Weekend Reading 05.30

Introducing...This Bookish Life, and more links for your weekend.

Hi friends. I’m excited to share an update with you today.

Since 2013, Creating This Life has been a place where I talk about some of the things I am most passionate about: homes, entertaining, books, and travel. For a while now, however, I’ve felt the tug to make books more central to what we talk about here, so I’ve decided to follow that feeling and shift the direction of the newsletter.

I say shift, because I don’t believe it will be a complete departure. I’ll still share a great home tour when I run across one (there’s one this week!) and I always like talking about travel and other lifestyle topics with you, but most of that will now be done through a bookish lens.

To celebrate this change, Creating This Life is getting a new name: This Bookish Life. There’s also a new Instagram account if you’d like to follow along there.

I also want to take this chance to say thank you. Whether you’re new here or have been following along for a while, I appreciate having you as a reader, and I hope you find something to love in this new version.

And now, here’s what I saved to share with you this week…

Former Congressman Steve Israel thought his calling was politics, but he prefers running a bookshop. From the article: “As I grappled with these changes, I found myself seeking out local bookstores everywhere I went. They were my sanctuaries. No sound bites or donor calls. I could browse my favorite sections, alone with countless authors, characters and ideas. Those therapeutic moments reminded me that ideas are the ultimate power in a democracy—that books are a form of power in themselves.”

The Thursday Murder Club movie has a trailer! The Richard Osman book is my book club’s book this month, and the whole time I was reading, I was imagining this brilliant cast. The movie hits Netflix on August 28.

If you have $3.5 million to spend, architect Gil Schafer is selling his home in New York’s Hudson Valley. This home is beloved because Gil and his work are beloved. I have all three of his books, and this particular home is featured in The Great American House. And here’s Gil giving a video tour of said house. (Update: Darn, just checked and a sale is pending. Our loss!)

What could be better for a book lover than to get engaged or married in a bookstore?

144 summer reads based on where you’re going and how you’re getting there.

A few weeks back, my daughter Lindsey stayed in this charming hotel (she gave it rave reviews) on a business trip, and now I want to book a trip to Lexington, MA so I can stay here too.

Why Fredrik Backman (A Man Called Ove, Anxious People) says his new book could be his last. He talks about the expectations of writers to be marketers, even a brand, something I’ve noticed a lot of writers talking about.

You guys! There’s a secret writer’s room at the New York Public Library. You need a book contract to access it, but author Michelle Young gave us a little tour on her Instagram.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend. What are you reading/watching/doing?