Happy Friday! I hope you’ve all had a terrific week and that you’ve made some fun plans for the weekend. Maybe a bit of writing? Some time with your nose buried in a great book? My goal for the weekend is to get out from behind my desk and maybe breathe a little fresh air, since it’s been very much a nose-to-grindstone sort of week. There’s rumors of rain in my neck of the woods, however, so I’m crossing my fingers that the weather man is wrong.

This week’s selection of Friday links has, among other things, some great reading ideas, especially for those of you looking to diversify your reading selections. I hope you find a bit of inspiration here, whatever you’re looking to do with your weekend. Enjoy, and happy writing!

I Challenge You to Stop Reading White, Straight, Male Cis Authors for One Year – Writer Tempest Bradford comes up with an intriguing challenge to get you reading more diversely.

All the World’s a Page: One Woman’s Year-Long Quest to Read a Book from Every Country – This reader decided to tackle reading something from every UN-recognized country in a single year, a great way to “see” the world.

Authors Share Their Best Writing Tips with NYPL – Short videos from a wonderful selection of authors offering up their tips for good writing.

Why Emotional Excess Is Essential to Writing and Creativity – Thoughts on writing from Anais Nin.

On No, She Didn’t: The Strong Female Character, Deconstructed – An intelligent look at the recent discussion about what makes a “strong” female character, and why we should focus on the larger picture.