What are your weekend plans? I’ll be at the virtual Jane Austen Festival talking about two of my favorite things: Jane Austen and reading. It’s going to be HOT here, so I’m also counting on some quality reading time in the air conditioning.
Around here we like to start the weekend with interesting reads and products I love; I hope you enjoy today’s round-up.
My favorite finds from around the web:
- 20 Black Young Adult Novels to Add to Your TBR. Great list!
- The Ransom of Miss Coraline Connelly. This is a fun short story from Alix E. Harrow, author of The Ten Thousand Doors of January, which I loved.
- My friend turned me on to this nail polish brand and it’s my new favorite.
- Travel Via Cinema: A Guide to the Most Scenic Films Throughout History. This is a great complement to this travel memoir post. There are so many ways to armchair travel.
- Are Jigsaw Puzzles The New Adult Coloring Books? Works for me. (Don’t miss our great puzzle post!)
- Ready Player Two Book Is Coming This Year, Check Out the Cover. Will you be reading?
- Thanks to Blinkist for featuring my book Reading People on Day 2 of the Blinkist Learning Challenge, in which they’re encouraging readers to “take advantage of this slowdown to read up on understanding others and be even more ready for meaningful IRL connections when we all get back out there.” Buy a signed copy from my local bookstore, or pick up a copy on Amazon.
- Momona Tamada: Bringing Claudia Kishi and the Baby-Sitters Club to Life. Netflix’s adaptation of The Baby-Sitters Club is inspiring a lot of great reflections, like this. If you’re feeling nostalgic about the series, you might enjoy listening to WSIRN episode 51 when I talked to Jack and Tanner from The Baby-Sitters Club Club podcast.
- My Best Friend, Paul Erickson, Turned Out to Be a Notorious Con Artist—And I Learned the Hard Way. This story is wild.
- How Queer YA Novels Taught Me to Write My Own Happy Ending. This is lovely.
- I had such a fun conversation with Neil Pasricha at 3 Books! Fun fact: we recorded this convo in NYC on March 5, and I exchanged my first awkward elbow bump with Neil—before we all knew to social distance—in Union Square Park just before the tape started rolling.
Don’t miss these posts:
- 25 books to read when you feel like the world is falling apart. This list is sadly evergreen.
- 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.”
Have a great weekend!
10 comments
Thanks for the rec on the quick dry nail polish! My 3 year old loves for me to paint her fingers and toes, and I try to always use quick dry polish. I plan to finish The Kitchen House this weekend. I’ll need something light after that for sure.
I saw that nail polish touted in Real Simple magazine, so I went out and bought it. I polished my nails and within 24 hours, I had chips. Granted, I am hard on my hands (I like to type, play the piano and I wash them a lot) But, I felt like it wasn’t worth it. I wonder if you have a secret to keeping it long lasting? (Like at least a week)
Hi Susan, I have never used Expressie polish, but I have had great luck with stickey base coat by cnd https://www.amazon.com/CND-Stickey-Base-Coat-0-33/dp/B007NPWZPI/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=sticky+cnd&qid=1594506614&sr=8-2
I have used it with many brands of polish and my manicures last forever!
Oh no! I never paint my fingernails but do home pedicures all the time, and the polish has been incredibly durable—I only have to repaint with the Expressie because of growth, not because of chips.
So many books, so little time. I enjoyed this post, and was tempted to buy a book or two. Just need to read the ones I have! Currently reading The Splendid and the Vile by Eric Larson. Excellent nonfiction. My favorite books I’ve read in the past year were the Elena Ferrante series that started with My Brilliant Friend, which you introduced to me. Thank you!
I will be at the Jane Austen virtual conference. Looking forward to your talk!
Ooh, marking my calendar now for the November 24th release of “Ready Player Two,” thank you for the heads up!
Oh my, I loved Alex E. Harrow’s The Ransom of Miss Coraline Connelley from your list today! I love her writing and am looking forward to her Once and Future Witches, which will be coming out in October.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I liked RP1 a lot more than I thought I would but I didn’t like the absolute dearth of strong women characters in the book.