Read:

Have you ever heard of this little novel called To Kill a Mockingbird? It was pretty famous.

Well, in the most exciting literary twist of 2015 yet, there is a SEQUEL COMING!! My reaction to the press release on Tuesday:

This is probably the most exciting thing to happen in publishing in the past year forever and ever. And ever. Here’s what we know so far:

1. The book is called Go Set a Watchman, and it was written 50 years ago, before Harper Lee wrote Mockingbird. So it isn’t truly a sequel, but rather the parent novel to Mockingbird. It’s set in the same place and features many of the same characters, including an all-grown-up Scout.

2. According to the press release, Lee’s editor in the 1950s read the manuscript and loved the flashbacks Scout had to her childhood. Her editor talked her into developing those scenes into a whole new book. As Lee is quoted in the press release:  “I was a first-time writer, so I did as I was told.” Here’s an interview with her current HarperCollins editor, who found out about the book at the same time as the rest of us.

3. The book was thought to have been lost until Tonja Carter, Lee’s attorney and friend, discovered it in a “secure place” in late 2014. The book is now being rushed through production and will be released by July 14, 2015 (supposedly with no editing done by HarperCollins). You can see the book page here–even though a cover hasn’t been released yet, the book is already #1 on Amazon from preorders alone. EDIT: Since I drafted this on Thursday night, a cover has been uploaded to the book page! It’s only showing for the Kindle Edition, but typically ebooks and print books have the same cover, so this could, in fact, be the final cover:

4. There is a lot of speculation about Lee’s level of involvement in this decision. Her sister Alice, who protected her from public scrutiny, died last year, and Harper is in diminishing health. Before her death, her sister wrote that Harper “can’t see and can’t hear and will sign anything put before her by anyone in whom she has confidence.” However, Andrew Nurnberg, her literary agent, visited Harper in Alabama in January and said she seemed “feisty” and in good spirits. You can read more details on this here.

So there you have it–what could be a more exciting literary development than that? A sequel to the bestselling book of our time; a reclusive author; a rediscovered manuscript; unanswered questions about the deal. It’s like something you’d read in a… book! (Sorry–couldn’t help myself.)

Eat:

I love no-recipe recipes. What’s a no-recipe recipe? It’s basically a narrative recipe–it’s how you would explain to a friend how to cook something, as you’re standing around the kitchen, chatting about this and that. Here’s the one that’s been stuck in my head all week, from the New York Times Cooking newsletter:

You’ll need some chicken thighs, six to eight of them for a table of four (I’d do bone-in, but boneless would work as well). Four or five tablespoons of Dijon, a little less softened unsalted butter and about an equal amount of chopped fresh tarragon leaves, and some bread crumbs.

Heat the oven to 425, or higher if your stove runs cool. Combine the mustard, butter and chopped tarragon in a large bowl, mixing it all together with a fork until everything’s incorporated into everything else. Salt and pepper the chicken, then add the thighs to the mustard mixture, tossing to get it all over the meat. Arrange the chicken on a rimmed sheet pan and cover each piece with a handful of bread crumbs, really pressing them into the paste so they adhere.

Slide that pan into the oven for a half-hour while you make some rice or boil off a few potatoes. You can make a salad, or steam some greens. Then check to see if the chicken has been cooked all the way through. Probably not. Another five or 10 minutes ought to do it. You’re looking for a nice crisp crust, golden brown, above the luscious meat.

Not a bad midweek dinner!

And that, right there, is how I actually cook. A little bit of this, a little bit of that, poke things around to see if they’re done, and hope for the best the whole way through. (Which is probably why I’m an abysmal baker–measuring is such a hassle.)

I’m already daydreaming at my desk about making this tonight. I think I’ll do a nice, loaded salad on the side. Sounds just right!

Drink:

I’m stepping aside to let our resident bartender, Jarrett, handle this one! Here he is:

This space is usually full of fun and fancy cocktails, but in the event that you try all of Maria’s Weekend Roundup drink recommendations at one time, you’ll probably end up face down in a ditch with a nasty hangover. Luckily, our new favorite magazine, Garden & Gun, is ON IT. They polled some of the leading mixologists around the country for their go-to hangover cures. The results were equal parts enlightening, hilarious, and delicious. My favorite “cure” was from John Currence, chef and owner of City Grocery in Oxford Mississippi:

My hangover cure: Start drinking again. If you’ve got a for-real hangover, there’s no better way to cure it than just prolonging the agony. Personally, I like either a Bloody Mary or, if it’s an extreme case, a shot of tequila and some sangrita.

Another quality suggestion came courtesy of Jeff “Beachum” Berry, the “Tiki expert,” from New Orleans:

If you can’t get out of bed, don’t. Remain inert until you pass out again. If you can manage the impossible journey from supine to upright, stumble to the nearest diner and eat a big breakfast with lots of coffee.

For many other quality ideas—such as a soda-water-and-bitters elixir, egg drop soup, and even mimosas made with PBR—check out the full article.