your year in listening to gemma talk about books
what would the elastic week between christmas and new year’s be without yet another best of list? now, presented without rants, is a bulleted list in no...
memoirs and confessions of a justified nerd: what I read in November
as you will probably notice as you continue to read, lately I’ve been into books published before 1950. someone once told me he didn’t have time to read...
when will I live? (to read more): gemma's october book list
october is (very) over and I’m another month behind my deadline for my novel draft, hurrah! what was I doing? having anxiety and reading! did you see any...
history is a serpent and more from books I read in september 2025
I am feeling a lot more work-related malaise than usual these days, and bemoaning the fact that I can’t spend my fall with the window open under a light...
"fiction" in historical fiction and other august 2025 book thoughts
this month I went back to michigan and finished a book while strolling down an entirely unpopulated sidewalk. what luxury! I am, however, ready for fall in...
say no to speed and other lessons from july's books
how is summer so busy! these are supposed to be lazy read-in-hammock days, not busily manage all kids of nonsense. don’t worry, I didn’t cope by trying...
june'25 in books
here’s what I read in june not as much as May! I was traveling and thinking oh I’ll have so much time on buses and planes but somehow that’s just never true...
may '25 in books
here’s what I read in may *denotes favorite denotes book club The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino let’s...
april '25 in books
*denotes favorite denotes book club april Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield *On the Calculation of Volume I by Solvej Balle call this lit-fic groundhog...
january-march '25 in books
gemma explains what this newsletter is and talks about books