It’s the season of mandatory cheer, and I am thoroughly exhausted. I usually need at least a week to recover from any party. I’m already a festive shell of myself and it’s only December 14th. I do have one small comfort to offer during this trying time: these salted brown butter Rice Krispie treats, care of the brilliant Deb Perelman. If you ever have to bring a dessert to a party, now or at any point in the future, bring these. I used to make very elaborate desserts for my friends in the hope that it would demonstrate my fundamental worth to myself and everyone else (I mean, because I love baking!), but then one day, in a time crunch, I whipped up a batch of these and everyone went absolutely bonkers for them. With apologies to the lattice-top pies and yeast cakes of the past, these everyone’s favorite dessert, and they take 15 minutes, max. Truly a holiday miracle!
–Jessie Gaynor, Lit Hub social media editor
Mid-December drag got you down? Have you considered listening to every single interview that Samin Nosrat has ever done? It’s been working for me as I cook my nightly quinoa-and-something-else-I-guess concoction while listening to Nosrat talk about the history of women and cooking, the delicacy of certain flavors, and the wood-burning cooking fires at Chez Panisse. “Ah, yes,” I nod along with Nosrat’s animated discussion of seasonal vegetables as I feebly pour myself some cereal while ignoring the beets I bought without remotely knowing what to do with them. (Help, seriously, how do you cook with beets?) (I stopped in the middle of writing this blurb to look for an answer and found it in one of Nosrat’s recipes.) Many well-deserved great things have been said about “Salt Fat Acid Heat,” Nosrat’s Netflix show and cookbook of the same name; she is equally delightful and insightful in interviews, especially on the podcasts Call Your Girlfriend and Fresh Air (parts one and two). Go listen right after you send me your beet-related thoughts.
–Corinne Segal, Lit Hub senior editor
Most of the time in this column, we recommend specific books we want folks to read, but this week I want to recommend reading qua reading, as a pleasurable activity with which to fill one’s leisure time. This week has been, I do declare, positively exhausting. [mimes fainting motion] With holiday parties and all those end of year lists, plus the inevitable stress of planning a vacation, has left me looking forward to a weekend of self-care and solid reading. In a hectic world, there’s no better way to spend a Saturday than reading on your couch with a cat in your lap.
–Molly Odintz, CrimeReads associate editor
Today, I will be recommending buying yourself presents. It’s important to buy yourself presents, especially around the holidays. Look out for number one, you can’t help others unless you help yourself, etc. This year, my fiancé and I bought ourselves (each other?) a television, something neither of us has had in our adult lives, and also a Playstation 4 Pro, which ditto. I have now begun, quite late, but quite joyfully, to play Skyrim, and let me tell you: I recommend it. But not if you’re trying to get a novel draft done.
–Emily Temple, Lit Hub senior editor
I recently adopted a dog (yay!), which means I haven’t been reading as much (boo!) because I’ve been constantly obsessing over him, especially on the subway. But I recommend you follow @bookmarksreads on Instagram for quality content of Oliver (Ollie!) posed with books. I also recommend adopting a dog, and going to Petco for some prime Christmas sweaters. What Oliver and I have jointly been loving after a long day at the office is the hit television show, Younger. (Because after spending eight hours living the publishing/media life, we like to watch other people do it.) Sutton Foster is a forty-year-old mom having a hard time getting back into publishing, so she poses as a twenty-six-year-old and becomes best friends with Hilary Duff. Enough said.
–Katie Yee, Book Marks assistant editor