarch in the cursed Parambil family, where drowning claims the life of at least one individual in each generation. Two seemingly unrelated but profoundly intertwined narratives intertwine throughout three generations, paying homage to India, family, and astonishing medical advancements.

Podtails

For those moments between doing and deciding—clever, candid, and occasionally scandalous enough to make you pause the audio and text a friend

Unlocking Us

Self-Help

Conversations that unlock the deeply human part of who we are so that we can live, love, parent, and lead with more courage and heart.

Subscribe with Spotify

Multi colored podcast logo. With a bright yellow title, "50 Things That Made the Modern Economy by BBC

50 Things that Made the Modern Economy

Knowledge

Tim Harford tells the story of 50 inventions, ideas, and innovations that helped create today’s economy. Who knew double-entry bookkeeping and barbed wire could be so fascinating?

Subscribe where ever you get Your podcasts

Rationally Speaking

Educational

Julia Galef‘s goal is to explore important issues with nuance and rigour. Most episodes feature an interview with a scientist, journalist, or other thinker. Sometimes, she interviews multiple people with different perspectives on a topic to try and triangulate my way to the truth.

Subscribe where ever you get Your podcasts

Female Lens

From the oddly relevant to the glamorously unnecessary—here’s what caught my eye and might spark yours

Vision Pro

Apple is usually a master at turning technical gadgetry into a status symbol. Owning a fancy iPhone signals success, wealth, and tech-savvy. But it’s doubtful that this version of the Vision Pro will be able to pull that off. Because for now, it is like a super expensive pair of “nerd goggles”.

Here is more…

Medium Age of Billionaires

Flashy young founders may get a lot of attention, but the typical billionaire is older than you may think. The median age of the world’s billionaires is 67, according to a new report from Altrata. Younger billionaires are more likely to make their money in tech — or through inheritance. Among billionaires aged under 50, technology ranks a close second in importance, followed by business and consumer services and hospitality and entertainment. Billionaires under 50 are twice as likely to have compared with the over-50 set.

Curious?
A Sicilian baroque palace - San Domenico Palace- sitting on top of a hill, depicting a luxury destination not to be missed.

A Sexy Reality

With lavish Baroque villas, exotic gardens, dramatic landscapes, ancient art and a seductive vibe, Sicily seems to be the perfect location for season two of the dark HBO comedy series “The White Lotus.” The award-winning show charts the tangled, erotic and sometimes dangerous adventures of super-rich vacationers staying at the beautiful clifftop San Domenico Palace, a five-star resort operated by Four Seasons in the town of Taormina. A former 14th-century monastery with unique views of the Etna volcano and coastline, the hotel is as much a star of the show as its cast of Hollywood and Italian A-listers. And, says its real-life manager, Lorenzo Maraviglia, it’s a match for its fictional counterpart.

You should go there…

More Museums in KSA

The Royal Commission of Al Ula has announced the development of two new museums in Al Ula, which will be designed by architects Lina Ghotmeh and Asif Khan.  Ghotmeh, who designed the Serpentine Pavilion in London, will design the contemporary art museum in Al Ula. Khan, who created the giant gateways for Expo 2020 and has been awarded an MBE for his services to architecture, will design the museum for the Incense Road. These two museums are part of 15 cultural assets being developed as part of AlUla’s Journey Through Time Masterplan.

Worth a Visit!!

Cartier & Amal

Cartier is very excited to announce that Amal Clooney is supporting Maison’s efforts to help drive change in our society by contributing to the Cartier Women’s Initiative Annual Awards Ceremony as a Cartier Voice.  ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. As co-founder of the Clooney Foundation for Justice, a leading barrister in international law, and TIME Magazine’s 2022 Woman of the Year, Amal has led numerous landmark global human rights cases and has dedicated her career – and personal life – to battling injustices faced by disenfranchised individuals and communities. 

Read this!

July Supplement

“If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it”

Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, inventor, Designer, Entreprebneur 1955-2011