Welcome to friends of! Once a month, one of my favorite writers, artists, friends, poets, opera composers, lovers, and/or booksellers recommend books & things to you & me.
This month, the love of my life, light of my soul, other half of my brain cell, Mills Pennebaker, brings us their picks. Mills is a professor of history at the College of Charleston AND the lead host at the chicest restaurant in Brooklyn. They are the wisest and funniest person I know, they know Things About Wine in a not-annoying way, they have truly cool taste, they are the last person I ate fro-yo with, and are, you might have guessed, my sibling. :,) Read on for Mills’s picks!
Books! 📚
Just picked up the second volume of Kurt Vonnegut’s collected works from the library. I enjoy when his dry sense of humor peeks out, especially with the few included autobiographical inserts. Before that, I devoured Beautyland, which I borrowed from you :) I’m also working on Patti Smith’s Year of the Monkey that I nabbed at a stoop sale before work last week.
Lovey-dovey 💘
Janet Kay’s 1977 cover of “Lovin’ You” (originally performed by Minnie Riperton in 1974) has been on repeat. Can’t help this lovey-dovey mood I’ve been in!
Hobby 🧵
I used to embroider silly things on my clothes during grad school, but fell out of practice when I started teaching. This morning, though, I unearthed my sewing kit and even mended a few shirts!
Treasures 🫶🔑💛
Rudolph and Ruth, two beanie baby knock-offs that I’ve had since I was a baby.
Hair ✂️
I’m currently growing out a buzz cut and desperately need some recommendations! When my hair is a bit longer: bleach, colorful hair dye, and dry shampoo.
Dinner 🍷🍝
No contest — the best restaurant is Fradei Bistro (Fort Greene, Brooklyn)! Opened and owned by the amazing Clément Besset, Feadei offers French-inspired cuisine and fabulous wines tucked away in the most charming space. Huge shout out to Bethany and Dano Heinze, the masterminds behind Vern's (Charleston, SC), as well! Neither spot will ever let you down.
Boogie-ing 🕺🏻
My partner recently DJed at Nightmoves, which is among my favorite dance spots in Brooklyn. It was fun to catch up with old friends and connect with a few new ones :)
Howard Zinn 👨🦳
I'm Howard Zinn's biggest fan!!! Read his 1980 A People's History of the United States! This book revolutionized the way in which we approach talking about the past by emphasizing the sheer importance of recounting history from the "bottom up” — from the perspective of traditionally marginalized and excluded communities (damn, you can defo tell I'm a historian from the length of that sentence lol). People's History helped to jumpstart a sort of People's History series, with similar — and more recently published — monographs that delve deeper and into more nuanced narratives. I use chapters from Kali Nicole Gross and Daina Ramey Berry's A Black Women's History of the United States (2020) and Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz's An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States (2014) in my courses.
BONUS REC FOR SUBSCRIBERS BELOW 💘