In February, I got to attend the inaugural weekend of the Bread Loaf Winter Institute, a thought-provoking, enjoyable program I highly recommend. (If you want to check it out, click the photo above to learn more about the event and/or sign up for 2025’s iteration. Depending on how I’m feeling, maybe I’ll see you there.)…
“Why”…Wednesdays
285. Why I’m Not in My Basement
The above is a photo of me during my hockey season. Oh, don’t be silly. It’s a stock photo I found online of someone who spent a lot of time in a basement practicing to be able to shoot the puck like that. When this post goes live, I will be solidly in my off-season…
NetGalley Review of It’s All Relative
title: It’s All Relative author: Rachel Magee publisher: Thomas Nelson publication date: August 6, 2024 pages: 336 peppers: 1 (on this scale) warnings: none summary: Helena can’t stand the idea of going to her mother’s wedding to a great guy for two reasons. First, his family is annoyingly perfect. Second, she has a crush on Gage,…
284. Why Be a __ Fairy
The photo above shows the back of my computer. You might recognize the “Embrace the Quest” line as the one I offered in my Lufkin Prize speech. I had those stickers made with Hotchkiss’s Main Building, sparkles, and that catchphrase to give out after the speech. (If you’re reading this and want one, please let…
NetGalley Review of How to Fall for a Scoundrel
title: How to Fall for a Scoundrel author: Kate Bateman publisher: St. Martin’s Paperback publication date: August 20, 2024 pages: 320 peppers: 3 (on this scale) warnings: none summary: Ellie and her friends run a detective agency under a man’s name because many people won’t hire women, but one night at a party, a handsome stranger first…
NetGalley Review of Prime Time Romance
title: Prime Time Romance author: Kate Robb publisher: Dial Press Trade Paperback publication date: September 3, 2024 pages: 336 peppers: 3 (on this scale) warnings: vomit, drinking and binge drinking summary: After her divorce, Brynn spends as much time as possible watching her favorite teen series, Carson’s Cove, in which everything ends happily ever after, except the…
283. Why Getting Older Isn’t What I Expected
If you zoom in really close on the above photo of me (I’m not recommending this), you’ll see my gray hair. I didn’t have any grays at all until I became a head of the English Department at my school. Now, I have plenty of them. I am not surprised by gray hair, as I…
NetGalley Review of A Legend in the Baking
title: A Legend in the Baking author: Jamie Wesley publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin publication date: November 19, 2024 pages: 336 peppers: 3 (on this scale) warnings: none summary: Sloane Dell impulsively quits her marketing job after not getting the promotion she deserves. To prove herself for another job, she runs the social media accounts for her brother…
282. Why Parenting is Hard 2.0
If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you read the first iteration of Why Parenting is Hard in May 2020. I’m linking it here, in case you want to go back to it. Well, here we are four years later, and I have more thoughts on the topic. They’re related, to be sure,…
NetGalley Review of The Au Pair Affair
title: The Au Pair Affair author: Tessa Bailey publisher: Avon publication date: July 16, 2024 pages: 384 peppers: 3 (on this scale) warnings: broken nose and other hockey violence; traumatic past/stalker summary: Tallulah is moving to Boston to work on her MA in Marine Biology. To be able to afford to live there, she takes a job…