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How are you feeling about this first October weekend? I\u2019ve been on the road all week and just got in last night; today feels like a Saturday yet there are lots of work-a-day things to catch up on! I\u2019m very much looking forward to this first fall-feeling weekend: I\u2019ve got books to read, soup to make, football to watch, and an art fair to visit. (Anyone else near Louisville headed that way? I always bump into a few MMD-ers at St. James!) <\/p>\n
I hope you have a lovely weekend ahead of you, with something good to look forward to. And I hope this collection of interesting reads and favorite things helps ease you into that weekend state of mind.<\/p>\n
I offer gift links for articles whenever possible (you may still need to create an account with the publication); if there\u2019s no gift link and you\u2019re not a subscriber, check to see if your library carries the publication or use a bookmarking service.<\/em><\/p>\n What Barbara Kingsolver Believes the Novel Can Do<\/a><\/strong>. (The New Yorker<\/em>) \u201cKingsolver has always believed that the arts belong to everyone, and has spent her life writing books that she hopes can be read by anyone.\u201d On her writing process, personal background, and new novel Partita<\/em>, included as one of my 4- and 5-star fall books so far in our 2026 Fall Book Preview.<\/a><\/strong> <\/p>\n Six lessons from Sense & Sensibility.<\/a><\/strong> (Books and Bits<\/em>) \u201cWatching Georgia Oakley\u2019s naturalistic, tender new interpretation of Sense and Sensibility<\/em>, I kept thinking about how modern Austen\u2019s work feels. Not the lack of choice for women, obviously, but the way her female characters think, feel, love and sass one another.\u201d<\/p>\n One question we get asked a lot.<\/a><\/strong> (Nooks<\/em>) \u201cThe truth is: dozens of new books are released every week and we can\u2019t stock them all. Which leads to this oft-asked question: \u2018How do you choose the books you carry?’\u201d<\/p>\n On the literary influence of Annie Dillard, perhaps the first author who felt like \u201cmine.\u201d<\/a><\/strong> (MMD<\/em>) \u201cI can only say the piece caught me: before that time, I hadn\u2019t read much narrative nonfiction, let alone nature writing or idiosyncratic personal essays. I didn\u2019t know it was possible to write like that.\u201d An overdue tribute to a writer who has long shaped my reading life.<\/p>\n Quirky Art Is Taking Over\u2014and Designers Say It\u2019s the Secret to a More Personal Home.<\/a><\/strong> (Real Simple<\/em>) As someone who\u2019s aiming for more quirk and funk<\/a><\/strong> in my home, I love this piece about unexpected works \u201cthat spark conversation and bring character to a space.\u201d <\/p>\n This Kosas brow pencil<\/a><\/strong> has become such a staple for me I\u2019ve taken to buying them two at a time so I never run out\u2014except I ran out this week in Chicago and was grateful for the Sephora just a few blocks from my hotel. (UPDATE: I realized after posting that apparently Sephora has declared today National Brow Day and select brow products\u2014including this one\u2014are 20\u201350% off.<\/a><\/strong>)<\/p>\n \u2018When I Miss My Walk, My Body and Mind Feel Clogged Up.\u2019<\/a><\/strong> (New York Times Magazine<\/em> gift link) A 90-year-old Japanese artist on his daily ritual: \u201cWhen I come back, my mind feels completely cleared. It\u2019s like a workout, or a preparation for the day\u2019s work.\u201d<\/p>\n The Prize announces the 2026 shortlist.<\/a><\/strong> (The Baillie Gifford Prize<\/em>) \u201cThe Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction is widely recognised as the world\u2019s most prestigious international award for literary non-fiction that is open to books on any subject and to writers of any nationality. Since 1999 it has named the best non-fiction book of the year.\u201d Nominees include London Falling<\/a><\/strong><\/em> and 2026 Summer Reading Guide<\/a><\/strong> selection The Traveler<\/em>. <\/p>\n I used to get paid to hang out with famous people.<\/a><\/strong> (Blackbird Spyplane<\/em>) \u201cThe celebrity profile is one of the most fascinating of all journalistic forms, capable of wild extremes: profundity and inanity, incisiveness and sycophancy, salaciousness and tedium.\u201d The reader and writer in me loved this piece.<\/p>\n I am swooning over this new LEGO bookstore set<\/a><\/strong>. <\/p>\n Lit girl fashion is taking over this season \u2013 and it all starts with a good read.<\/a><\/strong> (Glamour UK<\/em>) \u201cFor the past few years, everyone from the storied legacy houses (think: Chanel and Dior) to younger it-girl brands (D\u00f4en and Reformation) have been heading to the library to seek inspiration and enlightenment.\u201d Honestly the headline is the best part of this piece\u2014but what a headline!<\/p>\n Supremely talk-about-able books to fuel your book club conversations.<\/a><\/strong> (What Should I Read Next?<\/em>) Team member Shannan Malone joined me to help this week\u2019s guest find talk-about-able book club books.<\/p>\n Talk less, listen more and six other top tips on giving good advice.<\/a><\/strong> (The Guardian<\/em>) \u201cUsually, it\u2019s the thing you least expected to help that has value.\u201d<\/p>\n If you liked The Road to Tender Hearts<\/em>, try So Far Gone<\/em>.<\/a><\/strong> (Am Reading<\/em>) \u201cThey\u2019re not so similar that you can\u2019t follow one with the other. The Road to Tender Hearts<\/a><\/em><\/strong>, while not nearly as sweet as its title suggests, has a lighter touch and theme. So Far Gone<\/a>\u2019s<\/em><\/strong> on the darker side. But they\u2019re both very today-feeling books without being bleak.\u201d Enthusiastically agree. Both are 2025 MMD Summer Reading Guide<\/a><\/strong> selections.<\/p>\n How to Autumn Like the French Do.<\/a><\/strong> (Petal + Hearth<\/em>) \u201cOnce the first chill settles in, the French don\u2019t rush indoors \u2013 they lean into the season. The produce at markets shift, and so do the rhythms of daily life. Weekends turn into a rotation of festivals, family walks, long lunches that<\/p>\n 20 unputdownable mysteries and thrillers to keep you glued to the page.<\/a><\/strong> There\u2019s nothing like a well-plotted mystery novel to shake me out of a reading slump or to get the pages turning when it feels hard to focus.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t miss these posts:<\/h3>\n