Happy first weekend of spring! I hope it finds you well, with good stuff on your near horizon. Around here I’m planning on a nice long walk at the park, a little day trip to a nearby town, catching up on The Pitt, and watching basketball. (Do you care about the tournament?)
I hope you have something 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 bookmarking service.
Billie Eilish to Make Feature Acting Debut in ‘The Bell Jar’ Adaptation for Director Sarah Polley and Focus Features. (IndieWire) An interesting development.
More adaptation news: Daisy Edgar-Jones To Star In ‘Tomorrow, And Tomorrow, And Tomorrow’ Movie At Paramount. (Deadline) I loved this book (and put it in the 2022 MMD Minimalist Summer Reading Guide).
And another adaptation: Jane Fonda-Starring ‘The Correspondent’ Movie Adaptation Lands at Lionsgate. (Variety) Another book I love headed to the big screen. “This book is a phenomenon.” (Thanks to Michelle for this eleventh hour entry!)
Trader Joe’s Beauty Dupes Shoppers Swear Are Better Than the Luxe Originals. (Parade) I love their sunscreen and am curious about the moisturizer and hair oil. They’re on my list for my next trip!
What I’ve been reading lately: the new and the notable. (MMD) We’ve had a few weeks of relatively pleasant weather here, and WOW is that reflected in my audiobook listening time!
Last weekend I took a tip from a friend and made a pretty darn terrific peach and cherry galette with frozen fruit and a store-bought pie crust. Definitely not as good as my local bakery, but the payoff-to-effort ratio was superb. This 5-Minute Rustic Fruit Galette recipe from Gimme Some Oven explains the method.
My Mother’s Dying Wish Took Me on a Trip I’ll Never Forget. (New York Times gift link) “Her wish was a posthumous revision, an author’s note: ‘I was not quite the person you thought I was.'” Stunning long read about a voyage to Antarctica from Maggie Shipstead.
I’ve read enough chef memoirs to know it was theoretically possible to scramble eggs in a stainless steel skillet, but I’d never been able to do it myself without massive sticking—until I watched this simple little tutorial from Deb Perelman. (Smitten Kitchen Instagram) Will and I both used it to make perfect eggs this week.
Wear Your ‘It Book’ on Your Bag – Why The Coach Book Charm Is The New Accessory Everyone Wants. (Grazia Daily) “Words I never thought I’d type: literary classics as arm candy?”
Is Your Child Suffering from Brain Rot or Quoting Finnegans Wake? (McSweeney’s) I laughed out loud at the title and again at the answer key. (I read this as part of a nerdy high school summer program and it BROKE MY BRAIN.)
It’s Their Mona Lisa. (Ironic Sans) “Sometimes people refer to something as their Mona Lisa to mean it’s their prize possession, or an incredible work, or the draw that people come to see. And that got me wondering: What do other museums and institutions refer to as their Mona Lisa?”
The pantry staples my family relies on. (MMD) A peek inside the Bogel pantry: the practical staples and fun accoutrements we turn to on the regular.
How America Learned to Love Barnes & Noble Again. (Atlantic gift link) “The family-friendly, middlebrow chains of the previous century are a dying breed; Barnes & Noble endures as a place where just about anyone can be comfortably set loose for an hour or two.”
What Should I Read Next episode 518: Striking a feel-good balance in your reading life. (What Should I Read Next?) Nikkya reads widely for her work as owner of Obodo Serendipity Books in Stratford, Connecticut. After having a real aha moment six months ago, she has been trying to strike a delicate balance between her professional reading and reading for pleasure. We explore how she can branch out to genres she’s less familiar with.
The Silk Scarf You Already Own Is Spring 2026’s Smartest Styling Trick. (Marie Claire) I’ve got a drawerful I’m excited to pull out for the first time in years. But if I was starting fresh, these silk scarves from Boden are spendy but so chic.
Better than Wuthering Heights? The Brontës’ novels – ranked! (The Guardian) “As Emerald Fennell’s film sparks debate, we celebrate the pioneering brilliance of the siblings’ work.” Confession: I’ve only read two and a half of the seven.
Don’t miss these posts:
14 books about walking and hiking. Inspiration for your next outdoor adventure or stroll about town.
Tried and true beauty and skincare products I never want to be without. The beauty and skincare products I use every last speck of before reordering immediately.
16 classical literature retellings, remixes, and reimaginings. The best retellings add something new and unexpected to the stories we know well.
Have a great weekend!
8 comments
Thank you for the scrambled eggs tip! Mine stick every time and I can’t wait to try out this technique!
Oooph, that Maggie Shipstead essay has me quietly crying in my morning coffee. Thank you for sharing.
I thought the Maggie Shipstead essay on dispersing her mother’s ashes in Antarctica was beautifully written. I give props to her husband for coming along for support, even though every fiber of his being told him that he did not belong there (Antarctica, that is, not with his wife). My father-in-law passed away last fall, and I considered sharing this article with my husband, although I’m not sure he is ready. To my knowledge, he had no requests for the family to scatter his cremains, so they are contained in an urn that has pride of place in my MIL’s living room.
Great news about the film adaptation of Tomorrow Tomorrow and Tomorrow. I loved that book. And Jane Fonda for The Correspondent? How fabulous is that. Not sure how you make a movie out of an epistolary novel, but I guess we’ll find out. Now I’m off to see Project Hail Mary at the theater. Let’s hope it’s even half as good as the book.
Wow, Jane Fonda will play Sybil van Antwerp?? Not what I was picturing. But maybe! And I’m off to see Project Hail Mary on Monday!
How validating to see another bookish person has not read most Brontë books. I can confidently say that I will never willingly pick them up again – the female characters are infuriating!
I loved the book Project Hail Mary so much that I have read it twice, cover to cover. I am passing on the movie. My experience is that if I love book, the movie version will be a disappointment, starting with casting. I’ll stick with my own imagination, thank you very much!
A late post! I often go back & check the “links episodes” for all sorts of reasons – these were great, what interesting, diverse topics & articles, thanks for this episode!