How are you feeling about your first weekend of the new year? Around here we’re celebrating a family birthday, and some of us are going to see the Pride and Prejudice play by Kate Hamill. And of course I intend to squeeze in some good books and maybe some baking between now and Monday morning. We might take down our Christmas tree—but no promises.
I hope your weekend sets the right tone for the whole year, and that this collection of interesting reads and favorite things helps ease you into that weekend frame of mind.
Drop in to our MMD Book Club 2023 Kickoff and Open House—and join us for Spring Book Preview!
We’re all about fresh starts and new beginnings, so yesterday we gathered in the Modern Mrs Darcy Book Club to start the new year right! This live event was a ton of fun, and also offered members both brand-new and years-old an enjoyable overview of what we’re all about in Book Club, and how to get more out of our extensive offerings.
Because this event brilliantly answers our #1 FAQ—but what exactly happens in MMD Book Club?—we’ve made this video accessible for YOU!
Join us for a bookish good time, then visit this page to sign up and join us. (The very next thing you’re going to want to do is download the brand new app that makes it easy for members to carry Book Club in their pockets! We talk all about that in the video.)
Now is a great time to sign up, and not just because it’s the new year! Our exclusive Spring Book Preview is right around the corner, on Tuesday, January 10. This is one of our most popular events of the year and you don’t want to miss it! Get in on the action by signing up here.
My favorite finds from around the web:
- How to read more: Advice from authors, experts and readers. (The Today Show) I’m always interested in seeing how other people answer this question.
- I just reordered two of my favorite winter skincare favorites: Glossier’s Body Hero Daily Perfecting Cream and Body Hero Dry-Touch Oil Mist. (But I WISH I’d remembered I was running low on their cult favorite Boy Brow while I was already getting free shipping!)
- What’s it like to own a bookstore in our digitized age? (Washington Post gift link) Great interview with Wigtown, Scotland bookstore owner Shaun Bythell. (Don’t miss my story about visiting Wigtown!)
- Eight podcasts to help you achieve your goals for the new year. (MSN) Love the What Should I Read Next mention!
- These J.Crew Factory artist tees are my go-to for winter layering. My frayed collection needs freshening up, so I’m stocking up while the price is right! I’m also loving these happy stripes and this cheerful red blouse.
- Barbara Walters’s Superpower Was Fairness. (Vulture) Her interviews always felt like an event, especially when I was growing up. Such a legacy.
- 62 Books By Women of Color to Read in 2023. (Electric Lit) R.O. Kwon is back with her annual list of anticipated reads.
- 7 Habits of Seriously Stylish People (That You Can Steal for Yourself). (Stylecaster) An old friend is a fashion buyer and she swears by the idea that you can find great stuff almost anywhere. I think of her often when I’m shopping!
- It’s a Wonderful Life. (Home Culture) An unexpected takeaway from the classic film about the recent Southwest Airlines debacle.
- This Entire Bookstore Is Dedicated to Black Food Writing. (Bon Appétit) I love a good niche bookstore.
- Hacked to Bits. (Eater) “It’s not the orders themselves that are the problem, it’s the entire culture of expectations around them — that a drink a stranger literally made up online should be second nature to a server, and that it should take the same amount of time to make as an iced coffee… It’s the divide between whether something is allowed, and whether it’s actually a good idea.”
Don’t miss these posts:
- 12 novels that play with the concept of time. The sky is the limit when it comes to our imagination on this topic!
- 45 sources for great decaf coffee. I had to switch to decaf a few years ago and you all came through with the recommendations.
- 15 inspiring and practical books to help you achieve your New Year’s resolutions. If you want to actually keep your New Year’s resolutions, these books will help you follow through.
Have a great weekend!
21 comments
I have never ordered from JCrew and ordered the ivory blouse you chose in red. Thanks for the rec!
I wanted to tell you I recently read FELLOWSHIP POINT and THE VIOLIN CONSPIRACY. Both were absolutely fantastic. I’ve got friends and family reading. Thank you for always introducing me to so many great books.
I’m so glad you found those books and loved them!
I loved Fellowship Point! I was surprised at how quickly I read. I think I am on the older end of your readership, 61 . I enjoyed reading books that center older women that have had and still do have interesting lives.
I don’t read books because of the color or race of the author. I read it for the quality of the writing and if the story engages me. While I’m so glad that so many new writers are emerging, I’m not the reader that has to be told to read more women authors or Asian or African or native American authors. If the story is good, it doesn’t matter.
I’m going to assume this comment was made in good faith: I’m glad you’re finding your way to good stories, but you can only read stories that are first, published, and then able to be found. You may not read books because of the color or race of the author, but for many years, books by certain authors were not published due to the author’s ethnicity or heritage. The lingering fingerprints of those long-held practices are still all over publishing. I want to read great books by a wonderfully wide variety of authors, so I highly value lists like the one compiled by R.O. Kwon that we’re highlighting today.
I appreciate her words in the intro to that list: “In 2016, I compiled a list of books I’m anticipating by women writers of color because, as a reader, writer, and occasional critic, I couldn’t find many such titles. If I was having trouble, I thought, then others surely were, too. Perhaps they’d also find the list useful…. Finding these books has become, in the last seven years, less difficult, and I continue to hope that American letters will become so inclusive this effort will become obsolete. But we’re still far from that point. I’ll keep hoping.”
American letters isn’t yet that inclusive, so I continue to value lists like these. I hope many of our readers do as well.
I appreciate this thoughtful reply, Anne! Your “Links I Love” content puts a smile on my face and warms my heart every time.
Me too.
Bravo.
Yes! I find these lists so valuable and believe that, to truly achieve the fair and equitable nation I think most of us want to have, we do have to openly recognize and acknowledge race and ethnicity and the injustices that have existed (and continue to exist) for our nation’s entire history. Making it possible for books by groups of people who have been/continue to be marginalized to be written, published, and found by readers is essential. Thank you!
Love your informative and classy response. I’m a more enlightened reader because of this thoughtful bit.
Well said!
Beautiful response, Anne. Thanks!
I’m with you on this.
LOL I can relate to your busy weekend. We are also celebrating a family birthday (my daughter’s 30th!), and I MIGHT get my Christmas tree undecorated and down. We’ll see…. But I’m also moving my Dad out of a rehab facility and into assiste living this weekend! Busy busy busy start to 2023. I am hoping to find a few pockets of time to continue reading The Violin Conspiracy:)
I just dropped some $$$ at J. Crew factory, so thank you for enabling me lol. I am always on the lookout for well-shaped tees in beautiful colors, so was happy to be reintroduced to their artist tee line. They are also having an incredible sale and I picked up some great winter pullovers for my kid, some as low as $9! Thank you!
Wait, did the TODAY article just credit Emma Straub as the author of “This Must Be the Place”? facepalm! Either way, those were some solid tips for readers. Thanks for sharing some delightful links!
Is the Spring Book Preview available only for Book Club members? Can Patreon supporters view it too?
It’s for our Book Club AND Patreon communities!
The text of this blog post seems to indicate that non-Book Club members could view the video, and it appeared when I opened this post yesterday, but now it says, “Sorry. Because of its privacy settings, this video cannot be played here.” Did you change your mind about allowing non-members to view the Open House video?
That’s so strange. No changed minds here; I’m stumped by why you’re encountering this problem. The privacy settings have not been changed and should allow for you to view it. (I did quick tests in Chrome, Safari, and Firefox and it’s playing as expected in those places.)