Sunday Collection: SO many fall books & my favorite lipstick
plus recent Substack reads
After the loveliest weekend in Denver with
and her family (our first time meeting in person after 3 years of podcasting together, can you believe it?!), Theo and I came down with a nasty cold. Somehow my husband remains unscathed—thank goodness—so he’s been taking excellent care of us. This weekend, we’re all recuperating from travel with lots of sunshine, homemade chicken noodle soup, and Sunday NFL football.If you’re new to The Eclectic Reader, welcome! On (most) Sundays, I share a collection of favorite moments from the week, recipes I’m loving or want to try, articles I enjoyed, and links to products I’m fond of. I invite you to share a thing or two from your collection of weekly favorites in the comments.
Much to our delight, Theo is adding phrases to his repertoire on a near daily basis, like “hello, how you?” and “I see you!” or directed at our dog: “Penny, sit. Good girl.” This language explosion is perhaps my favorite phase so far.
I might try my hand at a sourdough challah loaf for chicken soup leftovers later this week.
As for storing those soup leftovers, have I mentioned my love of Souper Cubes? They’re one of my must-have kitchen items for the cooler months.
As soon as the weather dips a few degrees cooler, I’ll be living in these vintage crew-neck sweatshirts.
My all-time favorite lipstick is on sale (50% OFF!!!) at Morphe! I don’t know how long it will last, or which colors will be available upon your receiving this post, but my beloved Uoma Badass Icon Matte Lipstick is worth mentioning anyway. I scooped up a replacement shade in Coretta (my mom stole mine because it’s the best neutral pink) and a red I’ve had my eye on, Sade. I wear Whitney all the time and always receive compliments on the vibrant color.
This Autumn brings an overabundance of buzzy new books. I’m poring over the NYT fiction and nonfiction lists, plus the Fiction Matters 2023 Fall Fiction Compendium to finalize my small list of pre-order priorities. We attempted to narrow down our lists for our upcoming Fall Preview episode of
but the stellar offerings this season made it difficult.Last week’s Novel Pairings episode was all about Public Scholarship, and it was one of our nerdiest conversations yet. Plus, it introduced our new-ish episode format: Modern Readers, in which we discuss topics from across the literary landscape with our English teacher expertise and points of view. It’s a great introduction episode if you’re new to the show.
After becoming a fan of Caroline O’ Donoghue’s humorous and sharp writing this summer, I treated myself to a paperback of her mystical and mysterious YA novel All Our Hidden Gifts, which seems perfect for eerie fall reading.
Also worth reading: this interview with O’ Donoghue on scrapping a novel and starting over.
One more Substack rec before I go: Why Raising Readers Matters from
.
Finally, in case you missed it: there are no rules.
Share your own Sunday collection in the comments, if you wish. I’d love to hear about the small joys in your life, your upcoming meal plans, or a recent read.
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I just finished the third book in O’Donoghue’s Gifts trilogy and they are such a delight! Perfect for fall and just really smart and great YA books. Enjoy!
Also, omg that Morphe lipstick color is to DIE FOR!