I took the photo above last Spring. Lilacs emit my favorite scent. As we enter the dark months of Winter ahead, I’d like to focus on what comes after: flowers, sunshine, joy. Sometimes, when we have to spend long hours inside, we start to feel trapped. In cages, we seek ways to free ourselves, and…
“Why”…Wednesdays
NetGalley Review of The Eight Heartbreaks of Hanukkah
(opens in new tab) title: The Eight Heartbreaks of Hanukkah author: Jean Meltzer publisher: MIRA publication date: October 21, 2025 pages: 368 peppers: 2 (on this scale) warnings: chronic illness disability migrains divorce grief infertility abortion loss wrongful termination fetal abnormalities summary: Evelyn is working her tail off to produce a live-on-TV version of A Christmas…
354. Why Find a New El Paso
A couple of summers ago, my husband and I had the opportunity to travel to Bosnia and Herzegovina. I took the photo above of him in Mostar. If you see this post within two days of when it goes live, please wish him a happy birthday. If not, no worries. The post is about him,…
NetGalley Review of The Confidentiality Clause
(opens in new tab) title: The Confidentiality Clause author: Annah Conwell publisher: independently published publication date: August 6, 2025 pages: 289 (but I listened to the audio) peppers: 2 (on this scale) warnings: none summary: When her best friend asks Ariel to check in on her workaholic twin brother Brock, Ariel finds that his drive…
353. Why Use Google Docs
I was in eighth grade before my family got a computer. It was better than the typewriter it replaced, but it had its flaws. I remember saving documents on floppy disks and ending up with “corrupt” files. Years later, I could save my essays directly onto the computer’s hard drive, a process that usually went…
NetGalley Review of Kitty St. Clair’s Last Dance
(opens in new tab) title: Kitty St. Clair’s Last Dance author: Kate Robb publisher: Dial Press Trade Paperback publication date: October 7, 2025 pages: 336 peppers: 3 (on this scale) warnings: death by old age and by cancer, mentions of vomit summary: Though Jules would love to go to medical school in Toronto so that…
NetGalley Review of Christmas People
(opens in new tab) title: Christmas People author: Iva-Marie Palmer publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin publication date: September 30, 2025 pages: 304 peppers: 3 (on this scale) warnings: vomit and binge drinking, head injury summary: Jill is not having much success as a screenwriter in LA; in fact, her only potential job is to write a…
352. Why to Stop Looking Ahead
As Gretchen Rubin says, “the opposite of a profound truth is also true.” So while yes, I spend a lot of time thinking about and planning/working toward having a better future, I am also clear about how important it is to stop looking ahead. Every teaching day, I begin my classes with a check-in around…
NetGalley Review of You’ve Found Oliver
(opens in new tab) title: You’ve Found Oliver author: Dustin Thao publisher: Dutton Books for Young Readers publication date: September 30, 2025 pages: 288 peppers: 2 (on this scale) warnings: death by car accident, cheating, not technically a romance summary: When Oliver’s best friend and crush Sam died unexpectedly a year earlier, Oliver kept texting…
NetGalley Review of The Heartbreak Hotel
(opens in new tab) title: The Heartbreak Hotel author: Ellen O’Clover publisher: Berkley publication date: September 23, 2025 pages: 384 peppers: 3 (on this scale) warnings: mental illness, alcohol use, family trauma and child neglect, childhood illness and death summary: When Lou’s famous boyfriend leaves her for another woman, her most important ask is that…