Look at her! She’s so cute. My husband gave me the library for my birthday in July and he’s spent the last few months painting (after I spent a few weeks picking the color; this one is “Restful”), and prepping to post it. And then our dear neighbor who has his own Little Free Library came and helped us install it. I had never even seen a pole shovel before, so it was enlightening. And we’re so excited to start being stewards in the neighborhood!!
E has been really delighted to “go check the library.” I’m hoping it picks up in terms of patronage, but either way, it’s very cute and fun for the girls.
Here’s what else is going on:
Reading
Finished up Wednesday’s Child with my short story crew and woah, it’s a tough read. It’s very sad but beautifully written. (Do you know the poem, “Wednesday’s child is full of woe”? That’s apt.) If you liked The Book of Goose, you will like this one as I felt they had similar tones in the writing (as I imagine is just Li’s style). The themes here are really mainly about grief and loss, with a lot of reflections on motherhood. It was just very heavy for me, but I found the writing and some stories striking and really powerful.
Currently reading The Happy Couple by Naoise Dolan, which published today! I didn’t love her previous novel, Exciting Times; I found those characters super tedious, but I do have a soft spot for Irish lit, so I was eager about this one. It follows five characters as they all prepare for a wedding. I love the format. It’s broken into different sections for each character/narrator: The Bride, The Groom, The Best Man, The Bridesmaid, and The Guest. And each just gets one section, so there’s no jumping back and forth. The writing is sharp and quick, there’s tons of dialogue that I think really displays the characters well, and the story is interesting (if you’re into relationship analysis and stories about friend-group drama).
Baking
I did the wagon wheels! They’re just a simple biscuit covered in chocolate and sandwiched with marshmallow and raspberry jam. It was fun, but also a learning experience. For your reference, only make marshmallow if you’re going to use it immediately. As I got distracted by parenting duties and screaming toddlers, my marshmallow was a bit too stiff to pipe (: I ran it under some warm water and that made it workable, but not very pretty. It was a bit lumpy and that affected the overall look. But, not the taste! That’s more important. I don’t have a photo of the finished product, but this was a fun bake! I gave some to the kids’ teachers and they all appreciated it. I think it would be a hit with everyone - the sweet chocolate, crunchy biscuit, and tart jam. Mm!
Judgment: No handshake 👎 but still delicious. 👍
Living
There’s a lot of bookish stuff here!
Firstly, all the awards are coming up (well, some exciting ones anyway):
National Book Awards are 11/15!! Sign up for Read with NBF.
Just under three weeks until the Booker Prize 2023 winner is announced! I haven’t read a single one of these either… though I did start Bee Sting (and subsequently, put it down for other books… hoping to get back to it after this week). Which one are you rooting for?
And The Aspen Words Literary Prize longlist will be announced… soon (“mid-November”)!
And if you’re starting to think about the books you’ll be giving as Christmas gifts, some links for you!
New Books We Love from NPR arriving Thanksgiving Week
Barnes and Noble announced their Book of the Year Finalists (I need to add Berry Pickers to my TBR…).
Also, I think I’ll put together a few of the gift guides I’ve found useful and send that next week. :)
If you haven’t used NetGalley before, or if you don’t use it much, this article is really helpful with tips on how to get more use out of it. This is actually how I receive several of my physical ARCs - if I request the egalley, sometimes the publishers reach out to see if you want the physical book too. I got a hardcover of The Rachel Incident this way! So, get on it!
One Day HH, hosted by Laura Tremaine is tomorrow. I enjoyed participating last year, and it’s really lovely to see how much the little things change. I remember taking a few photos of baby bottles (always cleaning them) and my pumping situation just last year and now… she’s a little toddler.
And, again, in light of the atrocities in the Middle East, this brought me some guidance:
On that note, I’m starting on @thebookishsociologist’s book club, reading The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine. Glad to be learning more… Still time to join in if you want in!
And that’s it for this week. I hope you have a lovely week of good reads and baked goods.
Gabrielle
That LFL!! 😍😍😍 I had to set Wednesday's Child aside. I was having a tough week and the tone of the stories were really making me extra sad. I'm sure I'll get back to it, just not right now. Can't wait for the Aspen Words announcement!!!