Friday Five

TGIF!  This has been one of the most stressful weeks of my school year.  On Wednesday I had to reinterview for my job.  Without going into too much detail, the interview itself was bizarre, only focusing one minor portion of my job.  We were evaluated using a rubric that we didn't even know about, and three of the five interviewees had their building administrator there (I wasn't one of them with an admin present).  To say I'm feeling less than confident would be an understatement.  

It's a good thing I can still find time to shop online.  Here are my picks for this week, and I'm hoping next week is less stressful.  

 1.  Darla Buckle Slide Sandal

2.  The Tammy Pearl Drop Earrings

3.  Fate Boat Neck Sweater

4.  Seersucker Smocked Shirt

5.  Remy Ruffle Collar Buttondown Shirt by Pilcro

6.  Fashion Icons

7.  Short Sleeve Floral Smocked Top

8.  Cotton Twill Knot Button Jacket

9. Viscose Blend Tunic Dress

10.  Astrid Tassel Loafer

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

Waiting on Wednesday: Calamity Club

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: Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett

Due out: May 5, 2026

Synopsis taken from Amazon:

Gripping, funny, heartbreaking, and hopeful, The Calamity Club is the story of a group of unbreakable women in 1933 Mississippi, as they fight to claim what’s rightfully theirs—Kathryn Stockett’s first novel since the #1 bestselling phenomenon The Help.

It’s been over a year since Meg’s beloved mother failed to come home one Christmas Eve. Since then, the eleven-year-old has been one of the unadoptable “big” girls at The Orphan in Oxford, Mississippi. There, in the face of the disdain and cruelty of the chairlady who runs the orphanage, she fights each day to keep her wits sharp and her spirit unbowed.

In the final, sweltering weeks of the summer, Birdie Calhoun, unmarried and opinionated, arrives in Oxford with the unpleasant task of asking her socialite sister to help the struggling family she’s left behind. Her sister has married into a wealthy, old family and has taken pains to conceal her humble Delta roots. But as the Depression tightens its grip, it becomes clear that her dreams may have been built on an unsteady foundation. With her banker husband worryingly absent, she drifts around his once-grand family home as her imperious mother-in-law clings to a fantasy of bygone days.

When Birdie meets Charlie, a woman with nothing left to lose, their fates—and Meg’s—converge with those of a band of undaunted, disreputable women as they form an audacious plan to take back control of their lives. But in a place and time where hypocrisy is rife, where women’s freedom is fragile, and where making an enemy can have calamitous consequences, will the price they pay for their outrageous risk-taking be too high?

Bold, heartwarming, and bracingly funny, The Calamity Club is an unputdownable story about the many ways female agency can be thwarted, and of those determined to take it back, no matter the cost.

Non Fiction Tuesday: Five Star NonFiction: No One's Coming

 

Kevin Hazzard's newest book, No One's Coming, is one I devoured over the weekend.  

Hazzard takes his time setting the stage and providing enough background to the situation: Americans with ebola trapped in Africa, needing an emergency rescue in order for them to have a chance at survival.

We learn about the company, Phoenix Air, that was created to transport dangerous materials around the world.  And we learn about the doctors and volunteers who are waging a war against the deadliest ebola outbreak in history and their desperate need for rescue.

Once the action begins, this is a page-turner.  I have read The Hot Zone by Richard Preston and am fascinated by the ebola virus, so reading about the most recent outbreak and its impact on the people it infected is a topic I continue to be curious about. Add to that the high stakes rescue and the people willing to take risks on a daily basis, and this book only gets better.

If you need some great nonfiction in your life, this is a book that will appeal to readers of all ages. 

 

Monday Mini-Reviews: Spring Break Edition

Reading in the first part of 2026 has started out slow.  I've read really good books, but with job uncertainties (again) I have found it hard to focus on reading.  Even though I still don't know what will happen to my job next year, I did manage to finally get lost in some really great books during my week off.

Upward Bound by Woody Brown is going to be one of the best books I read in 2026.  Brown was the first nonverbal autistic person to graduate from UCLA, writing this entire novel with his adapive technology.  Upward Bound is a daycare for adults with a variety of disabilities. Chapters are narrated by the various people who spend their days there, from residents to workers.  Brown shines a light on a portion of the population that are often ignored, giving voice to them.  I will be recommending this book to everyone for a long time.

Lake Effect by Cynthia D'Apris Sweeney begins in 1977 with Nina who receives a copy of the famous book The Joy of Sex from a recently divorced friend. Nina starts to examine her own marriage, which seems to be missing something.  When she and the next door neighbor begin a relationship, the lives of both families are changed forever.  And and decades later, Clara, Nina's daughter still has not managed to reconcile with her mother's decisions.

The Foursome by Christina Baker Cline is a fascinating fictionalized version of the marriages of Chang and Eng, the Siamese twins who settled in North Carolina in the 1800s.  This entire novel is told from the perspective of Eng's wife Fanny.  I've long been curious about these men and the fact that despite being conjoined boht married and had ten and eleven children apiece.  I absolutely devoured this one.

So Old, So Young by Grant Ginder is perfect for anyone who has a friend group from college that they remain in touch with through decades.  If you liked The Four Seasons on Netflix, this is also a book for you. Told over the course of twenty years and five different parties, we see how the friendships of six college friends change over time.

It Girl by Alison Pataki- I can count on Pataki for interesting historical fiction and this is no exception.  Evelyn Talbot is the first Gibson Girl, her likeness is so familiar that she is a celebrity.  Evelyn finds herself taken advantage of by a vaiety of powerful men, and even in the middle of what was referred to as the crime of the century.  

Celestial Lights by Cecile Pin - this story starts on the day of the space shuttle Challenger explosion, also the day Ollie was born.  Decades later Ollie is in space himself, a mission that is taking him away from his family for years. This novel moves back in time as Ollie remembers various events in his life that has led him to this place.  Although I've seen this one listed as science fiction, it feels more like realistic fiction and had a good mix of space/character development that I thoroughly enjoyed it.  

I really couldn't have asked for better reading this past week, but I've got plenty of other great books to choose from.  

Friday Five

 Spring break has been uneventful and full of time to basically do nothing. I started strong by completing a few cleaning projects early in the week, but mostly I let myself read a lot of amazing books and sleep in.  Little Sister was home from college for the week, so we took a day trip to Minneapolis to see one of her best friends who attends the University of St. Thomas and do a little shopping. 

I found plenty online to pique my interest.  Enjoy!

1.  Willow Quinn Sandal

2.  Opal Rollneck Knit Sweater

3.  Striped Pointelle Scalloped Neck Sweater

4.  Military Jacket

5.  Lou and Grey Double Stripe Pintucked Luvstretch Wide Leg Pants

6.  Tencel Ruffle Front Shirt

7.  The Ultimate Wide-Leg Pant in Airy Denim

8.  Relaxed Voile Puff Sleeve Top

9.  Ruffle Hem Slip Skirt

10.  Imperfect Women

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

Waiting on Wednesday: Dolly All The Time

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: Dolly All The Time by Annabel Monaghan

Due out: May 26, 2026

Synopsis taken from Amazon: 

If they start by pretending, can they end with something real?

Dolly Brick has never met a problem she couldn’t solve. Not when her mom left when she was twelve, and not at thirty-nine when she moves with her son back to Whitfield, Rhode Island for the summer to keep her dad and brother from losing the family home.

So when she comes across Stewart Whitfield—annoyingly handsome scion of the Whitfield family—with a flat tire and at the wrong end of a very public, very humiliating breakup, it’s in her nature to help. But Stewart’s proposed arrangement ends up being more than either of them bargained for, because as public dinners and high society benefits turn into sunset boat rides and kisses that hit her bloodstream like a ghost pepper, Dolly starts to feel something more than helpful. She’s never relied on anyone besides herself, can she really start now?

Friday Five

 Spring break is just a day away - and by some bizarre twist, I was already at work by the time we received a phone call for a two hour delay.  And then a short while later school was called off for students, and teachers would have a work day.  We aren't unaccustomed to snow days, but today there is a wind warning - and more importantly several schools had a transformer blow which means they are without power. 

So, I'm cleaning off my desk, filing things that have piled up, and even enjoying visiting with some colleagues, which hasn't happened much since I am running around from building to building.

1.  RD Style Kellie Denim Trim Cardigan

2.  Gigio Short Sleeve Puff Sleeve Blouse with Peter Pan Collar

3.   3D Floral Bonnie Dress

4.  Women's Long Sleeve Mariner Johnny Collar Polo

5.  Maggie Ruffle Neck Cardigan

6.  Design History Short Sleeve Stitched Cardigan Sweater

7.  Organic Cotton Cropped Cardigan

8.  Jayla Leather D'Orsay Slingback Dress Pumps

9.  Tag and Initial Necklace

10.  The Midi - I love this new challenge that I spend a few minutes each day.

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

Kid Lit Thursday

 I have found my new favorite read aloud: The Future Book by Mac Barnett and Shawn Harris.  This is such a fun book to share with students.  I've snagged a copy that I've been carrying around in my backpack in the event I make an impromptu visit to a classroom.

This is a book that is just as fun to read with lower elementary as it is with upper elementary (or even middle school).  This takes less than five minutes to read, and I think it's a winner for any audience.

Waiting on Wednesday: The Shippers

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: The Shippers by Katherine Center

Due out: May 19, 2026

Synopsis taken from Amazon:

After a whole lifetime of being bad at love, JoJo Burton decides to solve her intimacy issues once and for all at her sister’s destination wedding on a cruise ship. With the help of a little pop psychology, she diagnoses herself with a fixation on the neighborhood guy who was her her first crush and first kiss (and who just happens to be a newly-divorced wedding guest ), and she decides to woo him during the cruise for some long-delayed closure. Only problem is, her sister’s a little busy being a bride at the moment―so JoJo ropes in her childhood bestie, Cooper Watts, to be her wing man. Cooper: who RSVPed no, but then showed up, anyway. Cooper: who left town without a word four years earlier and moved to London. Cooper: who was, if she’s honest, the worst heartbreak of JoJo’s life. It’s bliss for her to see him again, and it’s agony, too―and the more they team up for Project Conquest, the more she obsesses over questions she can’t bring herself to ask.

Shipboard antics ensue in this witty, heart-tugging, childhood-friends-to-lovers romance―as JoJo and Cooper fake flirt, slow dance, share a cabin, sing duets, treat sunburns, get jealous, rescue each other over and over, and finally, at last, figure it all out in the most blissful, swoony, romantic way.

No one does summer romance quite like Katherine Center. THE SHIPPERS will take readers on the cruise of a lifetime in a story awash with romantic longing, top-notch banter, long-held secrets . . . and true love rediscovered.

Monday Mini-Reviews: Five Star Read: Lady Tremaine

I'm not a girl who grew up reading fairy tales. The stories were read to me, but I didn't have any special attachment to them, or the Disney movies that then followed.  

Lady Tremaine is a re-telling -or an untelling, as Hochhauser called it in a recent podcast I listened to - told in the perspective of Cinderella's stepmother.

 

The wicked stepmother and horrible stepsisters from the Cinderella of my childhood look vastly different than they do in Tremaine.  We get an entirely different perspective when we hear Lady Etheldreda's side of things.  Her first love ended in tragedy, leaving her with two young daughters, and the need to create a life on her own.  Etheldreda is a survivor, and despite the variety of challenges that life continues to present to her, she perseveres.  When she finds a man who can bring some sense of stability for her and her children, she takes the chance, also taking on raising Elin, who has been raised without a mother for much of her childhood.  

Elin isn't the easiest child, yet when the prince picks her over one of her new stepsisters, Etheldreda doesn't understand what the attraction could be  until she does a little research on her own and realizes that things aren't quite what they appear.

I loved this book so much, and will think of Cinderella in an entirely different way from now on.