Sunday Collection: current reads & unpopular cookie opinions

plus Substack posts that stopped my scroll

If you enjoy scrolling Sunday Collections from The Eclectic Reader, consider sharing this newsletter with a friend or on your preferred social media platform.

Trader Joe’s fall snacks are mediocre compared to their winter treats. Peppermint Joe Joe’s, Candy Cane Green Tea, and Mini Dark Chocolate Mint Stars always make my seasonal grocery list, but pumpkin salsa and leaf-shaped tortilla chips hold no appeal. I do, however, love TJ’s fall household items, so last week Theo and I picked up a few yummy smelling hand soaps and candles for his babysitters. If I could make a living off of buying other people little gifts, I’d change my career path in a heartbeat (it’s so fun!). I can’t write off Trader Joe’s candles on my taxes, but it brings me joy, it delights Theo’s caretakers, and it makes my house smell good (of course I bought some soap for myself, too. I’m only human).

This week’s Sunday Collection

• Skip the Trader Joe’s cookies (unless you have a fall favorite) and try some melt-in-your-mouth French butter cookies from Costco. You can purchase single boxes in store, but perhaps you want a 6-pack to keep you stocked through winter?

• I’m pretty sure I NEED this shirt.

• You will not catch me wearing ballet flats ever again. Podiatry concerns aside, I will never find ballet flats that compare to the sparkly sequin leopard print pair I had in high school. Yes, I wore them without socks, and yes, they smelled atrocious. But I loved them.

• A couple of Substack posts that stopped my scroll this week:

  • How to stop thinking about work all the time (The Brave Edit)

  • My favourite cosy food memoirs (The Hyphen)

  • Sourdough Apple Fritter Cake (A Sourdough Story)

  • Art & Biography (Novel Pairings)

• The Pioneer Woman’s potato leek soup (with bacon crumbled on top) and Joy the Baker’s carrot apple ginger soup (with a side of toasted sourdough) kept me warm and satisfied for lunch all week.

• YUM.

• I love a weirdly specific book list or a collection of exciting debuts (I’m most intrigued by The Literary Undoing of Victoria Swann, Mother-Daughter Murder Night and And Then She Fell).

• Speaking of books, I just finished listening to Dearborn by Ghassan Zeineddine and can’t wait to share more about it in my September Reading Report. I’m currently reading Every Duke Has His Day by Suzanne Enoch, Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros, and Wellness by Nathan Hill (on audio). Fourth Wing hasn’t hooked me yet (about 150 pages in), but everyone says it gets better when the dragons show up, so I’m sticking with it.

What’s your favorite seasonal Trader Joe’s snack?

Some of the links in this newsletter are affiliate links. If you shop these links, I earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting my work in this way.

To find out more about my current reads, favorite things, and life updates follow me on Instagram. If you’re interested in reading classic literature with accessible guidance and a cozy community, check out the Novel Pairings podcast and Patreon.