Cherry Jam FTW

Relentless pursuit of the delightful!!!

Hi hi! HAPPY FRIDAY! 

Here’s a sentence I never thought I’d say: I recently had the great pleasure of kayaking in Skokie!!! The northern Chicago suburb has a lovely little lagoon, and despite the absolutely unhinged cicada plague, I found a peace on the water that I hadn’t expected.

#DeliciousAF

I got a pint of lackluster cherries at the farmers market last weekend, and David Lebovitz’s cherry jam recipe saved the day! I bought a cherry pitter and made a juicy, glorious mess all over the kitchen. We are still finding cherry splatter remains. I am happy to report that the peonies were much less disappointing!

Was very pleased with my flower-storage situation while on a bicycle!!!

In other food-related news, TWO friends this year have gotten a new pet and named them Cheese. JUST AN IDEA. (Does your pet have a food-related name? If so, pleeeeease share it in the comments!)

Books! Books! Books!

Many books are coming out this Tuesday, and I think it means we’re in peak summer reading season! As my smart friend Traci Thomas says, any book you read in the summer is a summer book, and I completely agree.

I do think, though, that there’s something extra delicious about a book that feels like candy — It’s sweet, it’s addictive, and it’s super fun. Two of those books are coming out on the 18th:

• Rom-com queen Katherine Center’s newest, The Rom-Commers, has a wonderfully self-realized protagonist, excellent dialogue, and a deeply affirming central theme.

• The Memo by Rachel Dodes and Lauren Mechling, is the sugar-coated time travel book you’ve been waiting for.

A book I haven’t read yet but can’t WAIT to dive into is Akwaeke Emezi’s latest, Little Rot. I loooved their book You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty and I can’t wait to see what they’ve come up with next.

Full disclosure: All the book URLs here link to my affiliate store with bookshop.org, where I get a commission if you purchase a book. That means you get to support me and indie bookstores at the same time! (Also, I just put up a bunch of lists, including all the past book club books!)

Out and about 

• House of the Dragon premieres this Sunday on Max! Right after you watch, you can listen to the companion podcast that I co-host. It’ll be available on HBO/Max, or wherever you get your podcasts!

Extra bonus thanks 

Before I go, I just wanted to say THANK YOU again to all of you for signing up for this newsletter, and an extra bonus thanks to everyone who has become a paid subscriber! It’s so lovely to see comments like this one from GRETAGRAM supporter Emily:

RELENTLESS PURSUIT OF THE DELIGHTFUL!!! So good!!!

I’ve had so much fun sending postcards to supporters — it’s not too late to ask for one if you’re interested! Just email me with your address and I’ll get a fun note out to you. I already had to re-up my stamp and postcard stash, and I’m ready to send one to YOU!

See you next week,

Greta

P.S. Do you like this email?! Spread the delight and forward it to a friend! (Or spam an enemy, lol!)