Links I love

What are you up to this weekend? I’m just back from a wonderful trip to Springfield, Missouri to talk books and meet readers. Now I’m happy to be home for a weekend of outdoorsy-ness and good books and hanging with my kid home from college on break.

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 bookmarking service.

Why Does It Feel Like Everyone Is Reading the Same Books? (Elle) “It’s become a truism that we no longer live in a monoculture. Save for events like the Super Bowl and the VMAs, there are few cultural events that unite us anymore… But the literary landscape, at least lately, feels like a throwback to a time when consensus coalesced around just a few cultural products.”

Black bear steals honey from California library on ‘Winnie-the-Pooh‘ anniversary. (SF Gate) “’While we love an enthusiastic patron, and we understand the excitement of the centennial, we do remind patrons- and perhaps more importantly, our bears- that snacks are not part of the circulating collection.’”

Speaking of Winnie the Pooh: this new 100th anniversary edition from Aladdin Books has been a lovely addition to my shelves this fall, with its gently textured deep yellow cover, forest green endpapers, and familiar beloved story inside.

This Emily Dickinson Poem Will Hit You Where You Live. (New York Times gift link) A line-by-line breakdown of perhaps my favorite Emily Dickinson poem.

I paid full price for this beautiful Maeve blouse: it was a solid purchase then, but now it’s on sale for 60% off: I have the gold, not my go-to color but it’s gorgeous in person. (XXS–XL; runs small.) I’m also pouncing on this cotton tuxedo blouse in a fall color way; I’ve been waiting all season for it to finally go on sale! (XXS–XL) Everything at Anthro is 20% off for a limited time. including some of my favorite gifts to give, like this Salt and Stone candle and this faux fur blanket.

Nancy Meyers’s daughter grew up on beautiful sets. Here are her design maxims. (Washington Post gift link) Start with how you actually live, don’t let the internet talk you out of your own taste, and more.

Is a Bad Jane Austen Adaptation a Victimless Crime? (The Walrus) “Film critic Richard Brody contends that novels are not harmed by sloppy adaptations because ‘even the worst filmmakers aren’t burning the books, just misunderstanding them.’ In other words, a bad adaptation doesn’t alter the text of its source material. As long as the great novel that inspired the shoddy film can still be checked out at the library, then no harm no foul, right? It depends on who you ask.”

Photos: Fall Is in the Air. (Atlantic gift link) Ahhhh GORGEOUS.

My ears have not loved flying since one memorably terrible experience when I was sixteen; this week (for my four flights in two days) I tried earplanes for the first time and will 100% use them again.

The 10 books that shaped my twenties. (like other girls) I love a good books that shaped me style round-up! This one features Americanah, One Hundred Years of Solitude, Middlemarch, and more.

What Lego Lost When It Grew Up. (Atlantic gift link) “Classic Lego sets provided kids with relatively basic elements, either for open-ended creative building or as props for games of pretend. A kit would provide pieces to build a setting such as a town or space station, along with mini figures to move around. Adult sets, by contrast, serve almost entirely as decor.”

I decided to pass on the Liberty of London Beauty Advent Calendar this year (sigh, because I’ve loved it so much in the past!), but a consolation: I keep hearing Dermstore’s is the best of the beauty calendar bunch this year; it’s much less expensive, plus right now it’s an additional 20% off.

The life cycle of the publishing calendar and how our team buys books. (What Should I Read Next?) A sampler of bonus book talk.

The Chocolate Conspiracy. (Grub Street) (Archive.is link) “Everyone in my life I spoke to agreed that something was amiss, that Reese’s — and commercial chocolate in general — didn’t taste the way it used to. Plus everything from Smartfood popcorn to HVAC to mattresses to car-door handles sucked now. Why wouldn’t Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, whose entire reason for being was to taste good, also suck? And why was it so hard to know how — and why — they tasted worse?”

Love this new Madewell x New York Public Library collab.

The Lucrative World of Literary Scams. (The Dial) “Anyone who has researched publishing would know most authors don’t have bundles of cash lying around. So, why are the scammers coming after us? …. ‘Not every author is a narcissist, but they all want to be recognized. … That’s exactly what these scammers are targeting. They have identified a very, very lucrative niche.'” MMD, WSIRN, and Modern Mrs Darcy Book Club have been frequently impersonated in these scams and have frustratingly little recourse.

10 Costco purchases chefs swear by. (Washington Post gift link) “I spoke with several chefs to find out exactly what their ‘little gems’ are. The result is a mix of products that are dependable, high-quality and cost-effective.”