Links I love

My sincere hope is that, wherever you are, whatever you’re up to, whatever you celebrate—you have a lovely few days ahead of you. My family is just back from a whirlwind trip to NYC (more about that in a coming newsletter, so subscribe if you haven’t) and now it’s really and truly time to hang some ornaments on the tree (I’m not sure what happened this year) and finish the wrapping and then crash on the couch and bask in the glow of the twinkle lights.

My favorite finds from around the web:

• How to Enjoy the Holidays Your Way. (The Atlantic) Great advice on creating new traditions and actually enjoying the holidays.

• How a Great Audiobook Narrator Finds Her Voices. (The New Yorker) I love this profile of Robin Miles.
• The new year is almost upon us … so get your fresh new reading journal now! Or this adorable option for younger readers. (If you like the sound of a signed copy, order from Carmichael’s Bookstore.)

• The Muppets sit down with Brett Goldstein to reminisce about making The Muppet Christmas Carol. (Entertainment Weekly) In case you missed it.
• New makeup fave: these lip liners from Lady Gaga’s line Haus Laboratories are fantastic and a total steal. I never would have tried them had a stylish friend not told me to order them immediately!

• The Murky Path To Becoming a New York Times Best Seller. (Esquire) “It’s frustrating when you get the actual numbers of what every book on the list sold and a book with lower numbers is higher on the list.”

• The Biscuits on ‘Ted Lasso’ Are Legendary—& We Got the Recipe. (Food52) I can’t wait to try this.

• Have we fallen out of love with celebrity memoirs? I still love them but not every celebrity needs to write one.
• A Totally Normal Interview With Author Emily St. John Mandel. (Slate) When Will told me about this I said, Wait, what?!
• Cheesy Baked Pasta with Sausage and Ricotta. (NYT Cooking gift link) A winter staple in my house. (We often leave out the ricotta because my kids object to this specific variety of deliciousness.)

• Secrets of the Christmas Tree Trade. (Curbed) The deep dive into the NYC Christmas tree industry I didn’t know I wanted.

• How to Survive in Broken Worlds: Jesmyn Ward on Octavia Butler’s Empathy and Optimism. (Literary Hub) “When I discovered Butler’s work, I discovered myself. I saw myself in her characters, empathized with them as they struggled to live in untenable worlds: in untenable circumstances. I knew they knew the taste of ash, the black scramble of floodwater.”

• 12 Widely Repeated Phrase Origins, Debunked. (Mental Floss) Which of these most surprised you?

• The End of The USA Today Bestseller List. (Smart Bitches, Trashy Books) Such a loss.

• Why you should really stop charging your phone overnight. (ZDNet) The more you know.

Don’t miss these posts:

• A literary tradition like no other. All about our family’s Christmas literary tradition inspired by the Icelandic Jólabókaflóðið.

• You don’t need another reading challenge. Hear me out.

• How to make a book page wreath, and more book art ideas. If you’re perfectly happy with repurposing old books, this post is for you.

Have a great weekend!