Heart Eyes, Vol. 79: The Collected Schizophrenias, A Mr. Collins-Off, and Extremely Fluffy Pancakes
Ooh, welcome to summer, everyone. We're looking at what should be our first heat wave of the year, and I'm so excited—as a person who lives (and especially works) in a chilly, foggy place and hasn't had proper summer break in decades, I cherish every second of whatever's warm and leisurely, especially if it falls on a weekend. Add a quick trip with some dear friends and a fun celebration—which is exactly what's happening—and I'm in heaven. Bring on the shorts weather! I'm here for it. I hope you're here for whatever your summer weekend brings, too.
What To Read, Longform: The Collected Schizophrenias, by Esmé Weijun Wang
I read such a captivating book last week, if not exactly a light or uplifting one. The Collected Schizophrenias is about what it sounds like—a collection of essays on the constellation of disorders we call schizophrenia, by a writer who, herself, has schizoaffective disorder, bipolar type. The essays are personal, but not; Wang uses her personal experiences with psychosis, episodes of depression and mania, varying diagnoses and their processes, involuntary hospitalization, and more as jumping-off points to discuss the historical and cultural contexts of schizophrenia, and of mental illness in general. It's wry and sad, informative and scary, and I gulped it down. You might, too.
What To Read, Short-Form: Mr. Collins vs. Mr. Collins, at Black Cardigan
It has been entirely too long since we've had any baller Jane Austen Content here, but I'm making it up to you this week: check out Carrie Frye's joyful and warm-hearted piece comparing and contrasting the two most recent film portrayals of Elizabeth Bennet's most awkward cousin/suitor. I mean, how to choose? She's correct that David Bamber's performance from the 1996 miniseries blends the perfect combination of sweatiness and mild menace, but what about the time, in the 2005 edition, when Tom Hollander starts to stand up, but then nobody else does, and he doesn't know whether he should continue or sit back down, and so he just...hangs there for a while? Please don't make me choose; I just can't. They're both too perfect. YOU, however, might have an opinion, and there's only one way to find out.
What To Cook: Tall, Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes
I think you'll be unsurprised to hear that I'm a big believer in breakfast. Breakfast for breakfast, breakfast for lunch, breakfast for dinner, breakfast for snacktime, breakfast for dessert (and dessert for breakfast, obviously), it's all fair game. So when I needed half a cup of buttermilk for a cake a few weeks back, but it only came in quarts, I found myself with an opportunity of the best kind: an opportunity to make a lot of breakfast foods (and more cake) before it all went bad. And so I discovered my new house pancake, this one from Smitten Kitchen. I don't always have this much buttermilk lying around, but these are so easy, and the finished product is just perfect—tall and fluffy, as she notes in the title, and so, so tender. I made them twice in just a few days and ate them hot from the oven, drenched in syrup, and then re-crisped the leftovers in the toaster for the best snack with jam, or peanut butter, or both. Incidentally, they're VERY good for eating one-handed in the car.