a lifestyle blog for book lovers

My favorite finds from around the web:

Reading Jane Austen’s final, unfinished novel. “No doubt this debate will rage, or splutter, for years to come. Behind it you sense a surge of wishful thinking: “We could have saved her, had we been there.” It might be more cheering, though, to turn the plea on its head: “If only she were here now, to scrutinize our ills.””

The 20 most satisfying cries on This Is Us, ranked. Will and I love this show. (How long do we have to wait for new episodes? Don’t answer that.)

• How Weird Al Yankovic removed the misogyny of ‘Blurred Lines’ by adding grammar lessons. I’m one of the millions of people who thought they “weren’t into” Weird Al but thought Word Crimes was fantastic. This behind-the-scenes peek into his process is fascinating. “A lot of my humor comes from glorifying the mundane, and I love to get a really bizarre juxtaposition. It was a sweet thing for me to be able to take that song, which is pretty sexually charged, and turn it into a song about proper grammar usage.”

The Super Bowl champ, and the dying author who changed his life. “Your book ‘Exclamation Mark’ … changed my outlook on life. It taught me that it doesn’t matter who you are or where you’re from—there is a place in this world for you. You just have to stay strong and keep moving forward. So I just wanted to credit you for having an impact on my life.”

Favorite instagram:

Captured at our Modern Mrs Darcy team meeting this week. Emily is our patron saint. And Jane, obviously. (Follow me on instagram @annebogel.)

On the blog:

One year ago: 10 favorite bookstagrammers to follow.

Two years ago: Book Club 101.

Three years ago: Books worth binge-reading.

Four years ago: What I’m really paying for when I pay $22 for lipstick.

Have a great weekend!

8 comments

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  1. Kim says:

    Thank you for posting the story about Malcolm Maxwell and Amy Krouse. I teach composition and writing at a small liberal arts university and will be sharing this with my students, many of whom are athletes. This is such an inspiring story!

  2. Anne, how could anyone NOT be a fan of Weird Al?! In my family he is considered genius, especially since his musical career has lasted far longer than many of the people he has parodied. We are looking forward to hearing some Prince parodies now that he has passed away. Word has it that Prince never granted Weird Al permission to do his songs… An incredibly stupid move if you ask me since some of Al’s songs are more popular with some than the original. I present Amish Paradise 😉

  3. Christine says:

    Oh my goodness, how much do you adore This Is Us?! Can’t wait for next season. And just reading through that list of scenes had me in tears. That last one, the Memphis episode? Ugh…just beautiful…

  4. Jennifer N. says:

    As a Pats fan I enjoyed the Malcolm Mitchell story. It’s a nice reminder that professional athletes are not one-dimensional.

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