One of the many reasons I'm so down on Toronto is just how oppressively hot it can get. I've lived in some hot places (Los Angeles, Southern Spain, Vanuatu, Cuba, the Dominican, Melbourne...), but Toronto, in my opinion, is the hottest. I don't care what the number on the thermometer reads — I care how I feel. How I sweat. What a slog it is to get from place to place as a pedestrian — and, to me, there is no worse place than Toronto in the summer. (It also has the worst traffic, but that's another post.)
Anyway, there's a great long-form piece by Sam Bloch in Places Journal about Shade.
Frank Lloyd Wright, hailed among the 20th century's greatest architects, has left a rich legacy that inspires to this day; here, we invite you to dive into his world.
If you're not familiar with the chain, they have 24 locations in France and last year opened their first in New York City. The business hires crew members with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and empowers them through meaningful training and employment. They currently employ 154 people with mental and cognitive disabilities. So, so great.
Most of the online profiles are in French, but here's one in English:
Nothing gets me opening Libby faster than The Millions Previews.
This time, it's their Summer 2024 Preview, obvs, which highlights a new biography of genius filmmaker Agnes Varda, and titles from Rachel Kushner, Joy Williams, Yoko Tawada, Honor Moore, Sarah Manguso, Virginie Despentes, Jo Hamya, László Krasznahorkai, and many more.
There are also two from authors I'm not familiar with that sound right up my alley, both due in August:
The Italy Letters by Vi Khi Nao
"This epistolary novel by Nao, an emerging queer Vietnamese American writer who Garielle Lutz once called “an unstoppable genius,” sounds like an incredible read: an unnamed narrator in Las Vegas writes sensual stream-of-consciousness letters to their lover in Italy. Perfect leisure reading on a sultry summer’s afternoon while sipping a glass of prosecco."
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