How’s that for a fun theme to head into our* last weekend before summer officially kicks in!
Thinking about … my summer reading. Catching up with my sister Wednesday evening, I went into a slight panic mode about ALL THE BOOKS I wanted to read this summer. and this was BEFORE the Modern Mrs Darcy Summer Reading Guide and the Fiction Matters Guide! Bookclubs and buddy reads, personal projects, buzzy reads, prize lists, !!! We talked about post-it notes (I have the perfect spot to post them – on the wall facing my desk) … and I took it to heart.
I wrote every book I wanted to read on a post-it – Pink=book groups, Purple=personal commitment, Brown=ongoing (likely not a book I’ll finish this season), Green=everything else (the category that I tend to slip when I pick up something “new”)
When I finished Wednesday night, I had 35 post-its on the wall (so 35 books to read over three months, which is about 2/3 what I typically read). The photo I took just now has a few more, but it’s still not an “oh my too big” number. and now I’m feeling remarkably free about summer reading. Bring it on – I’m here for it! AND I really would like to read a LOT of those titles in green. Seeing them might be just the thing to help me prioritize all the shiny new titles coming across my radar. Modern Mrs Darcy’s guide came out yesterday; I was pleasantly surprised how many of my post-its were included. Fiction Matters’ guide comes out next Thursday. stay tuned…
Grateful for … two great photos from last weekend’s Mother’s Day celebrations:
Inspired by … Brandon Taylor’s latest Substack to re-think what I want (expect?) from the books (characters?) I call “favorites”.
These two thought lines in particular stand out:
“And for a long time, I tried to reconcile these things, trying to find which one was the real one, the true one, and maybe what I need to do is just accept that things shift and change and are contextual, and what is more interesting perhaps is studying how a set of core values change and operate within different sets of moral pressures.”
“Moments of grace to me are more crucial than redemption arcs because a redemption arc requires a character to move from one phase of being to another. From a moral debt to moral solvency. Repaying something owed. But a moment of grace is just a bolt of clarity where judgement is suspended and they are how they are and that is okay. A moment when you stand by your character and accept them and they accept themselves. It’s not always positive. Sometimes, it’s brutal. Sometimes it’s painful. But I do think it is always beautiful, when a character is just seen and when then they see themselves.”
Maybe I’ve been short-changing these characters (, these books, these authors)? myself?
FUN … I got new glasses this week! Sara recommended Warby Parker and the whole experience was a good one. Highly recommend!
In closing – I’d love to hear about a bit of Good Stuff that happened to you this week! And along with a fun photo after our afternoon walk, wishing you the best weekend available!
*yes, school is out this coming Thursday … just four more days (not that any two boys might be counting.)
mere-et-filles 
I think in the future I will be joinging the Mrs Darcy Book club. Right now I just follow her and listen to What Should I Read Next. I did read Take My Hand that she mentioned. I have a pile that I hope to read over the summer along with extra ones that come in (library holds, etc) and am looking forward to my summer reading.
Good stuff here – sunshine with a cool breeze, lunch with my cousins (it has been too long), and excited to be traveling soon. I love the post it not for the books idea. Might be borrowing that one.
Good Stuff This Week: Hosting my book group and facilitating discussion on The Island of Missing Trees, a good report at my yearly physical, lunch and a quick trip to a LYS with my dear sister, reading on the deck in the sunshine this afternoon.
Now onto sorting out my summer season of reading. I am going to include something by Ann Patchett for sure. You have inspired that addition.
Good stuff sort of eclipsed by going to the office every.single.day.this.week which might have made me crazy!! But, still, good things: new yarn, new silk threads for embroidery, sleeping with windows open, good meals and good wine! Life is good.
Good stuff this week: a successful blood donation, some good runs, a bonus dinner with my parents, time with my new nephew
I’m so inspired by your summer reading post-its. I really wish I had summers off again so I could just read for pleasure! I don’t plan my reading as much as you do, but I do want to make a list of titles I have on my shelf that I want to get to sooner rather than later.
Good stuff here – new yarn, PT, feeling a little stronger and better each day, visits with both kids, and a terrific new ARC (Happiness Falls by Angie Kim)!
I love that all of post-its! Especially the shot of you standing in front of it with your lovely new glasses 🙂 (I’m also a Warby Parker fan!)
I had a jolt of reading anxiety this week because I’d like to read Yellowface, The Postcard, and Birnam Wood RIGHT NOW. I have been on the waiting list for Birnam Wood for what feels like forever, but I’m just going to keep waiting. I ordered Yellowface yesterday and it should arrive today (maybe I’ll even start it today??). And I think The Postcard is something that would do well at the library, so I’ll ask about ordering it there. So I feel a little better, but man — reading anxiety is real!
Good things: getting in consistent exercise, yesterday’s rainy day, and working at the library!!
I’ve been thinking a little bit about summer reading and maybe setting a couple of goals/challenges for myself about books I’ve been meaning to read for ages but keep putting off. I love your photos from Mother’s Day. Hannah has gotten glasses from Warby Parker and likes them a lot. I just ordered a set from Pair Eyewear and I can’t wait for them to come!
love your new glasses!! Have fun when school is OUT 🙂
First week with Kate in the mix again… and it was good!! 🙂
Your wall of post its looks like the inside of my brain! I want to read all of the books instantaneously. I think this is something only Readers understand. Good things – I went to a book festival this weekend and it was fabulous! I saw Brian Slocumb who was very funny and wise, so I definitely recommend you get to the Violin Conspiracy.
Love the new specs. I’m committing to finishing the huge stack of books on my nightstand right now and am putting blinders on for anything new and sparkly in the literary world! Enjoyed a really great weekend and have 2 more fun weekends to come to include watching sunrises over the lake.
SO many books! I’m stunned with choices. June and July will be The Odyssey and a few other books to tidy up what’s on my book cart. I also would like to delve into Sara’s PSRG. July will be the few new books (arrived and arriving in the mail). Then, from August on I am leaving (mostly) blank so I can read any Booker nominees that call to me. My hope is that the list will be as good as last years!