Friday Five

We are in a heatwave here, which means I'm walking my dogs early and again later in the evening to avoid the hottest part of the day.  I don't spend time at the pool any longer (that ended when my girls no longer wanted to hang out there during the summer afternoons we were all home), so the reading time I had to myself in the afternoons looks different now.  I still have reading time, but try to get something productive done as well.  Without any children around to supervise, I feel guilty sitting and reading away my days.  

We have hit the time of this season where the hot weather clothing is being clearanced out and soon we will be seeing fall clothes everywhere.  Today I came across the back to school aisle at WalMart and picked up my desk calendar for the 2026-27 school year. 

If you're still looking for summer clothes, I've got a few things to share with you this week:

 1.   Gingham Dress

2.  Ugg Lowmel Sneaker

3.  Mixed Media Tank

4.  Women's Strappy Flat Sandal

5.  Mixed Stitch Short Sleeve Women's Pima Cotton and Merino Wool Sweater

6.  Flecked Wedge Sweater

7.  Madewell Relaxed Crewneck Knit Tee

8.  Boxy Goodie Tee

9.  Hawk on Netflix

10.  Wimbledon with the Royals

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

Tuesday: Non Fiction: On-Topic: Little House on the Prairie

 I grew up watching Little House on the Prairie every week when an episode aired.  It was a show that our entire family watched, and as soon as I was old enough, I started reading the books from the series.

As an adult, I've read the series with my own children and groups of students at school.  And I've continued to look for further information on the Ingalls family.

So, if you are new to Little House on the Prairie and are starting your journey with this new series, I've got several suggestions for furthering your knowledge of Laura and her family.

The place to start, in my opinion, is with the original series.  As a kid I believed everything that Laura wrote to be the absolute truth.  It wasn't until I was an adult that I realized that Laura's books are located in the fiction section for a reason.  Wilder has taken liberties with the timeline of events, but also has omitted a portion of time that was extremely difficult for her family.

Cynthia Rylant's book, Old Town in the Green Groves, was published in 2002, and fills in the missing details from the years the Ingalls family lived in Burr Oak, Iowa, that includes the birth and death of Laura's baby brother, Charlie. 

If you want a non-fiction account of Laura's life, Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder by Caroline Fraser, provides a thorough account of Laura's life.  However, its length might be somewhat of a deterrent, and if you are new to LHOTP, you won't be able to compare Wilder's books to the true story.

The one comment I have heard on repeat in regards to the new series is that Ma's attitude is much different than the original television series.  While the show I watched while growing up shows a Ma that giggles at Pa's antics and seems perfectly content with the fact that Pa decided to drag her and her young children across the country in a covered wagon.  A Ma that isn't happy about the hardships of pioneer life seems a little more accurate.  Caroline by Sarah Miller tells the Little House story through Ma's eyes, and I found this book hard to put down..

While growing up, I had several friends who traveled to the various Laura Ingalls Wilder homesteads on their family vacations.  I've only been to Burr Oak (and that was when I took my own children), but there are people who continue to flock to these destinations.  

Wendy McClure's account of her trips to the Laura Ingalls Wilder homesteads was interesting and I enjoyed it, but had I been to visit these locations myself, I might have enjoyed this book even more.

If you are still needing more information about Laura, this book is one I gifted my oldest daughter.  It contains the original manuscript of Laura's autobiography that her books are based on.  And, it also shows the details that she changed in her books.

I have yet to sit down and watch the new series.  I'm not sure when (or if) I will do that, but I am excited that a new group of kids are being introduced to Little House on the Prairie, and I'm interested to see if there are any students who want to read these books and check them out from the library.

Waiting on Wednesday: American Hagwon by Min Jin Lee

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: American Hagwon by Min Jin Lee

Due out: September 29, 2026

Synopsis taken from Amazon:

At last, the National Book Award finalist and NYT bestselling author of Pachinko returns with a breathtaking contemporary epic: Min Jin Lee has written a masterpiece by turns sweeping and intimate, one that reckons with ambition and moderation, lust and loyalty, personal dreams and familial duty.

In schools and churches, hotel rooms and nail salons, law firms and fried-fish shops; in cramped, dingy apartments and luxury, gated communities, the men, women, and children in American Hagwon struggle to find satisfaction and meaning in a world that seems to grow less forgiving with each passing year.

Once comfortably middle class in Korea, John and Helen Koh and their three children—Bo, DH, and Mido—find their lives upended, first by a shocking betrayal by John’s oldest friend, then by the 1997 Asian financial crisis. Desperately striving to regain their footing, they leave Seoul for Sydney and eventually settle in Southern California—where new vistas of opportunity open up for the children as their parents, strangers in a strange land, must adjust to a new life in which their experience and education mean little, and they set their sights on whatever it takes to provide for their children’s futures.

The Kohs, their friends, relatives, and even their foes move in and out of each other’s lives as they navigate new courses across the years, always nursing the almost all-consuming faith that education will lead the next generation to success and security. In American Hagwon, Min Jin Lee has crafted an unforgettable, panoramic novel where the smallest of gestures can have enormous repercussions, where the bonds of family and of memory twist and fray but rarely break, and where willful self-sacrifice—for the benefit of loved ones and even strangers—is a kind of prayer.

Monday Mini-Reviews: A Bookish Trip

This past weekend I met my friend, Sarah, in the Twin Cities for a bookish getaway.

 We didn't get any reading done, but we did manage to visit eight indie bookstores, grab some cupcakes at Nadia's Cakes, Abby Jimenez's restaurant, attend the Minnesota Book Fair where I got to meet one of my favorite authors, Kathleen West, and eat some good food.  

I acquired a few new books (picture above), so the TBR continues to grow, and aside from the book-related activities, we did manage a tour of Paisley Park, Prince's home, browsed at Hunt and Gather, and visited the iconic Mary Tyler Moore statue for pictures.

This week I'm hoping to finally start on a few summer cleaning/organizing projects as well as finding some time to read.

Friday Five

I left to meet a friend in the Twin Cities for the weekend, conducting our own bookish vacation.  I'll post pictures at some point here, but I have already posted some on instagram @lib.rarylady if you follow me there.

It's HOT right now - perfect summer weather.  We've hit the time of year where there are not so many summer clothes to look at anymore, and soon the fall clothes will be hiting the stores.  

Enjoy this week's finds!

 

1.  Women's Sleeveless Midi Shirt Dress

2.  Club C 85 Vintage Sneaker

3.  Z Supply Clark Ribbed Tank

4.  Sheer Raglan Sweater

5.  Plaid Bomber Jacket

6.  Prado Striped Sweate Top

7.  Rain Dress

8.  Soren Short Sleeve Twofer

9.  Sunny Somewhere Hampton Book Club Raglan Sweatshirt

10.  Denim Forum the 90s Short Sleeve Vintage Denim Shirt

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

Waiting on Wednesday: Samantha: The Next Chapter

 

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: Samantha: The Next Chapter by Fiona Davis 

Due out: October 27, 2026

Synopsis taken from Amazon:

From American Girl and New York Times bestselling author Fiona Davis comes the next chapter of Samantha Parkington's story--now an adult searching for justice after her legacy is stolen in New York City in 1920.

It’s 1920, and 25-year-old Samantha Parkington is working hard to educate women in New York about suffrage and encourage them to vote in their first presidential election that fall. But when Samantha’s large inheritance, including her childhood Mount Bedford home, is stolen in a shocking scheme, she goes from socialite to shop girl overnight and experiences a very different side of New York City living in a boarding house. Searching for clues regarding the theft of her inheritance, she infiltrates the business of a notorious criminal in New York City. Determined as ever, Samantha will do whatever it takes to find answers and save her family’s legacy.

Monday Mini-Reviews: It's Been A Minute

Looking back through blog posts, I realize how long it has been since I've shared my thoughts on what I've been reading lately.  Summer is such a great time to stay up late reading, wake up in the middle of the night and read a few pages, and carry a book with me wherever I go.  

I have read some great book so far this summer.

I read Shampoo Effect this past weekend, finishing it up on Sunday morning.  I did find it a little hard to get into - I had children who were home for the weekend, and too many interruptions, but finally when I had a little quiet time and could invest more than five minutes, I was able to get into the story and didn't want to put it down.  

Caroline Lash is the outsider who starts dating Van, part of a group of friends who have grown up together.  When his on-again, mostly off-again ex-girlfriend discovers she is pregnant with his baby, Vanny assures Caroline that he wants to be with her.  His friends are loyal to Bailey, the soon-to-be mom, and as time unfolds things aren't made any easier for Caroline and Van.  The friend group has its own secrets as these couples in their mid-thirties have always known each other, but still adhere to the delicate balance the group has always had.

I loved this one and think it is a perfect beach read. Anyone who likes relationship drama or stories about friends will find something in this story to enjoy or relate to.

My favorite of Baker's books continues to be Keeping The House, but she is an auto-read/auto-buy author for me. Summerland Cove is a book that will be perfect for the beach, book clubs, or any time of year.

Lindy has three things she has been busy preparing for: her husband's 50th birthday party, her parents' 50th anniversary party, and the wedding of her oldest daughter, Hailey.  But when her husband, David, fails to show up for his party and the family frantically searches for him, all of Lindy's careful preparations seem to be going up in smoke.  Hailey and her fiance aren't getting along and Noah seems unconcerned about what Hailey's family is going through.  Lindy's mom has been keeping a few secrets of her own in an effort to make sure everything goes smoothly for Hailey's wedding, and even Lindy feels forced to hide her husband's disappearance from others.

I wasn't sure how David's disappearance was going to be explained, or how Hailey would deal with her fiance's rude behavior, but this story didn't have any major surprises, either.  I found the storyline engaging and enjoyed Baker's writing.  This is one I'm hoping gets some attention and helps other readers find her work.

Meg Mitchell Moore is another of my auto-read/auto-buy authors.  I love her books and this is no exception.

The Shipman sisters have arrived at their summer home on the New Hampshire coast at the request of their father, who has summoned them to let them know he plans to sell the vacation home.  None of the three sisters are happy about this news, but each reacts differently.  Mae, the youngest, is the most upset since she is in need of a place to live and having financial struggles.  Natalie, the middle sister, is facing the implosion of her trad-wife influencer career, and Jordan, the oldest, has her own problems to deal with and doesn't have time to also contend with losing the vacation home.

When their father's new wife shows up, it's more than the Shipman sisters can handle.  

Moore's novels explores family bonds between parents and sisters, along with a little humor on the side.

Perfect for the beach or any rainy day, I am so glad that Moore's latest book is such a delight.

These three are some of the best summery books I have enjoyed so far, so if you are looking for something to enjoy, you can't go wrong with any of these.

Friday Five: Fourth of July Weekend

 

We were gone this past week visiting my brother-in-law in Montana which meant a lot of reading for me, but not a lot of time online.  Middle Sister ran the Missoula marathon, and my husband and Little Sister's roommate ran the half.  Little Sister is still rehabbing from her second femoral stress fracture, so she got to spectate along with Middle Sister's boyfriend and me.

Missoula was cold and rainy (perhaps better running weather than hot and humid), and arrived back in Iowa to extremely hot and humid weather.  We don't have any big plans for the holiday weekend, but I am loving all the Americana clothing out right now.  

I was able to shop a bit on our trip and found some things I liked, although I didn't have space to pack anything I purchased, which saved me from myself.  Enjoy this week's finds!

1.  Carlie Denim Midi Dress

2.  Twirl Pleated Skirt

3.  Essex Patchwork Madras Shorts

4.  Hailee Semiprecious Layered Beaded Necklace

5.  Olivaceous Puff Sleeve Top

6.  We The Free Jude Shortalls

7. Liberty Puffed Sleeve Blue and Red Striped Top

8.  New Balance 9060

9.  Favorite Knit Short Skirt

10. Voicemails For Isabelle

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

Waiting on Wednesday: Seekers of Deer of Creek

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: Seekers of Deer Creek by Thao Thai

Due out: August 4, 2026

Synopsis taken from Amazon:

From the national bestselling author of Banyan Moon, a captivating, evocative story of two estranged sisters on a quest to find a painting by a forgotten Vietnamese artist that holds the truth of their family’s fractured past. 

Aside from the fact they are sisters, Vivi and Calla Nguyễn have little in common.

Vivi, the eldest, lives an orderly and predictable life. She works as an art conservator at a museum in Chicago, carefully preserving pieces of the past, all the while refusing to examine her own dark history. 

Calla leads a much bolder, if occasionally reckless, existence. She’s an accomplished artist with a flair for the dramatic, charming and intriguing everyone she meets. She’s also a recovering addict, constantly causing Vivi to worry.

Months after the two fall out in the wake of their father’s death, Calla appears on the steps of the museum with a sketch and a letter she found in their father’s belongings. The sketch is an exact copy of Blue Mirror, a striking painting by a Vietnamese painter named K.P. Lý. In the letter, Lý writes about a mysterious lost work of art. Calla is convinced it is meant for their family, and that it was their father’s deathbed wish for her and Vivi to find it together. Intrigued yet reluctant to follow her capricious sister, Vivi must decide whether she’s willing to face or shut the door to the past.

From the ghostly Wisconsin woods to a glittering estate in the French countryside to a sprawling ancestral home teetering on the edge of a ravine in Việt Nam, The Seekers of Deer Creek is a story of sisters, art, and the irresistible gravity of the past—how it endures across time and generations, always present even when buried.