What are you up to this weekend? My #1 priority is to stay out of this brutal heat and humidity; I know I’m not the only one in that boat. I expect that means lots of quality reading time. Also in household news of the boring-but-true variety, our once-tidy pantry has disintegrated into something much closer to the “pure chaos” end of the spectrum: maybe I can make serious headway in my current audiobook and restore some order there? (If you have tips, send them!)
I hope you have something to look forward to this weekend, and that this collection of interesting reads and favorite things helps ease you into that weekend frame of mind.
My favorite finds from around the web:
Mark your calendars for Fall Book Preview and more this fall. (MMD) What’s happening in our MMD Book Club and What Should I Read Next patreon communities this fall!
Levelling up: how Gabrielle Zevin’s gaming novel became the book of the summer. (The Guardian) One year after publication it’s still going strong.
Culture Study Meets Bama RushTok. (Culture Study substack) Last week I mentioned being obsessed with with RushTok videos Anne Helen Petersen shared on Instagram. I really appreciated her deep dive into this topic.
Get this screaming deal on a Microsoft Office Home & Business Lifetime License! I shared this earlier this month and totally forgot about getting my own—but thankfully it’s still available. I’m currently paying $69.99 annually for Microsoft Word alone, but this offer gets you a lifetime license to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, and more for just $39.99. Available for Mac or Windows.
20 wonderful new and backlist books in translation. (MMD) Expand your literary horizons with these 20 works, inspired by Women in Translation month. (I just finished another great one last night; I’ll tell you about it in the upcoming Fall Book Preview!)
This Double Mustard Potato Salad was a huge hit at family dinner this week. (Dinner: A Love Story) We served it with grilled chicken and grilled summer vegetables tossed with Vivian Howard’s chopped spicy tomatoes. YUM.
Meet literature’s new cover star: CORALIE BICKFORD-SMITH’s beautiful illustrated wraps for Penguin’s Clothbound Classics are making hardbacks hip again – and inspiring the next generation of book lovers. (Daily Mail) I love these editions. Such a treat to learn about her design process.
The Best Spots for Stargazing in the U.S. (Daily Passport) I wish I lived closer!
I Get No Mail and It’s Glorious. (Ironic Sans substack) Look, stopping junk mail isn’t sexy, but it’s AWESOME. This is a nice summary of steps you can take to reduce yours.
This beautiful skirt will be an amazing summer-to-fall piece, plus it reminds me of a beloved skirt from my high school days. Everything old is new again, am I right?
Lancashire and Carolina pen pals meet for first time in 70 years. (BBC) What a sweet story!
Our team’s best books of summer. Our new episode of What Should I Read Next features nine of our team members sharing their superlative summer reads. Happy listening!
A New Frontier for Travel Scammers: A.I.-Generated Guidebooks. (New York Times gift link) Buyer beware.
What YOU Wore: Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. (So Many Thoughts substack) These reader outfit photos and the inspiration and process behind them are so great. They make me want to pull out my sewing machine, plus hunt down concert tickets for 2024.
The One Herb You Should Never Put in the Refrigerator. (Epicurious) Oops! I’m changing my ways …
From our archives:
Get a taste of Southern literature with these 15 sensational novels. A sampling of what Southern literature has to offer!
10 campus novels that will take you back to your school days.
Restart your life with these 12 nonfiction titles. This is a great time of year to give yourself a fresh start or adopt a new habit or routine.
Have a great weekend!
16 comments
Headlands Dark Sky Park near Mackinac City is pretty fabulous for stargazing. And it’s close-ish
https://www.midarkskypark.org/
It’s right there in the park name! I’ve never been as far north as Mackinac but I sure would love to go.
We did dark sky viewing there too! Although couldn’t stay super late with our young kids.
Kudos for sharing the Microsoft deal!!! So appreciated!!
I second this! I’m able to open my documents again!
Would you please provide the Microsoft link specifically spelled out? When I click on either hyperlink in the post I get a warning that there is a tracker impersonating the site to steal information. Thank you!
My tip for pantry organization: lazy susans and stair-like shelves (often used for spices, but you can find some with steps deep enough for cans). My pantry also used to devolve into chaos every few months, but since I bought the lazy susans and shelves its been at least 6 months and I haven’t had to reorganize at all!
I’m glad you said this—I have an unused stair-like shelf in my basement that used to live in our pantry! I think I’ll be experimenting this weekend to see if it helps.
Loved all the links today! Thanks Anne!
Anne, I recently saw Mammoth Cave listed as a dark sky park.
https://www.nps.gov/maca/learn/management/international-dark-sky-park.htm
Amazing! (And so close to me, though I haven’t been since I was a kid.)
Since this is a one time downliad, what would happen if you need to replace your PC? Is this 39.99 annually?
I regularly have issues opening some (not all and never to news sites and blogs) of your links to clothes and makeup in safari on my iphone. I couldn’t open the link to the skirt. I am told it’s an invalid link. I understand you probably can’t fix it but I would be delighted if you would add a little more information to those links so I can find them myself if need be.
Oh no! Thanks for letting me know and for the suggestion.
Anne thinking she can just “hunt down” Taylor Swift tickets is my favourite thing. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but this isn’t going to work unless you’re willing to pay 4 figures.
haha at this point I’ll feel lucky to score tickets to the Eras movie! 😂