A Summer Reading Plan

Hello, friends. I've spend some time this past week thinking about my summer reading plans. I usually put together monthly TBR (to be read) lists but, since summer feels so short and is packed with activities, I've opted for a seasonal approach this year.

My plan includes book club selections, an Austen in August line-up, and new releases I'm excited about. Plus the yearlong slow read of War and Peace is still in progress. We hit the halfway mark today! 

BOOK CLUB SELECTIONS

Dolly All the Time by Annabel Monaghan

Sisters of a Halved Heart by Nayantara Roy

AUSTEN IN AUGUST

The Annotated Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, David Shapard

Jane Austen at Home by Lucy Worsley

The Other Bennett Sister  by Janice Hadlow

NEW RELEASE PRIORITIES

Whistler by Ann Patchett

John of John by Douglas Stuart

Villa Coco by Andrew Sean Greer

Summerland Cove by Ellen Baker

ONGOING GROUP READ

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

Will I stick to the plan? Who knows, but I do enjoy making a list! I'll revisit this one after Labor Day and let you know how I did. Have you made a summer reading list?

 

On to June...

Hello, friends. As May winds down, my husband and I were talking about how long  this month has seemed! It's hard to believe we started it off in Florida... that seems like ages ago. We took several days to drive back to CT, and have visited my parents in central NY - twice. No wonder we're exhausted! 

We're done with travel for a while now, but this weekend has still been full of family. Our NYC daughter, son-in-law, and Winnie the Whippet are here for a long visit. My Pennsylvania brother and sister-in-law stopped for lunch yesterday on their way to Providence, and later today we'll see our CT daughter and her husband, too.  It will be the first time the seven of us been together since Christmas!

As far as reading goes, I finished a couple of books, am enjoying my current read, and continue to make progress on War and Peace.

Recent reading//

The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout

Elizabeth Strout is back with a new, stand-alone novel. This one is set in Massachusetts, rather than Maine, and features an entirely new cast of characters. Fifty-something Artie Dam is a popular high school history teacher. While appearing to be friendly and jovial, he inwardly harbors growing feelings of isolation and loneliness. After discovering a long-held family secret, Artie loses his precarious balance. Once again, Strout offers the reader a masterful portrayal of the human condition. She even includes an oblique reference to Olive Kitteridge, which I found delightful.

One notable surprise... this novel gets political in a way none of her previous books have. Given the current state of our country, it's not surprising these topics are on her mind. Strout never mentions the current president by name, but some readers may find it a bit heavy-handed. This is not my favorite Elizabeth Strout novel, but I still loved it.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Murder Takes a Vacation by Laura Lippman

Ready for some lighter entertainment, I turned to Laura Lippman's new cozy mystery. I'm hoping it the first in a series featuring 68-year-old Muriel Blossom, a former employee of Lippman's detective Tess Monaghan. Mrs. Blossom, a widow, has recently won the lottery and sets off an adventure -  her first trip abroad, followed by a cruise with her best friend. Instead she finds herself entangled in an art theft/fraud scheme, a potential romance, and an unexpected death or two. This read/listen combo was a lot of fun, and I particularly recommend the audio. 

⭐⭐⭐💫

Current reading//

The Death of the Heart by Elizabeth Bowen

Have you seen Ann Patchett's Friday videos on instagram? This was a recent New-to-You pick and I was "influenced" to pick up a 418-page 1938 novel by Irish author Elizabeth Bowen. It starts slowly,  took me a minute to adjust to the language and writing style, but now I don't want to put it down!  52%

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy 

The yearlong slow read with Footnotes & Tangents continues. This week we hit the 600 page mark! I really like reading just one chapter per day and am not sure I could get through this tome any other way.

How was your week? What have you been reading?

 

It's Mid-May and We're Back in Connecticut!

Hello again, friends. We are finally back in Connecticut, but the photo above was taken earlier this month in Harper's Ferry, West Virginia. We hadn't planned to stop, but a short travel day allowed for a spontaneous detour. This beautiful spot is at the confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers. It's also the site of abolitionist John Brown's historic 1859 raid on the federal armory. We parked at the Harper's Ferry National Historic Park, and took a shuttle bus into the historic town.

We had time to explore the museums, shops, sip an afternoon coffee, and enjoy the natural beauty of the area. Definitely the highlight of an otherwise uninspired few days of travel!

After a couple days of unpacking and laundry at home, our next stop was a surprise Mother's Day visit to central New York. I told Mom we' be arriving Monday, but our CT daughter scheduled my Mother's Day brunch on Saturday so we were able to pull off the surprise!

As far as reading goes, there hasn't been much of that this month.

Recent reading//

Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth

This proved to be exactly the right book at the right time for me. I needed a page-turning plot, an unexpected twist or two, plus interesting, well-developed characters. Sally Hepworth delivered on all three counts. Plus, I just loved 81-year-old Mabel!

Mabel is a curmudgeonly old woman who keeps to herself, but seems to know about everything that happens on her street. When she discovers the dead body of an elderly neighbor, rumors from her past resurface. So many people around her died during her childhood. Did she really kill them all?

The story is told in dual timelines by young Mabel and present-day Mabel. When I was nearing the halfway point, the audio edition narrated by Hannah Fredericksen and Jenny Seedsman became available. It definitely added to my overall enjoyment. 

This my second Sally Hepworth novel. (The Mother-in-Law was a solid 4-star read for me back in 2019 but, unfortunately, I never reviewed it here.) Now I'm officially a fan.

⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

Current reading//

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

The year-long slow read with Footnotes and Tangents  continues and, despite our travels, I've managed to keep up with the schedule.

Yesterday I read a particularly vivid and moving chapter in which the character Natasha danced a classic Russian folk dance. From our daily recap/newsletter, I learned that the chapter is so notable that it inspired the title of Orlando Figes 2002 classic Natasha's Dance: A Cultural History of Russia... a title which has been on my tbr list for years.

About to start//

The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout

I pre-ordered this in hardcover and plan to get started this afternoon.

Murder Takes a Vacation by Laura Lippman 

I'm not a big mystery reader, but Lippman is a reliable choice when the mood strikes. This will be my evening/kindle read.

The week ahead//

I can't believe Memorial Day is a week away. We have several chores and appointments scheduled this week. The most important is a getting our SUV serviced. It's one of the big tune-ups they do every 30,000 miles... and we've certainly put on a lot of miles lately!

On Saturday we'll celebrate our son-in-law's birthday. Then we're considering another trip to central NY on Sunday. We'll have a traditional Memorial Day cookout and I'll get to see the siblings I missed last weekend. I know my parents will appreciate another visit!

How have you been lately? What are you reading?

 

A Final Post from Florida

Hello, friends and happy May! Our winter in Florida is quickly coming to an end... always a bittersweet time for me. The "end of season" events are over and islanders are enjoying a little calm before summer vacationers begin to arrive. Meanwhile, we are packing and getting the house buttoned up for hurricane season....shhhh! 

April turned out to be a good reading month for me. In addition to staying current with the War and Peace group read, I managed to finish four other books. One of those books was the nearly 700 page chunkster, The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai.

Recent reading//

The Irish Goodbye: Micro-Memoirs by Beth Ann Fennelly

After reading a couple of long novels, this slim memoir in essays was a welcome change of pace. The essays deal primarily with marriage and family, but Fennelly's sister's untimely death at 39 is also a recurring topic. Some essays are as short as a sentence or two, but I preferred the longer ones. 

⭐⭐⭐💫

The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Volume 8 by Beth Brower

I've finished and I'm bereft! How long will I have to wait for volume 9?? I've loved spending the past eight months with Emma M. Lion and company, reading one book per month with a small group of readers from Modern Mrs. Darcy book club. I may just start all over again...

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Current reading//

The Rest of Our Lives by Ben Markoovits

Shortlisted for the 2025 Booker Prize, I picked this up on an impulse and read the first 30 pages. It's an easy read, but I'm not completely hooked yet. It's a short novel (just over 250 pages) so I'll keep going for now.

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

My yearlong chapter-a-day readalong with Footnotes and Tangents continues. We've passed page 500!

The week ahead//

We'll start our drive north this weekend and arrive in CT by midweek. The kids plan to visit next weekend for Mother's Day, then we'll be off to see my mother in central NY on Monday morning. It's going to be a busy couple of weeks, so I'll see you back here sometime after mid-month.

How was your week? What have you been reading lately?

 

Reading This Week: April 19, 2026

Hello, friends. It's been a beautiful week here with comfortably warm temperatures and low humidity - perfect for morning walks on the beach, afternoon reading on the shaded lanai, and catching the sunset after dinner. And that's pretty much what I did last week!

Recent reading//

The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai

“If you don’t have love, you don’t properly exist. If you don’t properly exist, you don’t have love.”

This a stunning novel - expansive and immersive. From grand overarching themes of culture, identity, and belonging, to more minute details of food, clothing, plants, and animals, plus numerous references to art and literature - there is just SO much here. And in addition to all that, there's a really good story, too! Desai is undoubtedly a brilliant woman and I can see why this book took her ten years to write. Every sentence is painstakingly perfect. 

Did I catch all of it? Absolutely not. With 670 pages, I'm sure plenty went over my head. But I was fascinated by what I did absorb. I could have (should have?) spent twice as much time on this book - googling all those minute details, consulting maps more often, and looking up historical background information. This is a book which begs to be reread... though I'm not sure I'll have the stamina anytime soon.

This was a read/listen combination for me and the audio edition narrated by Sneha Mathan enhanced my reading experience.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Snow in April by Rosamunde Pilcher

After all the effort required to read Sonia and Sunny, it was a pleasure to settle into Rosamunde Pilcher's cozy world of 1970s London and Scotland. However, with only 257 pages, I wasn't there nearly long enough. The plot felt rushed and the characters were not fully developed. Still, I enjoyed every page and wish there had been more of them. 

⭐⭐⭐💫

Current reading//

The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Volume 8 by Beth Brower

Volume 9 has yet to be released and I don't want my time with Emma to come to an end! I'm slowing down to make this last...

The Irish Goodbye: Micro Memoirs by Beth Ann Fennelly

I found this audiobook, narrated by the author, on hoopla. 17%.

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

The year-long slow read continues. 35%

We have two weeks left of our Florida season, so I'm hoping for one more peaceful week of beach walks, reading, and sunsets before the packing begins!

How was your week? What have you been reading?

 

A Sunday Update: April 12, 2026

Hello, friends. Last weekend I mentioned our days of late afternoon/early evening rain, and after yet another weather-related cancellation, we gave up altogether on cocktails on the beach with the neighbors and enjoyed some time on our lanai instead! 

The rest of the week turned out to be fairly quiet and it feels like the "season" is beginning to wind down. We were able to make a dinner reservation for tonight (more below) and I also managed to get in some reading time every afternoon. I didn't finish anything, but am pretty happy with the current stack.

Current reading//

The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai

This is a stunning novel! Between reading and listening, I am completely immersed in this world. It's a very long book, but I'm on page 593 (88%) and plan to finish in the next day or two. I'll have more to say next week.

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

This is my chapter-a-day slow read with Foootnotes & Tangents. We read the 100th installment two days ago - quite a milestone! It's a read/listen combo for me , and I'm enjoying Edoardo Ballerini's narration. (33%)

Snow in April by Rosamunde Pilcher

With two serious chunksters, I really needed something 'easier' to read at the end of the day and took it as a sign when this slim novel showed up as a kindle daily deal. It's set in London and Scotland and I'm very happy to be back in Rosamunde Pilcher's world! (54%)

In the kitchen//

The restaurants here have been busy since President's Week in mid-February, then kicked up another notch for "peak season" - spring break through Easter. I've been cooking a lot the past two months and look forward to being able to make a dinner reservation again... starting tonight!

One of our recent dinner successes is this Hot Honey Chicken from the New York Times. Chicken cutlets are breaded with a spicy cornflake mixture, baked, and drizzled with homemade hot honey. (I'm pretty sure I figured out how to make that a gift link.🤞)

I also made this Lemony Orzo Chicken Soup from Gimme Some Oven. The lemony flavor is perfect for spring and rotisserie chicken makes it easy. My only suggestion would be to use more orzo. I might try one cup next time.

How was your week? What have you been reading?

 

March Reading Wrap-Up and a List of April Possibilities

Hello, friends. Spring is certainly here, but the for the past week we've been experiencing summer-like late afternoon and early evening storms. They're fairly brief  and we desperately need the rain, but they've foiled plans to meet friends for cocktail hour on the beach the past couple of days! I still managed to get in my sunset walks though. 

Tomorrow we celebrate both Easter and our daughter's birthday. It should be a fairly low-key day since it'll just be the three of us, but we have a trip to Orlando planned for the following week.

On the reading front, March was another slow month. I finished three books, but continue to keep pace with the War and Peace  slow read.

BOOKS READ IN MARCH

The Reservation by Rebecca Kauffman

literary fiction, my thoughts, ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol 7 by Beth Brower

historical fiction, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Lake Effect by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney

literary fiction, book club selection. my thoughts, ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

ONGOING SLOW READ

 

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

This is a chapter-a day slow read with Footnotes & Tangents. As of April 1 I have read 403 of 1350 pages (30%) and am enjoying it more than I'd expected.

APRIL READING POSSIBILITIES

The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai (in progress, 33% )

The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 8 by Beth Brower

Snow in April by Rosamunde Pilcher

Good People by Patmeena Sabit

And I hope to fit in a nonfiction selection, too...

How was your March reading? What was your favorite book?