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?

Waiting on Wednesday: Good Dirt

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: Good Dirt by Charlaine Wilkerson

Due out: January 28, 2025

Synopsis taken from Goodreads: 

The daughter of an affluent Black family pieces together the connection between a childhood tragedy and a beloved heirloom in this moving novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Black Cake, a Read with Jenna Book Club Pick

When ten-year-old Ebby Freeman heard the gunshot, time stopped. And when she saw her brother, Baz, lying on the floor surrounded by the shattered pieces of a centuries-old jar, life as Ebby knew it shattered as well.

The crime was never solved—and because the Freemans were one of the only Black families in a particularly well-to-do enclave of New England—the case has had an enduring, voyeuristic pull for the public. The last thing the Freemans want is another media frenzy splashing their family across the papers, but when Ebby's high profile romance falls apart without any explanation, that's exactly what they get.

So Ebby flees to France, only for her past to follow her there. And as she tries to process what's happened, she begins to think about the other loss her family suffered on that day eighteen years ago—the stoneware jar that had been in their family for generations, brought North by an enslaved ancestor. But little does she know that the handcrafted piece of pottery held more than just her family's history—it might also hold the key to unlocking her own future.

In this sweeping, evocative novel, Charmaine Wilkerson brings to life a multi-generational epic that examines how the past informs our present.

Friday Five: The First Week in October

 I've been busy all week, but mostly things are starting to feel a little more routine at school.  Cross country season is well underway.  Little Sister has a quad injury and low iron and ferritin, so it's not going exactly like any of us would want, but we are still moving along.  The weather is a little crisper in the mornings, but tomorrow it is forecast to hit 85 degrees.  I've found some cute things this week, and am still enjoying the clothes for colder weather.

1. Peyton Snap Cuff Tee

2.  Jean Popover Shirt

3.  Gola Mark Cox Tennis Sneakers

4.  AE Baseball Hat

5.  AE Getaway Quarter Zip Sweatshirt

6.  Striped Sequin Sweater

7.  237 Sneakers

8. Rugby Crop Polo

9.  Omberline Corduroy Shirt

10.  Mollie Ballet Flat from Dansko

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

Waiting on Wednesday: Let's Call Her Barbie

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's Call Her Barbie by Renee Rosen

Due out: January 14, 2025

Synopsis taken from Goodreads:

She was only eleven-and-a-half inches tall, but she would change the world. Barbie is born in this bold new novel by USA Today bestselling author Renée Rosen.

When Ruth Handler walks into the boardroom of the toy company she co-founded and pitches her idea for a doll unlike any other, she knows what she’s setting in motion. It might just take the world a moment to catch up.

In 1956, the only dolls on the market for little girls let them pretend to be mothers. Ruth’s vision for a doll shaped like a grown woman and outfitted in an enviable wardrobe will let them dream they can be anything.

As Ruth assembles her team of creative rebels—head engineer Jack Ryan who hides his deepest secrets behind his genius and designers Charlotte Johnson and Stevie Klein, whose hopes and dreams rest on the success of Barbie’s fashion—she knows they’re working against a ticking clock to get this wild idea off the ground.

In the decades to come—through soaring heights and devastating personal lows, public scandals and private tensions— each of them will have to decide how tightly to hold on to their creation. Because Barbie has never been just a doll—she’s a legacy.

Monday Mini-Reviews: September Fiction Reflections

 September has passed in a whirlwind where I spend some days thinking that we must have been in school for at least a hundred days already, and the next wishing I could find a way to get into a routine.  

I've done a lot of reading, though.  

Some September highlights:

Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout is the fifth in this series.  I love all the different characters and enjoyed catching up with them again. I still haven't read The Burgess Boys, which I definitely need to do.  Strout's writing style is one I find I need a bit to get into, but I know it's not for everyone. I sent Oh, William! home with  my mom a few weeks ago, but she returned it this weekend, exclaiming that she just couldn't get into it.

The Night We Lost Him by Laura Dave- I loved Dave's most recent book, The Last Thing He Told Me, so much.  This one was enjoyable, but it didn't live up to how much I loved that one.  When Liam Noone dies (leaving behind three ex-wives and some children), Nora and Sam, estranged siblings, work together to determine whether their father jumped to his death or was pushed.  There is a little suspense, and I do enjoy Dave's writing, so this is still a four-star read for me.

The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson has been on my radar for a while.  I loved Baker's first book, Keeping the House and enjoyed her sophomore novel as well.  I am not someone who loves a book set in a circus, but this one was so good. We get to see various points in Cecily Larson's life from the time she was left in an orphanage by her mother, to her role as a grandmother at the age of ninety-four.  There were so many secrets her family never knew about her, but when her great-grandson takes a sample of her saliva for an at-home DNA test, Cecily is confronted by her past.  I loved the Minnesota setting and hope we don't have to wait as long to hear from Baker again.

For whatever reason, nonfiction really worked for me this month, so I didn't get as many fiction titles read as I normally do.  October is literally right around the corner, so I guess we will see what I feel like reading as the weather turns colder.

Friday Five

This week has been a blur.  My  husband has been gone for work and two of my daughters had appointment with specialists.  Middle Sister was referred on to a GI doctor after her liver enzymes were checked three times (along with numerous other tests) and they were still elevated.  The good news there is that the bloodwork continues to show them trending down and the doctor thinks that in March she had a virus that attacked her liver.  Little Sister's appointment was more annoying.  On Monday I took her in, following up with a blood draw she had that showed she has low iron and low ferritin.    Somehow from this, we ended up getting referred on to a cardiologist.  While I'm all for erring on the side of caution, there was no reason to create a mountain out of a molehill and now despite a normal EKG and a normal treadmill test, she can't be released to run (it's XC season) until she has an echocardiogram.  Frustration has been high at our house. 

Anyway, I'm glad it's Friday because I need a few days to relax.  Here are the things I found this week for you to enjoy:

 

1.  Coated Kelsey Crop Boot

2.  Maryelbone Cord Blazer

3.  Patterned Cardigan

4.  Julia Denim Jacket

5.  Cashsoft Relaxed Crewneck Sweater

6.  Hannah Printed Sweatshirt

7.  AE Relaxed Crewneck Sweater

8.  Sunburst Cardigan

9.  Collection Sequined Embellished TShirt

10.  Leopard Wide Leg Pants

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

Waiting on Wednesday: More Or Less Maddy

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: More or Less Maddy by Lisa Genova

Due out: January 14, 2025

Synopsis taken from Goodreads:

The powerhouse New York Times bestselling author and Harvard-trained neuroscientist returns with a breathless, exhilarating, and heartbreaking novel about a young woman diagnosed with bipolar disorder and the ripple effects her mental health has on her family and her pursuit of a career in stand-up comedy.

Maddy Banks is just like any other stressed-out freshman at NYU. Between heaps of homework, finals, and navigating life in the city, it’s normal to be feeling the pressure. It doesn’t help that she’s always felt like the odd one out in her “perfect” Connecticut her blonde, toned, and tanned mother; her flawless, high-achieving, engaged sister, Emily; and her always popular, athletic, easygoing brother, Jack. Yet lately, Maddy’s highs seem dizzyingly high, and the lows seem terrifyingly low. Suddenly, the things that used to make her happy are becoming harder and harder to grasp.

When a spontaneous visit to a comedy club opens her eyes to a new hobby just as her mental health begins to spiral and an incident at a family Thanksgiving dinner leads to a terrifying breaking point—and to a new diagnosis—Maddy’s life starts to look quite different. As she struggles to accept her bipolar disorder and attempts to navigate her burgeoning stand-up career, she’ll have to figure out how to manage being both too much and not enough.

Friday Five

 Fall/winter clothing is my favorite- even though I'm not a big fan of the cold weather.  I am finding lots to love right now -and I'm finding it vey difficult not to buy anything.

Here are my finds this week:

1.  Coffee T-shirt

2.  Taos Winner Sneaker

3.  Corduroy Jumper

4.  Aril Cord Shirting

5.  Milano Half Zip 

6.  Cable Muscle Sweater T

7.  Sequin Halter Neck Top

8.  Mollie Ballet Flat

9. Striped Mockneck Pullover Sweater

10.  Sacred Acre podcast- this story features a well known area football coach who was murdered by a former player who suffered from mental illness.  

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