Happy New Year! My team and I are officially off this week between Christmas and New Year’s, but I’m popping in with a short installment of Friday Links while Will runs out for bagels (bless him).
This week has been lovely AND ALSO every single one of the Bogels has been sick for some part of the holiday break. I haven’t enjoyed as much dog walking and hiking and friend gatherings as I had hoped and planned for, but one of my holiday season hopes was to spend lots of time at home hanging with my people, reading good books, eating good food, and watching sports and (not always good) movies, and those dreams are for sure coming true.
My hope is that 2026 has so far and will continue to be kind to you, and that this collection of interesting reads and favorite things adds a dash of enjoyment and good nerdy fun to your first weekend of the year.
My favorite finds from around the web:
I offer gift links for articles whenever possible (you may still need to create an account with the publication); if there’s no gift link and you’re not a subscriber, check to see if your library carries the publication or use a bookmarking service.
January 1, 2026 is Public Domain Day. (Center for the Study of the Public Domain) A whole heap of books, films, sound recordings, and even art entered the public domain this week: As I Lay Dying, Strong Poison, the first four Nancy Drew books, Vile Bodies, The Little Engine That Could, All Quiet on the Western Front, Georgia on My Mind, Betty Boop, Composition with Red, Blue, and Yellow, Blondie and Dagwood, Murder at the Vicarage, and many, many more.
Facing the new year with a stick. (The Leap) Maria Konnikova shares a favorite New Year’s poem—just three lines long—from Seamus Heaney. “The power of those lines gets me anew every time I read them and seems perfect for this moment. We’re on ice, the pavement dangerous and slippery. But we don’t face the elements alone.”
7 Podcasts for Bookworms. (New York Times gift link) What a delight to see What Should I Read Next? kicking off this roundup! I was honored by the way the author captured what we’ve been doing on the show for ten years (come January 12!).
A day in the life of a book shop. (Nooks) “Sometimes, the bookstore feels like it has a soul, and I’m just honored to have been a guest in its presence for the day.The book shop is a dream. The book shop is work. Both can be true.”
We’ve been doing a lot of soups this week at my house: family favorites like black bean and lentil vegetable (recipes linked here), chicken and rice, and ham and bean. Last night we made Alison Roman’s cornbread to go with the ham and bean and it was cold weather perfection.
This Low-Maintenance Houseplant Was Just Named 2026’s Plant of the Year—and It Comes With a Lucky Reputation. (Real Simple) “For 2026, we chose the money tree because it represents hope, positive energy, and the belief that good things are growing.” A friend gifted me one when Don’t Overthink It came out in March 2020 and it’s still going strong.
I’m A Working Mom In My 40s And An Introvert. I Have More, Sweeter, And Deeper Friendships Than Ever In My Life. (The Golden Hour) “Maybe you’re like me. You hate small talk. You don’t like sports, or drunk people, or bars with TV screens. You don’t have regular-people hobbies, you’d rather read a book. You’re exhausted at the end of the day, the end of the week. You spend too much time on your phone. It’s ok. You can still have better friendships than you do now.” Thoughtful and practical.
Hopes or Maybe Daydreams. (Letter from Berlin) “I love the pregnant silence of New Year’s Day, so full of possibility and hope. I luxuriate in daydreams about the new year in the days leading up to December 31st, what I want to experience and prioritize in the year to come. I’m not good with rigid expectations, though, so my resolutions, if you can go so far as to call them that, are more hopes, or maybe daydreams is most accurate.”
Dragons, Sex and the Bible: What Drove the Book Business This Year. (New York Times gift link) “Do people still read novels? Yes! Readers bought about 184 million print adult fiction books this year. That’s roughly as many as they bought last year and 66 million more than in 2019, the last year before the pandemic gave book sales a jolt.”
Listen to This: Some Audiobooks Are Outselling Hardcovers. (Wall Street Journal gift link) I’m not surprised by the phenomenon, but definitely surprised by some of the titles cited here.
A new year and a new book club selection for MMD Book Club! We’ll be reading Sipsworth by Simon van Booy and the author will join us for the discussion on January 29.
Ornaments make good souvenirs. (VanderHacks) I have never heard of this idea … until this year, when ten friends and now Laura have shared the practice. I wish I’d been doing this my whole life, but I resolve to start immediately.
Forget Your Perfect Offering. (Everything Is a Wave) One last New Year’s reflection/benediction to begin the year.
Don’t miss these posts:
17 fiction books that feature fresh starts and new beginnings. Anyone else love new beginnings?
How asking one question helps me set reading intentions for the new year. The benefit of reflecting on your reading life.
12 novels that play with the concept of time. The sky is the limit when it comes to our imagination around time!
Enjoy your weekend!
22 comments
Happy New Year! Random lentil soup ? – I’ve looked at that BC lentil soup recipe many times and always stop when I see the price of the French lentils she recommends? Do you use these or just regular grocery store lentils?
I’m so glad you posted on vacation, this is my Friday coffee treat each week!
I bet I’ve made this recipe a hundred times over the years using Kroger green lentils and thought it was fabulous that way. Just a few months ago I made it for the first time using French green lentils from Rancho Gordo ($6.25/pound). The French Green were very good but the results in the finished product weren’t substantial. I hope that inspires you to carry forward with the grocery store ones!
Happy New Year to all!
Travel is an important part of our family life. I have been buying ornaments as souvenirs for years and highly recommend the practice. It’s an added joy to decorate the tree when we share the memories spurred by putting the ornaments on the tree. Tip: we keep track of new ornaments on a list in the Christmas box. It states the year purchased or gifted, so when my son eventually takes his, he can have a record of where they came from and who gifted them, since many are from his childhood.
Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas/Holiday Season. When I try to click on the MMD app, I am getting an error message “ App not available, please contact site administrator for more information”. I thought perhaps something was being updated. But it has been unavailable for several days. I tried to redownload from the App Store, but it is no longer appearing there. I did not know if this is an app problem or a “me” problem. Thanks!
Ann, we will investigate—thanks for letting us know what’s happening on your end.
Same thing is happening for me!
Sipsworth! My favorite read in 2025. 😀
It’s a delightful book.
I enjoyed the Links even more than usual. Thank you. Great job!
Oh my gosh – a mention in a NY Times article, and leading the list. That is huge!!! Congratulations Anne, you are such a shining light for us readers. Thank you for all you do, and happy new year to you and yours. I am so happy to see your immense talent get this recognition.
I found this week’s links fun and helpful. I started the tradition of buying an ornament on vacation years ago and savor the memories each time I decorate the tree. Happiest New Year from Montana!
Happy New Year! Hope your family members feel better soon. I love collecting ornaments when I travel! It’s so fun to see them year after year, and they seem more meaningful since they’re not out all year. Looking forward to another reading year with MMD!
Congratulations to the MMD team for the #1 listing in the NYT article. Huzzah! Also, I am excited for a Sipsworth discussion and author interview. I loved that book!
Regarding the ornament idea: if you can’t find an ornament you like, opt for a keychain and add a hook. I have a keychain sized Eiffel Tower and a miniature gladiator helmet. I’ve also put a tiny eye screw at the top of a hand carved wooden turtle purchased in Costa Rica–it was just meant to sit on the shelf. I love it hanging on the tree. You can’t always find ornaments year round that are worth purchasing so think how you can make other items–especially more locally made items–into ornaments! (I left this comment on the post as well!)
It absolutely made my week when I read that article in the NYT and your podcast was the first one they mentioned. What great word of mouth, wonderful feedback and hopefully this will send even more listeners to your fantastic podcast. Congratulations!!
What a coincidence, I’m planning to choose Sipsworth as my reading group selection next month. I just loved reading it.
I’m already planning the menu and decorations. There will be a lot of cheese, of course. I also found someone who makes little chocolate mice made from maraschino cherries covered in chocolate with added ears and eyes, the stem is the tail. Which I will perch atop slices of cheesecake. Ha, I’m going to have so much fun with this.
I read the NYT and was so excited to see you listed as number one in book podcasting! I was like, I know her! Hey, she’s my book girl!
Yes to ornaments as souvenirs! I have colorful hand-painted houses from Burano, a ceramic Flemish house from Bruges, a glass ball painted with lemons from Sorrento, an embroidered cross from Oxford … and so many more! Decorating the tree each year takes us back to all these wonderful places.
My husband and I have done ornaments as souvenirs for our entire time together (going on 25 years). I love decorating the tree and reliving our family adventures- big and small. Postcards also make wonderful souvenirs. We tend to go for those with an artistic flair, or if we can find them, historic ones. We even have a beautiful postcard rack to display them. Friends and family contribute to it as well.
We started collecting ornaments on trips (or just anything we love, like our regular trip an hour away to Dollywood) probably a decade ago (before kids) and it’s such a great tradition.
My husband and I have a rule: if we spend enough time in a new place to feel that we have experienced it on some level – we get an ornament. In particular, we are National Park people and at every National Park we always get two things: our stamp and an ornament. I finally realized this year what a treasure it was to be able to look at our tree and see all of the adventures we’ve taken and the places we’ve seen. We adopted our kids four years ago, and they now love seeing all of those reminders as well. Highly recommend this practice!
I also do ornaments as travel souvenirs. Two of my favorite aspects of this:
On the trip itself, I sometimes have to seek out a place to get an ornament. This has led me to be surprised that there are more dedicated Christmas shops than I would have expected, most memorably for me in Scotland and Arizona.
Then, each year I get to remember the wonderful places I’ve been as I take the ornaments out and place them on the tree. It really does keep the vacation alive!
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