Recs 121: What I read during maternity leave, beach reads, and pants for a heatwaveI'm back! And I've got lots of recs for you...
Hi readers, I’m back! It feels great to be writing to you again. If you stuck around and hung onto your paid subscription during my leave, thank you. If you upgraded to a paid subscription during my leave, thank you doubly. All of your subscriptions added up to help support my leave, and I don’t take it for granted.¹ (And hey, if you haven’t upgraded yet, it’s never too late!)
There are a lot of new subscribers here, so hello to you all, and thanks for joining. Some of you may have subscribed unbeknownst to you by clicking “continue” somewhere on the Substack platform while subscribing to another newsletter, so allow me to reintroduce myself… 
some scenes from leave: harvesting peonies with my daughter, TIRED but happy newborn snuggles, 2 siblings 1 crib
I’m Alisha, the writer of Downtime, a newsletter about books and other good things worth slowing down for. I publish book recs, interviews with authors and people I love, and these weekly installments of recommendations. One of my favorite things a reader has ever said about this newsletter is that it’s “a good mix of seriousness and frivolity.” That’s me and Downtime in a nutshell; we embrace that high-low, baby. Before Downtime, I quit my job in tech to found a media brand called Girls’ Night In which I started in my late 20’s. It grew and became popular; I was once interviewed about it on Good Morning America while sporting a look of sheer terror. And I haven’t been in front of a video camera since!! Now, I’m in my 30’s and live in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. with my husband, two kids, and dog. I’ve slowly rebuilt my life around creativity and working sustainably after living that age-old burnout tale of the millennial-girlboss who girlbossed too hard. I’m still navigating newish motherhood, though my oldest is nearly three. (I’m assuming that never ends.) I’m glad you’re here to read and chat about books and good things with many other readers and cultureheads (there’s about 100,000ish of you here). Okay, let’s have some fun… This week’s recommendations is really a big catch-up of the past three months, including everything I read during my leave and five things, recipes, and products I feel very passionately about right now and need to tell you about.
Books I read and recommendI know some of you magician moms out there have mastered the “Kindle in one hand, nursing baby with the other” trick, but I have YET to see the day. Instead, maternity leave was a good reminder of the convenience and pleasure of audiobooks, which are what helped me read any books at all. During stroller walks, folding laundry, and middle-of-the-night feeding sessions, audiobooks were the way to go. The books I read can be cleanly divided into “buzzy books of the moment” and “very me books I just wanted to read.” Here are quick 3-sentence reviews of each of them…
Now I’m reading: Whistler by Ann Patchett on audio (released June 2nd). Patchett herself narrates the book; I love hearing her intonations, voices, and even some singing (!) so you can better understand a scene and a character’s emotions. If you’re looking for a quiet, emotional, hopeful read, you will like this. Fans of The Correspondent by Virginia Evans will love it.
What’s on my June to-read list: Continuing the Emma M. Lion series. I just spent an arm and a leg ordering all nine volumes of the physical books because the covers are just so beautiful! I’m excited to finally dive into Land by Maggie O’Farrell (duh). I’m excited for some armchair travel with Roman Stories by Jhumpa Lahiri which was a recommendation from Sara Hildreth’s Paperback Summer Reading Guide, and The Gulf of Lions by Caitlin Shetterly was highly recommended by Barbara Kingsolver on Instagram and is a mother-daughter drama set in Provence. Finally, Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey adaptation is coming to the screen on July 17, so it seems like a good time to finally pick up Emily Wilson’s translation of The Odyssey.
Like everyone else, I have the summer shoppies. Instead of hitting purchase, I thought it would be fun to kick off a summer series styling outfits paired with books. (A shoutout to the creative and bookish Substackers who share similar series I love and am inspired by, like Elyse Chambers and Grace Atwood!) The Book: Instructions for a Heatwave by Maggie O’Farrell, an unputdownable family drama set in 1970’s London.
The Look: Alex Mill linen tee | J.Crew pendant necklace | Madewell woven leather pouch | Staud beaded swimsuit | Raffia tote bag | Patterned sarong (similar here) | Crown Affair hair spray (ALISHA15 for 15% off) | Reformation x Courtney Grow beaded flip flops | Zara striped blue pants | 14k gold diamond bracelet | Eeadem sunscreen stick | Dorsey ring
Before I sign off, a big shout out to Elise Hu my interim editor, who thoughtfully shepherded Downtime while I was away. I hope you loved her recs and the guest contributors we welcomed. Let me know which guests you might like to see next on Downtime, what you’re reading, and what you’d like to see me write about next! It feels great to be back. Until next time, Alisha
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NO thank you to the United States government which still does not guarantee paid parental leave.
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