Welcome back to my monthly wrap-up, a retrospective of book reviews and my favorite things I’ve tried and loved through the month. Looking for more book reviews and recommendations from past months? You can find ‘em all here. This is A LONG ONE (in a good way— lots of stuff to recommend for your TBR!) so click here to view in browser.
We’re mixing it up in this month’s wrap up, because this is my ~inbox magazine~ and I can! Free subscribers get this month’s recommendations and my favorite new stuff I’ve tried, while paid subscribers also get a bunch of book recs with full reviews, and a little life update too.
This is a LONG one— 13 books to review (2 are tied for my best book of 2026!), lots I loved, and lots of personal updates. I’d recommend opening in your browser!
ICYMI, I published a bunch of things in August that I’m super proud of and are worth a perusal:
A short personal essay on why I think it’s so important to be embarrassed and suck at stuff (and a story from when I did exactly that).
It ain’t over yet! Here are 15 late summer things to add to your bucket list.
“What, like it’s hard?” On the Elle Woods effect and choosing to live on “easy street.”
It seemed like this was a hit last month, so we’ll do it again! I’ve never done this before: I want to give a bunch of books away for one paid subscriber this month! If you’re jonesing for more summer reads, drop a comment on this post (it can be anything, a book emoji for all I care!) and I’ll DM one winner for their address and send them a little bookish care package.
Note: Comments and entry in this giveaway are limited to my paid subscribers, but you can become a paid subscriber for basically the price of 1 hardcover book! I’m doing a little promo right now where you can click here for 40% off one year of First Rodeo.
I think Labor Day Sales are popping up— the only one that’s really caught my fancy right now is Loeffler Randall’s. Really good stuff on offer, not just summer clearance, and 35% off! I will continue to ~watch this space~.
You know the rules: these are all things I have used and loved this month, straight from the horse’s mouth. Nothing unloved or untested!
I tried AYR’s cult-favorite jeans for the first time and damn. Damn! This is the priciest pair of jeans I’ve ever had and also by far the best. (Annoying when it works out that way!) The denim itself is so soft that it rivals the viral sweatpant jeans that First Rodeo readers love… I work from home and famously don’t have as many opportunities to wear jeans as I’d like, but I have been wearing these even when I would normally reach for a sweatpant, which is the best endorsement I can offer a jean.
If you like the shape of my AYR fave but are looking for a more affordable alternative, I have the J.Crew Zoe Barrel (named after me, of course). They are a lot less soft and higher waisted, but affordable and similarly shaped. As a total tangent, I tried the “tiny rollneck” that J.Crew debuted last week and I’m kicking myself for sizing up! Learn from my mistakes!
I have had more cookbooks in this life than I could ever cook from (occupational hazard from my time at Food52), and I don’t cook with recipes at all— so I’m rarely tempted. That was until Caroline Chambers published What to Cook When You Don't Feel Like Cooking: Make It Fast… This book is a godsend. I dog-eared almost every single page, which is a cookbook-first for me. If you only buy one cookbook in the next five years, make it this one.
I don't usually share "empties" here, but I also don't usually literally CLEAN OUT the inside of a bath product like this. (Rest assured, I snapped this pic before I was done with it— I got every last drop.) This body wash was such a luxurious treat. It smells so refreshing, almost citrusy, which I wasn’t expecting from an algae body wash! (I was expecting it to smell like low tide, lol...) It made my bathroom smell like a fancy hotel, which, as you know, is what I’m after.
Oy, this is the softest pullover ever. I think this waffle fabric from Negative will become a forever staple for me. I know a few readers were on the fence/curious about it and I am happy to report it’s perfect for both work days and cozy days and all the life that happens in between the two. I am wearing it for the third time this week as I type this! I sized up and I’m happy with that choice in Negative’s loungewear generally. The matching shorts are great too but I get way more use out of the pullover day to day.
