As book coverage in newspapers wanes, I'm missing good, critical writing about books. I love the Washington Independent Review of Books (for which I sometimes write and edit), and sometimes LitHub is interesting, but I would love to find other places. What are your favorite sites? (Oh, and for community type reviews I like Story Graph, which is like Goodreads but so much better.) https://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/ https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/carrie_c

Our group read is On the Rooftop by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton. which is about a trio of singing sisters in 1950s San Francisco. (Our Zoom discussion is on 17th July. See the calendar for details.) Which of these historical novels about music have you read? Would you recommend any? https://www.womansworld.com/entertainment/books/historical-fiction-books-about-music-chart-topping-reads I haven't read any on this list, but one that I loved was Simon the Fiddler by Paulette Jiles

I'm reading Mirrors & Smoke by our member @Adrienne Stevenson for fiction. It's about a herbalist and midwife in Niagara, Upper Canada, before and during the War of 1812. For non-fiction, I'm re-reading The Pinks by Chris Enss. It's about the first women detectives in the Pinkerton Detective Agency in the 19th century. Do you read outside when the weather's nice? I always like the *idea* of it, but rarely do it these days, even though I used to love reading in parks when I was a student.

We do have a rule against self-promotion in this community. (Thank you, everyone, for sticking to it and helping to make this community great. It's much appreciated!) But I thought we could have the *occasional* post where members can share their stuff, whatever it may be. So have at it! Comment on this post (and only on this post!) and share your website, social media, Skool community, links to your books, Substack, etc... whatever you like! It doesn't have to be HF-related. Two requirements: (1) Tell people what to expect. So if you post your Substack newsletter or your IG or your Skool community, tell us what it's about. Don't expect people to have to go look at your link to find out. Let them know if they might be interested. If it's about cooking, writing memoir, travel, makeup, business, photography, reviewing horror novels, whatever... tell us what it's about. (2) Don't just drop a comment and run. Check out other people's stuff. Read through the other comments, like them, and — if you're interested in the description — check out their links. Enjoy 😊

Our group read this month is On the Rooftop by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton. I’m starting it today. Anybody else started it yet? Our zoom discussion is 17th July.