What are you up to this weekend? We’re in the path of this big winter storm about to pummel half the U.S.; my weekend is looking like it will be one of cancelled plans, good books, shoveling snow, and praying the power stays on. (Please no ice! Who’s with me?)
I hope wherever you are in the world, you’ll be safe and comfortable and well-stocked with good books 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 bookmarking service.
Why on Earth Have I Seen the Same Broadway Show 13 Times? An Investigation. (New York Times gift link) I clicked out of curiosity and enjoyed this so much. From Taffy Brodesser-Akner: “The more I thought about it, the harder it was to feel as if I were any closer to an answer, so I did what I always do in these situations, which is that I went to see the show again.”
50 Books From The Past 50 Years Everyone Should Read At Least Once. (Southern Living) How many have you read?
We’ve noticed many of you have ordered our ampersand Leuchtturm journals from our shop this month—thank you! Our pretty Port Red color (the one I’m using now) has FLOWN out the door. If you want one of the last ten in stock, I recommend you order right now! (Thankfully, the Ocean, Sage, and Stone Blue are also totally gorgeous.)
How Amy Poehler’s ‘Good Hang’ broke through celebrity podcast fatigue. (Washington Post gift link) “Timing was key, even as Poehler joked in the premiere that ‘I like to be five or six years late to any trend.’ The goal of the show was to have fun and lighten people’s moods, she said, but she emphasized that she is not a therapist or a self-help expert. ‘I don’t care if you get any better. I don’t have advice for you,’ she deadpanned, adding, ‘I want us to feel like there’s a way to have laughs amid all of the craziness that is life.'”
Everything Is Romantic in Louise Roe’s Living Room. (New York Times gift link) Will sent me this piece because it reminded him of our newly coral walls that are making us so happy. How I’d love to cozy up on one of those sofas with a good book!
How the Anne of Green Gables books guided me through grief. (Washington Post gift link) “Over a lifetime of reading, books teach us how a whole wide catalogue of heartbreaks unfold before we live any of them.” Readers take note: this piece about the grief of a stillborn child is terribly sad and also hopeful and beautiful, referencing Emily of New Moon, The Blue Castle, Anne of the Island, and more.
We made Ruby Tandoh’s gnocchi with chili crisp sauce, capers and parmesan (The Independent) this week and it was simple, surprising, and delicious. (I tossed in leftover roasted chicken thighs we had in the fridge, which worked great.)
Finding classics that shine on audio. (What Should I Read Next?) Audiobook titles with excellent narration that brings stories and characters to life.
In 2026, We Are Friction-Maxxing. (The Cut) “Friction-maxxing is not simply a matter of reducing your screen time, or whatever. It’s the process of building up tolerance for ‘inconvenience’ (which is usually not inconvenience at all but just the vagaries of being a person living with other people in spaces that are impossible to completely control)—and then reaching even toward enjoyment.”
We Tried 7 Boxed Yellow Cake Mixes — And This Iconic $1 Box Swept Them All. (The Kitchn) I wish I could have been a taste-tester!
The power of the (literally) written word. (The Leap) “The fact that handwriting is tougher, that it takes longer, that it’s messier: these are features, not bugs. In writing by hand, you can’t go on autopilot. You have to anticipate. You have to think.”
I never thought I could be persuaded to pay the big bucks for deodorant, but I just reordered the Cashmere Mist Aluminum-Free Deodorant from Donna Karan New York after using every smidge of my first one. Things I tell myself to make myself feel better: it’s been great for my sensitive skin, and my first one lasted me ten months.
The National Book Critics Circle Awards announced their 2025 shortlist. Surprisingly, I’ve read the greatest percentage of titles from the Autobiography category.
Why Restaurant Salads Taste Better — and How Chefs Re-Create Them at Home. (Food & Wine) Great tips! I LOVE a good restaurant salad and am totally trying some of these tips at home.
‘The internet is dead.’ Long live print. (CBC) “They say that part of the appeal of zines, and the reason for their renewed prominence, is that “humans are, in fact, very tactile. We like to have the physical touch of things.” (This is why we started printing the MMD Summer Reading Guide last year!)
“Burping” Your Home Is the Age-Old German Tradition We Should All Be Doing This Winter. (House Beautiful) Love the idea, hate the name. Can we just call it “lüften” like the Germans? (I’m also deeply aware of the irony of sharing this right as our temps are about to drop to the single digits: I’d like to keep my heat indoors just now, please and thank you!)
Don’t miss these posts:
8 fine arts thrillers you won’t want to put down. Fast-paced mysteries featuring art and drama, sculpture and dance, poetry and theater and more.
14 wintry audiobooks to listen to on dreary days. It might seem counterintuitive but I try to get outside every day during the winter. My daily walk lifts my mood and it provides the perfect audiobook-listening time.
The books that shaped me: Holly edition. Get to know MMD team member Holly Wielkoszewski through the books that influenced her over the years.
Have a great weekend!
15 comments
I read that essay about Operation Mincemeat. It was so enjoyable. I don’t have a show I’ve seen that many times, but I can understand being a superfan of something. It sure made me want to see that show. I’m a sucker for a both a bonkers story and a show in which a limited number of actors play multiple parts.
I am embarrassed to say I haven’t read any of the 50 books in 50 years. Several are on my TBR, but not read. Note that I didn’t start reading until I was 40 and now I’m 70 so that’s no excuse.
Cashmere mist deodorant! I am with you and never thought I would pay this for deodorant, but it lasts so long and smells great. At their summer sale and right before Christmas sale, Nordstrom sells a 3 pack for a bargain! And then you can use the savings to buy a big bottle of the lotion – which is also amazing. Like you, I have super sensitive skin and it is great for me.
The piece about Anne of Green Gables is so touching, thank you for sharing it. I’ve read a handful of books on Southern Living’s 50 best books, and found a number to add to my TBR list. It would make for a fun if challenging reading project – 50 fictional classics to read in my 5th decade. Hope everyone stays warm through the storm with power on!
I love that idea. 50 fictional classics for your 5th decade!
Thank you for the content warning on the Anne of Green Gables article. As a mother who had had a stillbirth, I hate being blindsided by stillbirth in articles, books, and other media—thank you for giving me the choice as to whether or not today was a good day to read this piece.
Thank you so much Anne for the link to Maria Konnikova’s substack The Leap, and the piece about handwriting over typing. I’ve been thinking a lot about this, particularly about ‘ink on paper’. But at the same time, I’ve been doing a lot of my writing on my iPad, with my Apple Pen — which, for me, turns out to be the perfect hybrid of analog and digital.
The other day I wrote this haiku, thinking about poetry, and ink on paper:
Spilled Ink
Fresh ink on the page
My soul, without fear, spilling
True blue from my pen
I have a feeling that Sunday’s Jumble of Sea Glass (my substack newsletter) will have more about ink on paper or the spilling of ink from one’s soul.
And I wonder if more readers would benefit from spilling some of their own ink. Aren’t all great readers just writers in training?
https://jumbleofseaglass.substack.com
Always aiming at counting… 22 out of 50. Not too bad ^^
& a reminder of those I haven’t read yet!
That Operation Mincemeat article was a delight!
Any list that includes The Goldfinch as a must read novel is definitely not going to be to my taste! But always interesting to share and compare favorites.
What fun articles! I loved the Operation Mincemeat article, she’s a spectacular writer! I realized after she described the plot that I’d seen the movie. But now I would LOVE to see the show!! Getting to NYC anytime soon seems like an impossibility…..
and the 50 books from 50 years: I started out well at 8 read of the first 11 mentioned, but then it dwindled to 17/50. Still, I have at least 6 of the other books sitting on my shelves, just waiting to be read. I was glad to read the blurbs to get an idea if I want to look these up.
Finally, did you say you have a Coral Room in your house now??? Is it like the color in that article?? I love that color! I once painted my kitchen something similar. She called it “brownish red” in the article, seriously?? I think of it as “pinky terra-cotta”, “salmon rose” “coral peach”—-It’s a wonderful color……very cozy! Very good glow for anyone’s complexion, too!
Show us your room!
I”ve only ready about a dozen of the fifty books listed and I wouldn’t count any of them (besides All the Light We Cannot See) among my favorites. I find that pretty interesting. Many of the books listed fall into the categories of books I’ve admired but not necessarily books I’ve liked. I’m a huge theater fan and have seen Hamilton five times. I’d certainly see it many more if I could. I definitely relate to multiple viewings of the same play. I can’t count how many productions of Hamlet I’ve seen.
As someone from Europe for whom salads are very present in my daily life (I have one at least once a day) I agree with all the tips and would add two that I did not see;
1. When using lettuce, chop it really small with a knife or cut it with a fork. You do not want big pieces of lettuce in your salad. 2. Spin your salad with a salad-spinner or find another way to get all the water out. I heard there are people who put their wet salad directly in the dressing and that is not going to taste good. 🙂
that was meant to say “or cut it with scissors”
The Anne of Gables article was beautiful. Not that it is anything of the same magnitude, but I was inspired to pull out my copies, to help cope with the storm predicted to hit this area tonight. I think I need some comfort reading.
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