Happy weekend, readers! I’m taking a gardening class taught by a friend of mine and giving my floors a much-needed mopping. And picking up a good books, of course—as soon as I can decide, because I just finished a book last night!
I hope our weekly round-up puts you into that weekend frame of mind.
My favorite finds from around the web:
- Bridget Jones’s Diary Is Perfect, Just the Way It Is, 20 Years Later. I’m going to need to watch this again soon.
- Today’s ebook deals are bonkers good.
- Brandi Carlile’s Story Is Too Big to Fit in a Song. I love her music; can’t wait to read her memoir.
- I just restocked these favorite inexpensive collagen eye zone masks.
- There’s a Name for the Blah You’re Feeling: It’s Called Languishing. Insightful piece about the “neglected middle child of mental health.”
- For local shops, Independent Bookstore Day is ‘like Christmas and a bunch of other holidays rolled into one’. Indie bookstores still need our support!
- Libro.fm is celebrating Independent Bookstore Day by giving away a free audiobook when you show proof of a $15 purchase from any independent bookstore (in person or online). If you’re looking for recommendations of what to buy this weekend, try one of these 12 bookish mysteries about bibliophiles and bookstores.
- Keeping Up with King Arthur. Anyone else grateful for their test kitchen team?
- Speaking of Jane: my daughters and I just watched Sense & Sensibility (1995) and I was thrilled and relieved to discover: it holds up. (We laughed so hard!)
- How to Teach Kids about Impending Doom, from children’s book author Jon Klassen. “I was interested in finding ways of talking about potential problems that you are never going to understand—and maybe there’s no reason for them…I think that’s how kids feel a lot: they have to function in a world where they understand that they don’t understand.”
- Turns Out It’s Pretty Good: Egg Salad. “I thought egg salad was gross, and I thought to eat it might make me gross too. Like many dumb childhood beliefs about myself, I never reexamined this aversion yet somehow treated it as gospel.”
Don’t miss these posts:
- 10 comforting classics to read after you run out of Jane Austen novels. When I crave a classic after reading tons of new releases, Austen is my go-to. Here’s what to read when you’ve run out of Austen novels to devour.
- 7 things you need to know before you buy a swimsuit online. It’s possible to find a swimsuit you love—and that actually fits—online.
Upcoming Events:
- April 28, 7 pm ET: Live chat with author Lily King: Time for our Book Club discussion of Writers & Lovers with author Lily King! This is an MMD Book Club event. (Events are available as replays for members who cannot attend live.)
- May 6, 1 pm ET: What’s your summer reading style? We want to help you think about what you want from your reading life in this season with tips for how to pinpoint what you like and strategically approach the Summer Reading Guide to get the most out of your summer reading. Get in that summer reading frame of mind — whatever that means to YOU! (This is an MMD Book Club event. Events are available as replays for members who cannot attend live.)
- May 20 at 12 p.m. and 7 pm ET: Summer Reading Guide Unboxing: MMD Book Club members and Patreon supporters get the first look at all the books in the MMD Summer Reading Guide! (Replay will be available for members who cannot attend live.)
- May 24: 2021 MMD Summer Reading Guide: The annual Summer Reading Guide is sent out to all newsletter subscribers!
You can find more upcoming events here.
Have a great weekend!
P.S. That photo above is from a years-ago trip to the Missouri Botanical Garden. I can’t wait to get back for a visit once we’re traveling again!
24 comments
We just watched the 1995 S&S too. I was surprised at how much it made me laugh. (The son in law is hilarious.) I always remember S&S as more dark than the others, but we all really enjoyed it.
Jon Klassen is one of our absolute family favorite children’s book authors. We adore his work. We all laughed hilariously the first time we read aloud I Want My Hat Back. Even today one of us will occasionally drop a line from that book into normal conversation just to get a reaction from the rest of us!
Thank you for sharing this article!
That Persuasion adaptation could be so good!! Exciting!
The “How to Read Faster” article link reminded me this is a great group to ask–any advice on how to read more slowly? The internet, and social media especially, has turned me into a constant skimmer. How do I learn to savor language again? (I am already trying to read more books in print, rather digital editions, whenever possible.)
Glad to see Stacy Abrams honored for her work she has done in Georgia. I really have enjoyed listening to her in interviews. So inspiring!
I can’t tell you how much I enjoy this newsletter each week! I wait for it and devour the links! Thank you for such varied information and snippets of good stuff for our weekends!
I wish you hadn’t included a politically-charged link and the adjacent comment, referring to Stacy Abrams being a deserved candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize. I seek your blog for its excellent book advice and other bookish novelties. I’m sick of politics greeting me at every turn.
I was going to say the same thing as Tammy! It seems in the last several months there have been several divisive and/other political posts. I love this blog because of the book suggestions…wish you would stay on topic!
Completely agree.
Completely disagree. I don’t want to read blogs whose authors act as if somehow they function apart from our world. Thank you Anne!
AGREE 100%.
There is a spoiler in the blurb for Atonement. 🙁
I haven’t watched Bridget Jones Diary in years but may need to find it; it’s just so funny! According to the Glamour article, she weighed 120lbs?? And that’s considered “heavy?” That makes me so sad. I hope I read that wrong.
So excited about Stacey Abrams nomination! Very well deserved.
Thanks for all the great links; I don’t comment much but I really enjoy this!
Anne – Please don’t push your political preferences on us. I’m really disappointed to see that link included here. I am Not a fan of Stacy Abrams. Now I’m questioning your judgment.
Anne – please continue to bring your whole self to this blog. It’s disappointing to see the commenters telling you to essentially “stay in your lane” or the one claiming she now “questions your judgement” because you included a single link on politics. You have a platform and a brain – please keep using both.
I agree with everything you wrote. I used to read another blog but stopped when the author wrote some posts I didn’t agree with. It was no longer for me, but I didn’t tell her she needed to change or stop writing what she wanted to please me.
Would you say that if the articles were pro the other side of the political divide?
Yes, I would. I would prefer to know a person’s opinions and then I could make my own decisions based on that. Perhaps I am unusual but I have limited time and resources. As an example, Anne writes occasionally about church and I do not support organized religion. But it is part of who she is and I respect her decision to do so rather than telling her to stop. It’s long past time we tried to control what women do.
I love Stacy Abrams, for both political/moral *and* bookish reasons! Abrams is an accomplished author. She wrote an excellent memoir, Lead from the Outside, has written many books under her pen name Selena Montgomery, and I’m very much looking forward to While Justice Sleeps coming out soon. I saw her speak at a humanities fest and she is so darn smart.
While she is a democrat, her non-profit is not partisan, and it functions to support voting rights. Dem or not, I think we can all agree that all eligible voters should be able to exercise that right. And that is what the Nobel committee is recognizing. Thanks for including her, Anne!
I agree that these days we are inundated with political commentary and opinions at every turn. I come here for a delightful break from all of that.
I stopped shopping at my local indie b/c I felt like I was attending a political rally with all of the politicized signs they hang around the store. I have a very busy life and need a respite from all things political from time to time.
Well said!!! Does EVERYTHING and any public space have to be political?
Like so many, it makes one WEARY!
Seriously Anne and team….is there no place to go without a political take , comment or opinion???? Does the universe really need yet another place to have to read a one sided subtle or not so subtle endorsement of politics in the country…reference Staci Abrams shout out for a Nobel Peace Prize….oh ,no!!!
please leave political opinions out of a supposedly neutral reading blog? Please??????
I am also disappointed Anne is bringing politics into her work. As an example from this post, many admire the work of Ms. Abrams and many are troubled by some of her words and actions. Reconciling those two viewpoints can’t be done through media posts. Politics is dividing us. Our bookish enthusiasm brings us together and creates a place for community. For me, including political viewpoints is sacrificing some of that community feel.
I was just spending some time this weekend at the local nursery picking out flowers for a “butterfly garden” for my daughter (more like one large pot to begin because this is all fairly new to me), and it got me thinking about Abbi Waxman’s, “The Garden of Small Beginnings.” I was curious if you had done a podcast of blog list of similiar books with a gardening and healing theme? Thank you!!