Introducing My Little Free Library

Isn't it adorable?

Here she is….

I am so excited to show off my new Little Free Library (LFL). Built by my fantastic husband and painted by him and my three girls, it is just perfect! This is the second LFL that Steve has built for me; I had to leave my first behind in CA. This time he made a few improvements, including better sealing for keeping books safe from rain. It has two shelves, one is for adult books and the other is for kid books. I usually don’t get too personal in this newsletter, but I live in Purcellville, the cutest litttle town in Northern Virginia and our home is on one of the main streets. In the past year, we had Santa ride by on a fire truck, the 4th of July Parade marched past, and recently we had a group of first responders show up for popsicles right behind our home. It is a great location, with the school bus picking up kids across the street and dog walkers strolling by morning, afternoon, and evening. I am super excited to be offering free books for neighbors!

Longform Reading - An Alternative to Books

“Longform” refers to an article that is heavily researched and longer than average. Anywhere from 1,500-10,000 words in length, it provides readers an opportunity to dig deep into a subject without having to read a full length book. If a novella is the term for a short novel, then longform is the term for a short non-fiction piece of writing. Longform articles, when they become popular can lead to further coverage on TV, radio and podcasts, follow up articles, and even become the basis for full length books or movies. That is true for Crying In H Mart, one of my favorite memoirs this year, which started as a New Yorker article.

Here are a few recommendations that make a short list of amazing Longform articles that I find fascinating:

• Crying in H-Mart - from The New Yorker

• The Crane Wife - from The Paris Review

• The Strange and Curious Tale of the Last True Hermit - This 2014 GQ Article is the magazine’s most read story and was published as a full length book in 2017. Note: I enjoyed the audio book: it would make a great road trip listen.

• What Would Mr. Rodger’s Do? -from The Atlantic, which became the basis of the movie A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, starring Tom Hanks.

Want to dive deeper? Check out The Atlantic, Outsider Magazine, and The New Yorker for great longform. In addition, Longform.org is a website that gathers longform articles from around the world. A lot of articles are on topics that have a wide appeal to men and women. So if you are having trouble finding books for you to read with your spouse or partner, this may be a great option to find common ground.

Recent Reads

Who Is Maud Dixon? is my favorite book this summer. Florence Darrow gives up her low-level job in publishing to become the assistant for Helen, the brilliant author of a hugely popular book. Helen uses the pen-name Maud Dixon, but no one knows who Maud is. When they travel to Morroco to research her next book, Florence finds things are not what they seemed. What makes this book so much fun is that Florence is a deeply flawed protaganist, always trying to figure out how she can work the situation. But this time, she may be in too deep. This is twisty, fast paced, and fun, with some curve balls thrown in. I hope they turn this into a movie because it would be fantastic.

Bird By Bird - Looking for some motivation for writing or pursuing a creative endeavor? Ann Lamont’s book on writing has been a must-read since it was published. I did a reread of this as an audio book and loved it. She is funny and self depricating, while also providing excellent advice. She implores us to write short assignments, break everything into small bits, and not to worry about the quality of your first drafts. Just get it down on paper.

If you are looking for a little escapism, then a good historical fiction book may be just what you need. Set at the real American Library in Paris leading up to and during World War 2, The Paris Library focuses more on the relationships of the characters than on the horrors of the War. The two timelines follow Odile, first as a young woman, working in the libary, and then later as an older widow in Montana. I appreciated both timelines and the fact that the characters are complex and not perfect. The later timeline involves Lily, a struggling teen, who befriends her mysterious French neighbor. Even though I swore off World War 2 novels earlier in the year, I am so glad I picked this one up.

Leave the World Behind was a hugely popular book last year. I heard enough about it to have some misgivings but I was curious. I borrowed the audiobook one weekend and though not perfect, I found it compulsively listenable. A family is vacationing in an isolated rental home when the owners arrive. They claim a huge power outage has occurred in the city and they needed to shelter in their home. It is a book that both slows down time, where minute details of days are described, yet there is the feeling that huge events are occuring. I don’t want to give things away, but I will say that much more than a power outage has occured and nothing will be the same again for either of these families.

And Finally- SUMMER GRILL HINTS

Here are two great recommendations to up your grilling game:

1. Use an instant read thermometer. We only started using one recently because, for some reason, we like to make tortuous guesses about when our meat is cooked to our liking. This is a game changer, our meat is now always perfectly cooked. Literally - this is the best $12 we ever spent.

2. McCormick’s envelope marinades are some of the best around. I have been using the Mesquite, Garlic Wine, Montreal, and Brazillan Steak House for years. They are reliable and delicious! I call the mesquite marinated chicken “bacon chicken” because of the smokey flavor. You’re welcome!