Here’s what’s making us happy this week.
Happy spring, fellow travelers. This week we’re back to basics with the good stuff. Physical books supplied by physical people are bringing us lots of joy. And when the pages don’t compel, we’re moving our bodies around.
In the wake of #AIBooksellerGate, our own Drew Broussard put out a live bookseller’s call for recommendation requests. This BlueSky post now has up to 400 responses (and counting)—and our hero plans to answer at least half of these with bespoke suggestions.
These range so far from contemporary page-turners like Julia Armfield’s Private Rites to César Aira’s “‘flight forward” B-sides. “Just nice to see people genuinely responding to human curation,” says the architect.
James Folta is also enjoying real interactions with homo sapiens this week. He rolls into the weekend recommending a cumbia dance class taken at a friend’s wedding, as well as a beloved Austin bookstore. James spent a nice few hours “poking around and having a coffee” at the iconic First Light Books, a neighborhood hub.
I, Brittany Allen, spent some time loading up in another indie bookstore across the pond: Livraria Snob, of Lisbon. This wonderfully fusty stop, with its apt-but-in-on-it name, sent me plane-ward with a fat stack of Pessoa novels and a renewed appreciation for the flâneuse. (Because Pessoa, sure, but also because it was a real hike to find this store, in the winding hills of an old city.)
Now I’m rolling into the weekend pondering what’s so very literary about walking down unfamiliar streets. And like Drew’s followers, I seek recommendations. If you have a favorite flâneur novel, please advise below.
If we’re not perambulating, happily aimless, we’re digging up old joy. Molly Odintz belatedly discovered this SNL weekend update sketch, in which Bowen Yang plays Truman Capote commenting on Women’s History Day. I was glad to revisit this one, too. It’s exactly the kind of niche content that only one, specific, mad human could pull off.
Wishing you all a weekend of long walks, deep laughs, and surprising reading.
