Sunday Paper Recommends—Week of August 9, 2026
This week at The Sunday Paper, we’re sharing books, a podcast, and a show that we believe will add inspiration to your days. We hope these suggestions open your heart and mind and encourage you to come together for meaningful conversations.
What We’re Watching
On December 21, 1988, a bomb hidden in a suitcase brought down Pan Am Flight 103 over the small Scottish town of Lockerbie, killing 270 people and launching what would become the largest murder inquiry in Scottish policing history. The Bombing of Pan Am 103 follows that investigation as it stretches across an ocean, with Detective Sergeant Ed McCusker working alongside FBI Special Agent Dick Marquise to trace a scattered debris field back to the people responsible. Told across six tense episodes, the series moves between the incident room in Scotland and forensics labs in the U.S., piecing together how a scrap of circuit board and a swatch of clothing unraveled a conspiracy years in the making. Stream The Bombing of Pan Am 103 now on Netflix.
What We’re Reading
This National Book Lovers Day, we’re celebrating with Maria’s very own publishing imprint, The Open Field! However you mark the day—curled up with an old favorite or hunting for something new—may we suggest starting here.
by Maria Shriver
Our first title to recommend is from The Sunday Paper's leader herself. Maria has spent her career asking other people the hard questions, and in I Am Maria she turns that same honesty on herself, using poetry to sit with loss, identity, and reinvention.
by Howard Schubiner MD
Dr. Howard Schubiner has spent over twenty years researching why chronic pain, fatigue, anxiety, and depression so often persist long after the original injury or illness heals. In Unlearn Your Pain, he lays out the neuroscience behind it, along with a step-by-step program that's helped thousands break the cycle.
by Emma Heming Willis
When Emma Heming Willis's husband, Bruce, was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, she was handed a pamphlet and sent on her way. The Unexpected Journey is the book she wishes someone had given her instead—an honest, practical guide to caregiving, and to holding onto yourself while you do it.
by Laysha Ward
Laysha Ward spent 32 years climbing to the C-suite at Target, and in Lead Like You Mean It, she distills that career into a case for leading with purpose instead of just power. It's part memoir, part playbook, for anyone trying to build a career without losing themselves in it.
by Steven Petrow
In one brutal stretch of 2017, Steven Petrow lost both parents, went through a divorce, and watched his sister face a cancer diagnosis. The Joy You Make is his search for joy on the other side of all that, proof that it can be found in the smallest, most ordinary places if you know where to look.
What We’re Listening To
Six years ago, Amanda Kloots lost her husband, Nick Cordero, after a 95-day battle with COVID. In her new podcast, Good Grief, she turns that loss into an open conversation about what comes after—not just death, but any ending that reshapes a life: divorce, a career, a sense of home. Amanda talks with celebrities, experts, and everyday people about how they kept moving after their world changed, and she doesn’t shy away from her own journey, either. The result feels less like a grief podcast and more like a standing invitation to sit with someone who gets it.
What We're Making
A Picnic in the Park Board
This charming board is perfect for an outdoor picnic or backyard gathering. A small basket lined with a tea towel creates a fitting centerpiece and is filled with assorted sandwiches, while fresh fruit, cheeses, and a touch of something sweet surround it for easy sharing.
It captures all the charm of a classic picnic basket in a beautiful, grazeable spread.
SERVES: 6 to 8
BOARD: 22 × 16-inch (56 × 41 cm) board with handle
UTENSILS: Parchment paper, twine, small wicker basket, tea towel, 5 small jars and/or bowls, 1 medium bowl, 2 mini jars, 6 (4-inch, or 10-cm) wooden skewers, honey drizzler, cheese knife, serving spoons, and mini tongs
Ingredients:
- 1 demi ciabatta baguette, divided
- 1 demi French baguette
- ¼ cup (60 g) olive bruschetta or tapenade
- ¼ cup (60 g) hummus plus ⅓ cup (80 g), drizzled with olive oil and garnished with fresh thyme, divided
- ½ pound (227 g) roasted/grilled vegetables (zucchini, onion, peppers, eggplant), thinly sliced (roast at 425°F, or 220°C, for 20 to 25 minutes, or grill until tender)
- 2 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese
- ⅓ cup (80 g) basil pesto
- 4 ounces (113 g) fresh mozzarella, sliced
- 1 tomato, thinly sliced
- 24 fresh basil leaves, divided
- ¼ cup (60 g) garlic and herb butter wheel (3 ounces, or 163g) Brie cheese ninly slicer
- 9 slices jambon de Paris (4 ounces, or
- 113g), divided
- ½ cup (10 g) arugula
- 4 cantaloupe cubes
- 4 honeydew melon cubes
- 4 watermelon cubes
- 6 marinated mini mozzarella balls (ciliegine)
- 1½ cups (300 g) antipasto pasta salad
- ½ cup (160 g) mixed marinated olives and feta
- ½ cup (80 g) mixed cornichons and pearl onions
- ½ cup (70 g) olive and herbs mixed nuts
- 2½ cups (75 g) wavy potato chips
- 1 bunch green grapes
- 1 bunch red grapes
- 2 ounces (57 g) peppered salami (8 thin slices)
- 1 wheel (5¾ ounces, or 163 g) Camembert cheese
- 1 wedge (3 ounces, or 85 g) Comté cheese, sliced
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons strawberry preserves
- ½ cup (65 g) dried apricots
- 16 multigrain crackers
- 8 strawberries, whole and halved
- 12 petite colorful carrots, peeled
- 1 cup (60 g) sugar snap peas
- 14 cherry tomatoes on the vine
- 8 palmier cookies
- 6 large dark chocolate squares
- 4 fresh figs, halved
- Fresh thyme sprigs, for garnishing (optional)
Directions:
- Slice both baguettes in half lengthwise, then cut the ciabatta baguette in half crosswise
- To make the grilled veggies and feta sandwiches, spread the inside of both halves of half of the ciabatta baguette with the bruschetta and ¼ cup (60 g) of the hummus, then layer the roasted veggies on the bottom half and top with the feta. Close. To make the caprese pesto sandwiches, spread the pesto on the insides of both halves of the remaining ciabatta baguette half, then layer the mozzarella slices on the bottom half, followed by the tomato slices, and topped with 12 of the basil leaves. Close. Cut both sandwiches into thirds, wrap the centers of each section with strips of parchment paper, and secure with twine.
- To make the jambon and Brie sandwiches, spread the inside of both halves of the French baguette with the butter, then layer the Brie slices on the bottom half, followed by 6 slices of the jambon, and topped with the arugula. Close and cut the sandwich in half. Wrap the center of each section with a strip of parchment paper and secure with twine
- Line the small basket with the tea towel, then arrange the sandwiches inside it. Place the basket on the center of the board.
- To make the fruit skewers, tear the remaining 3 jambon slices into 4 strips each. Thread each of the 6 skewers, in this order with a fruit cube. a basil leaf, a double-folded strip of jambon, a mozzarella ball, another basil leaf, another double-folded strip of jambon, and another fruit cube (use cantaloupe for 2 skewers, honeydew for 2, and watermelon for 2). Place the fruit skewers on the board near the pasta salad.
- Add the pasta salad, olives, cornichons and pearl onions, nuts, and the remaining ⅓ cup (80 g) hummus to the small jars or bowls, garnish the hummus, and then place the jars/bowls around the basket. Add the potato chips to the medium bowl, then place on the top-right corner. Place the red grapes above the basket and the green grapes below it.
- Fan the salami on the top-left corner of the board. Arrange the Camembert wheel and the Comté cheese slices around the meat. Add the honey and jam to the mini jars, then set near the cheese and meat, along with the dried apricots and crackers.
- Arrange the strawberries on the right side of the board. Pile the petite carrots and sugar snap peas near the hummus, along with the tomatoes on the vine.
- Place the palmier cookies and chocolate squares in open spaces for the final sweet touch.
- Garnish the board with the fig halves and thyme sprigs (if using).
Serving Notes
Serve this board within 1 to 2 hours of assembling, keeping it shaded if in the outdoors. Serve with sparkling lemonade and/or a chilled bottle of rosé for a true picnic vibe. For a smaller crowd, scale it down and build it in a smaller basket or on a board for 2 to 4 people. Line the basket with parchment over the towel for easier transport and tidier serving. You can make the sandwiches up to 4 hours in advance, wrap them in parchment, tie with twine, and then place in an airtight container or plastic bag to store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Excerpted from Celebration Boards: 50 Creative Boards to Turn Any Occasion into a Celebration (2026), by Maegan Brown. Published by Rock Point, an imprint of The Quarto Group. All rights reserved. Food Photography: Kelsey Foster
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