I’m in beautiful Winston-Salem getting ready to kick off a great day at Bookmarks Festival of Books & Authors. There’s a nip in the air and it finally feels like fall! I hope you have a lovely weekend, wherever you spend it.
My Reading Life is here!
This has been a full week of celebration! Thanks to everyone who bought a copy of My Reading Life: A Book Journal, came out to Carmichael’s for the launch party, and listened to our 300th episode of What Should I Read Next.
Get your copy:
Amazon | Christianbook | Bookshop | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million | Book Depository | Carmichael’s Bookstore
My favorite finds from around the web:
- When C.S. Lewis Reviewed His Buddy’s Book… The Hobbit. Love the closing line of his review!
- You Can Spend the Night—and Cook Up a Storm—at Julia Child’s Charming French Cottage. Can you even imagine??
- I love the new Boat Yard color for this American Giant hoodie. The camo is fun too! (I first discovered American Giant when they sponsored What Should I Read Next. They gave me a special discount to share with you today: take 20% off your first order with the code DARCY at checkout.)
- Why Use a Dictionary in the Age of Internet Search? “Dictionaries reward you for paying attention, both to the things you consume and to your own curiosity.”
- What’s the Difference Between Cobblers, Crisps, and Crumbles? Now I have a craving…
- Death by a Thousand Words: COVID-19 and the Pandemic of Ableist Media. “Ableism is one of our society’s greatest failings. Perpetuating it in reporting only causes death. The pandemic has not only laid bare our unwillingness to care for the disability community, but how ableism is effectively wielded to harm marginalized communities with the virus.”
- The Surprisingly Complicated History of the Frisbee. I had no idea!
- My Endless Search for American Fashion. “Proust may have written knowingly of women’s dress, but it was James Agee who showed me, in Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, his and Walker Evans’s portrait of three tenant farming families in Depression-era Alabama, that all clothes ‘shaped to their context’ can have dignity.”
- I was on Surviving Sarah Episode 283. We talked about how to create a reading life that you enjoy.
Don’t miss these posts:
- 10 of my favorite books to read over and over again. There are so many good reasons to revisit a favorite book.
- When you’re good at overcomplicating things. Clearly I was meant to write Don’t Overthink It.
- 20 books worth your reading time that have been banned at some point. Banned Books Week kicks off this Sunday.
Upcoming Events:
- September 24, 11:30 am ET: Eat & Greet event: Join me at Bookmarks’s Festival of Books & Authors in Winston-Salem, NC! Enjoy a boxed lunch during the event, then have your books signed afterward. All attendees must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 at this event. If you did not register, tickets will be available at the door for $30 – they will include a copy of My Reading Life but WILL NOT include lunch.
- September 25, 10 am ET: The Art of Conversation panel with Wiley Cash and Charlie Lovett: This will take place at Hanesbrands Theatre in Winston-Salem, NC. Masks are required for indoor locations. See the Festival of Books & Authors Saturday schedule for more information.
- September 25, 3 pm ET: Summer Rewind panel with Steven Rowley: This will take place at Calvary Moravian Church. Masks are required for indoor locations. See the Festival of Books & Authors Saturday schedule for more information.
- September 30: Live chat with author M. L. Rio: Time for our Modern Mrs Darcy Book Club discussion of If We Were Villains with author M. L. Rio! (Events are available as replays for members who cannot attend live.)
- October 7: Celebrating 300 episodes of literary matchmaking: We’re gathering three of the most-beloved, most-discussed, most-recommended authors on What Should I Read Next for a blend of pre-recorded and live discussion! This special event is for Patreon supporters. (A replay will be available for those who cannot make it live.)
- October 21, 1 pm and 7 pm ET: Fall Book Preview: Join us for our third annual Fall Book Preview, where I’ll share a curated list of the season’s hottest new titles, plus the info you need to decide which belong on your TBR. This is an exclusive event for Modern Mrs Darcy Book Club members and What Should I Read Next Patreon “Book Lover” supporters. Our communities will also receive a printable with every title included in our preview.
You can find more upcoming events here.
Have a great weekend!
6 comments
Happy to say I’ve read many of the “Banned Books” featured in your post. I work in an academic library and building our Banned Books Week display is one of the highlights of my year!
I just wanted to say how much I am enjoying My Reading Life. I have never kept a journal before, but was intrigued with this one–and it is such a delight! Because it is so lovely and unique, I’m going to use it to record my absolute favorite books (I’ve started with My Antonia) instead of including the “blah” books.
Loved the article on C.S. Lewis’s review and the love being shown to dictionaries, but I couldn’t read that one, unfortunately–it says you need a subscription.
Got mine yesterday, and am already thinking about my TBR lists!
Ah, how wonderful it would be to spend the night in Julia Child’s French cottage!!! I’ve been in that area of France (near Grasse) and it would be just the best vacation in October. Unfortunately, at $703 a night, it ain’t happenin’!
Also enjoyed the distinction between cobblers, crisps and crumbles, but 2 seconds after I read it, I already forgot which was a crumble and which was a crisp! My favorites are without oats.
Thanks for the articles, always something interesting in them!
Loved the article about Julia Child’s French kitchen and home, La Pitchoune. I had the great fortune to spend 5 days there in 2000 when it was being operated as a cooking school. At that time, it was owned by an American woman who was trained as a French chef. We had cooking lessons in the morning, would eat what we cooked for lunch, and then have the afternoon off to go explore the area. The last day we spent in Cannes, exploring the farmer’s market, visiting a cheese cave, and eating at a 5-star restaurant. This was all with my husband’s (my boyfriend at the time) family whose grandmother paid for the whole trip (it’s a small family and this was how she liked to spend her money). I was only 22 at the time and remember thinking I would likely never eat such incredible food again and, honestly, I don’t think I have! Such a gorgeous area and the kitchen in the photos doesn’t look like it’s changed much in the last 21 years!
Add recipes for “grunts” and “slumps” to your apple crisp etc. repertoire. Yummers!!