Hello from the midst of my quarterly chronic pain flare, book friends! Today’s check in will likely be brief, as I am battling the joy that is a chronic pain and PMS collab. 

Yesterday was Litha, or the summer solstice as she is more commonly known. I got to spend some time outside with my feet in the grass, which was a really nice way to celebrate the longest day of the solar year. 

All 9 3/4 of my toenails had a splendid time being on full display. Meanwhile, Azula really enjoyed running around the backyard with her Uncle Dewey, a golden retreiver who is in no way emotionally equipped to handle her whole deal. 

Over the past week, I’ve been busy (with actual things but also with a podcast obsession I’ll talk about in a minute). So, not too much reading has happened, but let’s take a moment to check in, shall we? 

(Full disclosure: This post uses Bookshop.org affiliate links.)

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Recent Reads

I finished Nora Goes Off Script in a rush one night because, as a rule, I can’t go to sleep after the couple enters into their big breakup/misunderstanding/possible relationship ending crisis in a romance.

I really enjoyed this book overall, though there was a small smidge of writerly snobbishness that I didn’t super love. My full review went up last week and you can check it out here: 

I Couldn’t Sleep Until I Finished “Nora Goes Off Script”
Staying up past bedtime on a worknight to see how it endsmedium.com

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Current Reads

Let me be honest about what I did with my long weekend while my husband was away. I walked a lot of miles for the final Battle of the Fandoms and I listened to approximiately three hundred episodes of the internet culture podcast, ICYMI, which a friend recommended to me. I’m doing the thing I always do with new podcasts, which is to say, I’m listening to the entire back catalog to ensure I’m fully in the know with every inside joke and reference. I am so current with 2021 TikTok culture now, you guys.

What I didn’t do was much reading or audiobook listening. I did start Reese’s Book Club pick and Women’s Prize for Fiction nominee The Island of Missing Trees, which I am very much enjoying. The theme for this year’s shortlist seems to have been “what if the narrator was, like, not a human being?” as far as I can tell. I, for one, am very here for the POV of a fig tree. 

I’m still working my way through Witchcraft Therapy and Radiance Rituals in the mornings, as well. 

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Up Next & On to You

My book club meeting for Book Lovers is less than a week away, so I will be reading that one with a quickness so I can partake. I’m a little miffed that the first meeting of a club with “brunch” in the name is taking place at 7pm on a Tuesday night, but nevertheless, I persist. 

Self-care reading wise I’m definitely feeling a bit burnt out on books with action items a la rituals and spells I’m supposed to implement, so I’m going to read something more strictly informational next.

What about you, book friends? How has the past week in books and reading treated you? 

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