Friday Flowers #4

A few links to things I enjoyed recently, that you might enjoy, too. Plus some pictures of pretty flowers.

[Editor’s Note: First things first, I understand it’s Saturday. I forgot to hit send on this post yesterday. With that said, I figure y’all aren’t *too* worried about when a Friday Flowers email hits your inbox, so for the time being I’ll let me keep my job.]

“While everyone had come to the situation with good intentions—to preserve people’s history, to serve people pancakes—they could now only see the worst in one another.”

If you (like me) absolutely love when an incredible writer reports out a sprawling story about something completely ridiculous, then don’t miss “The IHOP Kingpin vs. the American Revolutionaries,” by Reeves Wiedeman for New York Magazine.

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“The doctor asked if I could see stars, and I said that I hadn’t seen them in years. This was the detail that made it real for my mother. ‘You can’t see stars?’ she asked.”

“How to Be Blind,” an excerpt from Andrew Leland's forthcoming The Country of the Blind: A Memoir at the End of Sight in The New Yorker.

“What’s funny is that I’ve discovered that people talk to you the same way when you’re getting a divorce as when you’ve just been laid off. People look at you with big wet eyes, your friends transformed into sadness-lizards, ready to impart advice and healing wisdom that you never asked for.”

Scaachi Koul has a new column over at Hazlitt called “My Book Is Due,” which she describes as “a column about everything I’m thinking about instead of writing my book.” Her fist piece—titled “Poor Me!”—is about pity.

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“Growing up, Ayo Edebiri mused about becoming a stand-up comedian or an actress, but figured she’d probably wind up a teacher. Her immigrant parents are practical people and a career in Hollywood seemed impractical, especially for a kid from Dorchester who didn’t know anything about the entertainment business.”

A lovely profile of Ayo Edebiri—who is absolutely killing it in one of my favorite shows, The Bear—by Mark Shanahan for Edebiri’s hometown newspaper, The Boston Globe.

As for me, I was back on the Today Show recently recommending more summer reads. Also, if you’re in New York City this week you can catch me in conversation with two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Colson Whitehead in celebration of his new novel, Crook Manifesto. Other than that, I hope y’all get out there and enjoy the world at an easy pace this weekend. Have some fun. 🍓