🎧 The Wedding People by Alison Espach It took me years to finish this book. I first picked it up as an eBook from the library back in 2024, but I couldn’t get into it. This month, I gave it another try as an audiobook and was pleasantly surprised. And when I say pleasantly surprised,…

Back to drama This month’s books and shows leaned more women’s fiction than domestic thriller. And really, that’s a good thing if I want to sleep well at night. Trust me, I want to sleep. Grouchy Carole is no fun. Here’s July’s lineup. 🎧 The First Time I Saw Him by Laura Dave I read…

Dystopian, Apparently Last month’s dark comedy experiment seems to have lingered. I didn’t set out to read and watch more dystopian-themed books and shows this month, but here we are. June’s story consumption took a darker turn, with thrillers, questionable realities, secretive people, and one very lonely woman in a world gone weird. While a…

Recommendations Aren’t for Everyone I keep a TBR list on my phone. I also keep a watch list. Lately, I’ve been wondering if that second list needs to go. People read books and watch shows for all kinds of reasons. As I mentioned last month, I pay attention to stories that make me feel. I…

April’s theme is octogenarians and hockey romance. An unusual pairing? Absolutely.Do I have a reason? Also yes. Stay with me. The Octogenarians Back in February, I read The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett by Annie Lyons and immediately thought, I could read this again. Instead, I found two books that delivered the same kind of…

Earlier this year, I posted my ambitious TBR stack on Instagram. Let’s just say… progress has been selective. I did finish To Kill a Mockingbird (you can read my thoughts here), and I painted a watercolor. So technically that counts as cultural enrichment. But this month? I entered my audiobook era. Between scratching my cornea…

Between some technical hiccups and the general busyness of the holiday season, I missed my What to Read posts in December and January. Rather than skip them altogether, I rolled everything I read and watched into one list. This post is a smidge longer than usual, but I’ve kept the notes concise. Consider it a…

Another month, another round of books, audiobooks, and shows filling my creative well. My reading life is a true grab bag these days. Honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Every genre gives me something new to ponder. Whether those ideas make it into a future book as-is… or get twisted into something delightfully…

Sometimes I think my reading life is a little all over the place. My tastes don’t fit a neat mold, and I’m definitely not always the “target reader” for the books I pick up. One shift I’ve made recently? Letting myself DNF books. Years ago, I would have pushed through no matter what. But now,…

Finding Magic ✨ This month, I have several amazing books to share! One of them even kept me up past my bedtime—a rare feat these days. I used to do that all the time. Stay up until the early hours because a book had cast its spell on me. But now? Age, responsibilities, and the…