Waiting on Wednesday: Last One Out

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:   Last One Out by Jane Harper 

Due out April 14, 2026

Synopsis taken from Amazon:

From the New York Times bestselling author of Exiles and The Dry comes a captivating new novel set in a modern ghost town.

Carralon Ridge, a once vibrant village in rural New South Wales, has become a shell of itself, its houses and buildings bought up and left to rot by the mining company operating at its borders. A decade into its slow death, surrounded by industrial noise and swathed in thick layers of dust, the skeletal town is all but abandoned, with just a handful of residents clinging onto what remains.

After years of scorning those who left the Ridge behind as it fell into ruin, Ro never imagined she'd become one of them. But everything changed when she lost her son. Five years ago, Sam vanished while visiting during a break from college, leaving behind a rental car with his belongings inside. Sam had loved Carralon Ridge, and had been working on an oral history of the town to preserve its legacy before it vanished altogether. It wasn't long after his disappearance that the rest of the family began to crumble away too.

But when Ro returns to Carralon Ridge to be with her husband and daughter on the anniversary of Sam's disappearance, she begins to suspect that something important was overlooked in his case. Because while nothing can stop Carralon Ridge from dying, someone seems to want to make sure that its secrets die with it.

NonFiction Tuesday: Reading On Topic

Over the weekend I devoured Unspeakable Things: Silence, Shame, and the Stories We Choose to Believe by Brooke Nevils.  I'll admit that I was stunned when I turned on the Today show back in November of 2017 and learned that Matt Lauer had been removed as the anchor. I wasn't necessarily surprised to hear the reason why, but now, reading Nevils' account, I am more disgusted and appalled by his behavior than I was before. And I never doubted for a moment Nevils' story.

 

While this book does recount Nevils' interactions with Lauer, it is more than that.  It is also about being vulnerable, about how power dynamics work, forgiveness for your own actions, moving forward, and a book that every female should read.  This was easily a five-star read for me and as I was reading, a variety of titles popped into my head as other books that would be of interest if Nevils' was the first book on this topic you picked to read.

Above are four titles I'm recommending for anyone looking for more on this topic.

The First Friday in February

January seemed long, but I'm already able to notice that it is staying light a little longer in the afternoons which is nice.  We're in the transition period for clothing right now.  It's still winter, but spring things are starting to show up online.  Hooray! That means the end is in sight.

Enjoy the things I've found this week:

1.  Fair Isle Crewneck in Vintage Wool

 2.  Berenstain Bears Pajama Pants

3.  Joan Semi Precious Necklace

4.  Madison Floral Embroidered Chambray Button-Up Shirt

5.  Isa Embroidered Sweater

6.  Risen Heart Relaxed Fit Top

7.  Day's End Cotton Linen Striped Pull-On Pants

8.  Women's SlenderSuit Grecian Low Leg One Piece Swimsuit

9.  Jacquard Knit Cardigan

10.  Boucle Sweater Vest

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

Waiting on Wednesday: The Astral Library

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

This week's pick: The Astral Library by Kate Quinn

Due out: February 17, 2026

Synopsis taken from Amazon:

From New York Times bestselling author Kate Quinn comes a gorgeously written fantastical adventure which poses the question: Have you ever wished you could live inside a book? Welcome to the Astral Library, where books are not just objects, but doors to new worlds, new lives, and new futures.

Alexandria “Alix” Watson has learned one lesson from her barren childhood in the foster-care system: unlike people, books will never let you down. Working three dead-end jobs to make ends meet and knowing college is a pipe dream, Alix takes nightly refuge in the high-vaulted reading room at the Boston Public Library, escaping into her favorite fantasy novels and dreaming of far-off lands. Until the day she stumbles through a hidden door and meets the Librarian: the ageless, acerbic guardian of a hidden library where the desperate and the lost escape to new lives...inside their favorite books.

The Librarian takes a dazzled Alix under her wing, but before she can escape into the pages of her new life, a shadowy enemy emerges to threaten everyone the Astral Library has ever helped protect. Aided by a dashing costume-shop owner, Alix and the Librarian flee through the Regency drawing rooms of Jane Austen to the back alleys of Sherlock Holmes and the champagne-soaked parties of The Great Gatsby as danger draws inexorably closer. But who does their enemy really wish to destroy—Alix, the Librarian, or the Library itself?

Non-Fiction Tuesday: Land Rich Cash Poor

I grew up in the 80s on a farm in Iowa, the same farm my mother grew up on with her five siblings.  That background permeates every part of who we are.  I found Land Rich Cash Poor to validate what I've long felt about farm life.  It is hard - back-breakingly hard at times, but also rewarding.  My parents worked to buy my grandparents' farm from them, and as my mom ages and contemplates what will happen to the land when she moves away from her lifelong home, it is hard to even grasp what that loss will feel like.

Reisinger captures this all so accurately as he is a member of a four generation farm family, and has watched his parents and grandparents work hard to preserve the farm that they have all grown up on and worked on.  
 

Anecdotes of tough times - along with some fun times - are included in every chapter.  From their house burning down to a variety of accidents that were suffered, Reisinger's book also explores the economic impact farmers have felt throughout the generations and the ways different legislation has hurt the family farm.

I think this book should be read by the urban dwellers who don't necessarily understand what rural life is like, and as our country is so diverse this book provides a great representation of the families that still are eking out a living in farming.

Monday Mini Reviews: February Releases

 

I've always loved adding to my TBR and I'm constantly looking for books that are going to be published, but I always have too many books I'd like to read and not enough time to get to them. 

This year I'm trying to read a few more of the ARCs I receive from NetGalley before they are released instead of continuing to get further and further behind.

One of my favorite reads in January was Laws of Love and Logic by Debra Curtis.  Lily and her high school boyfriend seem to have a perfect relationship and have big plans for their futures, until his rage at a boy he believes has hurt Lily changes things forever.  But even though decades pass and the two have both moved on with their lives, the love they share in high school is still simmering under the surface.  

This Is Not About Us by Allegra Goodman is a novel in stories featuring various members of the Rubinstein family.  A family tree helps readers understand the relationships between family members and as each chapter shares a small snippet of the family's highs and lows and everything in between.  I love a dysfunctional family novel, but I'm not sure I'd call the Rubinsteins truly dysfunctional; they are a regular family with the normal challenges that life brings.

It's Not Her by Mary Kubica was a fast read.  Courtney, her husband and daughter are on a vacation with Courtney's brother and his wife and three kids. When Courtney's brother and sister-in-law are found murdered in their cabin and the oldest daughter, Reese, is missing, Courtney is desparate to find her niece, but also worried that Reese may have had something to do with her parents' deaths.  This is a page turner, but I found a few things to be rather hard to believe, and I just couldn't quite get past that. 

Despite the fact that February has just started, I am hoping to start on a March release tonight.  The days pass quickly and before I know it, February will be coming to an end.

Friday Five: January Is Finally Coming To An End

I'm always happy for a Friday to roll around.  The weeks do fly by, but there is no time for relaxing this year and I am definitely in need of a break by Friday at 3 PM.  I'm also ready for spring weather; this week has been bitterly cold.  

Here are the things that caught my eye this week:

 

1.  Heart Embroidered Hoodie

2.  Raisonnel Short Sleeve Stripe Sweater

3.  Bailey Rose Fair Isle Toggle Cardigan

4.  Maeve Long Sleeve Diagonal Stripe Sweater

5.  Soft Brushed Bias Plaid Shirt

6.  Hoodie Cardigan with Bow

7.  Oversized Pullove Sweater

8.  Women's Casual Casual Loose-Fitting Round Neck Sweater with Heart Embroidery

9.  Loraine Bit Loafer

10.  Edmund Fitzgerald: 50 Years Below Podcast

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

Waiting on Wednesday: The Hired Man

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 Hired Man by Sandra Dallas

Due out March 31, 2026

Synopsis taken from Amazon:

The Dust Bowl sweeps a handsome stranger into a small Colorado town to dangerous effect

1937. It’s been seven years since the dust storms started in Colorado. Folks can barely remember a time when the clouds were filled with rain instead of dirt, and when the fields were green instead of brown. High school student Martha Helen Kessler and her family are luckier than most; they still eke out a living from the land. Even so, evidence of the Dust Bowl’s grim impact on families, especially on the women who bear the brunt of their husbands’ frustration and their children’s hunger, is everywhere.

When Martha Helen’s compassionate mother insists they take in Otis Hobbs, a handsome drifter who saves a local boy from a vicious storm, she quickly discovers a darker side to their rural community. Suspicion, jealousy, and prejudice grip their neighbors – and emotions reach a frenzy after Martha Helen’s best friend, Frankie, disappears and is then found murdered. Ultimately, Martha Helen is forced to make sense of her conflicting feelings and loyalties in order to help find retribution and to reconcile the difference between the law and justice.

Full of period detail and Sandra Dallas’s trademark focus on the lives of women, The Hired Man entertains and ultimately surprises.

Friday Five: Baby It's Cold Outside

 We had our first snow day today which gives us a second three day weekend in a row - and just a three day work week.  I did a little grocery shopping, a little reading, and a little school work today.  

This time of year is weird for clothes shopping.  It's still freezing cold out, but I'm ready for warm weather and there are hints of spring clothing online.  While it's nothing I can wear right now, it does give me something to look forward to.

Here's what's caught my eye this week:

1.  Mackenzie Swim Top

2.  100% Organic Cotton Fisherman Crew Sweater

3.  The Brooklin Tie-Front Printed Pull-on Pants by Maeve

4.  Clean Cut T-Shirt

5.  Cherry Lawn Pullover

6.  Hadley Cable Denim Mixed Cardigan

7.  US Ski and Snowboard by JCrew Fair Isle Roll Neck Sweater

8. The A&F Madeline Crochet Style Crew

9. Ornate Ballet Flat

10.  Kidnapped on Netflix

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

Waiting on Wednesday: The Take

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 Take by Kelly Yang

Due out April 14, 2026

Synopsis taken from Amazon:

A provocative, fast-paced novel about two creative women—a young writer fighting to be heard and an older producer clinging to relevancy—and the age reversal treatment that intertwines both of their lives…from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the beloved Front Desk series

Maggie Wang, a broke young Asian American writer, needs a lifeline. Ingrid Parker, a veteran white Hollywood producer with her career on the edge, offers an irresistible deal: $3 million for ten experimental medical sessions to reverse her aging, using Maggie as a transfusion partner, and mentorship.

For Ingrid, it's a chance to reboot her fading career. For Maggie, it's access and freedom—money to support her parents and the connections to finally get her novel published.


What starts as a professional transaction exchanging blood quickly becomes a complex psychological dance. As Maggie gains unprecedented access to Ingrid's hard-earned wisdom, Ingrid sees in Maggie a weapon against an industry that's been trying to sideline her.

As their relationship intensifies, they're forced to confront the harsh realities of race, age, and success. Who has the power to tell stories? And what are they willing to sacrifice to succeed?

Sharp, timely, and utterly compelling, The Take is perfect for readers of Yellowface and Such a Fun Age—a searing portrait of two women fighting to rewrite their story.