Weekend Recs: Offbeat summer reads, four finds, and a children's classicOffbeat summer reads, a lesson at the zoo, and four good finds
Welcome back to Recs, the weekly download of books, culture, and other delights. These weekend installments are exclusively for paid subscribers. A reminder that I’m running a 30% off sale to celebrate 3 years on Substack, and it ends soon. That rounds out to be about 87 cents per week for a bit of joy and discovery in your inbox each week. If you value independent books coverage, writing, and work that’s created by a human and not AI, please consider supporting the newsletter directly if you can. Thank you so much for reading! Happy weekend, readers! It was another ninety degree day today and I’m on my second green tea mochi ice cream, watching the U.S. v Türkiye match on the couch. Things could be much worse!! I’m not typically a sports gal but I can’t help but get wrapped up in the electric feeling of a World Cup that’s being hosted by your country. Also: thank you for being here, and particularly to those who upgraded last week. Your direct support makes this possible!
Life has held many interruptions lately—or is that just life, happening? A broken fridge, a new fridge, a long weekend, a baby that does not have full-time childcare yet, etc. A flow state has simply not been achievable. This is less of a complaint and more of an observation and I’m just rolling with it. I fully believe there are seasons in life when we have a little less downtime, and I’m okay with that because it means it’s being filled with other things. (Right now, it’s pudgy baby thighs, squishy cheeks, and a dimpled smile. Heaven.) With all that said, I didn’t get to read as much as I’d have liked to this week… What I’m currently reading: Roman Stories by Jhumpa Lahiri, as I shared in last week’s letter. Given that it’s a collection of short stories set in Italy, I’m realizing now that it’s been perfect for this interrupted season of life. When my attention span is short, it helps that I can read a full story within the span of a thirty-minute lunch break. I am also reading Land by Maggie O’Farrell. Yes, still! It’s perfectly enchanting.
What’s new to my TBR: The Future Perfect by Cay Kim, a coming-of-age debut novel set between Seoul and the United States that explores Korean-American identity. It sounds perfect for those of us who grew up between cultures. How delicious is the cover (below)? Also on my radar is Shampoo Effect by Jenny Jackson, out next Tuesday. Jackson is a publishing executive who also wrote the crowdpleasing Pineapple Street, so I’m intrigued by this novel that seems to be marketed as a more sophisticated beach read.
A side note + pleasing coincidence: The cover art on the forthcoming Famous Men by Julie Buntin, mentioned in last week’s letter, is a painting by artist Meghann Stephenson, who turns out to be a friend of Eliza Brooke (of our D.C. city guide)! Eliza interviewed Meghann here, and her wider portfolio is worth the detour.
Did you read anything good this week?
Under the paywall: A bookish podcast episode I think many of you will love, a new rom-com that I actually enjoyed, my current Instagram series fixation, four under-the-radar finds from small brands, a much needed life lesson, and a section I’m just calling “culture news I loved this week.”... Keep reading with a 7-day free trialSubscribe to Downtime to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives. A subscription gets you:
|
Nema komentara:
Objavi komentar