Links I love

I hope you have a lovely weekend ahead of you. I’m celebrating a birthday and hopefully get to pop over to the Jane Austen Festival, even though it’s supposed to be stinking hot here in the Upper South.

My favorite finds from around the web:

• ‘I Carry It Within Me.’ Novelist Colson Whitehead Reminds Us How America’s Racist History Lives On. I adored his new book The Nickel Boys—if you can say that about a book that knocks you flat.

• How Costco gained a cult following — by breaking every rule of retail. I love a good behind the scenes story … and yes, that applies to Costco, too.

• When we stayed with old friends last weekend, they served the party cake in Smitten Kitchen Everyday, which I own and love, and I’m kicking myself for skipping the dessert section myself. TILL NOW. (Seriously: the chocolate fudge cake.)

• Ruth Reichl on M.F.K. Fisher’s Lifetime of Joyous Eating. “It is impossible for people raised in our food-obsessed culture to understand the contempt Americans had for food and cooking when I was growing up.”

• The tragedy of the Women’s World Cup. We’ve come so far and yet.

• My book I’d Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life is still available online for a fabulous price.

• The Revealing Reasons That People Visit the “Friends” Building. “They keep coming anyway, seeking a fictitious location in an idealized version of the West Village and often feeling disappointed to find a real place instead.”

Favorite Instagram:

We’re just back from the beach, where in true vacation style I read 11 books in 9 days plus portions of a few more. Now we’re home and it’s time to figure out a new (post-book deadline) normal plus tackle heaps of laundry. I am more than ready for both. Related: I will never get over what the gulf sky looks like just after an evening storm.  Follow me on Instagram @annebogel.

On the blog:

One year ago: 6 recent audiobooks I thoroughly enjoyed. These books vary widely in genre and content, but hold one important thing in common: they were terrific on audio.

Two years ago: Sometimes you have to decide you have what it takes. “Our natural human tendency is often to gather data until we feel confident we’re ready to make a decision, so we put off deciding until we feel certain about what choice to make. But that’s not how it works, she says. In fact, it’s the other way around: decisions create confidence.”

Three years ago: 25 books to read when you feel like the world is falling apart.

Four years ago: Everything I need to know about planning my life I learned from ‘The September Issue.’ If you haven’t watched this documentary yet, it’s well worth it.

Five years ago: My favorite cold drinks for hot summer days.

On What Should I Read Next:

Have you ever finished a GREAT book, then realized it left behind a hole no other book will ever be able to fill? In this week’s episode I’m helping one reader deal with a serious case of Droughtlander. 

On One Great Book:

Don’t miss today’s brand-new episode of my show One Great Book, where each week I pull one standout selection off my personal bookshelves and tell you all about it, in ten minutes or less. Today’s book is a lot of fun, and led to kissing jokes galore for our team.

Have a great weekend!