Stuff We Like :: 12.21.18
You guys, this holiday break is just what I needed. This is the second full year Jason’s school has been going, and I am still struggling to find the right balance for HSL stuff, school stuff, my other work, homeschooling, and life stuff, like laundry and feeding people every day. I am often humbled by how bad I can be at keeping it all together. A few weeks off always means tons of catch-up, but it’s also the breathing space I need to figure out what’s not working and how to fix — at least maybe — some of the bumpiest spots.
WHAT’S HAPPENING AT HOME/SCHOOL/LIFE
Suzanne and I are launching a Patreon to help bring back The Podcast with Suzanne and Amy. We thought long and hard about doing this — but we really want to the Podcast to come back, and the truth is that we just can’t afford to keep it going unless we have a little money coming in. We’ve always been so vigilant about not allowing advertising from non-secular homeschool companies and about not trading editorial coverage for advertising dollars, and that’s never going to change because I feel pretty strongly about editorial integrity, but it does mean HSL doesn’t make a ton of money — which means sometimes we have to prioritize other work to pay the bills. We’d like to prioritize the podcast, though — and other great free content that we haven’t had as much time to work on these past two years, so we’ve decided to try Patreon. We have some great benefits for patrons (including special access to patrons-only content, monthly live chats, and early access to new podcast episodes), but don’t worry: We’ll still have all the same great free stuff here on the website.
on the blog: Sometimes, you’re late for co-op — but there’s always a good reason!
our most popular post last week: The HSL 2019 reading challenge is here — and there’s bingo.
from the archives: Some of our favorite books of 2017 and holiday treats inspired by classic holiday books
you may be interested in: 12 Great Book Series to Read Together (Binge reading season has arrived!)
LINKS I LIKED
I will never stop wanting to discuss all the reasons why Clueless is the best modern Jane Austen adaptation — and here’s why “totally” is the perfect foil for Austen’s excessive use of “very.”
I know I’m kind of snobby about the whole Instagram Influencer thing, but this is crazy, right?
Yes, thank you, I would be interested in reading about the history of authoritarian time changes. (I once refused to switch to daylight saving time for an entire year, but I’m not sure it counts since I just did the math when I needed the time. It felt so rebellious, though!)
Someone found the last menu from the December 2009 issue of Gourmet that was never published, and if you, too, loved Gourmet, it will make you kind of sad. (I’m definitely making the potato-leek gratin.)
THINGS I DIDN’T KNOW BUT NOW I DO
The letters Q, X, and W were illegal in Turkey.
There’s an awesome Queen Anne exhibition coming to Kensington Palace, thanks to The Favorite. (This movie did not go where I expected it to go, but it was gorgeous to watch with the costumes and sets — and, of course, a must-see, since I had just spent a semester convincing people to appreciate the hilarity of the zeugma about Queen Anne taking sometimes counsel and sometimes tea in The Rape of the Lock.)
BOOKS ADDED TO MY TBR LIST THIS WEEK
Ottolenghi Simple (I’m hoping someone buys me this for the holidays)
Now & Again: Go-To Recipes, Inspired Menus and Endless Ideas for Reinventing Leftovers (yes, please, give me something to do with all the leftover kale salad that we always seem to have)
The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge (because if Eugene Yelchin and M.T. Anderson are teaming up, I am there)
The Word Is Murder (because Magpie Murders was one of my favorite books of 2017)
WHAT’S MAKING ME HAPPY
Trader Joe’s peppermint Jo-Jos
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (I’m the last one to the party on this, I know, but it’s so charming!)
(We’re Amazon affiliates, so if you purchase something through an Amazon link, we may receive a small percentage of the sale. Obviously this doesn’t influence what we recommend, and we link to places other than Amazon.)
AMY SHARONY is the founder and editor-in-chief of home | school | life magazine. She's a pretty nice person until someone starts pluralizing things with apostrophes, but then all bets are off.