What are you up to this weekend? Around here we’re deeply invested in the College World Series and I’m excited to watch some baseball! I’ve got my snacks planned and everything. I’m also looking forward to drinking lots of coffee, attending a really great dance recital, and hopefully getting in some quality reading time during the forecasted thunderstorms.
I hope YOU have something good to look forward to these next few days, 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:
I offer gift links for articles whenever possible (you may still need to create an account with the publication); if there’s no gift link and you’re not a subscriber, check to see if your library carries the publication or use a service like Pocket.
Watch the trailer for Netflix’s The Thursday Murder Club! (YouTube) Coming August 28.
And the trailer for The Bear Season 4! (YouTube) The new season wasn’t on my radar and I was pleasantly surprised to learn it’s arriving soon: June 25!
In Praise of Jane Austen’s Least Beloved Novel. (The New Yorker) “‘Northanger Abbey’ is the least beloved of Jane Austen’s six novels. It also appears frequently in university-level literature classes. These two things are related.”
The People Who Clean the Ears of Lincoln (And Other Statues). (Atlantic gift link) Incredible photos. I mean, WOW.
Branching out with escapist, emotionally resonant novels. (What Should I Read Next?) And if some of those novels happen to help Tynisha explore new-to-her sorts of Sci-Fi/Fantasy, so much the better.
This new-to-us recipe for Lemon Pepper Chicken Breasts (NYT Cooking gift link) was delicious and easy for dinner this week.
Diabolus Ex Machina. (Everything Is A Wave) “The following is a ‘conversation’ I had with Chat GPT upon asking whether it could help me choose several of my own essays to link in a query letter I intended to send to an agent. What ultimately transpired is the closest thing to a personal episode of Black Mirror I hope to experience in this lifetime.” This is wild and deeply unsettling. It won’t make sense until you get to the end (but it’s a quick read).
R.F. Kuang Is Making Dark Academia Even Darker. (Kirkus Reviews) “Sartre said, ‘Hell is other people.’ In R.F. Kuang’s highly anticipated new novel, Katabasis (Bookshop), Hell is higher education.” This is on my TBR; pub date is August 26.
Many of our team members frequently show up to team meetings in Old Navy graphic tees. I love this Mixed Fruit design (XS–4X) and I wish this boys’ Stay Driven design came in my size because it’s PERFECT for our 2025 Summer Reading Guide road trip theme! (Might the XXL fit me? I might try!) Their great linen-blend pants (XXS–4X) are also on sale: I own neutrals but the thin stripes are sooo cute. Here’s a tip from the Bogel women: find yourself a top in the same fabric and color/print—tank, top, buttondown, it really doesn’t matter—for an effortlessly polished summer outfit.
How to Throw the Best Birthday Party Ever. (Emma Straub’s Newsletter) It’s all about the people, of course, but also: it’s about the books! “I highly encourage all of you to steal this idea. Going through the books this morning and reading all the notes made me feel so (earnest! feeling! ahead!) truly loved and appreciated.”
12 great summer titles for Audiobook Appreciation Month. (MMD) A dozen summer hits I happily declare to be “Awesome on Audio.”
For the past few years I’ve been devoted to the Kosas Brow Pop Nano brow pencil. I just reordered my fourth or fifth one (in soft brown); I haven’t bought any other brow products since this product hit the shelves. (Also available at Sephora.)
Foods from the U.S. That I Crave When I’m There. (David Lebovitz Newsletter) Food writer Lebovitz has lived in Paris for 20+ years and I LOVED seeing what he scoops up on his visits to the States. Peppermint patties! Pepperoni pizza! Cheese (yes, really!)
A Place of Healing: Robin Wall Kimmerer on the Medicinal Plants of the Adirondacks. (Literary Hub) “When I was a little kid, in the wayback of our old red station wagon with a canoe on top, I’d watch as the farm fields disappeared and houses became few, the forest thicker and so fragrant I’d roll down the window to breathe it in.”
21 observations from people watching. (skin contact) “It is easy to tell how happy someone is to see another person enter a conversation. There is happy, and there is polite, and they look very different.”
Don’t miss these posts:
15 standout backlist summer novels perfect for seasonal listening. These audiobooks feel entirely right for the summer season!
Add joy to your reading life with these favorite bookish accessories. Marvelous accompaniments to the reading life.
20 favorite LGBTQ+ novels and memoirs. Pick up these favorite LGBTQ+ novels and memoirs during Pride month and all year long.
Have a great weekend!
12 comments
I don’t know what this says about me, but Northanger Abbey is my favorite Jane Austen. I love the Gothic elements and the plucky, naive young Catherine. It’s not Austen’s best writing, but I love the characters and story anyway.
I was blown away at how much I loved Northanger Abbey. It was so funny! I loved it and it’s due for a re-read.
Whoa, that piece with the ChatGPT exchange was wild! And creepy.
I loved the idea of the birthday party and getting such a wonderful stash of books for presents. It’s something that I might use myself, one day. If I was invited to such a party I might give The Christmas Chronicles by Nigel Slater, I have given this book to many people already. It’s part cookery book and part memoir and I reread it every October to help me get ready for Christmas. It’s actually about the whole winter season from October to February, and not just Christmas.
One thing that I do to make Christmas present shopping easier is to choose my favourite book that I read that year and to gift it along with some fabulous chocolate, it’s a quick and easy idea, suits most people, and makes Christmas shopping less stressful.
I like that Christmas gift idea! Thanks!
I just turned 65 and when I grow up, I want to be Helen Mirren!!
Me too Michelle!
I’m excited for the film adaptation of The Thursday Murder Club. Casting Helen Mirren as Elizabeth is brilliant, but I’m not so sure about Pierce Brosnan as Ron.
I always thought Mansfield Park was Austen’s least-beloved novel.
I’ve read both of R.F. Kuang’s novels and thought the premises were great but the execution lacking. My interest in Katabasis was piqued by this article/interview, but I’m going to hold back to see reader reactions before deciding if I want to read it or not.
I’ll be turning 45 next year, and I’m going to steal Emma Straub’s book birthday party idea! I’m going to begin to collect second-hand copies of books I love to friends. I felt a sense of kinship when she said that she’s been meaning to read The Brothers K for twenty years. I have a copy I got at a book swap a decade ago, and it’s been sitting on my To Read shelf ever since! Also, I totally agree that you can’t have too many copies of Gatsby; there are so many beautiful editions.
That Emma Straub article was a delight! I found myself poking around the rest of her substack too. I’ve read one of her books and liked it, but now I want to read them all and be one of her friends.
Regarding ChatGPT, it sure can be creepy, but I confess I have found it a helpful tool for brainstorming and for helping me to organize and edit my writing. I’ve set up guidelines for myself on how to use it and I feel like I’m doing it ethically. I never trust it (I always check facts) and if I use an idea it gives me, I rework it in my own voice.
I enjoyed the article about the Adirondacks. Every other year we spend our summer vacation in the Adirondacks. This year we will be in Saranac Lake staying on Lake Flower. I will be looking for that Sunday rock that once we pass it every day is Sunday with no work to worry about!
Thanks for this amazing list of links, perfect for a long lazy Saturday morning!
I thought surely that Mansfield Park was going to be the least favorite, and OH! I couldn’t get the article, I don’t have a sub to The New Yorker! Wail! I have hardly been able to get through Mansfield Park, much less understand it at all, but I thought Northanger Abbey was a HOOT! I laughed myself silly. It’s sort of the YA version of Jane Austen’s books, and should absolutely be beloved!
And I will definitely try to steal Emma Straub’s Birthday Book Idea in some form or another!!
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