What are you up to this weekend? I’m planning on a pleasantly full spring weekend of watching the Severance season 2 finale, fertilizing my houseplants, and seeing all my college kids in all the places (including a birthday celebration!).
I hope you have something to look forward to this weekend, 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 service like Pocket.
I Don’t Want Anyone to Read My Diaries, Yet I Can’t Burn Them. (New York Times gift link) Dani Shapiro on confronting her old notebooks: “There was so much I had forgotten. So many names and places: editors, publishers, other writers, journalists, restaurants, bars, book parties, an entire world of lost relics I was about to set aflame.” (Today’s One Great Book episode over on our What Should I Read Next patreon is about When Women Were Birds, which pairs perfectly with this essay.)
Why you should make your phone boring. (Vox) “Ironic that I was distracted once again by a notification telling me to look at my phone in order to learn how to look at my phone less.”
What I’ve been reading lately: the new and the notable. (MMD) This month’s roundup of recent reads include a little old, a little new, a variety of genres, but most notably, more nonfiction than fiction.
I’m restocking spring wardrobe staples, which means refreshing my J.Crew Factory Girlfriend tees (XXS–3X; I’m 5’9″ and always get the Medium) and snapping up the pretty new spinach, redwood branch, and lilac colors. I also love their bright patterned swimsuits (XXS–3X) and this cute coverup. (XXS–3X)
Power Lifting Made Me a Better Writer. (Harpers Bazaar) Self-professed “slow writer” R.O. Kwon on creating calm and measuring changes against herself: “Crucially, each time I hit a personal record, nothing can negate the new triumph. It happened; it’s a fact, established. Before long, I’ll push a little higher. Such thrills are difficult to obtain in the rest of my life, much of which is dictated by writing.”
Favorite readers, eyeglasses, and sunglasses. (MMD) This is a delight. “Our team here at MMD wears a lot of different types of specs (prescription and non-prescription) in our bookish daily lives. Many of our Zoom meetings start with a quick gab about our current frames. You could call us quite the inadvertent group of vision product testers, researchers, and reviewers.”
The Facebook tell-all Mark Zuckerberg doesn’t want you to read, briefly explained. (Vox) “The book came out on March 11 and is called Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism, a reference to The Great Gatsby, which refers to its wealthy characters as ‘careless people‘ who ‘smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money.’ The analogy is not subtle, and neither are the allegations Wynn-Williams makes about her former bosses.”
The Best Botanical Gardens in the US. (Vogue) Missouri is my favorite U.S. garden so far. What about you? (I always love getting recommendations!)
The Nonfiction Files 2: How to Pick Nonfiction You’ll Like. (Unstacked Substack) WSIRN alum Traci Thomas started a great new series devoted to nonfiction books. This installment includes how to decode key words and phrases in blurbs.
Our 15-year-old electric kettle bit the dust and we replaced it with this Hamilton Beach water boiler, which is getting tons of use since I’m drinking heaps of current favorite Harney & Sons Green Tea with Coconut, Ginger and Vanilla and slowly making my way through the Plum Deluxe decaf Tea Lover’s Advent Calendar (no longer available, but their individual teas are great!).
The Rise of Romance Bookstores. (Romancing the Data) I didn’t realize how many there were in the US now! Also: if you’re ever in Louisville, be sure to stop by A Novel Romance. It’s darling!
10 Essential Drinks Every Coffee Lover Needs to Know, From a Flat White to a Cappuccino. (Food & Wine) What’s your go-to?
Revisiting childhood favorites for a nostalgic reading project. (What Should I Read Next) This week’s new episode highlights books that speak to each other across the years.
The Quiet Joy of Doing the Dishes. (Saveur) “Tell me how you wash a plate, and I will tell you who you are.”
Don’t miss these posts:
13 time travel novels from (nearly) every genre. There’s a time travel novel for you, no matter your reading taste!
Try the Bakewell tart, and other rules I’m learning to live by. My husband Will and I traveled to Scotland in December 2018 for an amazing literary adventure. Our time there was magical, though I do have a handful of regrets. Some were beyond our control, but one was completely preventable…
15 immersive historical fiction books about overlooked events. You probably didn’t learn about these events in history class!
Have a great weekend!
