On My Nightstand June 29, 2025

summer flowers are starting to take over

How was everyone’s June reading month? Despite everything going on I was able to lose myself in some really good books. Yay summer reading! I’ll post some reviews next week.

Quote of the Week

“Surviving in remote places is all about setting up contingencies. If one thing goes, there’s another option to take its place.”

— Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy

Weekend Goals

On My Nightstand This Week

Paper Book - Marilla of Green Gables by Sarah McCoy - Marilla’s back story - just what I needed!

Kindle - Heart Lamp by Banu Mushtaq - Still working on these short stories!

Audiobook - In A Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson - I’ve been wanting to re-read this Australia travel memoir and last week’s heat wave inspired me to start.

Backyard reading

This post is linked to The Sunday Post on Caffeinated Reviewer.

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On My Nightstand June 21, 2025

reading before a summer league game

It’s officially summer now, but I’m already planning for fall. We’ve got some book lists, uniform needs, sports physical forms, and SAT dates ready. It’s going to be too hot this week to be outside much anyway. Might as well get something done.

We had a tree fall in the yard this week during a big storm. That’ll be this weekend’s project.

Quote of the Week

“It was a June morning, and as early as it was, the room was full of sunny warmth and light.”

— Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell

The cat’s summer hangout- there’s no ac in this room so that’s where they go

On My Nightstand This Week

Paper Book - Murder by Cheesecake by Rachel Ekstrom Courage - I needed something simple to read when it’s hot outside and this fits the bill. I have to say the author got the voices/attitudes just right.

Kindle - Heart Lamp by Banu Mushtaq - I love having a book of short stories on my kindle for when I’m on the go.

Audiobook - I’d Know You Anywhere by Laura Lippman - Not my favorite Lippman but it’s a good listen while I’m doing yard work.

at least we got some rainbows after the storms

This post is linked to The Sunday Post on Caffeinated Reviewer.

Note: Links to bookstore.org are affiliate links. Thanks for your support!

REVIEW: Show Don't Tell by Curtis Sittenfeld

This collection of short stories was classic Sittenfeld. If you read Prep fifteen years ago and loved it read this collection. I'm usually not the biggest fan of short stories, but these ones were so well crafted I didn't even mind. I was so happy for the nostalgia of the Prep follow up at the end too. This was a lot of fun.

Show Don’t Tell by Curtis Sittenfeld is coming out on Feb. 25, 2025. I received an uncorrected proof from the publisher and Net Galley. All opinions are my own.

Show Us Your Books October 2024

September was another slowish reading month for me, but it included some really good books. I’m really trying to stay off my phone but with the election coming and all of the bad storms I’m finding it really hard.

Here are the good ones from September:

Five Star Books:

Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane - This was the perfect read for the start of fall reading season. The less you know going into it the better, but if you want something atmospheric and chilling this is it!

Trail of the Lost by Andrea Lankford - This book about volunteer missing persons searchers and investigators on the PCT was fascinating. It was sobering, but so descriptive it made me want to head out west and hike.

Four Star Books:

Micronesian Blues by Bryan Vila - The memoirs of a man working on starting the Micronesian police force in the late 70’s to early 80’s is kind of random but not terrible to read about.

You Like it Darker by Stephen King - Like with any short story collection some were better than others, but overall a really good read. I appreciate that King’s characters seem to be aging right along with him. It‘s nice to read about people 40-60 being haunted.

Dandelion by Jamie Chai Yun Liew - A decent read about an immigrant family in Canada. In order to learn the truth about her mother the main character travels to Brunei and Malaysia.

The Daughters of Block Island by Christa Carmen - This started slowly, but picked up in part 2. It was a great ode to creepy gothic novels with the extra spooky setting of a mansion in Block Island, RI during the off season.

Thanks for reading!

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Quicklit December 2017

We moved our furniture to put our tree in a different spot, and I must say reading within view of it is rivaling back yard reading, and reading by the firepit as a new favorite place to park myself with a book. Cozy nights=Merry Christmas.

Here's what I've been reading lately:

The Purple Swamp Hen And Other Stories by Penelope Lively -- I'm not usually a short story person, but I think someone on The Readers podcast talks about her a lot, so when I saw this on the new releases shelf at the library I picked it up. These short stories were great- engaging and satisfying. They were like a mix of F. Scott Fitzgerald and O. Henry. I predict that several Penelope Lively books will appear on my TBR in 2018.

11/22/63 by Stephen King -- This was a re-read for me, brought on by the release of the Kennedy files in early November. I still love this book as much as I did originally, even if it is a gigantic doorstop that was hard to carry on the metro!

The Lonely Polygamist by Brady Udall -- It's not weird to relate to a polygamist man right? Because that was my reaction to this book. Oddly sympathetic.

It's been a few months since I've linked up with Quick Lit, and I'm really looking forward to seeing what everyone else has been reading.

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