I’m on vacation, so I am finding lots of time for reading. Not shockingly, I have NOT missed work at all. Of course, eventually, I’ll have to go back to the office, but my hope is that the reading will continue because I am finding myself in the middle of many wonderful books. In addition to reading from my shelves, I’m also focusing on picture book research and education, as that’s the focus of my writing. In order to be thorough and thoughtful about my research, I can’t limit myself to what’s already on my shelves, and it isn’t financially feasible for me to purchase every book I want to read, so the library (and sometimes YouTube) have become a big part of my reading. I track the books for myself in a separate notebook, so I won’t be listing them here. On occasion, I may post about some of my favorites. Just know that there is more reading going on…

Currently Reading

Non-fiction

• Calypso by David Sedaris: I have learned that David Sedaris walks 25 1/2 miles (60,000 steps) per day picking up trash along the street. It takes him nine hours, but he does not consider it a waste of time because he listens to audio books and podcasts and talks to people and learns things. On days that I don’t run, I average 2,500 steps. I am a slug.
• The Curated Closet by Anuschka Rees. I listen to the funny By the Book podcast about self-help books. I mostly enjoy their takedowns of books that offer ridiculous advice, but this book actually sounded helpful. My style can be best described as middle-aged-mom-who-wasn’t-stylish-even-when-she-was-younger. Fingers crossed for some improvement.

Fiction (adult/YA)

• Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan: I have desperately missed having good romcoms in the theaters, so I was ready to see this as soon as I heard about it. It did NOT disappoint. I loved it so much, I had to get the book.

Recently Completed

Fiction (adult/YA)

• I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith: Wonderful mix of coming-of-age story and Pride and Prejudice-style romance. The main character chronicles the unexpected and exciting events in her unusual family’s lives as she’s learning how to become a writer and as she’s discovering who she is. I could hardly put it down. And though I mostly predicted the eventual couplings of the main characters, it’s no less satisfying than seeing the wished-for romances come together in Jane Austen’s deft hands. (I am sad that my teenage self missed out on this, but what a find for adult me!)