We made it to another Friday, and woke up to honest-to-goodness snow for the first time this season! The trees are blanketed but the roads are clear—my favorite combination.
This weekend we’re also baking fancy bread and celebrating a family birthday. The news out of D.C. is heartbreaking and we’re coping as best we can here at home. I hope your weekend is just what you need it to be, and as usual, we’re getting things started with an assortment of interesting reads and fun things.
My favorite finds from around the web:
- Get Ready For the 42 Most Anticipated Books of 2021. How many of these are on your TBR?
- Friends & Fiction Episode 41 with Anne Bogel. This was such a fun event!
- An Ode to Frozen Vegetables. Not what I would expect Jenny Rosenstrach to write about!
- Why We Need More Diversity in South Asian Representation. “This monopolization effectively erases the other South Asian countries, including narratives that are very unique, yet often intertwined because of our histories of colonization, border disputes, and shared culture.”
- These are the comfy sweaters I’m wearing on repeat this week.
- These Precious Days. Ann Patchett writes about Tom Hanks, his assistant, and the many ways stories can begin and end. And also doing mushrooms, which I DID NOT expect.
- How Author Jacqueline Woodson Gets It Done. I love these profiles.
- The next 10 books you should consider on decision-making. Great to see Don’t Overthink It included here!
- Speaking of Don’t Overthink It: it’s on sale across all ebook platforms for just $1.99 (or less, some places) right now. Click here to buy wherever ebooks are sold, or buy it on Amazon here for $1.59. (You can even give the ebook to a friend.)
- 10 Cozy Sweaters to Get You Through the Rest of Winter. Some cute options here.
- ‘He Made Me Realize It Was Possible:’ Remembering Eric Jerome Dickey. Moving reflections from Black authors.
- Where Fantasy Meets Reality: The Magic of Libraries. Lots of great book recommendations.
- Dealing With Jaw, Neck, or Face Tension Lately? Here Are 5 Ways to Get Relief (Without Turning to Advil). Helpful tips.
Event with Jane Harper:
Very exciting news! Jane Harper joined us in the Modern Mrs Darcy Book Club to talk about The Dry back in 2017. MacMillan is doing a virtual book club for The Dry on January 13 and they’ve asked me to lead the discussion with Jane. Join us for conversation and Q&A live online. Tickets are free with proof of purchase of The Dry or her latest The Survivors. Register here.
Don’t miss these posts:
- 7 simple ways to read more this year. If you’ve been wanting to squeeze more reading time into your days, these strategies should help.
- 16 jigsaw puzzles to brighten up your winter days. We are very pro-puzzles around here.
Have a great weekend!
15 comments
I really enjoyed the profile on Jacqueline Woodson! I’ve become a huge admirer of her work during the past year. I’m planning to read her book Before the Ever After later this month!
Two sweaters I’ve been wearing in heavy rotation are Barefoot Dreams CozyChic Lite Travel Cardigan (like a hug!) and the Land’s End Chenille Ribbed Open Long Cardigan Sweater. The Barefoot Dreams fabric is so squishy and warm and comfy! I love it.
Anne,
Will you share the bread recipe you are baking this weekend, please.
I love this roundup! I also read the Ode to Frozen Vegetables and found it so interesting (and reassuring).
I love libraries. I try to write about favorite libraries on my blog from time to time. I’m so frustrated that my local has closed again because of the pandemic. They are offering curbside but everything good seems to be checked out or on hold for weeks and weeks at a time. Its pretty tough to try out new reads right now. I like to read before I buy usually, and I don’t have an e-reader either. Our local used bookstore has also mostly been closed to the public as well with NO curbside. My friends and I have been swapping books or even sending them to each other, but I’m ready for the magic of browsing in my local library to return! What are other people doing who don’t have ready access to their libraries or new reads without buying ALL of them new?
Hi Libby! Can you download the Libby app on your phone or a tablet? I have a kindle but do 90% of my reading on my phone or IPAD.
That article by Ann Patchett in Harper’s the you linked to is one of the best articles I have read in a long time. Thank you.
Agreed. It was heartbreaking, hopeful, and beautiful. Some of her best writing, I think. Thank you so much for sharing it.
I agree, it was wonderful!
lovely, more novelists should write journalistically (and vice versa)
Yes, one of the best things I’ve read in a long time. Thanks, Anne, for sharing it.
Ahhhh, that Ann Patchett piece. My heart is full and my spirit lifted from having read her transcendent, beautiful words today. Thank you for sharing the link ❤️
Thank you so much for linking that Ann Patchett piece. She is one of my favorite authors and this was one of her best works.
I loved Ann Patchett’s piece! Thank you so much for posting.
Think I’ll buy You Have a Match as one of our teenage daughter’s Valentine’s Day gifts! Adding Dial A for Aunties and People We Meet on Vacation to my personal TBR list. Is it just me or do others feel like these “anticipated” books lists heavily lean toward mystery/crime/heavy storylines? Life is heavy enough – especially these days – without depressing books.