(opens in new tab) title: Hearts in Circulation author: Sarah Monzon publisher: Bethany House Publishers publication date: November 18, 2025 pages: 304 peppers: 1 (on this scale) warnings: chronic medical issues and medication summary: Hayley’s new job as circulation librarian brings her nearly to a small town when the bookmobile falls apart ten seconds before…
“Why”…Wednesdays
360. Why I’m Not Proud
(opens in new tab) The photo above shows me giving a speech the night before last spring’s graduation. If you want to watch the speech, you can click this link and advance about 27 minutes. I am proud of my speech and was thrilled with how the 2025s reacted to hearing my words. You might…
NetGalley Review of Second Chance Romance
(opens in new tab) title: Second Chance Romance author: Olivia Dade publisher: Avon publication date: November 25, 2026 pages: 400 peppers: 3 (on this scale) warnings: fake news summary: Two years after her ugly divorce and twenty years after leaving Harlot’s Bay just before her high school graduation, audiobook narrator Molly learns of the murder…
359. Why Count Up
There’s a passage I’ve always loved in Barbara Kingsolver’s The Bean Trees in which the characters discuss whether they like sunrises or sunsets more. I agree with the protagonist, who says she loves sunrises because, no matter how many insurmountable tasks are on her to-do list each day, at sunrise, she still has hope that…
358. Why Count Down
This week at my school is Spirit Week, the days leading up to the end of our Fall sports season, a day on which almost all of our teams play against our rival school. One of my favorite traditions is that many of the previous year’s graduating seniors return to see one another and cheer…
NetGalley Review of Not You Again
(opens in new tab) title: Not You Again author: Erin La Rosa publisher: Canary Street Press publication date: November 11, 2026 pages: 336 peppers: 3 (on this scale) warnings: death of parents, unfaithful wife summary: As Carly is waiting alone for her father’s service, she overhears the funeral director and his wife in an argument….
357. Why Embrace the Devil
(opens in new tab) The photo above will, if you click it, bring you to a five-star recipe for deviled eggs. I bet that since Halloween is coming up, when you saw “Why Embrace the Devil,” your first thought wasn’t about eggs, was it? In fact, when I came up with the title for this…
NetGalley Review of We Fell Apart
(opens in new tab) title: We Fell Apart author: E. Lockhart publisher: Delacorte Press publication date: November 4, 2025 pages: 320 peppers: 1 (on this scale) warnings: death, drugs being used against people’s wills, drinking alcohol, vomiting, parental abandonment summary: Shortly after her mother has followed her most recent boyfriend to Mexico, Matilda gets an…
356. Why Activate Hope
(opens in new tab) Clicking on the photo above will take you to author Rebecca Solnit’s website. I haven’t read her books, so unlike lots of my author mentions, I’m not sharing a book review. Instead, I’m writing today’s post in response to a short quotation of hers that I heard on a podcast. Here…
NetGalley Review of Some Kind of Famous
(opens in new tab) title: Some Kind of Famous author: Ava Wilder publisher: Dell publication date: October 28, 2025 pages: 432 peppers: 3 (on this scale) warnings: drugs/alcohol addiction abortion creepy men taking advantage of teenaged girls summary: Merritt Valentine has moved to a small Colorado town to (1) spend time with her twin sister,…