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?