DO
SEND A SURPRISE GIFT: One of my favorite online writing friends sent me these delicious caramel cups from a store in 
Massachusetts called Purefections Chocolate. Her favorite item there is the P2C2, but since she knows my youngest is allergic to peanuts she sent the caramel option. So this “DO” is twofold: #1. Try the caramel or the P2C2 treats. #2. Send a surprise gift to a friend. I can’t tell you how much receiving this gift made my day. Really, my week. The gesture was thoughtful on so many levels.
WATCH JANE THE VIRGIN: Whenever Orange is the New Black is back I sign up for Netflix again. (I allow myself only a few months a year because I worry about my tendency towards Netflix addiction after last summer’s devotion to Friday Night Lights. This summer, after finishing OITNB (wow, that finale), I discovered the lighthearted show, Jane the Virgin. Anyone else like this show?
WANT TO START A BLOG? This post by Anne R Allen talks about getting traffic to your blog.
LISTEN
Thanks to my fellow Great New Books contributor, Stacey Loscalzo, I’ve moved all of my favorite podcasts to the Overcast app. With Overcast, I can control the playback speed and get through more material in a shorter period of time. Win! Speaking of Stacey, I loved hearing her interview on the really fun podcast What Should I Read Next with Anne Bogel.
READ
I liked Hanna Rosin’s piece “Screw Mastery” on starting out in a new field in your 40s (or later). h/t Ann Cinzar
This is a really good piece in The Millions on writerly jealousy. (by Kaulie Lewis)
Did you read the NYT Magazine feature about the emails between Natalie Portman and Jonathan Safran Foer? Once you do, you might agree with me that Maddie Rodriguez of Book Riot is asking fair questions in “I Read the Natalie Portman and Jonathan Safran Foer Emails and I Have Questions.”
And yes, there are notably no newsy links on here because you have the rest of the internet for that. This little corner is my happy planet, and on my happy planet nobody gets shot and we can turn on the TV or open the paper without fearing what has happened next.
Have a great week everyone!
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7 Responses
Another great list of things to check out! Off to read about writerly jealousy….oh, it’s real, as much as I wish it weren’t. And don’t feel bad about the FNL addiction from last summer. You couldn’t have picked a better show to be devoted to! In fact, I think I’ll go listen to the soundtrack now. 🙂
And love the surprise gift idea! What a treat (literally and figuratively) to come home to.
I have bookmarked pretty much all of these articles to read. I’m especially interested in the one about mastery (I need that one right now) and the Natalie Portman article. I spent way too much time reading those emails when I was supposed to be writing! I’ll have to check out the Overcast app for my growing list of podcasts. Thanks for sharing.
That chocolate shop is in my town – but I’ve never been there! Must try it. I liked that Rosin piece, too. Always love your roundups, Nina!
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“Just because” presents are the best kind. 🙂 No need to wait for a holiday or birthday to let someone know you’re thinking of them.
I enjoyed the Netflix show “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.” Lighthearted fun (and Tina Fey)!
I received a surprise gift recently (random bottle of one of my favorite wines) and I agree- it made my week. Maybe even my month. I had to get the back story on the Portman emails and I clicked on the links and I started to read them in the NYT and I was just like “Really? People send emails like this? They do not. This cannot be real.” Jane the Virigin is one of the few shows my husband and I can agree on.. though he surprisingly enjoys it more than I do. Leaving to check out Writer Jealousy now…
Well. I live in MA so maybe I need to go find Purefections! I was sent chocolates and cookies today as an early birthday present and it made my life!
I love Jane the Virgin. I’ve never missed an episode although the season finales break my heart.
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I love your happy planet! And I love Jane the Virgin – I binge watched the first season last summer before season two started. Another good series I just watched on Netflix is Stranger Things with Winona Ryder. It’s only 8 episodes so it’s not a huge time suck.