Happy Saturday, my friends! I am so happy to be in your inbox today. Today’s newsletter starts on a musical note, swerves into my Substack Summer, gets you excited about a new project releasing next Tuesday, and ends with a roundup of several cozy reads set in English villages. Grab your favorite beverage and settle in!
Just get ready for this ~ I will be all. over. the. place. today. with. footnotes. If this gets cut off in your inbox, please do click through to read on the web!
On a Musical Note
In the category of “things I text my friends”, I simply MUST share the newest episode of the from this week1. I mean, I send these to my friends almost every week, as if they couldn’t just subscribe and get updates, but every episode is just so good that I can’t help but share.
This week’s episode on sapphic pop was just perfection, and while it’s educational for some of the youth, it just hits so hard for those of us in our 40s who grew up with Melissa Etheridge and Tracy Chapman and The Indigo Girls in our Discman2. My very favorite Brandi Carlile is also discussed, among so many others ~ please do listen!
Speaking of music3, I can’t even describe my excitement at actually remembering and finding a very favorite playlist from the 2016ish era4. Before our family transitioned to Spotify5 we used and paid for Google Play Music6. Once I made the switch, I mourned the loss of my old playlists, which was ridiculous because of course they were still there, but my brain couldn’t handle music in two places.7
I had one playlist titled Running Fast8 that was ALL I listened to during my half marathon mania of 2016 and was curated over the course of years by listening to the radio in the car with my (then little) kids9 and adding songs to the playlist when we got home. During my recent long lonely miles out on the road, I decided that I needed to unearth this musical inspiration ~ and I did, and it’s amazing to have those memories come flooding back while running / walking! I honestly don’t want this playlist transferred to Spotify ~ I don’t want it to influence my general listening recommendations and want it to remain this musical little time capsule of a different period of life. Take a look if you dare, it’s a real gem and bringing me so much joy ☺
My Substack Summer
So, I don’t share any milestones I reach as a writer here, BUT, you can bet your bottom dollar I’ll be shouting from the rooftops about my milestones as a READER! Look at this email I got on Thursday?! I’m so proud of me! In this award acceptance speech, I would like to thank all the writers for just being so. damn. prolific. in providing me with so much content to spend my long summer days with!
Top Substacks I Read This Summer
FictionMatters by
what I read, how I read, and books that matter
Literary Leanings by
Sharing thoughtfully curated book recommendations, reflections and tips on the reading life, and a little bit of my life here in Maine.
Over the Influence by
A hilarious and often factual romp through the world of social media, old-school media, publishing and whatever else catches our fancy.
Would you like even more chatty musings on midlife, even more book recommendations, and exclusive downloads and book collections delivered right to your inbox each week? These are all benefits of a paid subscription to this newsletter ~ please do consider becoming a supporter!
Coming SOOOOON!
I can’t WAIT to release my Falling for Romance download next week! On Tuesday, watch your inbox for this digital download of my top 20 favorite romance SERIES to inhale, as well as my top 25 contemporary romance individual titles to dip into in between series, as well as 10 favorite historical romances and 5 great hockey romances.
Are these romances autumn-themed, you may ask?10 Well, no. Not at all.
But Falling for Romance just sounds great and catchy for the season and I really want to share them right now ♡ This download will be instantly available to all paid subscribers of this newsletter, and will also be available for individual purchase on my Buy Me a Coffee page.
Reads Set in Cozy English Villages
Last week that I mentioned that I was leaning in hard to romance audiobooks due to their predictable cozy nature. Well, when it comes to print, I often tend to fall into stories set in quaint English villages as my default in times of extreme life fullness. I read the three books below over the past month(ish) and they all took me out of my midwestern American IRL enough to soothe my brain and heart.
Jenny James is Not a Disaster by Debbie Johnson ~ Not only does this story about a middle aged single mom of a teenager take place in an English village, the characters travel throughout England to multiple villages ~ what a bonus!
Out of Practice by Penny Parkes ~ this one is a bit tricky to get ahold of, but it was so worth the work to get my copy! I just adored this first in a series about a medical practice in an English village and all the lighthearted drama amongst the doctors and village residents. I can’t wait to read the rest of the series!
Storybook Ending by Poppy Alexander ~ I bought this one from the Tattered Cover bookstore in the Denver airport and it was just the perfect story for the flight home and busy days following the trip. Light and airy and yes, someone dies, but also there’s a baby! And just the absolutely delightful village setting I needed!
That’s all for this week ~ thanks for reading!
I love to hear from readers, so please do reach out to me with questions or feedback at mindfullibrarian@substack.com . You can always just reply to this email if you are reading in your inbox, or hit the comment button if reading on the web or the app! If we aren’t already connected on Goodreads, I would love to see you there as well.
I’m a paid subscriber, but am sharing the free version of the episode. Consider supporting the show and receiving bonus content via a paid subscription to the show’s Substack
!I listened to Chapman’s eponymous album on repeat at every single day-long swim meet for at least two years
but very different from the sapphic pop topic
definitely was started earlier and was added to later, but those years are very hazy
in a year that I can’t remember
which then became YouTube Music
AND I didn’t transfer playlists to Spotify because who had the time?
for the record, my fastest 13.1 ever is 2:29, with run:walk intervals. I’m not ACTUALLY fast, but the playlist name is MOTIVATION
no, I didn’t have an aux cord and certainly didn’t have a car with Bluetooth
You may also ask if these are BookTok-influenced, and lololololololol no. I am not on TikTok.
I'm excited for your Falling for Romance list! When I looked at the playlist, it brought back memories of dance parties with my kids a couple years ago- Heat Waves by Glass Animals was a big favorite in early 2022. I love the memories of a playlist, my mom made a Nemat and Elizabeth CD for me and my husband when we got engaged. I expanded it into a longer list with him this year on Apple Music, but we still included every song she had put on there.
You were one of my top 3 substackers!! 🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽