What are you up to this weekend? Around here, I’m looking forward to a combination of the consistently satisfying (reading good books, tidying my book stacks, walking with a friend) alongside rarer enjoyments (the World Cup, Hamilton’s in town, a fresh haircut, my birthday weekend!).
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.
How a Childhood Bookmobile Sparked My Love of Reading. (Literary Hub) “My mother sent us to the bookmobile with orders to bring home at least two books each, and to be ready to discuss them with her at the supper table once they’d finished reading.”
On Beauty and Wellness. (Reading & Eating) On what actually constitutes beauty and wellness in the internet era. I want to quote you every line, but I’ll go with this: “Let’s live big, beautiful, deeply well lives, and let’s not shrink down our language to fit into our tiny pocket machines. There are no hacks for this kind of life—and that’s the magic of it.”
The Most Anticipated Books by Women of Color for Summer and Fall 2026. (Electric Literature) I always look forward to this list. “These books are subversive in so many forms. Between the surreal and very real, these women writers show the braveness required in vulnerability and the power necessary for revival. They show the beauty of slowing down to trust one’s intuition. These writers remind us that rest is required in resistance and resilience, and while the dark storms of living will continue, our endurance is rejuvenated by being close to those we love, which includes the self.”
In the United States, Every World Cup Team Is a Home Team. (The New York Times gift link) “At block parties, backyards and beer halls, an expanded tournament gave immigrant diasporas large and small the chance to revel in support of their home countries.”
The World Cup Got Worse On Purpose. (Worse on Purpose) “FIFA sells the only World Cup there is. No substitute exists. A normal business that treats its buyers like this loses them to a competitor. FIFA has arranged a world with no competitor to lose them to.” Read this if you want validation (Will has been talking about the ticket prices for months) but it’s undoubtedly depressing as well as illuminating.
How graphic novels rescued my reading life. (MMD) “My normal slump-busting tricks of picking up novellas or a fairy tale retelling were not working and I was almost resigned to reading less. Luckily, my local library did something that interrupted my slump.”
Why Are Berries Everywhere, in Every Season? Driscoll’s. (New York Times gift link) “In just the last decade, berries have completed the journey from fragile, local, seasonal treat to worldwide refrigerator staple and marketing juggernaut.” This is the explainer I didn’t know I wanted.
Big bad modifier order. (Language Log) “Adjectives in English absolutely have to be in this order: opinion-size-age-shape-colour-origin-material-purpose Noun. So you can have a lovely little old rectangular green French silver whittling knife. But if you mess with that word order in the slightest you’ll sound like a maniac.” I was delighted to stumble upon this old post this week: I’ve been thinking about this concept weekly since reading David Nicholls’s You Are Here two summers ago.
Libraries Have I Loved. (Butt + Chair) “Libraries are full of books you’ll love. When you finish a book you love, the library will have more. When a book you love raises questions, the library has answers. Want them from a different perspective? In another language? Via a different medium? Through another genre? From a far off time or place? …. The library has all of this.”
How Gear Libraries Are Making Outdoor Adventure More Accessible—and Affordable. (Afar) “Gear libraries function much like traditional libraries by allowing visitors to borrow outdoor equipment and return it when they’re done.”
Books about people just living. (Emma Reads Too Much) “I can’t get enough of the details of personhood. I read every Money Diary Refinery29 publishes. I treat social feeds like preserved archives. I am very, very nosy, and I love reading. These are the books that combine those passions.”
Favorite summer shorts: this Kut from the Kloth linen style that wears like pajamas but looks far more polished. They’re pricier than I’d like but my cost-per-wear is stellar. I picked up the green at Evereve (and intend to use my birthday credit to buy another pair) but the Kut from the Kloth and Nordstrom sites have different colors available; the Kut site is having a sale right now. (XS–XL)
No One Has Dealt With More Angry Odyssey Bros Than Emily Wilson. (Vulture) Fascinating piece on translating ancient texts. “Most translations from the 20th and 21st century use free verse, and I can tell students until I’m blue in the face that this is actually a poem, it has rhythm, and if you read it out loud it has a music to it. But then I show them the translation and it creates a weird experience in the classroom where they have to take something on faith rather than experiencing the text.”
Here’s Why Weather Forecasts Have Seemed So Inaccurate Lately. (Gizmodo) “Meteorologists simply aren’t able to gather as much data as they used to, and you’re suffering for it.”
Who is Emma M. Lion? (Romancing the Phone) “THIS IS THE INTERESTING QUESTION. Why this historical novel, when everyone has been crying about the death of the historical? I have some thoughts.” An interesting deep dive into the series and how it became a word of mouth sensation, with a Theo of Golden sidebar.
Don’t miss these posts:
Sail away with these 17 books set on a boat. We’re taking to the water for this buoyant book list.
An ode to an unattractive $9 piece of plastic that brings me oodles of quotidian joy. I’d like to profess my devotion to an unattractive $9 piece of plastic that, when I’ve mentioned it to others in the past, has been far more likely to be greeted with a polite nod (or blank stare) than mutual understanding or a gushing I know, right?!
A short reading list for Manhattanhenge. This twice-a-year spectacle is expected this weekend.
20 terrific tomes to add to your TBR (or teetering to-read tower). Summer is a great time to read big books!
Have a great weekend!
11 comments
The audiobooks of The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion ARE saving my life these days! Thanks for the plug.
Ditto! Whether used as a palate cleanser or just to enjoy Emma herself, these books definitely do it for me! Charming and funny.
Agree 100%, they are delightful
Regarding the Big Bad Modifier Order, my husband and I have had so many conversations about what order certain words should go and I never knew the why, I just knew they had to go a certain way! I’m glad I’m not alone in this. I’ve also noticed a trend within myself, that the older I get the more interested and curious I’ve become about the English language. It’s no wonder English is one of the hardest languages to learn, as so many of us native speakers also have issues! Thank you for sharing that!
Great blog this week! Thanks! 😊
I believe I heard about Emma M. Lion here in the comments. Love them ❤️
Happy Birthday!!
Count me as someone who has read and loved all eight Emma M. Lion books (fantastic on audio) and will snap up the Volume 9 as soon as it is released. Who ever said the historical fiction genre is dead?
I’m currently reading the 8th volume of the unselected journals of Emma M. Lion. I absolutely love these books!
Happy Birthday, Anne, and thank you for always sharing such interesting and insightful information each week!
On the Bookmobile article, I also read The March Crone’s Brew!! I have not had a thought of it for 60 years probably, but as soon as I saw that title, I recognized it!! How weird! It was not my favorite, my favorite was The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton, in case anybody else shares that favorite.
I am still trying to get more of the Emma Lion series, the first one was delightful and fun.
AND—I did not know that modifier adjectives had to go in a particular order!! Did I just put them in the order that sounded right??
Thanks to your link to “Libraries Have I Loved”, by Laurie Frankel, we’re reaching out to her and hoping she’ll come speak to our senior residence!