An Excellent Substack Response
Playing catch-up, plus the Weekly What
Hi, hello! I inadvertently took a little hiatus in early June. Every parent’s life is thrown into chaos at the end of school year/beginning of summer break, right?! Or… maybe it’s just me. I do thrive on routine and we’re still sorting that out nearly a month into summer vacation and post back-to-back camp weeks for one child, then the next. As soon as I get ahold of things it will likely be about time to gear up for back to school.
Yesterday morning, sifting through my email, I received a delightful surprise.
released a new podcast episode in their Patreon feed. A treat for my Friday indeed! Reading the email notification I was even more pleased to discover it was a discussion in response to the Culture Study podcast episode about Goodreads, something that piqued my interest as well. As I read on, they referenced an excellent Substack response - hey, I wrote a post on that too! - and I clicked to discover it was my excellent Substack response!Chelsey and Sara also gave me a shoutout in the episode and I’m just tickled by all of this. I enjoy their content so much. They really enrich my reading life and are part of the community that brings joy to my online life as well. It means a good deal to know they appreciate my thoughts and content, especially at a time when it feels increasingly hard to connect with chosen community online. Some days it feels as though I’m broadcasting into the void, or languishing in that void myself as creators I enjoy are lost to the algorithm and infinite scroll of it all, and know I’m not alone in this.
So, huge thank you to Chelsey and Sara and ever more encouragement to check out their content. Novel Pairings Classic’s Club just kicked off their big summer readalong: Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. Chelsey and Sara will have podcast episodes, related classes, and book club chats all throughout summer as we slowly tackle this classic!
And also, a reminder to support creators you appreciate whether that be through subscription, a like, share, comment, or a DM to connect and share thoughts or encouragement. It goes a long way to know people actually appreciate the work that goes into content creation.
Tell me:
Do you listen to any bookish podcasts?
Subscribe to any Patreon communities?
Anything, let’s chat!
What I’m…
Reading
While I haven’t been writing, trust I have still been reading! Catching up entirely on several weeks of books would be a newsletter in itself but since (the unofficial start of) summer is here, I do want to highlight a few perfect for summer books I’ve read lately:
Summer Fridays by Suzanne Rindell. A nostalgic, complicated romance set in NYC in the summer of 1999. A relationship develops via email and AIM begging for a You’ve Got Mail comparison. {Read my full review.}
Summer Romance by Annabel Monaghan. A divorced mother of 3 coming out from the deep fog of grief gets her groove back by way of a summer fling that just might end up being something more. I loved this one! {Read my full review.}
All the Summers In Between by Brooke Lea Foster. This is ideal for readers who desire a good mix in their beach reads: historical fiction set in the 60s and 70s, complicated female friendship, beachy setting, with a mystery at its core. {Read my full review.}
And what I’ve been reading this week:
Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay. Tremblay’s offering to the “cursed film” drama featuring a story with three interwoven mediums: an audiobook memoir narrated by the actor who played "The Thin Kid" recounting the making of the original movie; the original script of "Horror Movie"; and the present day timeline concerning the Hollywood reboot. A bit of a slow burn, but well crafted, tension filled, and unsettling.
Moonbound by Robin Sloan. An epic hero's quest featuring ancient humans of a lost civilization, spaceships, talking animals, genial robots, dragons, and our narrator: a sentient yeast-AI hybrid. I’m still trying to get my thoughts together into something coherent enough to resemble an actual review but I loved this weird, wild, wonderful adventure!
Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books by Kirsten Miller. This book releases next Tuesday 6/18. I’m still trying to get my thoughts together on this one as well. We love a story featuring little free libraries and confronting book bans. It’s set in a small southern town in the grip of culture wars. I found it entirely readable if maybe a little heavy handed for my personal taste.
Listening
All Fours by Miranda July. An artist in her mid-forties takes an unexpected detour and rediscovers herself. This one’s quite unique and I really dug it. Full review to come for this one also.
Watching
Bridgerton, Season 3 (Netflix). It’s finally time! I waited to watch until near enough to part 2 that I could watch straight through (take that, Netflix!) Now that the season is complete I’ve started watching, well, I watched. I only have the finale remaining. Bridgerton is always a treat!
Hacks, Season 3 (Max). This show is actually really funny.
While I eagerly anticipated Bridgerton’s release I watched a random assortment of movies I endorse:
You’ve Got Mail. Inspired by Summer Fridays.
That Thing You Do. I had forgotten what a treat this movie is! Inspired by Tom Hanks.
It Could Happen to You. Because there were no other Tom Hanks movies I wanted to watch, Nicolas Cage was next up.
Footloose. The original, do I even need to specify? Because the kids just want to dance! And also I made Footloose reference when I talked about Civil War.
Urban Cowboy. Because I recently watched Saturday Night Fever, I’m not sure Texas honky tonks have the world saving potential of Disco…
Terms of Endearment. Because Debra Winger. And did you know this movie was an adaptation of a Larry McMurtry book?! Because I didn’t and I’ve seen the movie so many times!
Eating & Drinking
Mustard Salmon + Roasted Asparagus and Potatoes
These homemade Sloppy Joes are a forever family favorite + Sweet Potato “Fries”
A quick breakfast for dinner of French Toast
It is firmly iced tea season! I love making a few single serves of tea and stashing them in the fridge for an afternoon treat. My favorites right now are Celestial Seasoning’s Country Peach Passion and Trader Joe’s Mango Black Tea and Watermelon Mint.
Links + Loves
I recently bought this mosquito repeller and… IT ACTUALLY WORKS! Total game changer for summer nights on the deck.
These neck fans are amazing. I bought my husband one last year and proceeded to borrow (steal) it at every opportunity. Well, he recently reciprocated by buying me my own! Game changer for summer days on the deck!
The American Novel Has a Major Problem with Fat People (New Republic)
ICYMI
This week’s blog posts:
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Until next time!
I have 2 eps of Bridgerton left! And I love all the movies you mentioned, It Could Happen to You was such a cute one, and I love Footloose (and I even liked the remake haha). Have a great Sunday!