Sunday Paper Recommends—Week of October 4, 2026

By The Sunday Paper Team
October 03, 2026

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This week at The Sunday Paper, we’re sharing a new book, audiobook, and film 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

When Olive needs to trick her best friend into thinking she has a boyfriend, she impulsively kisses the first man she sees—who also happens to be the most hated scientist in her department. What starts as an accident turns into a fake relationship that benefits them both. The chemistry that begins to ignite between Olive and Dr. Adam Carlsen, known to his terrified students as “Dr. Evil,” isn’t the only reason we keep watching The Love Hypothesis on repeat. Olive is a woman in STEM, and so is the author behind her, Ali Hazelwood. A neuroscientist turned romance novelist, Hazelwood has built a career putting women in the lab coat and in the lead role. Stream it now on Prime Video.

A bonus we love: Hazelwood first wrote this story as Star Wars fan fiction about Rey and Kylo Ren before turning it into her bestseller. And the fun doesn’t stop there. Tom Bateman, who plays Dr. Carlsen, is married to Daisy Ridley, the actress who played Rey!

What We’re Reading

In a world that can make it easy to lose sight of what matters, Saint Francis is a good person to spend time with. Charles Gaines, the author behind Pumping Iron, wrote 23 books in his lifetime and called this final one, The Passions of Saint Francis, his greatest work. Four years of research went into a novel that sets the gentle statue aside for a man of ambition and desire who never stopped searching for God. Brother Leo and Clare narrate through their journals, and their love for Francis, and for the life they chose together, runs through every page. It arrives 800 years after Francis’s death, at a moment when his story feels needed.

Shop from The Crossroads Publishing Company

What We’re Listening To

Following some of the biggest events in fashion, this week we are listening to The Chiffon Trenches: A Memoir by André Leon Talley, one of fashion’s biggest influences. Talley takes listeners from his first job at Andy Warhol’s Interview to the Paris bureau of Women’s Wear Daily and eventually the heights of Vogue, with Karl Lagerfeld and Anna Wintour along the way. Talley narrates the audiobook himself, drawling, gasping, and imitating the icons he knew.

Shop the Audiobook Narrated by the Author

What We're Making

Cosmic Brownie–Inspired Edible (and Bakeable) Cookie Dough by Kristen Tomlan

“Growing up, my house was known for having good snacks—just ask the babysitters and all our neighborhood friends. We had a ‘snack box’ in our kitchen that my mom filled with packaged snacks like Fruit Roll-Ups, Gushers, Oatmeal Cream Pies, Nutter Butters, and my personal favorite, Cosmic Brownies. So this recipe is a nod to my childhood, taking the best parts of those soft, chocolaty brownies and making them into a cookie dough creation that is equal parts delicious and nostalgic.” —Kristen

Makes: 33 scoops or cookies

Kids Can:

Heat-treat the flour and mix with the dry ingredients in steps 1 and 3.
Melt the chocolate and mix with the sugars in steps 2 and 4.
Mix the cookie dough together in step 5.
Shape the cookies in step 9.

Ingredients:

1¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup plus ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips, measured separately
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened (see page 11)
¼ cup Dutch-process or natural cocoa powder
1½ teaspoons cornstarch 1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon table salt
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed light brown sugar
½ cup pasteurized egg whites or 3 pasteurized egg whites, at room temperature (see page 12)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ cup rainbow candy-coated chocolate chips

Directions:

Heat-treat the flour by placing the flour in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at 100 percent power for 30 seconds at a time, stirring with a silicone spatula after each interval. Stir well to ensure none of the flour burns (microwaves have those tricky hot spots). Use an instant-read thermometer (see page 11) to test the flour in several places to make sure it has reached 165°F throughout. If you get a lower reading in one area, then stir and heat for an additional 30 to 60 seconds until it’s all ready! If some flour sticks to the sides of the bowl, just leave it there. Break up any chunks and let cool completely.
In a small microwave-safe bowl, heat 1 cup of the chocolate chips with the butter in the microwave at 50 percent power in 30-second intervals. Use a spoon to stir well after each interval. Repeat until the chocolate is melted. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the heat-treated flour, cocoa powder, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt until well combined. Set aside.
Pour the melted chocolate mixture into a large bowl. Add the granulated sugar and brown sugar and mix with a rubber spatula until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the egg whites and vanilla and mix until well incorporated. The mixture will be very runny.
Add the flour mixture and mix until the powdery texture of the flour disappears, about 1 minute. Scrape the bowl and fold in the remaining ½ cup chocolate chips and the candy-coated chocolate chips.
If you want to eat this as edible cookie dough, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the cookie dough chill in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes until it solidifies into a cookie dough texture. Store the cookie dough in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks, scooping out portions when you’re ready to enjoy them.
If you want to bake these cookies, transfer your cookie dough to an airtight container or press a piece of plastic wrap onto the top of the cookie dough. Place in the refrigerator to chill for 24 hours. If you can’t stand to wait, place in the freezer for at least 2 hours. Chilling the dough helps your cookies hold their shape and gives you that nice gooey cookie center, so don’t skip it!
Once the dough is chilled, set the oven racks to the upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 350°F. Line two sheet pans with parchment paper.
Use a tablespoon to scoop 9 to 12 heaping portions of dough onto the baking sheets, leaving about 3 inches between portions.
For soft-baked, gooey cookies, bake for 9 to 11 minutes, until the centers are just set. Check halfway through baking to ensure your cookies are cooking evenly. For crispier cookies, keep them in the oven for an additional 2 to 3 minutes, until the edges are a slightly darker brown.
Use oven mitts to remove the baking sheets from the oven and place them on the stovetop or a cooling rack. Let cool on the baking sheets for 15 minutes before enjoying! Store any leftover cookies in an airtight container on the counter for up to 2 weeks.