National Donut Day is June 5, and I want to tell you about the most important hole in the history of pastry.

In 1847, a sixteen-year-old sailor named Hanson Gregory got frustrated that the center of his fried dough cakes never cooked through. So he punched out the middle with the top of a tin pepper shaker. The hole he created, the part nobody eats, turned out to be the thing that made the donut iconic. Its most recognizable feature is an absence. (I’ve spent considerable time deciding whether...

Memorial Day arrives on May 25, which is also, somehow, National Wine Day. The universe has gifted us a long weekend and a wine holiday in the same 72 hours. I consider this a personal message. (Who am I to argue with the universe?)

Before I get to the wine, I want to pause on Memorial Day itself. It’s a solemn holiday at its heart, a day of remembering people who gave something we’ll never be able to give back. That matters. If you know a Gold Star family, call them. If you know a veteran,...

Memorial Day weekend is almost here, which means summer reading season is officially about to kick off. (May is also Get Caught Reading Month, by the way, so consider yourselves warned. I’m watching you in public, waiting to catch you in the act.) If you’re anything like me, you’ve already started triaging your TBR for beach season.

Here’s the thing about a true beach read. You can spot one from forty feet away. The cover is usually pastel, or cerulean, or that specific shade of coral that...