What are you up to this first weekend of 2025? Around here we’re wrapping up a decidedly chill week at home but tracking the big winter storm to see how long the college kids can actually stay in town. (The answer: not as long as I’d like.) Today I’m planning on Friday coffee with Will, getting together with family for one last holiday gathering, and hopefully finishing a good book.
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.
Spring Book Preview is coming
Our 2025 Spring Book Preview is right around the corner! Coming January 16: I’ll walk you through the early 2025 offerings options and help you get clear on how you want to approach your reading life this spring. Our Spring Book Preview includes event access and an accompanying digital PDF booklet that lays out every title in our preview, 6 spotlight titles, and more features to help you make the most of your spring (aka winter!) reading life.
Our Spring Book Preview event is an included perk for members of our Modern Mrs Darcy Book Club community and What Should I Read Next Patreon “Book Lover” supporters. It’s a steal of a deal! For those who don’t have the time or inclination to join a community, we’ve got you covered with our ever-popular a la carte access.
Click here to get in on the action.
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.
These were the most-borrowed books from public libraries in 2024. (NPR) “While many of 2024’s top books are new, a scan of titles revealed a striking number of repeats that also appeared on numerous most-borrowed lists in 2023.”
Doing Nothing With Your Favorite People Is Really, Really Good for You. (Self) On the healing power of just hanging out.
I can’t rave hard enough about Apotheke’s charcoal candle, now 40% off (today’s the last day, use code BEST2024 at checkout) for their best-of-2024 sale. Will gave me one for Christmas last year and I was instantly hooked. Will and I are also really enjoying their Winter Discovery Set, also 40% off right now with the code.
Read 20 of the best books entering the public domain in 2025. (Standard Ebooks) “On January 1, 2025, books published in 1929 enter the U.S. public domain. And 1929 was a literary doozy!” Faulkner, Steinbeck, Christie, and more.
TikTok’s “Scary Hour” Might Be The Best Productivity Hack Yet. (Bustle) This week has been full of blessedly lazy days; sharing with next week in mind. “It often feels easier to put things off for days, weeks, or even months, but it’s not until you finally take action that you’re able to see how easy the chore really is.”
My daughter came home with the cutest Target Valentine finds (that she intends to use year-round) for her college apartment: mugs and dish towels and candles, oh my! On the Valentine’s (but also evergreen) theme, this Old Navy heart sweater is also adorable and available in XS–4X.
The Story of Us. (Joy the Baker) Golly I love a love story. Congrats on your marriage, Joy!
The Hottest Trend in Publishing: Books You Can Judge by Their Cover. (New York Times gift link) “This strategy runs counter to the way most publishers have released books for decades.” The photos accompanying this piece are fantastic.
This Shasta Crewneck Sweater is my favorite holiday sale purchase. (XS–XL) I’m 5’9″ and love the fit of the Medium.
Katalog. (Barbara Iweins) My husband Will finds fascinating stuff online: this Belgian photographer photographed everything she owned for a museum exhibit; the accompanying piece includes interesting thoughts about Marie Kondo, the new year, hanging artwork, and things you would save in a fire.
Dry January Forever: How Gen Z Is Turning Sobriety Into a Lifestyle. (ELLE) “Instead of being cordoned off to a decidedly unsexy corner of a drink menu, mocktails now often get an entire page of their own.”
The Award-Winning Novels of 2024. (Literary Hub) A handy list.
Do you see blue or green? This viral test plays with color perception. (The Guardian) I’ve thought about this test weekly since I first read about it in September. My own blue-green boundary leans green.
Don’t miss these posts:
21 Jane Austen retellings worth picking up. It is a truth universally acknowledged that I am a sucker for Jane Austen retellings.
7 simple ways to read more this year. If you’ve been wanting to squeeze more reading time into your days, these strategies should help.
12 novels that play with the concept of time. The sky is the limit when it comes to our imagination around time!
Have a great weekend!