The forecast is for gray, rainy days, but I’m looking forward to bright spots this weekend: seeing an old friend, finishing this harder-than-it-looks puzzle, and finally decorating the tree (I mean it this time!). I hope you have something to look forward to this weekend.
My heart goes out to all of those impacted by the devastating tornadoes that swept through our home state of Kentucky last weekend. (Thanks to those of you who expressed concern about me and my family: we’re windblown and soggy here in Louisville, but absolutely fine.) If you want to help, donations to the Team Western Kentucky Relief Fund go directly to Kentucky tornado victims.
My favorite finds from around the web:
- Station Eleven Is a Profound Television Experience. I was glad to see this review.
- When you love the em-dash. As a passionate em-dash lover, this made me laugh out loud.
- ‘The world is a lesser place today without her.’ Acclaimed author bell hooks dies at 69. What a loss.
- Must-Have Spice Blends That Culinary Experts Swear By. Taking notes.
- I had so much fun on the That Sounds Fun podcast this week, talking books with Annie F. Downs!
- Keeping the Memory of Zora Neale Hurston Alive in a Small Florida City. So much work goes into preserving a legacy like this.
- Looking for digital gift options? Consider a gift membership to Modern Mrs Darcy Book Club. We also have annual Patreon memberships, although Patreon doesn’t have a direct way to gift memberships. The workaround is to enter your giftee’s email address but your own credit card info and then disable auto-renewal. (You may want to give your giftee a heads up because they’ll get the signup email right away.)
- A Walk in the Metropolitan Museum of Art with Min Jin Lee. There’s so much to love about this conversation.
- Craftsy got all spruced up for the holidays: Get your Premium Membership for only $2.49 for your first full year (normally $79.99).
- After 110 Years, an Overdue Book Is Returned to a Library in Idaho. I never tire of these stories.
- Is It Always Going to Be Like This Now? Such helpful reframing. (Her newsletter is one of my favorites.)
- A Guide To January to June 2022 Romance Books. An impressive array.
- People Aren’t Meant to Talk This Much. “There is no reason to believe that everyone should have immediate and constant access to everyone else in the world at all times.”
Don’t miss these posts:
- A literary tradition like no other. All about our family’s Christmas literary tradition inspired by the Icelandic Jólabókaflóðið.
- 25 delightfully distracting jigsaw puzzles to occupy your mind and boost your mood. Calling all puzzle lovers.
Upcoming Events:
- January 7: A Conversation on Rereading: A mini-course on the benefits of rereading, as Modern Mrs Darcy Book Club revisits six best-loved titles from the Book Club vault in January.
- January 13: Best Books of the Year 2021: Modern Mrs Darcy team members share what they’ve read and loved this year. We’re a team of diverse readers, so we’re sure to share one (or three) of our favorite books, and hope you find some you might love. (This is a Modern Mrs Darcy Book Club event.)
- January 27: Choose Your Own Bookish Adventure: Modern Mrs Darcy Book Club is mixing things up this month! Join us to discuss your choice of the following books from Book Club history: Before We Visit the Goddess (2016), Beartown (2017), This Must Be the Place (2018), The Gown (2019), The Poet X (2020), and Kitchens of the Great Midwest (2021).
Find out more about upcoming events here.
Have a great weekend!
9 comments
I love that little em-dash video. My natural writing is so littered with em-dashes that I often go back and edit them out (the same way many people have to edit out exclamation points). I’m glad I’m not alone in my love for them.
Me, too! I’m GENUINELY excited to learn that shift + option + hyphen makes an em-dash! (I just deleted five other exclamation marks because I’m trying—and failing—to play it cool.)
Hi from Iceland!
Wow, had to look twice when I saw a word in my own language in this post, ð’s and everything 🙂
I honestly did not know that people outside of Iceland knew about this concept, “jólabókaflóðið”! The “flood” is big this year, as usual, and I’ve been reading a lot of new Icelandic books this december.
I love your Christmas Eve family tradition. I have so many childhood memories of going to bed on Christmas Eve with a new book (we open all our presents then) and reading into the night. Sometimes with chocolates or cookies by my side 🙂
I did that puzzle a couple of months ago, and you’re right, so hard, but I give it an A+. Satisfying in the way only a puzzle can be. Good luck!
ps I’m talking about the pumpkin puzzle 🙂
Haha yes please
I finished it this weekend! (And then moved on to something with a lot more color, ha!)
Okay, I just learned you aren’t doing the reading challenge. Heartbroken.
But then I read this post and found the upcoming romance novels. It’s like you threw me a bone – HA!
Great Links as always. A true loss- bell hooks.