a whole autumnal vibe / Photo: Kelly Wearstler

Happy Friday !

We've got a fun issue cooked up this week, complete with a special guest edit of 3 Good Things from food and culture writer Bettina Makalintal. We'll let you get right to it. Hope you enjoy the long weekend, for our readers in the U.S.

Now, onto this week's issue! ❤️  —GNI team

This Week's Recommendations

Photo courtesy of Bettina Makalintal

3 Good Things with Food and Culture Writer Bettina Makalintal

1. Tomato season. I spend all year looking forward to the tiny window of time when tomatoes are truly worth eating; luckily, we’re in it for a few more weeks. To me, there’s no greater joy than eating sungolds by the handful, still warm from the walk home, and making sounds of delight with each candylike orb. For a meal, I love small tomatoes in a quick gnocchi and mozzarella bake, or these easy cold noodles from Eric Kim. I like big tomatoes best in a messy tomato sandwich, but this salad from Hetty McKinnon is also a refreshing, summer-worthy mix of flavors and textures. 
2. Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson. Black Cake is a novel about two estranged siblings who reunite after their mother passes away and leaves behind a mysterious recording and some of her black cake, that rummy dessert from the Caribbean. This story, which I found particularly well-suited for an audiobook, is ambling, unpredictable, and full of interesting characters. I loved getting to shut off my day by retreating into their worlds and minds as I cooked dinner and did chores, reflecting on all the stories food can tell.
3. Internet boundaries. There are people who pop up on my feeds who, without fail, annoy me; this is a truth of the internet. But as fun as it can be to bond with others over shared dislikes, I feel worse in all ways when I let myself get sucked into too many outrage spirals. Especially as I enter a new decade, I’m trying not to let other people have as much control over my happiness, so I’m taking more care to mute, unfollow, and block — when needed — those people, accounts, and phrases that I know will get me riled up. Making the time I spend online more enjoyable is a good enough reason.

This Week's Reads

• How a book gets published (NYT) — Follow the journey of Jessamine Chan's publication of her novel, The School for Good Mothers.
• Meghan of Montecito (The Cut) —That Meghan Markle interview! A peek into Harry and Megan's private life at home.
• Online creators are de facto therapists for millions. It’s complicated. (The Washington Post)
• The RealReal is a Mess (The Cut)
• Maternal Instinct is a Myth That Men Created (NYT) 
• Gen Z, Millennials’ reluctance on becoming parents (AP)
• An interview with author Taylor Jenkins Reid (Glamour) — "Once [my daughter]’s out the door and my husband has taken her to school, I make iced tea, come up to my office, and read celebrity gossip until around 8:45." (Immediately googling "Lainey Gossip"...)
• What makes a friendship work? (Vox)