How are you feeling as we turn the corner into June? I’m thrilled that school’s out for summer, the college kids are home, and the weekend ahead has a nice balance of plans and plans to do nothing. (Plus I’m in the middle of a good book and you know that never hurts!)
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.
A merch note!
All our Summer Reading Guide print orders and merch orders are en route to your mailboxes! If you haven’t placed yours yet, Will Bogel would like nothing better than to send the goods your way this weekend. Place your order for our print Guide or any of our bookish goods right here.
By popular request I posted pics of me wearing our bookstore tour concert tee in these photos right here if you want to check it out! And sorry to make you scroll but I’m wearing our Well Read hat at the end of this video.
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.
How to Travel Without a Phone. (New York Times gift link) “Remember in moments of stress: Everyone traveled this way just a few decades ago.” Would you, could you?
Kazuo Ishiguro Reflects on Never Let Me Go, 20 Years Later. (Literary Hub) “One such item now readily accessible was a box file on the shelf to my left marked ‘Students Novel.’ It contained handwritten notes, spidery diagrams, and some typed pages deriving from two separate attempts I’d made—in 1990, then in 1995—to write the novel that was to become Never Let Me Go. On each occasion I’d abandoned the project and gone on to write a completely unrelated novel.”
I learned to make a no-recipe dinner akin to this Santa Fe Skillet (Salt and Lavender) at one of my first regular babysitting gigs in high school, but this recipe is even better with its added spices and seasonings. When I have no idea what to make for dinner and the fridge is looking bare, this is likely the answer. (When we already have cooked chicken on hand it comes together even faster.)
How the Most Remote Community in America Gets Its Mail. (Atlantic gift link) “The mule train, which makes the 16-mile, six-hour loop up and down the canyon five days a week, is perhaps the most extreme manifestation of the USPS mandate to ‘render postal services to all communities.’”
Want to cut through small talk? Try asking a ‘magical question.’ (NPR) A great little interview with Priya Parker, author of The Art of Gathering, which I first read five years ago and continue to recommend constantly.
Ten years into my houseplant era I finally got a hygrometer (moisture meter) and it’s been so enlightening to see where my instincts have been on point and where they’ve been a little off (I’m looking at you, Audrey Ficus). I picked mine up at the hardware store but this is an Amazon link to the one I got.
AI Cheating Is So Out of Hand In America’s Schools That the Blue Books Are Coming Back. (Gizmodo) “Citing data from a number of large public universities, the newspaper notes that bulk purchases of the booklets have grown by leaps and bounds since ChatGPT’s launch in late 2022.” AI complications are all we talk about with our teacher friends, especially those in higher ed.
Speaking of analog: Will and I were out shopping this week and—does everybody know this but me?—I was SHOCKED to see cute little recipe binders and print recipe cards in numerous stationery and homeware stores. It appears these are back and I love it.
Run for the Hills by Kevin Wilson is our June 2025 selection for MMD Book Club and a Summer Reading Guide minimalist pick. I’m a long-time fan of Wilson’s work and absolutely thrilled he’ll be joining us.
The 50 Most Iconic Beauty Looks of All Time. (Harper’s Bazaar) “Some hairstyles change lives. Others change the course of history.”
Death, divorce and the magic of kitchen objects: how to find hope in loss. (The Guardian) “The magic of things is that they can live more than once, passing faithfully through many pairs of hands, gaining different meanings each time. Our most significant kitchen objects can keep us connected with the dead and the absent.”
Hit the road with these 10 road trip romances. (MMD) Inspired by our Summer Reading Guide road trip theme: 10 reads for romance fans in need of a vicarious vacation.
A Nostalgic Flavor Is Making a Resurgence — Here’s Why You’ll See Creamsicle Everywhere This Summer. (Food & Wine) This was my favorite as a kid; I’m here for this comeback!
Ask me about my pencils. (MMD) Shannan shares about becoming a Blackwing evangelist.
27 Small-Appliance Safety Rules That Every Kitchen Should Follow. (Martha Stewart) A good refresher.
Don’t miss these posts:
15 backlist books that feel like summer. These backlist selections hold big summer reading vibes!
Two favorite summer drink recipes for summer reading season. The perfect mocktail and cocktail for this summer!
16 page-turning mysteries that aren’t too dark and gloomy. A list of favorite mysteries that fall squarely within the confines of the genre, yet maintain a hopeful tone throughout.
Have a great weekend!