It’s been a while since I’ve listened to an album, but I made up for it with three in one day! The Harrow and the Harvest – Gillian Welch (Singer/Songwriter * 2011) April 5, 2026, an Easter Sunday morning listen with Ian | I didn’t think I knew any of Gillian Welch’s music, though I knew her name. As it turns out, though, I realized am familiar with several of her songs from mixes/playlists made by friends.
Ghosts of the Great Highway – Sun Kil Moon (Indie Rock * 2003) March 25, 2026 | I have heard this album many times, as it is recorded as Album 4 in our van. I really like this album, though because there is such wistfulness to Mark Kozelek’s voice and his lyrics, I find that it’s not always a good choice to listen when I’m already feeling melancholy. That said, “Carry Me Ohio” is the song that consistently lingers in my head for days after (“Sorry that I could never love you back / I could never care enough in these last days”).
THE ALBUM — BLACKPINK (K-pop * 2020) March 25, 2026 | I knew the name of the group because my friend recently told me how she impressed her daughter by recognizing their music. | I listened to this album while folding clothes, which seems like a really middle-aged mom way to do it (plus, I had to look up several words from the Apple Music description, which also made me feel old).
For Emma, Forever Ago – Bon Iver (Alternative * 2007) March 18, 2026 | I have some friends who love Bon Iver, but I’d never really listened, and didn’t/don’t recognize any songs from this album. I am late to the party here. I found myself drifting off/getting lost in the music (how’s that for an oxymoron—found myself lost), letting my mind wander and forgetting that I was supposed to be listening.
Real Life – Emili Sandé (Pop * 2019) March 17, 2026 | I hadn’t heard of her before, but I looked the artist up after seeing her sit for a portrait on Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year (season 3 final). [As a side note that deserves its own entry, I have recently become obsessed with two British series: Portrait Artist of the Year and Landscape Artist of the Year.
Christopher Cross – Christopher Cross (Yacht Rock * 1979) March 15, 2026 | I knew the name, but that’s about it. | A Sunday afternoon vinyl listening with Ian and Jason. I had some mental hurdles to clear, as this album transported me straight back to high school and Lite 96 FM, which I skipped more often than not (the radio station, not school). But I’m glad I gave this a listen: the Grammy-winning Album of the Year for 1980,* it truly is easy listening.
Mercy – Natalie Bergman (Folk * 2021) March 10, 2026 | I had heard the first song. | This album utterly destroyed me. I am unlikely to recover. Rarely have I had such a strong emotional reaction to music. Just devastating and so, so beautiful. The album was written after Bergman’s father and stepmother were killed by a drunk driver, and the grief and sorrow that suffuse the lyrics in every song are so tender.
Two more vinyl sittings with Ian. It was a good weekend. Songs from the Big Chair – Tears for Fears (Rock * 1985) March 8, 2026 | I knew this one (most of it, anyway) | Love this album, especially “Shout” and “Head Over Heels.” Listening to this, I had such strong nostalgia for babysitting the Maurstads’ and for my friend Anne’s basement – this album came out when I was twelve, so that tracks.
Little Songs – Colter Wall (Country * 2023) March 7, 2026 | New to me | This was my favorite listening experience yet – a Saturday morning listening to the vinyl with Ian. I had two initial thoughts: (1) I thought this was much older, and (2) Wall’s voice reminds me of Johnny Cash (Ian said Jason said the same thing). I would call this cowboy music, reminiscent of Marty Robbins.
Rush of Blood to the Head – Coldplay (Alternative * 2002) March 6, 2026 | Band and cover art were familiar to me | This listening project for sure is going to reveal just how little I know about music that Everybody Else seems to know about. I’m just going to acknowledge that and carry on. I started making a list of bands or albums I’d like to include, and Coldplay was toward the top of the list.
I am starting a new project of sorts–taking the idea from Kendra Adachi (the Lazy Genius) and adapting it. Kendra is purposing to listen to 300 complete albums in a year–half that are known to her and half that are new to her. I don’t think of myself as a person who knows music, but I see no reason why I couldn’t be. My first thought was that I would start with 100 albums, but then I realized that, as with all projects, a specific number quickly becomes my undoing.
Midnight Sun – Zara Larsson (Pop * 2025) March 6, 2026 | Completely new to me, hadn’t even heard of the artist | Oh. Oh dear. Um. Shoosh. That’s a lot. Ok, this was recommended to me by my young friend who is fourteen. I sincerely hope that a lot of the lyrics go over her head. Some of them are … “spicy” is putting it mildly. So the thing is that this kind of pop music may or may not have been my cup of tea thirty-five plus years ago, but at the age I am now (52), I just can’t really find anything to hold onto to catch or keep my attention—thematically, especially, but I don’t think it’ll really stick with me musically either.
Finished reading: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie A Flavia de Luce Mystery by Alan Bradley 📚
2009 | Mystery, historical fiction | Flavia de Luce #1
This was our bookclub pick this month. I read it alternating between page and audiobook (which happily was read by Jayne Entwistle). I am not generally a fan of child MCs, but for a variety of reasons I did like this one. I feel like future books in this series might be good slump-breakers or good ones to pick up when I’m not sure what I’m in the mood for.
📖 (own) / 🎧(Libby)
✭✭✭1/2
Finished reading: Little by Edward Carey 📚
2018 | Historical fiction (Berne, Switzerland, and Paris, France, 18th century)
This is a fictionalized biography of Madame Tussaud (she of wax museum fame). It’s really good–weird and interesting. I’m not sure how I would have felt about reading it on the page, but I really enjoyed the audiobook. Jayne Entwistle is my new favorite audiobook narrator.
🎧 (Libby)
✭✭✭✭1/2
Finished reading: Charlotte Sometimes by Penelope Farmer 📚
1969 | Middle grade, time travel, historical fiction (WW1, 1950s)
I gave this book to my husband for his birthday. The book was the inspiration for The Cure’s song “Charlotte Sometimes” (one of his favorite songs from his all-time favorite band). I didn’t know the song well, so I didn’t catch the lyrics drawn from the book, but I can see and appreciate the inspiration for sure. The book was thought-provoking about the feel of identity in the midst of day-to-day life and there were times I felt real tension about how the plot would resolve. And I love the title so much.
📖 (own)
✭✭✭1/2
Finished reading: Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel 📚
1989 | Magical realism, historical fiction (Mexican Revolution, early 20th century)
I am a huge fan of magical realism. This book was ridiculous, and I loved it. It very much had the feel of a folktalke and/or a telenovela, so the parts that were over the top (and there were many) weren’t too heavy or dark. I didn’t actually like the central romantic pairing (Tita and Pedro) at all, and that whole (pretty central) storyline did not go how I would have liked it to. But I tend to like a book where the plot goes in a different direction than I’d prefer — it keeps it more interesting.
📖 (own)
✭✭✭✭
I got a bee in my bonnet to list all the books we’ve read in book club. The list is at 108, and I think it’s really close to comprehensive, but record keeping is not my strong suit, so I may have missed a few. Contemporary fiction Historical fiction More fiction (includes Classics, Fantasy and/or Magical Realism, Literary Retelling, Mystery, Plays, Science Fiction, Short Stories, and Westerns)
BIOGRAPHY A Light So Lovely: The Spiritual Legacy of Madeleine L’Engle by Sarah Arthur Pub. 2018 | Read November 2020 CHRISTIAN Art and Faith: A Theology of Making by Makoto Fujimura Pub. 2021 | Read June 2021 The Quotidian Mysteries: Laundry, Liturgy, and Women’s Work by Kathleen Norris Pub. 1998 | Read July 2016 ESSAYS Girlhood by Melisssa Febos
CLASSICS Emily of New Moon by L.M. Montgomery Pub. 1923 | Middle grade | Read September 2017 Emma by Jane Austen British lit., romance | Pub. 1815 | Read ? (discussion was at Holmes Lake) Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy British lit., romance | Pub. 1874 | Read December 2024 Frankenstein by Mary Shelley Pub. 1818 | Read 2018? (discussion was at Nicole’s house)
HISTORICAL FICTION 1st Century The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd Nazareth | Pub. 2020 | Read October 202 12th Century Godric by Frederick Buechner England | Pub. 1980 | Read November 2021 16th Century Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell England | Pub. 2020 | Read May 2023 | Watched movie February 2026 17th Century North Woods by Daniel Mason