We’re into December already (and recovering from a doubleheader at work – Giving Tuesday and our 30th anniversary gala/fundraiser on the same day!). Here’s what I have been reading:
I Came All This Way to Meet You: Writing Myself Home, Jami Attenberg
I have yet to read Attenberg’s fiction, but I love her newsletter on writing and life. This memoir-in-essays follows her as she learns to be a writer, travels the world, wrestles with sexism and her sense of self, and visits various haunted locales. She is clever, funny and honest. I am not sure there’s much of an arc here, but I enjoyed spending time with Attenberg as a narrator. To review for Shelf Awareness (out Jan. 11).
A Lethal Lesson, Iona Whishaw
When Lane Winslow finds her town’s local schoolchildren without a teacher – one teacher has been attacked, and the other one has disappeared – she signs on as a temporary substitute while also trying to solve the case. This eighth entry also finds Lane and Inspector Darling navigating newlywed life. I love this series – so insightful and with a great cast of characters.
Our Woman in Moscow, Beatriz Williams
Twin sisters Ruth and Iris Macallister were always inseparable – until a heartbreaking parting in Rome in 1940. Then Ruth gets a postcard from Iris in 1952, four years after Iris and her family disappeared from their flat in London. Ruth, naturally, heads straight to Europe to rescue her sister from whatever trouble she’s in. I love Williams’ twisty, elegant fiction populated by strong women and the (usually dapper) men who love them. This was great Thanksgiving break reading.
A Soft Place to Land, Janae Marks
When Joy Taylor’s dad loses his job, her family has to move into a small apartment and Joy can’t take piano lessons anymore. But she makes new friends in her new building. I didn’t love this one quite as much as Marks’ debut, but this is a sweet middle-grade story about family and friendship and dealing with change.
Most links (not affiliate links) are to my local faves Trident and Brookline Booksmith. Shop indie!
What are you reading?
cakes, tea and dreams 
I’m enjoying Ann Patchett’s new book of essays, “These Precious Days.” Worth a read.