Welcome to Sunday Sundries, the antidote to—or at least a distraction from—your Sunday Scaries.
Hi friends,
This week, a friend said to me that “August is the Sunday of summer.”
And, wow, does that ring true. My motivation has left the building. Perhaps, fled the state entirely. (Never ideal when you have productive plans between trips!) So, ’s latest letter arrived in my inbox at the exact right time to alleviate some guilt. In it, her friend Pamela tells her:
“My one takeaway from business school/operations was that the best systems aren’t running at 100% capacity—they’re running at 80%. They intentionally leave room for maintenance, variation, and the unexpected. Running at full capacity all the time eventually reduces performance. I think about that a lot in the summer!”
So, I guess I’ll be taking a cue from my motivation and fleeing the state, too. I’m heading to San Diego for a girls’ trip. (Perhaps my motivation is also eating popsicles by the pool?)
I guess all of this is to say, if you’re also being hard on yourself, it’s not all ticked to-do list boxes and crushed word count goals over here, either. But I do have plenty of sundries—this letter is always a treat to write!—including an extra-juicy links section. Let’s get into it!
📚 A Romance Micro-Trend
A few weeks ago, I told you how much I loved Once, Again, Always by Amanda Gayle, a debut romance releasing in October about a woman who wakes up in the hospital with no memories of the last 7 years, and discovers she’s married to her high school bully. It was a surprise hit for me, because amnesia isn’t usually a trope I enjoy. (There’s something very ‘90s TV show about it?)
But ever since, I’ve been seeing amnesia plots everywhere!
There’s an amnesia trope in Christina Lauren’s latest, The Romance Revival, in which a woman revives her dead husband—there’s a speculative element—but he loses his memories in the process. It’s central to Thank You For Remembering by Emily Harding, too. (Out 9/15.) Here, a woman wakes up in the hospital and has no memory of her breakup with her boyfriend, and has to lean on her neighbor for support.
What is it about 2026—or, more likely, 2024 or 2025 when these books were written—that makes amnesia so appealing? Is this simple synchronicity? Or, maybe something about the state of the world that makes forgetting feel preferable.
For the comments: Do you typically enjoy an amnesia plot?
🍿 A New Movie That Will Make You Sob
Calling all members of the “Dead Mom Club,” former-theater kids, and anyone in need of a cleansing cry: do I have a movie rec for you! My brilliant friend Laura Hankin, who also happens to be one of my favorite authors, wrote the script for Don’t Say Good Luck, a new film starring Sunny Sandler (yup, Adam Sandler’s daughter), Melanie Lynskey, and Max Greenfield (Scmidt!) that just hit Netflix.
In the semi-autobiographical movie, Sophie (Sandler) gets the lead in a high school production of Waitress just as her mom’s cancer returns. I went through half a box of tissues watching. This movie is so, so full of heart! A billion stars! (PS I’m not the only one who loved it, it currently has 96% on Rotten Tomatoes!)
👗 A Fave Skirt Dupe
Left: my version; Right: dupe version
I have a skirt I love so much that I’ve owned it in 3 colorways. Every time I wear it, I rack up compliments, both IRL and online. But, sadly, it’s from J.Crew a few years ago and long gone from their website. But this week, I saw my friend wearing a great (and relatively affordable) dupe from Shopbop! There are limited sizes in the flame red, but lots of stock in black and white.
The cooking queen of Substack, , has a new cookbook out this week. I can’t wait to dive into the recipes once I’m back from San Diego.
We discussed the Wicker trailer on this week’s podcast, but if you want more framing for the sentient object romance genre, has a great rundown.
Taking my role as “fun aunt” seriously and buying the sparkly ballet slippers for a friend’s soon to be 3-year-old even though she’ll grow out of them.
I’ve loved the fit of Thirdlove’s bras in the past (half cup sizes FTW!), but really dislike the crimped straps. So, I was happy to see they have some new non-crimped options. I’ve been liking this one that gives some good (but not fully push-up-bra) lift!
I devoured this New Yorker long-read about Caro Claire Burke, the author of Yesteryear. (1.4M copies sold?!)
Emily Ratajkowski scored a 7-figure book deal for her latest book on motherhood.
I’m not ready to think about fall clothes yet, but have a feeling this red chore coat will sell out quickly. OK, I’m a little ready, because I’m also mulling how confident I feel in my size in this deeply discounted pink suede mini skirt that’s final sale. (The butter yellow and blue are also so pretty!)
The New York Times [gift link] has weighed in on DNF-ing. (Spoiler: totally acceptable.)
Barack Obama is launching a book podcast. Does that make him my peer?
We’re less than two months out from the launch of my second novel, and I’m trying to convince you to pre-order based on vibes. If I’ve been successful, you can snag a signed copy from The Ripped Bodice.
More soon,
Becca
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.