What are you up to this weekend? I’m taking a hike, finishing a book (or maybe two!), and lending an editing eye for college applications essays. I hope you have something you’re looking forward to these next few days.
Just a reminder that Quick Lit is happening tomorrow! On the 15th of every month, I share short and sweet reviews of what I’ve been reading lately and invite you to do the same. We don’t often post on Saturdays, so click here to get blog posts by email if you don’t already.
WSIRN Trivia Night
The countdown is on for our first ever What Should I Read Next Trivia Night! This exclusive event on October 20 is for our marvelous Patreon supporters. May the trivia odds be ever in your favor! More details here.
My favorite finds from around the web:
- Two podcasters set out to read every Agatha Christie book. It became much more than that. What a labor of love, with an unexpectedly sad ending.
- 25 jigsaw puzzles to treat yourself or someone you love. So many favorites here!
- The Three Pines trailer is out! Louise Penny shared some interesting comments about it on her Facebook page: “In the midst of this fun one-minute trailer you might notice that the “Ruth” character describes Three Pines as a place that will expel people who don’t belong. I need to make clear that I fought and fought to have that line changed in the show….”
- 19 Punctuation Marks You Never Knew You Needed. Nerdy goodness.
- Hoodie season is here! My favorite is the American Giant classic hoodie—they’re a longtime What Should I Read Next sponsor which means you get to take 20% off your first order with the code READNEXT.
- Shelf Life: Celeste Ng. I love the way she talks about books.
- I’m Finally Getting Rid of my Instant Pot, and I’m Not the Only One. I was surprised to see this is a trend; I still use mine regularly. This week we pulled it out to make our favorite black bean chili.
- Where Is All the Book Data? A very good question, as authors have long known—and I’m wondering if you did, too? “I went looking for book sales data, only to find that most of it is proprietary and purposefully locked away.”
- Candy corn: The Halloween candy that divides a nation. Its original name? ‘Chicken feed’. I gotta admit: I hate this stuff.
- Longlist for the 2023 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction. So many books I loved here.
- My favorite $4 drugstore blow dry spray has been discontinued (sniff). (Don’t buy from that link, it’s ridiculously expensive!) Do you have one you love?
- How to Invite a Disabled Friend Over. “In college and into my twenties, I struggled with how to disclose that I might need help. What’s the best way to find out if a third-floor apartment is a walk-up? How should I say that it’s impossible for me to stand for hours on end?”
- What No One Understands About Your Job. Fascinating.
Don’t miss these posts:
- 31 spooky (but not too scary) books for your fall reading list. Tis the season!
- What are your chilly weather go-to meals? The comments are a goldmine of meal inspiration!
- 25 fascinating true stories you didn’t learn about in history class. These books explore untold, overlooked, or erstwhile top-secret true stories in a compelling narrative.
Have a great weekend!
32 comments
I love my Bumble and Bumble Blow Dry Accelerator but it is certainly not cheap!
I don’t have much to compare it to but the Kristin Ess Blow Dry Mist is wonderful. I have bought it several times, which is unusual for me. And it provides an excuse to make a Target run.
Another vote for Kristin Ess Blow Dry Mist!
Can’t wait for Three Pines, and this weekend will see the first episode of one of my favorite books come to the Masterpiece screen! And Anthony Horowitz did the screenplay adaptation of Magpie Murders. Leslie Manville will play the author’s agent. Sunday, October 16! Also looking forward to reading more of Ann Cleeves latest, The Rising Tide.
What people get wrong about my job.
“You work in a school library? Oh it must be nice to sit in the quiet and read all day.”
While I do read many of the books in our library, I do it on my own time. I rarely read more than the summary on the back of a book while I’m at work. It is rarely quiet in the library. In addition to checking books out to students, I manage the copier/printer, laminator (for teachers, not students), the library calendar, perform reader advisory (finding the right book for the student), manage borrowing and loaning books to/from other school libraries, teach kids how to do origami/button making/beading/other “maker” crafts, and manage the supplies for those crafts, teach kids how to get started on 3D printing,
“weed” old outdated books, process new books for addition to the catalog, repair damaged books, and when necessary, teach the classes that come to the library (I am not a licensed teacher librarian, btw, but you do what you gotta do). I love my job, but the image most people have of me reading a book behind the circulation desk while waiting to check out the occasional book or two is pure fiction! (see what I did there?)
Haha. So true. I worked for relatively short periods of time in a small elementary school library (two months, to cover a medical leave) and a busy big-city public library (18 months, post B.A.). What the student/public sees is just a small fraction of what most library employees actually do.
But I find that is true of most jobs… As a university professor, I got tired of people asking me what I did on my four-month vacation every year, I.e., the months I had no teaching responsibilities. In reality, teaching was about half my job, at my institution. So, in the summer, my focus shifted to emphasize the other half of my job, especially research, trying to cram as much as possible into one-third of the year. Less, if one were to take a vacation. I never took the six weeks I was entitled to, based on my length of service. I was lucky to take a week off at a time.
The Black Bean Chili looks great! What instant pot cook/release time do you use?
I tried making a dump-and-set black bean chili in the instant pot, but my preference is to cook the beans in the instant pot and then make the soup. I cook black beans for 30 minutes using the bean/chili setting.
I find it hard to believe I’ve never read an Agatha Christie before and really enjoyed the article and the reminder it gave me that I’d planned to start.
I need to find out the best order to read them in. It doesn’t seem like just starting at the beginning is necessarily the best way to enjoy her books. Any thoughts much appreciated from Christie pros!
And, all those puzzles – ah, too many to choose from…
You don’t need to read Agatha Christie books in order. Just know that she has two main series – the Hercule Poirot series and the Miss Marple series. The first I read was Murder on the Orient Express (a Poirot story). It was fantastic! After reading it, I watched the Kenneth Branagh film, which had some differences but was good. Enjoy your first Christie, whichever one you choose!
I implore folks to check out Danny Caine’s book about resisting Amazon. It ties very neatly into the article about publishing data and burying information or cloaking it as much as possible. The book also speaks about how the publishing industry is being monopolized by Amazon, a company that does not care about the actual value of books and stories. Ok, jumping down from my soap box.
Agreed, Susan! Caine’s book is great. Plus I order from his independent bookstore (The Raven) whenever possible!
Tresemme Keratin Smooth Heat Protectant Spray
Amika blow dry spray. It’s a little fragrant but works really well.
I loved the job post, it was fascinating and funny.
I love my Instant Pot. My slow cooker died so it doubles for both. And it makes perfect quinoa in about 15 minutes total time. (1 min cook time).
I found the punctuation article fascinating! In particular the part about how paragraphs came about!
I have been listening to the All About Agatha podcast for a few years. Great stuff!
I finally started reading “Still Life” last week since I’ve seen it recommended here so often. I had no idea they were making a series based on the books. I’ll have to watch the trailer after I finish the book
A family that I babysat for in junior high had a large collection of Agatha Christie paperbacks. It began a long wonderful journey with her. The ABC Murders is my favorite. Thanks for the podcast recommendation
The Three Pines trailer is so different from what I was expecting…. Is it just me? Looking forward to the series!
I agree! The characters look NOTHING like in my head! Much prefer what my imagination cooked up!
I’m an attorney. People think I’m in court, arguing all day and saying “I object!”
I haven’t been in a courtroom in six years. I hate going to court. 90% of the legal work I do is calls and meetings with clients, writing, and research. 5% is emails to try to get issues dealt with or errors handled before having to go through an appeal. 5% is informal phone hearings with a non-attorney decisionmaker at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
It’s getting to Instapot season! We use it for broth and soup all through the cold weather. Over also discovered a great grits recipe that uses the Instapot. But I have done other small appliances I wouldn’t miss (since I only do a tenth of the cooking in my house, I mostly keep my mouth shut about those)
Oh no! I love that blow dry spray! My two second favorites are the IGK Good Behavior 4 in 1 prep spray (which is available in a travel size to try out) and the Davines Oi All in One Milk.
As someone who wanted to be an attorney when I was growing up – but went business route instead – I later realized my friends who are attorneys are very rarely in court. They spend an insane amount of time on research and reading documents I would find terribly boring but they enjoy it!
I love my Instant Pot— I just upgraded to the one with an air fryer for my birthday! I’d give up the microwave before parting with the IP!
I love my Instant Pot so much that I have two! It’s one bandwagon I jumped on that was totally worth it.
Oh my word- I JUST started reading Agatha Christie all over again…I MUST listen to this podcast but what sadness…
I have TWO instant pots and while I don’t use the second frequently, I can’t go a week without using at least one once…usually twice.
I love all your book links and recommendations. How DO you find time to read it all?? I know I need to really put reading into the ‘schedule’ but, really, how do you read them all??
Oh my gosh, that was my favorite spray too!!! I kept wondering why I could never find it and tried A LOT of smoothing heat sprays. I landed on this Moroccanoil from Sephora which is a lot more expensive, but it’s more product and lasts me a good 4-6 months https://www.sephora.com/product/protect-prevent-spray-P432032?skuId=2070258
I appreciate the rec!
I love my Instant Pot and use it several times a week. It’s perfect for rice, quinoa, oats, soups, cabbage, roasts, beef stew and chili. Sadly, my poor slow cooker is pining away in the closet from lack of use.
I could never give up my beloved Instant Pot!