Hi readers,
I can finally breathe a sigh of relief that the October 15th tax deadline is behind me. My work doesn’t stop, but it does slow down, and I have a little more time to have a life outside of work. This weekend is for recuperation, relaxation, and getting caught up on some reading and TV shows that are calling out to me. Hopefully, you have something exciting going on or to look forward to this weekend.
Surprisingly, I did find some interesting-to-me links this last week; maybe you’ll find some of them interesting also, so here we go.
Here are this week’s links:
He is one of my favorite celebrity chefs, and I was sad when he died. Laurie Woolever, the author of a new book about Anthony Bourdain, was a guest on the Women Who Travel podcast. This was an interesting episode where she shares her travel history as his assistant along with fun anecdotes about Bourdain.
The “groundbreaking prison library project” founder Reginald Betts tells why this project is so important to him.
I know so little about the literary prizes; this article is the start of my learning more about them, when they happen, and what they are for. This topic sounds like an upcoming newsletter to me.
As the weather changes and the temperatures drop, and I always want hot chocolate. I used to use the packets you buy in the stores (I know, yuk), but I’ve ventured out and I’m making my own hot chocolate from recipes. These recipes look really yummy; I can wait to try a few of them.
I’ve never been to the Biltmore Estate. After reading this article, this trip is on my travel to-do list and moving towards the top for when I retire.
I’m always looking for more diverse reads, and this list will give you ideas on how to find books that lead you to read more diversely.
I wasn’t always a fan of epistolary novels, but I’m now a believer after reading a few. I’ve read two of these from this, and I really enjoyed them. Reading someone’s letters feels like you are reading their deepest thoughts and learning all their secrets.
Susan Orlean’s latest book, On Animals, will be the third book of hers that I have read. I enjoyed The Library Book and The Orchid Thief; I hope On Animals is as good as the other two were.
If you like bookish newsletters, take a look at some of these on this Book Riot list. I subscribe to several of these, and I’m going to check out a few more of them. After all, one can never have too much bookish goodness.
My brain is mush after the last week, so I’ll keep this short and sweet. Have a fantastic weekend, relax and read something great and tell me about it in the comments. Happy reading!
I love epistolary! I need to write a post of favs!
I'm so glad you gave a link to the article on the joys of epistolary books. I've spent much of the pandemic reading Samuel Richardson's Clarissa. I was first prodded because it's considered one of the greatest books in the English language but was always reluctant because it clocks in at around 1,500 pages (so embarrassing, but true, to admit that stopped me), and, yes, the letter form wasn't appealing. After almost 2 years, I'm a little way half way through and enthralled. Letters really add an intimate immediacy to the work. And Ocean Vuong's book is so wonderful (his poetry is, too)! Finally--thank you SO much for subscribing to my newsletter. Your support means so much!