Happy first weekend of fall! Around here at MMD and WSIRN HQ, we feel like that fall frame of mind begins in earnest with our Fall Book Preview, but here in the U.S. this year’s autumnal equinox is September 23. It’s supposed to be hot here, but I’m nonetheless excited for the new season; fall just might be my favorite.
This weekend I’m way too excited for my new lazy susans to arrive in the mail; I’ve been having a good time lately reimposing organization in my kitchen and bathroom for the first time since early COVID days. I also hope to take a long walk or two and finish my audiobook (thanks so much for your recent recommendations, they were a big help!)
I hope these next few days are kind to you, and that this collection of interesting reads and favorite things helps ease you into that weekend frame of mind.
Two of my books had anniversaries this week! Reading People turned six and My Reading Life: A Book Journal turned two. Both are available wherever you buy your new books; if you’d like a signed copy, my local indie Carmichael’s Bookstore has you covered! Order online or the old-fashioned way by calling 502-896-6950.
My favorite finds from around the web:
20 Dark Academia novels for moody fall reading. (MMD) This genre is all about the vibes!
Will impulse bought me this great sweater on his last Target run and I LOVE it. (Isn’t that the sweetest?) Bring on all the fall Saturdays, I AM READY. Mine is a large, which is comfortably slouchy for that weekend vibe. (We’re running a fall sweater roundup soon. Do you have favorites we should include? Tell me in comments!)
The Pandemic Skip. (The Cut) COVID warps our perception of time, but what do we make of the years we “missed?” I’ve read this at least three times now.
Zakiya Dalila Harris on Bringing The Other Black Girl to TV. (Literary Hub) Are you watching?
Start a Club! (Vox) “Much like small talk is an audition for a more substantive conversation, clubs are an audition for regular friend hangs. When there’s a schedule and an activity, there’s less room for either party to feel as though they’re contributing too much or not enough.”
We made this Chicken Rice Soup With Tomatoes and Ginger during last weekend’s brief run of cooler weather and it was delicious! (NYT Cooking gift link) We made this immediately upon walking in the door from a visit to college for Family Weekend; even using frozen chicken thighs we had it on the table in an hour.
Cousins (and Co-Authors) Write a Love Letter to New York. (New York Times gift link) I loved this interview with Jillian and Mariko Tamaki! Their graphic novel Roaming was featured in our new 2023 Fall Book Preview.
Thanks for letting me know: the awesome Microsoft deal is still available. I grabbed this myself just before my ANNUAL Microsoft Word license renewed for $69.99; with this offer you get a LIFETIME license to Word PLUS Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, and more for just $39.99. Get yours here. (Available for Mac or Windows.)
Inside Richard Osman’s Mystery Empire. (Esquire) There are so many fun facts about the Thursday Murder Club author in this piece. The 4th book, The Last Devil to Die, appears in our “The Series Continues…” feature in our new 2023 Fall Book Preview!
How Often Do Women Think About … ? (New York Times gift link) “Unlike men, they definitely aren’t thinking about the Roman Empire.” Was I explaining this to my family at dinner last night? Indeed!
The 6 Best Instant Coffees for Your Next Camping Trip. (Outside Magazine) When Bri mentioned a whipped coffee drink in WSIRN #397: The ingredients for a favorite read, I told her my experience with instant coffee had not been great. But I trust her taste so I might just have to give one of these recs a try.
It’s Time to Bring Back the ’90s Legal Thriller. (GQ) Yes, please.
Bama Rush Is a Strange, Sparkly Window Into How America Shops. (The Atlantic) “Not even moments of intense, explicit status-seeking such as sorority rush can blunt the allure of fast fashion, regardless of the habit’s obvious wastefulness or the buyers’ financial wherewithal.” I can’t be the only one who found the RushTok fashion analysis FASCINATING.
Wow! This Woman Went on a Phone Free Walk and Regretted Every Second of It. (Reductress) This cracked me up!
From our archives:
7 novels set during class reunions. Would you rather go to your class reunion or read about one?
Audiophile alert: 13 engaging audiobooks read by their authors.
20 wonderfully discussable books to spark great conversation in your buddy reads and book clubs. These books will make you say, “I HAVE to talk about this with someone!”
Have a great weekend!
40 comments
I look forward to Friday’s for many reasons including receiving the ‘Links I Love’ email. So much interesting information included here. Thank-you for including the NYT recipe links. The soup in this weeks episode looks amazing and I can’t wait to make it.
Cheers!
I totally bought the sweater from Target! I bought green, that color makes my heart sing!! Question. I have a NYT subscription. Is the cooking subscription separate?
I hope you love the green sweater! As for NYT, my understanding is that the two subscriptions are separate. (They’ve rolled out more subscription bundles this year for various parts of their site but I haven’t investigated; right now I’m pretty sure I pay separately for news, cooking, and games.)
Get in on all access with NYT – news, games and cooking. It is the best of all worlds.
Funny thing, after reading these comments last week I finally officially upgraded. It’s actually saving me money because previously I had separate subscriptions and payments for cooking, games, and news. I appreciate the nudge!
I bought the green too! Too bad it wasn’t my hubby getting it for me, but I’ll love it regardless! 😉💚
Right now NYT is having a rare special where you can access the cooking app for free! Don’t know how long it will last…
Can you please tell me the brand and name of the sweater? The link won’t work for me. Thank you!
My initial $4 per month subscription did not include NYT Cooking. However, my current subscription, which is $17 per month, does include it.
Waka has decaf and I just ordered some. Thanks!
The article from The Cut will be one I keep thinking about. Thanks for sharing.
During the last 3 years, I’ve reread The Lord of the Rings twice, the first times since many years ago. I think that article unlocked something about why I’ve been drawn to those books in these times. I’ll share an oft-quoted section that represents the tone well. It empathizes with my distress while at the same time ever so gently urging me out of my entitlements and self-pity. It has been what I need.
“I wish the Ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened,” said Frodo.
“So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times; but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. There are other forces at work in this world, Frodo, besides the will of evil. Bilbo was meant to find the Ring. In which case, you were also meant to have it. And that is an encouraging thought.”
The Quince Mongolian cashmere boyfriend cardigan is the best sweater ever! Deliciously soft, can be worn alone or layered. I live in mine, and have numerous colors, because they’re under $140 each.
EllyElly, thanks for sharing. I too began rereading Lord of the Rings early on in the pandemic. The pandemic is certainly one of those times I wish “had never come to me.”
I have returned to these books many times over the years to remind myself of what it means to be brave and how to choose wisely in difficult times. At the moment, my husband and I listening to The Return of the King (Andy Serkis’s reading is a treat!), and I am blown away at how it continues to move me and remind me of who I want to be.
Lovely! And I really needed to read and “hear” that today….I was sliding into a pity spiral here at work. Thank you, Elly!
Thank you❤ this was timely and so insightful.
I’ve watched 4 episodes of The Other Black Girl on Hu and am loving it. The casting is so well done—especially Brian Baumgartner (Kevin from The Office) as the author, Colin. Who knew!
I’m looking for 100% cotton sweaters this season. I like the breathability of cotton as I get older and run hotter.
I’m with you on wanting cotton sweaters. They are getting hard to find!
I like cotton but find that as I get older I find I prefer wool and tech fabrics that wick moisture and dry quickly. There’s a reason hikers say “cotton kills.”
Loved the phone free walk article. Made my whole Friday. Too funny.
Mind blown with the Trader Joes coffee packets! Such a great idea! I so look forward to my Friday mornings with your newsletter. It’s the perfect way to start one of the best days of the week. I hope you have an amazing weekend! Also…a husband who does a Target run AND buys you a sweater? You’re a lucky girl! <3
Thank you so much for that MS Office deal info! My son was just starting college and had a new laptop and needed the suite — it saved us solid money.
Which lazy susans are you excited about? I’m working on reorganizing my countertop and would love a good recommendation.
They’re coming TOMORROW so I’ll be able to report back soon, but I’m upsizing from 9″ lazy susans in our pantry to these 11″ ones. I am ridiculously excited about the extra 2 inches, because apparently adulthood means getting very excited about such things.😂
Yes, sometimes 2 inches makes all the difference haha. I love those in my fridge for my specialty canned drinks.
Anne, That Microsoft Deal was/is amazing. I signed up after seeing you post the first time. I recently got a new laptop and just couldn’t splurge on the Microsoft package at that time, I am so glad I waited!
Happy First weekend of fall! I’m watching the “Other Black Girl” and it is good. I read the book not long after it was published and now to watch the story unfold in a series on the screen is amazing. Also, thanks for sharing the “Inside Richard Osman’s Mystery Empire” article. I was first introduced to this author in a book club a few months ago and the book was The Thursday Murder Club. It was an enjoyable read and I’ve added The Last Devil to Die on my TBR list.
I have no sweater suggestions, but I’m on the look out for a sweater that isn’t a solid or a stripe….. so if anyone has suggestions….
Wooden Ships sweaters are my favorite! They are perfect for transitional weather (lightweight but cozy). I have several and love the Key West and Shirt Tail (wearing it today!).
Those are so cute!
The MS Office link won’t work for me. I must’ve missed the deal. 😩
The link still worked for me! Try again. Maybe a glitch?
Starting a club is great. About two and a half years ago I started a neighborhood women’s group. We have a WhatsApp group for all who want to participate. We meet in someone’s driveway or yard. Everyone rings their own chair and drink/snack. We sit and catch up for about an hour and a half one hours on Thursday evening most months. No one has to cook or clean. It’s a very low key group and I have really enjoyed getting to know my neighbors.
That sounds wonderful!
What lazy susans did you buy?
I got these 11″ ones from The Container Store and I love them! (They’re now happily installed in my kitchen cabinets. 🙂 )
Thanks for the soup recipe! Also love articles about Bama Rush mostly what’s on TikTok. We experienced it with our daughter before TikTok existed and it is exactly as shown. There are jokes with the girls that they should drop these girls into any problem in the world and they will organize the solution perfectly!
Bleeding Heart Yard, the third in the Harbinder Kaur series by Elly Griffiths, is also set at a school reunion.
Vox article “Start a Club!” reminds me of THE SATURDAYS by Elizabeth Enright “Independent Saturday’s Afternoon Adventures Club” (I.S.A.A.C.) which could be seen as kind of a comment to woman who couldn’t leave home without her electronic umbilical cord (aka phone); more on that below.
In final book of series, SPIDERWEB FOR TWO: A MELENDY MAZE, secret clue solving club is invented to keep youngest two siblings who stayed at home in countryside from getting lonely during school year while elders attend boarding school. In course of adventures, brother & sister bond, learn to appreciate each other.
Mother-daughter UNBEARABLE BOOK CLUB FOR UNSINKABLE GIRLS by Julie Schumacher brilliantly creates contempory versions of 3 young Jane Austen heroines, turning spa city of Bath, England into public swimming pool in Delaware. 4th girl in club may channel “girl genius” Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley; only 18 years old when she wrote FRANKENSTEIN, one title picked by club’s moms, all choices by women authors.
(BTW, did you know J.K. Rowling said HARRY POTTER & THE GOBLET OF FIRE was in part inspired by Jane Austen’s clueless EMMA? As in heroine of NORTHANGER ABBEY’s fave novel, MYSTERIES OF UDOLPHO, rational, logical explanations of Age of Reason eventually dispells supernatural superstitions of Gothic Dark Ages (tho after many enjoyably emotional chills and thrills). In turn, NORTHANGER ABBEY was influenced by 1752 novel THE FEMALE QUIXOTE, alluding to Cervantes–who rumor has it, was read by Shakespeare.)
During pandemic cocooning, I enjoyed books that made me grateful to stay at home safe, yet entertained by misadventures of hilariously unplanned road trip in AS EASY AS FALLING OFF THE FACE OF THE EARTH by Lynne Rae Perkins, a fan of Elizabeth Enright–both women won Newbery Award for books for young readers and the young at heart. J.K. Rowling also seems member of The Unofficial Elizabeth Enright Fan Club.
This appreciation society might also be dubbed F.O.E. “Fans of Enright” or “Fans of Overlooked Writer Elizabeth Enright”–tho might have to keep explaining it’s F.O.O.W.E.E. not “phooey”, like Hermione Granger (Goblet of Fire, Ch. 14) stressed it’s not “spew” but S.P.E.W. meaning “Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare” (she had wanted longer, more descriptive name, “but it wouldn’t fit” on the badges, so became “heading of our manifesto”.
The remarkable Rosemary Sutcliff wrote arguably the best novels set in Roman Britain.
Due to juvenile arthritis, she spent much time out of doors sitting in one place without moving, absorbing sights, sounds, and smells of English countryside, which she later described in her books, details making readers feel they were actually there.
Listening to her naval officer father talk about men of his crews also gave her understanding to depict characters in ancient Roman army. See Wikipedia and her autobiography BLUE REMEMBERED HILLS. (Tiny window of cell phone addicts misses so much of the world!)
Combo of “Roman Empire for women” & Rebecca Jennings’ remark at end of her Vox essay: see Borrower Review about CASABLANCA dvd http://www.lapl.org catalog (a response to remark by a woman that role of Ilsa in CASABLANCA was a Femme Fatale “who would’ve been better portrayed by Hedy Lamarr”). Review may lead to new interests for clubs to discuss–maybe a hybrid film watching/book reader/and language study group!
(Related aside/lecture of the day: I so wish words like “phew” and “phooey” were still widely used instead of casual crudeness of one that rhymes with yuck now used by even small children ignorant of full definition, but to me is like slap in the face.
Too many don’t even notice what they’re saying, it’s become like breathing. Joke about 4 letter “s” word: Must be something you like, as it’s always in your mouth. How do people express a truly extreme feeling if they’ve worn out meaning of really strong words?)
I do have sense of humor though–remembering lyrics to MUSIC MAN songs “Oh you’ve got trouble, right here in River City, with a capital T that rhymes with P that stands for Pool” and “Pick-a-little” (Chaucer, Rabelais, Balzac) in honor of Banned Book week. But reasons behind choosing “le mot juste” and merely defaulting to limited vocabulary are very different.
(How about people shouting “default” when stubbing toes get that fricative release? Or tsk tsk–also sounds used in squirrel talk in Perkins book NUTS TO YOU.)
“Free association” thoughts drifting thru my head bring ideas for sharing: “Nuts” led to line about “Pickled walnuts” appetizer in 1945 film CHRISTMAS IN CONNECTICUT, a romantic comedy about career woman writer, then to actor’s connection with CASABLANCA and Judy Garland film IN THE GOOD OLD SUMMER TIME–inspiration for YOU’VE GOT MAIL. Everything may be related in world wide web of storytelling.
I haven’t read the comments but hope someone else suggested the Aeropress French press style portable coffee maker. It comes with filters, and after you install the filter and add a measure of coffee (spoon also included), added hot water makes an espresso which you can then dilute with more hot water if desired. It makes fabulous coffee, it’s easy and not messy at all. If I was buying again I would get the clear version.