Dragons, Diners, and Dying for Sex
Things You'll Love (v. 32)
Hi, I’m Monica. Things You’ll Love is where I share what I’m collecting: books, music, recipes, slow rituals, and minor wonders. Think of it as my kitchen table. You’re always welcome here.
Hey everyone!
We’re back to a more word-centric issue this week! I loved putting these together for y’all. Some of the items I’ve been saving for over a year (phew).
Tell me which one was your favorites down below!
˜ With love and delight, Monica
Something for fun
If you enjoy rich, interwoven stories/books, this one’s for you.
Grace Lin’s Where the Mountain Meets the Moon (affiliate link. Non-affiliate link here) tells the story of Minli, a young girl, who travels away from her home, in search of changing her family’s fortune. Along the way she meets a dragon, a boy, a king, some twins, and eventually, the Old Man of the Moon.
I read this with my foster kid, over the course of several months, at bedtime, and they were enchanted, even though they’re a teenager. Lin’s full-color illustrations are stunning, and each chapter’s header includes a small pen sketch/illustration.
Thematically, the story deftly weaves in a child who’s taken on responsibilities of a parent, community, sacrifice, the power of story, and more. And, it was so delightful (and engaging) that I bought the second and third books, which are connected, but not directly tied to, Minli and her journey. (We’ve already finished the second! I’ll report back after we finish the third)
Something to read
If you run a business and you’ve been online for any length of time, you need to go read this article (I know, it’s a video embed, (I originally read the article on a page that doesn’t exist anymore) but has the transcript which is the same content).
Some favorite bits:
“But passive income as an organizing philosophy for your entire business life, for how you think about work, is almost perfectly designed to produce garbage. When you make passivity the thing you’re optimizing for, you stop caring about anything a customer might actually want. Caring is active, caring takes time, caring is work.” (emphasis mine)
“The machine keeps running, it just swaps out the brochure. But I’ve started to notice a few more people talking about what I’d call “giving a shit businesses”. People who make furniture and run small companies, write software they actually use themselves. Stuff where the answer to why does your business exists isn’t to generate passive income.”
“Where it went wrong is that the whole movement confused “build a good product that scales” with “build any mechanism that extracts money without you being involved”. And I don’t think that confusion was accidental; I think the confusion was the point. Because if you’re teaching people to build real businesses, you have to sit with hard and boring questions about whether anyone actually wants what you’re selling.” (emphasis mine)
It’s kinda like he’s talking about the MLM of the online business space.
Something to watch
Last spring, I stumbled on to Dying for Sex when it originally aired on Hulu. Michelle Williams stars as Molly, a woman who leaves her husband shortly after getting a terminal cancer diagnosis. (If cancer’s touchy for you, just skip to the next segment below 💖)
As the show progresses, Molly seeks out an orgasm, which she’s never had before, and along the way uncovers trauma and falls in love again.
I fell in love with Jenny Slate who plays the lead’s (very messy) best friend, who agrees to be Molly’s cancer person and go to all the treatments, etc.
The script’s loosely based on a memoir written by Molly Kochan, and what really impressed me was how deftly the show deals with a lot of the nuances of illness and relationships.
Plus, Sissy Spacek has some amazing scenes as Molly’s mother.
Something to cook
A few years ago, some friends introduced me to the Costco Stuffed Peppers — and my life hasn’t been the same since.
These weren’t anything like I remembered stuffed peppers tasting! They were savory and had layers of umami to them.
I loved them so much that I had to figure out how to make them from home, and finally, this spring, I got to experiment with some recipes.
If you, too, like the idea of stuffed peppers, but don’t have a Costco nearby, try combining these two recipes:
https://howto.cooking/recipes/easy-copycat-costco-stuffed-peppers/
https://foodiecreator.com/costco-stuffed-pepper/
I like to combine whatever cheeses I have on hand, not just the parmesan that the recipes focus on, and then I also add cheese to the top for broiling at the very end. Be careful, or you might, like me, end up with a layer of black carbon instead of cheesy on the top.
Something to help if you have pets
I could’ve used something like this quality of life assessment (that one of my friend’s recently shared) when my first cat Jade got sick.
The assessment helps you walk through what’s important for your pet and helps you think ahead about how you’ll navigate what’ll inevitably be a hard thing.
Wildcard: Something cozy for you!
This one’s another book! If you enjoy cozy magical romances, check out this romance, Winter Wishes at Full Moon Diner, by Ali Sterling, about an efficiency expert who inherits a magical diner with an attractive cook who makes the most enchanted food. Sparks (literally) fly as their worlds collide.
(I worked on the cover, edits, and maybe even some character names 😉 for this one)
Plus! If you prefer to listen to your books, an audiobook with Virtual Voices just came out, for your ears to enjoy. 😊
Well, looking back over this issue, it sure is reading-heavy. Guess that’s the sort of vibe I’m going for this week. Enjoy, and I’ll see y’all here in a couple weeks with another issue!
And next week, on June 23rd (during my birthday week!) for a live with Bunny Morgan Brown of The Bad Hand Cast, where we’ll discuss magic and more.
~M
If this little collection of things brought you a moment of joy, consider subscribing — free or paid. Paid support helps me keep this table set and the pantry stocked. Either way, I’m glad you’re here.