One of the best things about the East Coast is the fall. Last November, I made a trip to California and was surprised to find mild weather and a nameless time. There’s a reason it’s called the place where seasons never change, and I realized then and there, I was an East Coast girl through and through. 

In “Untangling You” (Major Street Publishing, 2022, 208 pages), Dr. Kerry Howells explores the role of gratitude in life and the oftentimes diminished importance of it. But it’s more than just a book about how to be more grateful.

Sometimes fictional books, when they’re written well, can give the same, if not more, insight to a people and culture than a history book can. Alan Paton’s “Cry, the Beloved Country” (Scribner, 2003, 316 pages) is one of those novels. 

When you’re a child, this time of year is full of magic and wonder. As you get older, the holidays can become more nostalgic than enchanting, with more sentiment than thrill. Finding that old spark isn’t impossible, but it’ll take more effort to revive it and perseverance to maintain it.

The ever growing stack of my “to-read” books has had Amor Towles’ “A Gentleman in Moscow” for about a year now. Several friends, whose literary opinion I respect, raved about this novel and one of them even bought me my copy.

Perhaps like many people, summer is a time for me to finally read those books I’ve been wanting to get to. While this summer began with determination to dwindle the stack of my “to-read” books, that stack has ended up bigger than smaller.

There are always seasons in life when you feel the need to get away from your day-to-day, and I have found myself in just such a season.