What To Read If

Hi friends, Happy belated Father’s Day to all the dads out there — and especially mine. His gift is the Yankees’ top position in the AL East standings. I want to quickly thank the two Betsys (Marro and Verecky) for their recent guest posts. They both provided some excellent picks. Quick PSA: Bookshop.org is providing free shipping from June 23rd through June 26th. Sounds like a #PrimeDay to shop there. This week, I have three books for the summer travel season.

Hi friends! I’m excited to share a guest post with you today from Betsy Vereckey, author of the memoir, Moving to My Dog’s Hometown. She kindly sent me a picture of her dogs, and I am delighted to share that with you as well. ~Elizabeth Hello book lovers! I’m filling in as your guest author this week so that Elizabeth can save her linguistic energy for the book that she’s hard at work on.

Hi friends, I hope the first week of June treated you well. I get disproportionate joy out of a month that begins on a Monday — it just feels right. I was happy to see Good People by Patmeena Sabit on this New York Times list of best audiobooks of the year so far. What have been some of your favorite listens of the year? And, now, what to read if … I’m writing this after stopping at the library to pick up my summer reading challenge paperwork.

Hi friends, It’s that time of the year again: Summer Reading Bingo. For the uninitiated, each summer we play Bingo. Fill in the below card with the books you read between Memorial Day and Labor Day for the chance to win a $50 gift card to Bookshop.org. Get your card here. Fill it in with books you read between Memorial Day and Labor Day and submit your completed card here. Everyone who gets Bingo will be entered into a raffle to win a $50 gift certificate to the Bookshop.org or LibroFM.

Hi friends, Hope you had a great weekend! I have a special edition from my pal Elizabeth Marro today. She shares my view that finding the right book at the right time is kind of magic. I’ll be back next week — on Tuesday — with this year’s Summer Reading Bingo card. Elizabeth, hard at work on her new book, has given me the mic this week and I’m thrilled. I’m also an Elizabeth but call me Betsy. Like Elizabeth, I love books — reading them, writing them, and talking about them.

Hi friends, Happy (belated) Mother’s Day to all the moms out there — and especially to my mom! I hope you all had a wonderful day. We’ve got a fun few weeks at the newsletter: May 18th: a special guest post by novelist Betsy Marro from Spark. May 26th: the kick-off of our annual Summer Reading Bingo game.

Hi friends, I hope you all had a fabulous Independent Bookstore Day! Please leave a comment sharing where you went, how it was and any books you picked up. I celebrated a day early with a bookstore crawl through Nashville with my friends at Boutique Book Retreats. I finally made it to Parnassus, Ann Patchett’s bookstore. And, no, I did not keep my cool.

Hi friends, Happy Birthday to my pals at East City Bookshop, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this month. The number of indie bookstores has skyrocketed recently — jumping 70% between 2020 and 2025. I love to see it and am excited for a Nashville bookstore crawl I’m taking at the end of the month.

Hi friends, Happy Belated Opening Day to those of you who celebrate. Baseball is the most literary sport and I’ve highlighted at least a dozen baseball-related books over the years. Some of my faves include: Welcome Home, Caroline Kline by Courtney Preiss (It’s technically a softball book but includes lots of discussion of the late ‘90s Yankees.) Driving Mr. Yogi by Harvey Araton Get Your Tokens Ready by Chris Donnelly The Cactus League by Emily Nemens Have a beloved baseball book?

Hi friends, I hope those of you who watched the Oscar’s last night aren’t too tired this morning. I fell asleep long before the Best Picture winner was announced. Happy almost St. Patrick’s Day! I don’t have a book pick this year (see previous choices here, here and here) but I do have a TV recommendation. My mom and I recently binged “How to Get to Heaven from Belfast” on Netflix. It’s a murder mystery/comedy from the “Derry Girls” team but really an ode to middle-aged female friendship.