Waiting on Wednesday: Three Days In June

 

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature where I highlight a soon to be released novel I can't wait to read.

This week's pick: Three Days In June by Anne Tyler

Due out February 11, 2025

Synopsis taken from Amazon:

A new Anne Tyler novel destined to be an instant classic: a socially awkward mother of the bride navigates the days before and after her daughter's wedding.

Gail Baines is having a bad day. To start, she loses her job—or quits, depending on whom you ask. Tomorrow her daughter Debbie is getting married, and she hasn’t even been invited to the spa day organized by the mother of the groom. Then, Gail’s ex-husband Max arrives unannounced on her doorstep, carrying a cat, without a place to stay and without even a suit.

But the true crisis lands when Debbie shares with her parents a secret she has just learned about her husband-to-be. It will not only throw the wedding into question but also stir up Gail and Max’s past.

Told with deep sensitivity and a tart sense of humor, full of the joys and heartbreaks of love and marriage and family life, Three Days in June is a triumph, and gives us the perennially bestselling, Pulitzer Prize-winning writer at the height of her powers.

Friday Five: November is a Busy Month

November has barely begun and we are already starting with plenty of things on our calendar.  The Friday Five was all ready to go but for whatever reason it was saved as a draft and never published.  Every time I thought I might have a moment to look at it on Friday, I was interrupted. And yesterday was spent at the state XC meet watching Little Sister run. It was her last meet of her high school career, and our last meet as high school XC parents (we've spent eleven years cheering our daughters on).  

Little Sister had an excellent freshman year, but followed it up with some real struggles her sophomore year until about midway through this season.  And she finished up her high school career on a high note: running a season best time (cutting 35 seconds off her season PR) at the state meet, placing 12th and medaling.

 

1.  Nocturnal Stripe Cardi

2.  Blackbird Cardi

3.  By Together American Flag Crewneck

4.  Striped Fair Isle Everyday Sweater

5.  AE Festive Feels Sweater

6.  Emilia Pullover

7.  Old Navy High Waisted Silver Shine OG Loose Jeans

8.  Meg Velvet High Rise Wide Leg Pants

9.  Ski Destination Vintage Sunday Crew

10.  The Diplomat Season 2 on Netflix

That's it for me this week.  What's caught your eye?

Waiting on Wednesday: A Forty Year Kiss

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature where I highlight a soon to be released title I can't wait to read.

This week's pick: A Forty Year Kiss by 

Due out February 4, 2025

Synopsis taken from Amazon:

From the critically acclaimed author of Shotgun Lovesongs comes an exquisitely written, small-town story about one couple's hard-won second chance at love, forty years after their divorce.

Charlie and Vivian parted ways after just four years of marriage. Too many problems, too many struggles, even though the love didn't quite die. When Charlie returns to Wisconsin forty years later, he's not sure what he'll find. He is sure of one thing -- he must try to reconnect with Vivian to pick up the broken pieces of their past. But forty years is a long time. It's forty years of other relationships, forty years of building new lives, and forty years of long-held regrets, mistakes, and painful secrets.

A brave and triumphant exploration of redemption and sunset triumph, A Forty Year Kiss is a once-in-a-lifetime love story, written with dazzling lyricism and remarkable clarity of spirit, from a celebrated author at the top of his game. It's a literary valentine that promises to be a love story for the ages.

Monday Mini-Reviews: Already The End of October

 We are on the downward slide for cross country.  Little Sister qualified for state as an individual and both the girls and boys teams qualified as well.  This is the girls ninth year in a row the team has gone - every single one of those nine years has been with one of my daughters on the team.  Next year will be so different when we won't be rushing off to XC meets every week.  I'm going to enjoy this last little bit of watching Little Sister run - there have been a lot of ups and downs during the past four years.

I am trying to finish up a few books before the end of the month.  I've been busy with some nonfiction books as well, and feel pretty happy with what I've been reading.

The Road To Dalton by Shannon Bowring was my favorite read this weekend. Set in the small town of Dalton, Maine, in 1990, this book features several different characters and shares the ups and downs and various events in their lives.

I felt like this could be my small town - the connections between characters and how their lives intersect with each other is something I am familiar with and loved that aspect of things.  There was some heartbreak in this story, so I am anxious to see how this changes in the second Dalton book.  These characters felt so real, and while this is a character driven novel, there are still plenty of things going on that kept me turning pages quickly.  

This was very nearly a one-sit read for me.  And as soon as I finished it, I quickly purchased the second one to read on my kindle.  I've heard that there will be a third in the series as well and I am already hoping that Bowring keeps sharing more about the residents of Dalton.

Waiting on Wednesday: The Snowbirds

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature where I highlight a soon to be released title I can't wait to read.

This week's pick: The Snowbirds by Christina Clancy

Due out: February 4, 2025

Synopsis taken from Amazon:

The Last Thing He Told Me meets Fleishman Is in Trouble in this page-turning story of a couple who flee winter in the Midwest for Palm Springs, where they find their relationship at a crossroads.

Kim and Grant are at a turning point. A couple for thirty years, their "separate but together" partnership is running up against the realities of late middle age: Grant’s mother has died, the college where he taught philosophy was shuttered, and their twin girls are grown and gone. Escaping the bitter cold of a Midwestern winter for the hot desert sun of Palm Springs seems as good a solution as any to the more intractable problems they face.

When they arrive at Le Desert, a quirky condo community where everyone knows everyone’s business, Kim immediately embraces the opportunity to make new friends and explore a more adventurous side of her personality. Meanwhile, Grant struggles to find his footing in this unfamiliar landscape, leaving Kim to wonder if their relationship can survive the snowbird season. But when Grant goes missing on a hike in the Palm Springs mountains, Kim is forced to consider two terrifying outcomes: either Grant is truly lost, or this time he’s really left her.

Is it ever too late to become the person we wanted to be―and is there still time to change into someone better? The exhilarating, but often confusing transitions of midlife are pitched against the promise and glamour of Palm Springs in this tender, honest story of what it takes to commit to someone for a lifetime. With compassion and humor, Clancy explores the redemptive power of finding ourselves, and of being found.

Monday Mini-Reviews: Someone In the Attic

The title of this book is enough to scare me.  I grew up in an old farm house with an attic that I rarely wanted to enter by myself.  The door to the attic was in my parents' bedroom, and later on when we changed rooms, my sister's room.   

The attic door in this book is one of those that is a square in the ceiling that opens with a drop string (this cover is somewhat misleading).  

Anya is relaxing in a warm bath, enjoying a glass of wine, when she sees a man drop from the attic door. Within just moments, she is dead.  (This is not a spoiler).   

Julia, an old friend of Anya's watches videos her daughter shows her on TikTok that feature a many coming down from the attic - in what appears to be their house.  Julia sets about confirming that her home is the location of these videos that are posted, and then quickly taken down, but she even ventures to the attic herself and finds it empty. 

There was plenty of suspense and creepiness that I could not put this book down until I finished the last page. 

I'm still not a fan of attics and I won't be hanging out in one any time soon, but I am a fan of this book.

Friday Five

 It's the fifth full week of school - and although a five day work week is normal, it seems like a lot right now.  The kids have next Friday off - and the teachers have the option to work for extra pay or take a day off.  My thought today is that I will take Friday off - it sounds delightful.  

I keep finding great things to add to my closet.  If only money grew on trees. 

Enjoy this week's finds!

1.  Fireside Fleece Popover

2.  Henley Sweater

3.  G. H. Bass Weejuns Super Lug Loafers

4.  Lennon Seamed Crop Boot

5.  Tasman Alpine Slipper

6.  Women's Signature Camp Merino Wool Sweater

7.  Cropped Vest

8.  365 High Rise Brushed Twill Pleated Trouser Pants

9.  Layla Sneaker

10.   Poppi Soda

That's it for me this week.  What's caught your eye?

Waiting on Wednesday: Let Us March On

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature where I highlight a soon to be released novel I can't wait to read.

This week's pick: Let Us March On By Shara Moon

Due out: February 4, 2025

Synopsis taken from Amazon:

Monday Mini-Reviews: Some Realistic/Historical Fiction

I have been picking up books that are easy to get into and hard to put down.  My brain is full of school stuff, which is normal, but I haven't felt like picking up anything too long or too heavy.  

A Happier Life by Kristy Woodson Harvey was a great, quick read.   

Keaton Smith heads to Beaufort, North Carolina, to help her family sell her grandparents' house.  No one has lived there since the 1970s when her grandparents disappeared, and walking into their home is like traveling back in time.  As Keaton goes through their things, she finds out more about the grandparents she never met, and starts to question what happened to them so long ago.  

Becks St. James, Keaton's grandmother,  is the consummate hostess who enjoys throwing dinner parties and opening up her house to friends and family.  She and her doctor husband have created a beautiful life and family but out of the blue Becks is confronted with a problem that has no good answer.  

Keaton's and Becks' lives intersect and eventually the truth about the fate of Becks and her husband is discovered.  There is a little suspense to this one and I loved that I listened to an author interview with Harvey where she explains the real life inspiration for this novel.  I could almost feel the shag carpet beneath my feet as I entered Becks' home, and I absolutely flew through this one.

After a few quick mysteries, I picked up The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern by Lynda Cohen Loigman. I've been hearing quite a bit about it on Instagram and since I picked it from Book of the Month in September, decided I should take a chance on it.

What a fun, quick read.  This novel also moves back and forth in time between 1987 and the 1920s.  Augusta is the daughter of a pharmacist and eventually goes into the profession herself.  But she also has a great-aunt who uses unconventional methods to cure a variety of illnesses.  Now turning 80, Augusta is forced into retirement and relocates to a retirement community in Florida where she happens to run into Irving, the delivery boy at her dad's drugstore, and also the one man who broke her heart.

As the story moves between past and present we learn what happened between Irving and Augusta and why their relationship failed.  There's just a hint of magical realism as great aunt Esther cures many different ailments.  This one is a pleasure from beginning to end.  I also appreciate that we continue to see older protagonists being featured living full and interesting lives.  

I think these books would appeal to a wide variety of readers and will be recommending them to everyone who needs a great book to get lost in.

Friday Five

 I've had packages arriving at my house nearly every day - which is not a great thing. The weather is still too warm to enjoy the new fall clothing but soon it will be more than cold enough.  I wore a sweatshirt to work one day, and although it was fine in the morning, by the afternoon I was much too warm. 

This year I've been in the mood to buy pumpkins.  Some years I don't buy a single fall-like thing, but I've purchased several for school and even have some outside our front door.  I've tried mums in years past, but those seem to die nearly immediately.  Pumpkins are a better bet - although I also seem to forget to get rid of them before they rot.  

It's fall break for Middle Sister right now, and Big Sister and her fiance were back for the weekend as well.  I love when everyone is home, but it is so loud!  I'm not used to the constant talking/arguing/discussing that goes on.  

We've got the conference XC meet for Little Sister on Thursday and will find out where they are heading for districts soon, too.  I'm going to attempt to refrain from buying anything for a while, but I'm finding so many things I love right now that it is really hard.

Enjoy this week's finds!

1.  Quilted Puffer Vest

2. The Colette Cropped Wide Leg Pants

3.  We The Free Thermal

4.  Ella Stripe Long Sleeve Tee

5.  Floral Jacquard Sweater Tee

6.  ZW Collection High Waist Marine Straight Jeans

7.  Fair Isle Boyfriend Cardigan

8.  Lanna Sweater

9.  Women's Cozy Knit Zip-up Hooded Sweater

10.  Into The Fire on Netflix

That's it for me this week.  What's caught your eye?