women in translation month (all year long) + translated women's poetry

I want to do a better job at remembering the bookish year's calendar of events, and this post is a few week's late, but I think we should be reading women in translation all year long.

CLMP- "the Community of Literary Magazines and Presses" did a wonderful job or curating some fantastic work by women in translation. 

Here's a link for clmp's WIT reading list (including so much beautiful poetry) for 2026.

Pen America (The Freedom to Write) 

Keep your eyes on women writers and writers in translation. 

I will be ending August with a read of Elena Knows. It's been on TBR for years now, and I am excited to get to it.

my kindle fire edition

Publisher's Synopsis:

From the ‘Hitchcock of the River Plate’ (Corriere della Sera) comes Piñeiro’s third novel, a unique tale that interweaves crime fiction with intimate tales of morality and search for individual freedom.

After Rita is found dead in the bell tower of the church she used to attend, the official investigation into the incident is quickly closed. Her sickly mother is the only person still determined to find the culprit. Chronicling a difficult journey across the suburbs of the city, an old debt and a revealing conversation, Elena Knows unravels the secrets of its characters and the hidden facets of authoritarianism and hypocrisy in our society.:

Happy reading ☕️ 

augtober- judge if you must, ready for silence

 

don't mind if i do: early morning coffee + literature

Yes, I said Augtober. I'm exhausted both physically and emotionally.

The heaviness of the world lands on deep souls in a way that leaves a residue that literature helps to alleviate. 

I can admit that I chose books over people and while some call it a pathology, I don't care and I can't hear them between the pages of my novels anyway. 

Lately, I've been writing about what I read in my book journal. I love it. It's a simple set up. Nothing fancy, and nothing truly noteworthy. Just a simple black notebook with a photo of the Mona Lisa on the cover. I downloaded and printed that cover after reading ...

loved this

I still think about this biography from time to do. Anyway, I'm still very slowly making my way through The Letters of Gustave Flaubert. I love this collection, but I am so slowly going through, though I pick it up several times per week. It's something so easy to dip in and out of when I struggle with which of my 10 current reads to pick up.

I actually found autumn creamers in the grocery store yesterday. I was so shocked to see them, but I did buy one- nondairy (of course) maple brown sugar. 

The more cozy the better for me. My soul is desperate for silence and solitude and the older I become, the more I settle into this very natural way of being for me. 

Off to cull my reading list before the true Autumn spirit descends and I start rereading everything I love.

Happy reading ☕️ 

early june: books on books on books + coffee

a few from the current 10 reads

Coffee. Read. Write. Repeat.

Life has been bearing down on me and the current news cycle is enough to induce psychosis. You can find me for the next month hiding in between new and favorite old re-reads.

Television has been particularly uninteresting, and I'm just rewatching favorite shows when my brain can't take anymore information in.

Social media has felt like a site of dystopian reality as people seem to be going through life unscathed while I'm aware of so many who are struggling to exist- the juxtaposition is jarring- and unnerving. I'm doing all I can to keep my heart close to the source of truth (genocide, sadness, unjust policies affecting the lives of so many, etc.), and maintaining "balance" and sanity.

To that end... I have a stack of 10 current reads because any less and I feel bored and like something is missing (I can thank my overactive limbic system for this).

The coffee has been flowing. Perhaps a tad bit too much, perhaps I don't care. A new light roast has been my favorite with notes of strawberry and nutmeg. Poured over. Always black. Always first thing.

I am someone who has ignored the "don't drink coffee first thing and definitely not on an empty stomach". 

I happily sip my organic direct-trade bean juice within 15 minutes of daily consciousness without a morsel of vegan gluten-free food in sight. Alas, I'm surviving.

I won't let every single good thing be taken from me in this godforsaken life, but I digress.

What I'm reading is feeding a part of my soul- the tall order I ask of my literature- and I think I'll return to reviewing books here on this blog. I have so much to say about my current reads and I do write physical reviews for myself, but in hopes of inspiring someone to read these, I must share reviews here.

It's Saturday morning and I've had my coffee, journaled, read a poem (I read one poem per morning everyday), and am off to plan a quiet, literary day and choose a movie to watch tonight with my mom and daughter. 

Easy does it is today's motto. 

I hope you can find your way into a few chapters to escape the hell that is raining down globally or to merely find rest for your soul.

Chat soon ☕️ Happy reading. 

currently reading page

I added a current reads page to the banner of my site.

I don't always update what I'm reading here on the blog because I read so many books simultaneously and it can feel redundant to add the same photos, but this way I can just do it in one place.

Find it here: Currently Reading Page 

as shown on the site

I've been having a hard time, and haven't made much time for fiction reading. I realize that has aided in my overhwhelm.

Currently reading a few fiction books sprinkled in and my heart is already at ease.

One of my most anticipated reads of 2026 is on my list now and I am loving it. I adore In Search of Lost Time and this biography by Proust's housekeeper has allowed me to enter a world previously unknown to me. I just love it.

loveeeeeee this so far

I'm off to start a busy week and hope to get off on a good foot.

Wishing you a coffee-filled, slow-living sort of start to this Monday.

Happy reading ☕️ 

library digital books i've downloaded

I love my library. I love the library. I love free books.

This time of year calls for slowing down. 

Candles.

Extra cups of coffee.

Reflection.

I still watch a decent amount of BookTube, but I have always (and continue to struggle) with videos where people spoil books in their reviews. Unless I've already read the book, I have stopped watching reviews unless it's a trusted source who I know to be someone who discusses the themes and not the entire plot- if there is a plot.

I only get a few hoopla credits each month from my library, and of course Libby still reigns supreme; however, the 6 month wait on any worthy novel pushes me into the arms of the kobo.com store. 

I am definitely someone who feels comforted while scrolling through book titles and making lists of potential books to read. 

Autumn Simplicity

As a re-reading expert (self proclaimed of course), this time of year with it's rustling leaves and dark days, just calls me back to my physical and digital bookshelves to re-read my favorites of all time. 

My melancholic INFJ personality calls to the deep experience of a complex read that contains universal themes of human nature that are timeless.

My Autumn simple plans include evening with soy-wax candles, my kobo color, kindle (but don't get new books on this), and a stack of my favorite novels. All these and a physical stack of books.

Some may say this is a bit much, but it doesn't matter. It works for my soul. I have to read what calls to me. 

Recent Library Digital Acquisitions

really enjoying this so far

looking forward to this one next

I got this one as text from hoopla

I have this on audio from libby

literally forgot this was on hold

Tea and Slow Nights

This week I will be cutting off working on the computer, caregiving duties as best I can, and all house chores at an early hour.

There's always something else to be done. With that knowledge I will be sitting in my reading chair with my favorite tea, or decaf coffee, my stock of books and ereaders and tuning out this insane world. 

I invite you to join me. 

adding historical fiction to my currently reading + journaling while reading

adding this book to my currently reading

In the interest of easily digestible entertainment, I added this highly suggested 1989 historical fiction novel by British novelist Ken Follett. I had a used copy on my shelf and a fellow reading friend read and enjoyed it.

I haven't read a lot of historical fiction, but this mammoth of a novel has started out with that traditionally genre-esque descriptions that I am not that used to because I read so much literary fiction; however, I am enjoying it. So long as it doesn't branch into extreme violence against women and/or children, I will definitely. 

Here's the novel's description:

Against this richly imagined and intricately interwoven backdrop, filled with the ravages of war and the rhythms of daily life, the master storyteller draws the reader irresistibly into the intertwined lives of his characters into their dreams, their labors, and their loves: Tom, the master builder; Aliena, the ravishingly beautiful noblewoman; Philip, the prior of Kingsbridge; Jack, the artist in stone; and Ellen, the woman of the forest who casts a terrifying curse. From humble stonemason to imperious monarch, each character is brought vividly to life.

The building of the cathedral, with the almost eerie artistry of the unschooled stonemasons, is the center of the drama. Around the site of the construction, Follett weaves a story of betrayal, revenge, and love, which begins with the public hanging of an innocent man and ends with the humiliation of a king.

 

I will do a review when I am done, and there are a few novels in this series, and if I enjoy it.

kingsbridge book series

Journaling While Reading

I've taken to paper journaling in one of my hardback journals while reading my classics. Only novels that I feel I will reread make it into my hardback journal, and I am adamant on keeping the feelings of my reads in one place to glance back on.

This practice is an accompaniment to my slow reading life. If I were trying to rush through novels, I couldn't ever do this. If you've ever considered journaling about what you are reading, I highly suggest it. Get a notebook that you will use only for this purpose. Don't worry about it being fancy or even showing it to anyone. Just write down how the novels you read move and change you. In a year's time you will be so glad that you did.