Hello, hello, and happy weekend! These next few days are remarkably low-key compared to last weekend: I’m looking forward to reading on the couch, walking the dog, and baking the first baked apple cider donuts of the season.
I’m also getting ready to hit the road for Springfield, Missouri: I’m excited to visit next week for an evening with the Rosie Book Club in conjunction with the Springfield-Greene County Library, and to get to meet some of you in person. This will be my first time in Springfield, so if you have tips, please share! (The event is sold out but information on joining the wait list is here.)
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.
11 Creative Ways to Store Your Books. (Wirecutter) “A shelf that showcases the things you love tells a story about who you are, and that is always worth making room for.”
John Green Was “Really Afraid of Adulthood.” He’s Decided to Grow Up. (Vanity Fair) “If Green’s younger self could see him now—as a writer popular enough to make a nonfiction book about tuberculosis into a no. 1 New York Times bestseller; an internet personality with more than 10.5 million followers across platforms; an executive producer of multiple projects adapted from his own books—’he’d be delighted.’ If the Green of 2026 could talk to that younger self, he’d tell him to be careful what he wished for.”
35 Thoughts I had while rewatching When Harry Met Sally (1989). (Scenes Magazine) “Nora Ephron’s script may be my favourite ever. What a genius. Each conversation feels so real and is so clever. There’s someone looking at you in personal growth. I mean, come on! That’s a bar.” Of course this makes me want to rewatch immediately!
What I’ve been reading lately: the new and the notable. (MMD) Short and sweet reviews of titles from 1965, 2025, and last month.
Designers Say Whimsical Interiors Are Everywhere Right Now—Here’s How to Get the Look. (Real Simple) “Whimsy is all about focusing on how a space makes you feel, rather than how it fits a certain mold or aesthetic.”
What Deb Perelman Can’t Cook Without. (The Strategist) A delightfully basic list including German egg noodles, plain white vinegar, and Blue Diamond Smokehouse Almonds.
How Rick Bragg Became His Generation’s Bard of the South. (The New Yorker) “Bragg often gets asked why so many Southerners are good storytellers. ‘I think it’s the amount of suffering,’ he said earlier this year, citing the Civil War and the civil-rights movement.”
Anthro has 30% off much clothing and beauty right now: some of my favorites aren’t included (like this favorite sweater from last year, which is restocked with fresh colors for 2026 but still full price) but this Maeve striped cashmere sweater is darling and so soft and numerous styles of the Maeve Collette pants are included. (I’m eyeing the leather: talk me into it/out of it?) Also their 24 Days of Beauty and 12 Days of Beauty Advent Calendars are still in stock.
Crossword Clues Where It’s Clear the Puzzle’s Creator Got Themselves into a Jam Letter-wise. (McSweeney’s) “The National Association of Xylophone X-Ray Zebra Paleontologists, briefly.”
Three cheers for sweatshirt season. (MMD) “I’m ready!”Every fall I freshen up my longtime favorites with a quick spin through the wash to freshen them up, and typically add one or two new ones for the season to come. Here’s a look at the ones I’m wearing, loving, and considering for fall and winter 2026.”
Building a Library in Wartime Paris. (JSTOR Daily) Incredible history. “The American library opened its doors at 10, Rue L’Élysée on August 29, 1918, as planned…. It was soon filled with men in khaki. ‘It was astonishing how quickly the soldiers discovered there was an American Library in Paris.'”
Hardware Stores Have a Secret Weapon for Wooing Customers. (Wall Street Journal gift link) “Cats humanize the hardware store. We want to be a place where [customers] do more than just come in and buy something. People come in and see people they haven’t seen in a while, they chat, they see the cats and talk to each other.”
The Plucky Publishing House That Keeps Winning Nobels. (New York Times gift link) “The books that I’ve had with them — I’m quite confident that a larger publisher, even if they had taken them on, wouldn’t have seen the same kind of attention, sales, reviews and prizes won.” (WSIRN Patrons: We talked about New Directions in this recent Industry Insights episode about the personalities of various small presses.)
What does it mean to be well-read? (What Should I Read Next?) I thoroughly enjoyed my conversation with Rebecca Schinsky and Jeff O’Neal of the Book Riot podcast Zero to Well-Read.
‘The Diplomat’ season 4 review: Netflix’s best drama delivers its best season yet. (Yahoo Entertainment) Will and I have been counting down the days to season 4 and just inhaled the first two episodes last night. This article is spoiler-free but please learn from my mistake: before the season dropped, I googled “The Diplomat season 4” and some major spoilers from episodes three and four appeared right there in my search results. Unless you’re like Shannan—who likes to read the last page of a book before she begins—maybe stay off the internet until you watch?
Barking beautiful: the 2026 Dog Photography awards. (The Guardian)
Don’t miss these posts:
8 unexpected novels that feature recipes (that aren’t food fiction). Recipes are a fun, unexpected bonus in these novels.
25 fascinating true stories you didn’t learn about in history class. These books explore untold, overlooked, or erstwhile top-secret true stories in a compelling narrative.
12 horror novels for wimps. Scaredy-cats deserve good spine-tingling reads! These horror novels strike the right balance.
Have a great weekend!
