Happy Friday, readers! The first day of school is right around the corner, so this weekend is our second-to-last of summer. We’re filling it up with swimming, dinner with friends, and a visit to a plant sale.
My favorite finds from around the web:
• Most anticipated: The Great Second-Half 2018 Book Preview. “Putting together our semi-annual Previews is a blessing and a curse. A blessing to be able to look six months into the future and see the avalanche of vital creative work coming our way; a curse because no one list can hope to be comprehensive, and no one person can hope to read all these damn books.”
• The new supremely satisfying way I end my day. “Even as you mark over the things you managed to make happen, the very next time you read it, your to-do list remains a nagging list of things you haven’t done yet.”
• The syntax of literature’s greatest lines. “Each of these sentences is far better than any by-the-book rewrite could have produced. Why do they work? Magic, mostly.”
• An ode to book inscriptions. “I love inscriptions for the same reason I love good stories: they give me glimpses into the interior worlds of others.”
A new podcast:
Anne Bogel’s 5 paperback picks. What better way to celebrate National Paperback Book Day than by discussing some of my favorites with Roxanne Coady of the Just the Right Book Podcast. (Roxanne joined me on What Should I Read Next? for episode 126Â It’s a good one!)
Favorite Instagram:
Just a couple more months until I can recreate this super awkward photo with I’d Rather Be Reading! (Follow me on instagram @annebogel.)
On the blog:
One year ago: Sometimes it doesn’t get easier. “A long story about a submarine, and my to-do list, and how one is messing with the way I see the other.”
Two years ago: 20 of the century’s most banned books. “As you can see, these books have been banned—and continue to be removed from the shelves—for a wide variety of reasons.”
Three years ago: 7 books that prove sometimes you CAN judge a book by its cover. “I can’t think of a time I’ve chosen a book for its cover art alone, but I pick up books because they have a beautiful cover and a great title all the time.”
Four years ago: I take the long way home. “On average, the beautiful routes are just 12 percent longer than the shortest ones: a price I’m happy to pay for a soul-filling route instead of a dreary one.”
Five years ago: The liberating, terrifying realities of deliberate practice (and the 6 best deliberate practice books). “I don’t have countless hours to devote to writing, which is what I really want to improve in. But deliberate practice theory tells me that I don’t need countless hours to devote to my craft. I just need to make the hours I do have count.”
Have a great weekend!
3 comments
I cannot wait for I’d Rather Be Reading to come out and for you to re-create the photos with it! I wondered – I preordered a copy but had to work late so was not able to attend either online session; when will the recorded version be made available? I am so excited for it and was so disappointed not to be able to make it in real time!
I think Baker is getting the email out today! It was such a fun class; I hope you enjoy it.
Wonderful! Thanks, Anne!