Since you last heard from me, Iโve made a batch of salsa verde from my garden, cleaned and organized my kitchen, made bouquets with these zinnias from my flower patch, spent countless hours working on Floso (my dirty soda business here in Oregon), and drafted my fantasy football team.
Iโm sorry to say I havenโt read a single book this summer that I likedโbut Iโm sure one is out there. Please tell me youโve read something you just canโt stop thinking about. And then promptly let me know the title in the comments so you can save me from this misery.
Iโve discovered I love the sun as much as the next girl. I love my garden, my afternoon salads, my tomato sandwiches, my peach butter on cinnamon toast, my iced coffee. But I wonโt go kicking and screaming into fall. NoโI love foggy mornings and nights spent spooning steaming soup more than anything.
Iโm saying this because you might see a through line in todayโs Sunday links. This girl is getting ready for autumn.
โขย This week on Substack, I published a list of things I do to get my kitchen ready for fall: filling glass jars with my homemade taco seasoning, chili seasoning, and Italian seasoning; organizing and prepping my baking cabinet so Iโm ready when the mood strikes. (Substack)
โขย The Menendez brothers had a parole hearing this Thursdayโa step forward in their possible release. BBC covers how pop culture played a strong hand in even getting them this far. I find it fascinating how public opinion often has its claws in the balance of justice. The same grip that solidified their original life sentence now has the potential for a reduced sentence. (BBC)
โขย My TikTok feed is flooded with kids being sent off to collegeโdecorating their new dorms, crying over a Wendyโs meal, missing home. But did you know Harvard (and Yale) admissions used to be based solely on class, not grades? Incoming freshmen were even divided by perceived family hierarchies. I know, I wasnโt surprised either. This article takes us on a little ride through the history of these prestigious universities and the bizarre reasons that system ended. (History.com)
โขย Weโre heading into the 24th anniversary of 9/11. While a generation who never experienced that day is starting to poke fun at it on the internet, it doesnโt sit right with meโespecially when the death toll from that event is still climbing, many of them first responders and cleanup crews. (ABC)
โขย As a huge 49ers fan, Iโm a football-loving girlie. I look forward to the season every yearโhoping, praying, that this is the year we finally take home that Lombardi. But even as a fan through and through, I canโt brush over the very real issue of domestic violence in the NFL. At times it feels like speeding tickets and domestic violence are treated with the same severity. ESPN covers the reported arrests since the infamous Ray Rice case (2014) and the changes the league has made since then. (ESPN)
โขย Do you have a comfort show? Mine is cyclical: in the winter itโs Girls, in the summer itโs Jersey Shore, in the spring itโs Dawsonโs Creek, and of courseโGilmore Girls in the fall. It makes sense, Iโm a millennial. But a new generation of women are discovering Gilmore Girls and loving it for the same reasons we do. With all the topical humor and you-had-to-be-there one-liners, Iโm always surprised to hear they love it just as much as I do. (Vox)
โขย Thereโs no true season for self-tanner, but pretty soon weโll be missing our glowing skin. Iโve recently been loving this one from Coco & Eve.
โขย Iโve already packed away the ingredients to make Joyโs Brown Butter Pumpkin Texas Sheet Cake again. Itโs going to be the first thing I bake once this heat wave is gone. Iโve made it a few times since shooting it for the blog, so you know itโs just THAT good. (Joy the Baker)
โขย Keith Lee, the viral TikTok food reviewer who rose to fame for keeping mom-and-pop restaurants afloat with his 0โ10 rankings, just visited Portland. Having lived there for years (and now just an hour outside), Iโm not surprised he listed Portland in his top three food citiesโbumping Houston out of the running. Sorry, Joy! The food scene here is also how Joy and I randomly met one day in a hot commercial kitchen. Blessed! If you ever have the chance to visit, you wonโt be disappointed.
โขย As a huge fan of scary movies, Daniel and I went to see Weapons in theaters, and we were not disappointed. Zach Creggerโonce a sketch comedianโis following in the footsteps of Jordan Peele, blending horror with humor and making the viewerโs journey more complex. Where there once were cheap jump scares and low-budget writing, a newer, deeper genre may be brewing in the world of horror.
25 Responses
Thanks for your thoughtful links list! I’m not sure what book genres you’re interested in but I loved Kennedy Ryan’s Skyland series. She also has a series set against the backdrop of pro basketball and that might appeal to sports fans. And I couldn’t get enough of Chloe Liese’s Bergman Brothers series this summer! So fantastic with great neurodiversity and disability rep — folks just living and loving their way through life, not preachy. And some are set in Oregon! Liese also has a trio of contemporary romances inspired by Shakespeare that are great. If mystery is more your speed, I just read the latest book in Iona Whishaw’s Lane Winslow series — always good. Hoping you find your fix before summer is up! Nothing beats a good book.
Beth, sometimes I don’t even know what genre I really like either. I read a little bit of everything. So this is a true gift of a list for me! Thank you so much! I’m especially interested in the Cloe Liese… I’ve never read anything by her before! And thanks for the best wishes, I just have to read my way out of the slump!
Karlee
I’m always happy to share book recs! I’m not sure if you’ll see this but Liese’s books are set partly in WA, not OR — sorry! — but the PNW love is strong. Happy reading!
I just finished reading My Friends by Fredrik Backman. (He wrote A Man Called Ove, which was made into a movie starring Tom Hanks.) My Friends is a wonderful book. It is thoughtful, funny, heart-wrenching, and overall fabulous. It only came out this past May, and I expect it to receive awards in the months to come. The writing style, the way he weaves the story, the similes he uses, just left me in awe. I highly recommend this wonderful book.
I wholeheartedly agreed! I loved this book. And I truly hope it wonโt be his last (as he has been hinting at).
I’d never heard of Zarna Garg when I read a description of her memoir, “This American Woman.” It sounded interesting, and I recently listened to the audiobook. I recommend it (she reads it herself). It’s got a little bit of everything, but mostly humor.
This is perfect because I have a few audible credits I need to use up! I’ll add it! I so appreciate the rec.
I am waaaay behind the times, but finally read Demon Copperhead this summer and it is a book that will forever stay with me. Intense and horrifying and sad and hilarious — if you haven’t read it, I would definitely recommend moving it to the top of your list! Right now I’m reading The Art of Living by Thich Nhat Hanh and if you read it sort of as a meditation, it makes a lot of sense. At least for where I am in life?!
Thank you for the links! I, too, love summer and welcome fall. I am enjoying the last hazy days in Maine, where cooler nights are rolling in. It’s all delicious. Back to reality soon.
Intense and horrifying and sad and hilarious is maybe EXACTLY what I’m looking for! I’ve added it to my Kindle!
Oh, Maine… what a treat to live there! And what an amazing fall! Thanks, Jessica!
Hi Karlee. I recently discovered Mary Lawson–a Canadian writer. Her 4 novels–CROW LAKE, THE OTHER SIDE OF THE BRIDGE, ROAD ENDS, A TOWN CALLED SOLACE –are about families and being human. I enjoyed each of them so much. Read each a second time soon after the first reading. Hope you find something that appeals.
Happy Fall and happy baking!
I absolutely loved the book; Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. I loved it so much, I read it two more times, because I wasnโt ready to let it go. I heard they are making a movie about it. And, I donโt like space stuff, so I was shocked by how much I loved this book.
Okay, yes! You know I think I can get down with that! Thanks, Sara!
Iโm confused at that top of this Let this Be Sunday it looks like Joy wrote it not the person who actually did write it. Who wrote this entry please? Iโm surprised no one else noticed this either!
Hi! This Sunday post was written by Karlee, as pictures at the start of the posts. Sorry for the confusion.
A few absolute bangers I’ve read/listened to lately (sprinkling in a couple of different genres):
The Many Lives of Mama Love: A Memoir of Lying, Stealing, Writing, and Healing
Lara Love Hardin
Atmosphere
Taylor Jenkins Reid
Actress of a Certain Age: My Twenty Year Trail to Overnight Success
Jeff Hiller (an absolute must if you watched Somebody, Somewhere. And if you haven’t watched it, you should.)
The Briar Club
Kate Quinn
More or Less Maddy
Lisa Genova
Also, can I confess that as a geriatric Millennial, I’ve never watched Gilmore Girls? Is this the fall I should finally make it happen?!
I loved All the Colors of the Dark and We Begin at the End, both by Chris Whitaker. I loved the first so much that it was the second and have since read the rest of his titles. The characters have stayed with me all summer. Enjoy the anticipation of fall!
I loved All the Colors of the Dark and We Begin at the End, both by Chris Whitaker. I loved the first so much that I read the second and have since read the rest of his titles. The characters have stayed with me all summer. Enjoy the anticipation of fall!
Both of these books are amazing. I loved All the Colors of the Dark so much and didnโt want it to end. Highly recommend!
We Loved to Run by Stephanie Reents! A perfect campus novel for fall where the characters become your best friends. I’m a Liv with a hint of Harriet! https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/690128/we-loved-to-run-by-stephanie-reents/
I love Let It Be Sunday but I’m sad that it won’t come on Sunday any more. I looked forward to reading the thoughtfully curated articles and shopping suggestions and spending time going through it all. But now that it comes during the work week I don’t have time to read it and it gets pushed to the end. All I could do was skim the articles today before I had to get to all the other daily emails demanding my attention.
Agreed on Demon Copperhead and I also listened to โour missing heartsโ on Libby and it was so beautiful and I also had to keep checking as it is fiction but itโs scarily close to reality.
The Tiger and the Cosmonaut by Eddy Boudel Tan. Very well written. I think it’s his first novel. It’s a noirish book about a mysterious disappearance and portrait of a Canadian Chinese family in small town BC.
I second anything by Andy Weir, and would add two recent favs: Devolution by Max Brooks and Sure, Iโll Join Your Cult by Maria Bamford.
I’ll back all those other recommendations for Demon Copperhead. Amazing! If you haven’t read B. Kingsolver’s other books, I highly recommend them too. Prodigal Summer, The Poisonwood Bible, etc. As a foodie, I think you would love her book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.
Ocean Vuong’s memoir, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous is so moving. I haven’t read his new book, The Emporer of Gladness, but am looking forward to it.
Thanks for all the links. I’m looking forward to reading many of them.
If you need a laugh: Starter Villain by John Scalzi (very goofy)
If you want a cozy-ish smart lady mystery: Her Majesty the Queen Investigates by SJ Bennett (Queen Elizabeth helps solve crimes happening in her orbit but no one knows about it except her assistant private secretary, delightful)
If you want literary fiction, have to rep a friend’s book: Sturgeon’s Heart, by Amy E Casey (contemporary great lakes gothic)
If you want utterly bizarre and weird, Shades of Gray by Jasper Fforde (just…trust me!)