Friday Reads 6.5.26

Summer Sabbatical, Killer Thriller Picks, and the Contentification of Books

Hi, hello, happy Friday, and welcome back to another week of random thoughts on life and books. It’s just me and Jordan and the bluejays this morning (yep, plural—our pal got himself a girly), enjoying one of the last humidity-free days of Nashville’s summer. Another week and it will be brutal, but it’s been perfect outdoor writing weather.

And writing I have been. The 2027 book is shaping up at last, but summer is already leaking away. This one is due just as YOU KNOW WHY releases, so there is a lot of juggling going on behind the scenes of doing PR for YKW and drafting ND.

It’s enough work that I’ve decided to take an online sabbatical for the rest of the month. It’s been a while since I completely unplugged, which means it’s probably overdue. It’s funny, we authors, who live and work through our words, have a difficult time stepping away from the work. Vacations are near on impossible; new settings, new experiences, and relaxation are perfect fodder for the imagination. We can’t go to the grocery store without coming home with new characters. Anything and everything is seen through the creative lens, online and off. I think it’s good practice to step away from the online world and be present in the physical plane every once in a while, allowing those ideas to flourish while also getting some fresh air.

We’ve done a lot of pre-PR work, so the socials will be covered. You might not even notice I’m gone. Monthly newsletters will still go out, though Friday Reads will not. And I’ll plan to be back at the end of June to celebrate the releases of JUDAS KISS and THE COLD ROOM (both of which have Goodreads Giveaways right now! Go get ‘em!)

I’ll reassess then whether I need to take July off, too. I need a draft by August 1, so it might be a smart play. We’ll see. I miss you when I’m offline. But channeling all energies into the book is paramount, yes? Yes!

On to the books!

I couldn’t get into the Freida McFadden I started, but a friend recommended one of her earlier titles, NEVER LIE, and the story looked interesting. I’m on a psychology kick, so perfect timing. I am almost finished and had to force myself to stop reading so I could go to work today. It’s like night-and-day storytelling. Very dark, very voicey, and creeping me out in all the best ways.

I also started Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau’s WE WOULD NEVER TELL. A thriller set at Cannes? Yes, please. It’s great so far.

LUCKY, by Marissa Stapley, which came across my radar because of the upcoming adaptation, looks superb. And the cover is great.

The wonderful Barbara Nickless has a stellar thriller in this month’s First Reads, A VOICE IN THE DARK. It looks scary, but I am here for it.

Lisa Unger, too, has a story in First Reads—THE SAFE ROOM. Wherest Lisa goes, I follow.

Two literary heavy hitters—Ann Patchett’s WHISTLER and Maggie O’Farrell’s LAND—came out this week. I love the covers of both of these books, and of course, Ann is a must-read for all of us Nashvillians. A new book from our fearless leader of bookselling is always a special occasion.

Lisa Jewell’s latest, IT COULD HAVE BEEN HER, comes out while I’m on sabbatical, so I wanted to put it here. It will be out at the end of June, and it is incredibly dark and twisted. If you have a thing about clowns (🙋🏼‍♀️) let this be your trigger warning.

Also, Allison Brennan’s wonderful standalone WHISPER CREEK comes out while I’m gone, as well. Get it. You will love it!

There’s some nonfiction on my reading list this week, too. THE MEANING OF YOUR LIFE by Arthur Brooks—I listened to an interview with Arthur on my favorite podcast, and I was utterly fascinated by his thesis. I’ll probably write about this for the June newsletter because it hits the right-brain-versus-left-brain debate, and he posits a very cool theory about why we feel so frantic these days. And yes, this conversation added to the timing of the sabbatical.

And I started NO BAD PARTS by Richard Schwartz, exploring his theory about the internal family systems model. This is a research book, and it’s already helping round out some ideas. I have been exploring Jungian integration between the self and the shadow self recently, so interested to see if this has similar theories.

We have finally, finally, gotten to watching The Pitt. What a remarkable show. We only have a few episodes left on season 2, and I’m already jonesing for more. I love the balance of characters, the writing, the frenetic pace, how well they teach, and yes, how very, very realistic the show is. Just fantastic television.

I’m also watching Seven Dials, an Agatha Christie adaptation, and it too is wonderful.

And on Substack, an essay from Carly Watters got a lot of attention this week. It is well worth a read, by readers and authors alike. This idea of the contentification of books is salient and fascinating and plays into Arthur Brooks's argument about our modern left- and right-brain experiences, too. Obviously, more on these thoughts in the June newsletter.

The Contentification of Books

OK, enough from me. How was your week? What wonderful books are you reading this weekend? Do you have any plans to take time off this summer?