I’d never had the opportunity to share a “Lit Shot” — my last book was published long before social media was A Thing — until this week:
This story is so close to my heart. It’s an ode to bread and the rhythms and repetitions of the kitchen, and a celebration of the joys of making art — be it a loaf or a poem or a song or a garden.
It takes years to publish a book — 2025! — but I can’t wait to mark the many milestones along this journey.
(And, yes — there is another book. More on that in due course!)
this and that
🥘 Slime is the best part of okra, actually.
🥖 A Sri Lankan baker’s baguette conquers France:
Most mornings, around 6:30, Tharshan Selvarajah arrives at the Élysée Palace, seat of the French presidency, and unloads around 30 baguettes into the security scanner.
The bread that is synonymous with France is sacred, but not to the point that it can pass unverified into President Emmanuel Macron’s mouth.
Nor is the baguette, in its highest expression, the exclusive domain of French bakers. Mr. Selvarajah is a Sri Lankan immigrant who has lived in France for 17 years but not yet applied for French citizenship, even as his bread has reached the summit of Gallic gustatory acclaim.
👶🏽 Baby Hour is not an official thing, but it is a real one.
🧒🏽 “So having realized, in my own life, that a certain kind of ambition can leave you feeling fried, frustrated, depressed, and without anything more or better to show for it, how could I ask my own children to follow in those same footsteps?” writes Amil Niazi in The Cut. “When I wrote last year about losing my ambition, I talked about embracing the idea of mediocrity, letting go of a compulsion for exceptionalism, never being satisfied with the life in front of me. Now it’s true of my approach to parenting too. It’s not that I don’t want the best for my kids — it’s just that I have a new understanding of what ‘the best’ looks like. It’s not about raising the ideal employee with an overstuffed resume thanks to an overstuffed schedule, but a loving, aware person, who understands there are many ways to feel fulfilled and successful. Meanwhile, my son hasn’t had any homework yet, but by allowing him to focus on what he enjoys now, in giving him ample room to be a child without worrying about what lies ahead, he does actually think first grade is pretty great.”
CONGRATULATIONS Pooja! Cheering you on the entire way ♥️🤸🏾♀️🥳