Friday SparkNotes

Cashmere socks, Sarah Jessica Parker, a new documentary, and other things that sparked this week.

Sarah Jessica Parker traded in Carrie Bradshaw’s cosmos for a stack of Booker Prize contenders, and honestly? She crushed it. A glamorous reminder that reading deeply is still the hottest accessory of the season.

With the cold and early darkness settling in, I am entering my hibernation era. These socks have helped with the transition.

This (not new) series highlights the women who’ve held the most complicated unpaid job in America—and how each redefined what power looks like when you’re technically not the one in charge. I want to watch.

If the trailer for The New Yorker at 100 is any hint, century-old perfectionism has never looked so good. The documentary comes out on December 5th.

100 must-read books of 2025. I’ve read a few on this list. The new Zadie Smith collection of essays is on my bedside table. I bought the Mark Twain biography this summer and try to read a dozen pages each week. I’ll probably be 75 when I finish it, and that’s ok.

This new book of poetry by Hanna Rosenberg has some real gems. This one especially:

And finally, A Small Ritual That Keeps Me From Losing It: I often light the same little candle on my desk before I sit down to grade a batch of papers. Somehow, the two-inch flame tricks my brain into believing I’m entering a calmer, softer dimension than the one with 48 papers waiting. I bet this could work for many daunting desk tasks.