What Caught My Eye Online #76
Fall reads, popular thrillers, adult friendship, and more
Welcome to this week’s roundup! Here’s what I’ve been loving lately:
My Erin Condren planner. I use an academic year planner, so I got to start my new one this week. I’ve used Erin Condren’s planners for several years now, and the quality is excellent. This year, I’m trying the brand’s new dashboard layout. As someone who loves journals, notebooks, and planners, this is very exciting!
Leisurely mornings. Since I’m on summer break, I’ve been able to avoid an alarm clock most days. I love waking up on my own and enjoying some coffee and breakfast while watching YouTube videos. Then I have as long as I want to get ready and have fun with my makeup, something I love as much as stationery. I need to remember my love of slow mornings when I have to go back to work and give myself more time before my workday begins.
And now for this week’s links!
Lit Hub shares their most anticipated books for the second half of the year. I always get great recommendations from this list.
These are the 75 most popular mysteries and thrillers of the last three years, according to Goodreads users. Eight are by Freida McFadden, showing yet again how TikTok and social media can shape the book industry.
I recently read and loved Chris Whitaker’s historical mystery, All the Colors of the Dark. Here he talks with the New York Times about how writing that book helped him address childhood trauma.
Barnes & Noble shares the biggest fiction and nonfiction books for fall. The nonfiction list is especially intriguing.
Publishers Weekly is also offering up some fall book previews. I browsed these lists:
Writer Lijia Zhang recommends the best 20th-century Chinese fiction.
I’m excited to read the upcoming biography of James Baldwin by Nicholas Boggs. He talks with Publishers Weekly about Baldwin’s relationships and how they shaped the writer’s life and work.
I loved this video essay from Jack Edwards about the Great American Novel. It’s such an interesting topic, and Edwards does a nice job breaking it down and considering the criteria.
Lauren Groff writes about Mansfield Park, calling it “the strangest of Jane Austen’s novels.”
Here’s a fun book list: When Friend Groups Go Wrong: Thrillers About Secrets and Betrayal.
Here are some fiction and nonfiction book picks about cults.
I recently watched and enjoyed The Residence on Netflix, a murder mystery set in the White House. The production design is incredible, so I appreciated this behind-the-scenes look at all the work that went into it.
One of my favorite things this week has been this podcast episode with Conan O’Brien and Martin Short. It’s funny, of course, but I also loved hearing the two men talk about the importance of preparation and hard work. It’s easy to see comedians like Short and Steve Martin and believe they’re just naturally gifted, but that “giftedness” is really a lot of time working and reworking their material. You can listen to or watch the episode.
Michelle Obama talks with NPR about ambition and fighting despair.
I just bought the ingredients to make these strawberry cheesecake bars. They look delicious!
This is a lovely post about why adult friendships matter, featuring 17 simple ways to connect with friends.
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What things have caught your eye lately? What have you been loving recently? Leave your thoughts in the comments. Thanks for reading!
Anna and I loved The Residence. So is now the time when I should get my planner? I need someone to tell me these things. I clicked on the link but it didn’t take me to a planner. Can you share again?
Currently reading The Correspondent and it’s so good, a must read. Breathtaking.