Summer to me doesn’t mean beach reads. It means old school Gothics, particularly the mysteries of Barbara Michaels/Elizabeth Peters. I don’t know if it’s because so many of the books are set during sultry Southern summers (like Houses of Stone, Be Buried in the Rain, and Shattered Silk); if it’s because the books must have…

Right now I’m reading… the copyedited manuscript of The Forgotten Room! There has also been a lot of The Highway Rat and A Squash and a Squeeze in my life. But once copyedits are in and storytime is (momentarily) over, I’m going to start scrounging on my shelves for something new to read. What have…

Since I completely forgot to do a Weekly Reading Round-Up this past Friday… I’m turning it on its head and doing a Weekend Reading Round-Up instead! Also because Sharlene surprised me with this adorable card: I finally yielded to pressure and picked up some of the Helen MacInnes novels my college roommate has been sending…

As the marathon of reading for the new stand alone novel continues, this week I’ve been delving into what it’s like being an American in France. Among others: — Edith Wharton’s Madame De Treymes, a novella about a Gilded Age American seeking a divorce from her philandering French husband; — Sarah Turnbull’s Almost French: Love…

Hi, all! Apologies for the radio silence– between all the books coming out this summer and a feverish toddler, the week got away from me. (On the calendar, it is Friday. In my head, it is still Tuesday.) This week was mostly about reading for the World War I segment of the next stand alone.…

Another win from the college roommate care package! I’ve been reading my way through Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London series: Rivers of London, Moon Over Soho, and Whispers Under Ground. I’m currently on #4, Broken Homes, and have #5, Foxglove Summer, queued up next. Think police procedural meets Harry Potter. It’s paranormal policing in modern…

Every now and then you just need a bit of Dorothy Sayers. This week, I revisited one of my favorites, Murder Must Advertise, in which Wimsey goes undercover in an advertising agency. It’s amazing how current much of it feels, although the bit that spoke to me the most was this passage: “He was reminded…

This week’s big find? Winifred Watson’s 1937 bestseller, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day. Where has this book been all my life? How had I not read it before? Miss Pettigrew and Flora Poste would have a great deal to discuss…. After that, it was Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Making of a Marchioness, which I’d…

I really should be writing a short story right now. (More on that later.) But I couldn’t resist celebrating turning in the final Pink book with a little binge of leisure reading. Among others: — M.J. Rose’s The Witch of Painted Sorrows, an incredibly compelling novel of family secrets, dangerous passions, and witchcraft set in…