Throughout the academic year, Melinda Giampietro, Options Founder/President, will share some of her favourite things in her monthly Founder’s Feature. Melinda loves reading, data, research, and following academic and adolescent news around the world.
Cookbook of the Summer
This summer, we cooked our way through The Wishbone Kitchen Cookbook, by Meredith Hayden. The Wishbone Kitchen blog is always a win for fresh, unique recipes with easy-to-follow directions and beautiful East Coast style photographs. We had a special summer resident this summer who cooked almost three-quarters of Meredith’s recipes. Some of our standout favourites were: Homemade Stracciatella with Marinated Sungolds (we made this at least six times when entertaining outdoors on our back deck: see photo!), Squash Ribbons with Pistachio and Pecorino, Pink Lemon Pasta, and Nantucket Clam Bake (see photo!).
Events of the Summer
One of the best parts of summer is having time to attend events that are difficult to get to during the school year. I love hearing different people speak about their lived experiences. Two events I attended this summer really left a positive impression on me.
Last year, I featured All the Colors of the Dark in Founder’s. This is the only book that I have ever finished, immediately flipped over, and began reading again. I loved it with my purest heart. In July, I was able to hear author Chris Whitaker speak in a very intimate venue. It was incredible. He has no formal training as an author, yet he writes eloquently. In person, he was honest, raw, funny, and open. I can’t wait until his next book is released.
My husband and I were also able to see Kaitlan Collins, CNN’s White House correspondent, speak. At 33-years-old, Ms. Collins is a force. Frank, funny, and uninhibited, she shared anecdote after anecdote about working in the White House. She was so classy and able to get her thoughts across with grace and clarity without being petty or disrespectful. As a former AP Government teacher, I could have listened to her tales of living history all night.
Books of the Summer (and one highlight)
See my summer stack of books below; most of these I thought were worthy reads but also didn’t fully live up to the hype or reviews. There was one standout, though: Playworld, by Adam Ross. Being a Generation X child in the 1980s, I found his setting (time and place) for the novel so intriguing. This is one of those books respected by critics but having a hard time making it into the general readership. I recommend it for your next book club book. I found his interview on the Books, Beach, and Beyond podcast just as interesting. You can find it here. I also need to note, I haven’t made it through Intermezzo yet! I got a little sidetracked with many, many summer visitors and beautiful beach days.
Concert of the Summer
If you are a regular Founder’s Feature reader, you know I keep a list of songs that I am keen to hear live in the Notes app on my phone and almost all of them are from the country music genre. This summer, we took a family field trip to Fenway Park to see: The Castellows, Tucker Wetmore, Teddy Swims, and Thomas Rhett. Thomas Rhett was the headliner and an excellent one at that, but I was there to hear Tucker Wetmore’s “Wind Up Missing You”: my song of summer 2025.
Melinda’s Favourite Back-to-School Supplies
These are my three essential back-to-school purchases.
A J Story Calendar that I write in with Ticonderoga #2 HB soft pencils and highlight with Zebra Pen Mildliner Double-Ended Highlighters. Oh, and I make sure we are well stocked with Awake Caffeinated Chocolate Bites and benny drinks.
To read more Founder’s Features, check them out under the Options News category.
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