Links I love

Hey friends, I hope you have a lovely—and safe—weekend ahead of you. I’m sharing some good reads (and a few fun things) to get you started, including this great news: the ebook for my book I’d Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life is on sale right now for 99 cents. Now would be a perfect time to pick up this collection—I hope you’d find it a delight at any time, but right now it’s truly the perfect escape from the news.

My favorite finds from around the web:

• It’s hard to live in coronavirus times for all kinds of reasons—and over these past few weeks my thoughts keep returning to a book I read years ago, and the insights I learned there that are helping me navigate the situation we’re all in. I made a bonus episode about this for our Patreon community and made it publicly available, because it’s something we could all benefit from right now. I hope you find it helpful.

• Ina Garten’s Quarantine Playbook. Ina always brings me joy, but her April 1 video making a Cosmopolitan had me laughing out loud.

• A Short History of Personality Tests. “If a quiz can tell you who you are, perhaps it can also tell you who you will be.” Reading People got a few mentions, too.

• We made homemade pizza last week for the first time in YEARS, and it was delicious. This simple pizza crust recipe worked like a charm.

• Dolly Parton launches bedtime story video series ‘Goodnight with Dolly.’ Who says they’re too old for a bedtime story? NOT ME.

• I love Laura Vanderkam’s work and am so excited for her new podcast The New Corner Office! And I can’t believe the timing: what a perfect show for the moment we’re in. Can’t wait to listen.

• I wore my beloved (and now very apt) Homebody sweatshirt while on Instagram Stories and got lots of questions about it. I bought mine years ago so it’s no longer available but I found this cute version on Etsy for those interested.

• The 22 rules of storytelling, according to Pixar. This is great.

• I Spent a Year in Space, and I Have Tips on Isolation to Share. Very helpful.

• Mark Bittman’s Master List of Interchangeable Ingredients. Such a handy guide!

• We usually bake from scratch, but my kids are loving this protein-heavy pancake and waffle mix.

• I appeared on Mom Struggling Well this past week! This was a great conversation.

• The Great Empty. Stunning photos of some of our world’s great, now-empty spaces.

Stay At Home Book Tour Week 2

Our second week of Stay At Home Book Tour kicks off next week! Make sure you bookmark this page to get more information on upcoming events and access all of the replays. We recommend signing up for the email list so we can send you 30-minute event reminders, replays, and news about future Stay At Home Book Tour events.

All times are Eastern time:
Monday 4/6: Mary Laura Philpott, I Miss You When I Blink, noon
Tuesday 4/7: Susan Meissner, The Last Year of the War, 7pm
Wednesday 4/8: Melanie Shankle, On the Bright Side, noon
Thursday 4/9: Deanna Raybourn, A Murderous Relation, 7pm
Friday 4/10: Jolenta Greenberg and Kristen Meinzner, How to Be Fine, noon

Don’t miss these posts:

• 3 poetry anthologies to try for National Poetry Month. This is a great time to read poetry!

• The secret to faking a clean house. It’s such a simple tip!

• 3 ways to help highly sensitive children have a better reading experience. “A book that is just a book to 80% of kids can make a highly sensitive child want to dive into bed, pull the covers over their head, and not come out.”

Have a great weekend!