What are you up to this weekend? I’m hoping to get some rest (and do some laundry) after a whirlwind week, plus catch up with an old friend in town for the weekend. And I hope to finally finish a book—I’ve read so little this week and am longing for some quality time in my reading chair.
I hope you have something to look forward to this weekend, and that this collection of interesting reads and favorite things helps ease you into that weekend frame of mind.
My favorite finds from around the web:
Book girl summer: Why brands are leaning into the literary world. (Vogue Business) Fascinating collaboration.
2024 Beach Reading Report. (MMD) My highly anecdotal, non-authoritative, super-nosy compendium from a week at the beach.
Speaking of the beach: The old and much-loved suit pictured in my Beach Reading Report is the Summersalt Perfect Wrap One-Piece (in sea urchin and white sand); it’s 30% off in some colors right now. (I’m 5′ 9″ and an 8.) This Tulum one piece from Andie Swim is the suit I reached for most last week because I love a low back. (I wear a medium, long torso and have it in basic black, but I’m loving the colors like ceramic and cherry red; Andie “essentials” like this suit are 25% off right now.)
English-Language Books Are Filling Europe’s Bookstores. Mon Dieu! (New York Times gift link) Fascinating! “English sales have accelerated in recent years, in part because books now go viral on social media, especially TikTok.” I love that this piece answers one of my burning questions about European book covers following our trip to Denmark and Germany this spring.
Why Dining Rooms Are Disappearing From American Homes. (Atlantic gift link) “The housing crisis—and the arbitrary regulations that fuel it—is killing off places to eat whether we like it or not, designing loneliness into American floor plans.”
For Elif Shafak, Literature Means Freedom. (Publishers Weekly) Speaking here of the 2024 MMD Summer Reading Guide selection There Are Rivers in the Sky: “We tend to assume that when we talk about the River Thames, or the Mississippi River, or the River Tigris, that these are completely separate rivers. But actually, the water that has been circulating inside these rivers is the same. It’s the same water that we cry, it’s the same water that we drink.”
An Emporium of Everything From a Former Pencil-Shop Owner. (Curbed) All about the new Greenwich Village shop The Locavore Variety Store, from former CW Pencil owner (and WSIRN alum!) Caroline Weaver. I can’t wait to visit!
Summer lifesavers: sun protection clothing from Athleta (like this jacket; I’m an 8) and wide-brimmed hats like this one. And I may need to write a Raving Fans post about Trader Joe’s sunscreen: I love it that much.
Authors drive boom in US marketing demand as they seek help to plug books. (The Guardian) Authors arranging and paying for their own book tours and other marketing seems to becoming more and more common.
Travel agents are back. (Business Insider) “Ever since the pandemic-era travel restrictions subsided, travel has boomed…. Money spent on travel and entertainment surged 30% in 2023, fueled largely by young people. We’re all desperate to make up for lost time, but there’s a catch: Many of us 20- and 30-somethings are tired.”
What Can You Read in Prison? (Esquire) A thoughtful examination of the difficulty in accessing books while in prison—and the many benefits of providing books to those who are incarcerated.
Are You Anxious, Disorganized, and Forgetful? It Could Be ADHD. (Oprah Daily) “Girls and women often live with symptoms that are less glaring (disorganization, distraction, forgetfulness) but just as debilitating as the hyperactivity and impulsivity seen in boys.”
The 2024 Lambda Literary Award Winners. (Book Riot)
Don’t miss these posts:
20 epistolary novels that will sweep you away. Reading an epistolary novel is like being let in on a good secret.
3 offbeat summer grilling favorites. The grilling recipes my family adores are a little unusual…
15 books to take you on a vicarious vacation. Go on a grand adventure without leaving home at all!
Have a great weekend!
8 comments
I love my travel agent! She’s a friend of my mother’s who has traveled the world, and I am happily supporting a small woman-owned business. I used to enjoy planning my own travel, but like the 20-something’s in the article, I’m tired! I’ve been planning travel for over 40 years (started when I was 12) and I’m ready for someone else to take over.
Thanks for sharing the Vogue article! I’m so intrigued by this trend… My local indie (Old Town Books, in Alexandria, VA) did a collab with an M.M. Lafleur shop (in Georgetown, DC) which I thought was so interesting, but I had no idea it was part of a larger trend.
I’m obsessed with the face sunscreen from Trader Joes! It’s the only kind I’ve found that doesn’t pill under makeup; I wear it every day, and it actually goes on like a primer. Plus, I’ve developed an allergy to many sunscreens (I get terrible hives) and I don’t react to this one. I also turned my dad onto it–he gets melanomas. He doesn’t have TJs in his town, but he’ll pick up 3 or 4 tubes anytime he’s near one. He likes that it doesn’t sweat into his eyes when he golfs.
That is so interesting about European folx favoring English books because of the cover! I am opposite…I want the UK version of a cover in most cases! There are so many but I think the one that generally sealed my love was the UK vs USA versions of Hamnet.
I have been planning a trip to NYC to visit my niece. Thanks to Strong Sense of Place’s NYC episode, I am going to eschew many of the typical NYC touristy things and make it a literary delight the NYPL, Belle Da Costa Green at the Morgan, shop at Word, The Strand and hopefully, I can swing by the Locavore Variety Store!
I love my dining room and wouldn’t want to change it out for a ‘great room’, but also the concept of one room where you do all your living, eating, and even sleeping is not new: it’s the same kind of space normal people have had through history. Traditionally, only the rich would have had separate rooms for these kinds of activities.
I also prefer English book covers over American. They are so different. beautiful flowers and scenes, dynamic. Ex: Emily Wildes Encyclopedia Of Fairies AND her follow-up of that. PLUS the english book endpapers are gorgeous! Just my opinion. 😁
30 year old woman here and I was not diagnosed with ADHD until I was 29!! My life would have been so much easier if I’d had the tools I have now, back then. But I am grateful for the diagnosis. 🙂
The article about reading in prison is intriguing! Since I’m about to go on vacation, I printed the article so that I can read it carefully and really think about it. I think it may help me do better and find some ways to help those folks read better or more. Thanks!
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