Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts I and II by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne, and John Tiffany

Boomer and I have our own copies of the Harry Potter series. So we should have thought more carefully about how we were going to read this play. I brought it home (note: we only checked out one copy, Boomer should have checked out his own copy) from the library and Boomer started reading it and started making bug eyes, gasping, and saying, "Oh my gosh!!" I had to tell him that if he was going to read it first, then no noises, facial expressions, or comments were allowed! So in order to not let this come between us, Boomer decided that I should read it first and then he would read it. Thanks, Boomer!

It only took me several hours to read it, and boy was it fun! We meet up with Harry Potter as an adult and father to three children.

I liked it! I would love to see it on stage sometime. I liked the characters, the twists, and the follow-up on some of the characters I loved in the Harry Potter series.

The Truth About Style by Stacy London

If I've talked to you in the last year, I've probably told you about Stitch Fix and how it has refreshed my wardrobe with some new, interesting pieces. It has also showed me what kind of clothes I gravitate toward and how to push myself out of my comfort zone just slightly. I wear a lot more color these days, and a lot more stripes. I also don't go shopping that much at all. I've found Stitch Fix to be especially helpful in finding dresses for special occasions. (If you want to try it out, here's my referral code.)

I've also read some books on style this year, and this is the latest one. In Stacy London's book, she writes about her own history with accepting her body and finding her own style along with helping eight very different women refresh their look. She writes about accepting your body and learning to show up and be seen! Inspiring and quite practical as well. I appreciate how she writes about aging and having fun and not fighting it.

Before the Fall by Noah Hawley

A private plane from Martha's Vineyard heading to New York crashes into the ocean and the only survivors are a four-year-old boy and a painter. Who was on the plane and why? Why did it crash?

I heard a lot of hype about this book in blogs and podcasts. However, I found myself feeling kinda hum-drum about it.

Truly Guilty Madly by Liane Moriarty

I'm a big fan of Moriarty's book The Husband's Secret, but things get kinda out of hand with Moriarty's latest. The story revolves around a set of neighbors and friends who gather at an impromptu backyard BBQ where something goes horribly wrong. What goes wrong? Well, it's hinted at and skirted around for a couple of hundred pages. This definitely tested my patience.

Entertaining, but a bit too much with the endless foreshadowing and hint dropping. I would start with The Husband's Secret instead.

One Day by David Nicholls

Packing for a trip is challenging for me. One of the most challenging parts is deciding which books to bring. Yes, I still prefer reading a real book as opposed to reading books on my phone. Should I bring one book or two? Do I want to bring a book I've never read before? What if it turns out to be a dud? What if I run out of books to read?

Another piece to this complexity is that I don't bring library books on vacation with me in case I lose it (but have I ever lost a book before? Never.) so I bring a book that own, but I don't own many books that I haven't read before.....and so it goes. I also like to discard the books I've read as I go along on my vacation, so it has to be a book I'm willing to leave behind. Oh yah, and then Boomer reminds me that we can always stop by a bookstore.

As I was thinking ahead about a recent trip, I found One Day in the local Little Free Library and borrowed it even though I read it back in 2012. (I loved it the first time - read my first review here.) It was a great pick. I loved it yet again and had forgotten some of the plot points. I left it behind in an RV park in southern Oregon, so I am hoping that another traveler will pick it up and enjoy it.

The Gastronomy of Marriage by Michelle Maisto

Even though graduate school is now way behind me, I still look at back-to-school ads with such relief and relish. I am not in the market for a backpack! Or pens! Or binders! I will not be starting new classes this fall! Oh yah, and I don't have homework tonight.

I also think about how great it is to not be a student when I wander around the library just picking up whatever fun books I might want to try. A life without required reading has so much room for pleasure reading.

All this to say that I was just poking around the library when I came across The Gastronomy of Marriage.

This was such a sweet book. Maisto lives with her boyfriend in New York City. She tracks the progress of their relationship and their engagement. She also writes about the role that food and cooking plays in their relationship. 

I think she's right - food plays a not-insignificant role in a relationship. Who cooks? Who does the dishes? Who is trying to gain/lose weight? Who does the grocery shopping? Back in my dating days, I learned quite a bit of information about guys by the way they approached food, leftovers, eating in restaurants, and cooking. 

Maisto seems very amiable and friendly. I am curious if she has written more because I'd love to hear what she's up to now and more of her thoughts on food and marriage.