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What are you up to this weekend? It’s Derby week here in Louisville, so the whole city is in party mode. We’re going to a Derby party and I already made my pie just because, but my big plans for the weekend consist of serious (and seriously overdue) weeding outside. Luckily that pairs nicely with a good audiobook. (Any recs?)

I hope you have something to look forward to these next few days, and that this collection of interesting reads and favorite things helps ease you into that weekend frame of mind.

The 2026 Summer Reading Guide is coming up!

The FIFTEENTH annual Modern Mrs Darcy Summer Reading Guide is coming your way on May 14. I’m so excited about this year’s Guide: our theme is reading retreat, the 8 categories are offbeat and whimsical, the photography is gorgeous, the new books superb, and the backlist recommendations plentiful.

In addition to releasing the guide, we’ll host our fabulous Unboxing party that day at 1:00pm and 8:00pm Eastern time. In these 90+ minute live sessions, I share every title in the guide, why I chose it, and what kind of reader is likely to find it worth their reading time. Choose the time that best fits your schedule (or come twice, we won’t stop you!). If you’re not able to attend live, no big deal, we’ll share the recorded session with ticket holders. 

I want to acknowledge up front that our Summer Reading Guide experience is robust! And talking about it can sound a little confusing, so below I sought to lean into my overcommunicating nature and really spell out the details.

If you’d like to experience the Guide for yourself, thank you: it’s my biggest annual project and labor of love. Based on fourteen prior editions of reader experience, I genuinely believe it’s a gateway to readerly satisfaction this summer.

Here’s how to get the Summer Reading Guide (digital magazine PDF) and Unboxing experience.

1. The Summer Reading Guide (digital magazine PDF) and Unboxing experience are included perks for members of our paid communities: Modern Mrs Darcy Book Club and What Should I Read Next Patreon. If you’re already a member, you’re all set. If you’re not, join to gain access. Easy peasy.
2. For those who don’t have the time or inclination to join a community, purchase your a la carte ticket to receive the Summer Reading Guide (digital magazine PDF) and Unboxing experience.
3. Please note this option is digital only and does not include a print magazine delivered to your mailbox.

Here’s how to get a physical, hold-in-your-hand, professionally printed copy of the Summer Reading Guide magazine. Order by Monday, May 4!

1. Click here to order your print copy of the Summer Reading Guide magazine.
2. We added this option for the first time in 2025. We did this because we heard from so many readers over the years that they enjoy taking the Guide to a local print shop to have it bound magazine-style, but their results were inconsistent and the price was exorbitant. (Prices upwards of $60 were not uncommon. Yikes!)
3. The print magazine is a separate product we created in order to put a beautiful Guide in your hands while removing the guesswork of results and cost. We’re taking advantage of economies of scale: we work with our local printer, put in our bulk print order, and get far lower prices per Guide than our readers are able to get on their own. Then we pass those savings along to you.
4. This product listing is for the physical Guide only and does not include the digital magazine PDF or the Unboxing experience. If you belong to one of our communities or purchase a la carte access and want a physical print Guide magazine, please add the 2026 Summer Reading Guide Printed Magazine product to your cart.
5. This offer is time-sensitive: in order to deliver the Guide in a timely fashion, the printer needs our print run quantity on Monday, May 4. We’ll order extras, but last year those were snapped up in a jiffy. If you want a print Guide magazine, please order that now!
6. We will ship the print magazine via USPS. Alas, this year we are only able to ship to U.S. addresses.

Learn more at Summer Reading Guide HQ. I can’t wait to talk summer books with you all!

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.

A lost letter, preserved in a little free library, sparks a friendship 23 years later. (Washington Post gift link) “Katie Slocum pulled off her bookshelf a novel she had picked up at a little free library years before but never opened. Flipping through Ann Patchett’s State of Wonder, Slocum, 36, found a 23-year-old letter that would set her on an unexpected journey.”

Kentucky’s Hot Brown Turns 100 — Here’s Where to Try the Iconic Dish in Louisville and Beyond. (Food & Wine) “Should you encounter a Hot Brown using deli meat instead of thickly sliced pieces of turkey and a sauce using low-quality cheese, you’re not experiencing a true Hot Brown as its creator intended.”

Which The Devil Wears Prada Characters Fare Better: the Ones in the Book or the Ones in the Movie? (Vogue) “Here, a breakdown of how Miranda, Andy, Emily, Nigel, and co. in The Devil Wears Prada the novel compare to their counterparts in The Devil Wears Prada the film—and which one we think wins out.” This is a fun analysis. Are you planning on watching the sequel?

Speaking of fashion: Refill your creative well with these with these 11 fashion memoirs and nonfiction. (MMD) Team member Leigh shares her niche reading interest.

Who Are the Unexpected Friends in Your Life? (Cup of Jo) “As time passed, I found myself wishing I knew someone else nearby. Someone who was around to chat over a cup of coffee. Or could come over to hang out in our garden. Or was free (and game) for us to stop by on the way home from the park. Little did I know that I would find this kind of friendship with my 70-something neighbor, Jesse.”

Three Pages of Don Quixote. (Guernica) “Don Quixote was likely one of the few readings I did for pleasure during my doctoral years. Reading it in company and out loud — precisely how Cervantes’ readers would have read it in the seventeenth century — constantly reminded me that literature is at its best when shared.” In this gorgeous essay, a literature professor reflects on the years she spent tutoring an 84-year-old woman and reading Don Quixote together when she was a young graduate student.

Ted Lasso Season 4 Official Teaser. (YouTube) Coming August 5, can’t wait!

We tried something new in this week’s episode of What Should I Read Next. MMD Book Club Community Manager Ginger joined me for a conversation with Cheryl Drury, who embarked on a challenge to read through a year-long list of more than 100 influential books. The project energized Cheryl’s reading life, but now she’s not quite sure where to go next in her approach to reading.

Super shoes and perfect conditions — how Sabastian Sawe broke the two-hour mark at the London Marathon. (New York Times gift link) Why am I so fascinated by this? Two separate marathoners broke the two-hour mark last weekend, due to (per this article) ideal race conditions, the calibre of the elite fields and new shoe technology. (This 2023 NYT piece seeks to give an idea of just how blistering that pace is. Incredible!)

Confessions of a former book hoarder. (MMD) Shannan strikes a chord with her reflection on an aha moment that spurred her to bring back joy to one specific area of her reading life and her home: her personal book collection.

Why Eating Dinner Outside Once a Week Is So Good for Your Mental Health. (Real Simple) “When you step away from your desk, TV, or to-do list to have a meal outdoors, you can breathe more deeply, release tension, and become more aware of the present moment.”

Thirty years later, this all-male book club is still going strong. (Washington Post gift link) “Some people have come and gone, but the original members remain. Everyone attributes its longevity to Schneider’s commitment and organizational abilities — he maintains a list of books the group has read — the document is nine pages long, single-spaced — and sends reminders about meetings.”

These Are the Most Beautiful Libraries Around the World. (AFAR) “I will travel the world for a library. And it’s not because I’m entrenched in any scholarly research—I’m not an academic. I’m a nerd. I love books, I love architecture, I love a good backstory, and libraries have all three.”

Don’t miss these posts:

Discover the majesty of trees with these 11 books. A growing bookshelf dedicated to trees and forests.

A trick for when you’re stuck in a reading rut. A simple tip for anyone who’s struggling to read right now.

20 backlist reads from your favorite Summer Reading Guide authors. What to read while you’re waiting for this summer’s buzziest new releases!

Have a great weekend!