What We're Reading, Listening to, and Watching This Week (7/19/2026)
Linda-Marie Barrett / Executive Director:
Reading: Never Too Late by Robyn Carr. I’ve never read the author behind the Virgin River and Sullivan’s Crossing television series, so when this novel appeared in my Little Free Library, I decided to give it a try. Perfect escapism at the end of very busy work days.
Listening: To rain most afternoons as showers pass through our region. It’s high summer in western North Carolina, a part of the Appalachian temperate rainforest, one of the most biodiverse regions in the world. We hear so many birds and other woodland creatures these days as the area is brimming with life.
Watching: Our go-tos these days are both mystery series set in New Zealand: Death in Paradise and Brokenwood. The scenery is stunning and the mysteries border on cozies with lots of humor.
Candice Huber / Membership:
Reading: I finished three books in the Dorothy Must Die series by Danielle Paige— Dorothy Must Die, The Wicked Will Rise, and Yellow Brick War. I promptly realized I didn't have the fourth book, so while I'm waiting for it to arrive, I started Jenny Lawson's new book, How to Be Okay When Nothing Is Okay. I just love Jenny Lawson, and this book is hitting the spot.
Watching: Is anyone else into WWE? I find what I like to call "soap opera acrobats" utterly delightful, to be honest.
Update from Summer Camp: So far, we've gotten through three years of Cozy Stickerville. It's such a fun, cozy, storytelling-based, choose-your-own-adventure type game that I think other booksellers would also love! I worked with fabric and hand sewing for the first time and really enjoyed it, and I tried my hand at VERY basic book binding to make a sticker book with parchment paper. I also played video games - Tiny Bookshop (truly every bookseller should try this game!) and Wytchwood, where you are a swamp witch trying to rebuild your grimoire and figure out your life after memory loss. Summer camp has been great so far!
Nicki Leone / Communications:
Reading: Alas, reading right now is limited to lists of books I want to get to after the NVNR Conference is over.
Listening: Patternmaster by Octavia Butler.
Watching: Zip. I can hear the sounds of baseball in the other room, but the weeks before the conference are madly busy and don't really allow for taking time out to watch a double-header.
SP Rankin / Website Administrator:
Reading: I'm still reading Cantoras by Caro de Robertis.Listening: New songs from Alabama Shakes, and looking forward to their new album on August 28!Watching: Maddie's Secret, the odd and wonderful movie directed by and starring the odd and wonderful John Early and inspired by everything from Lifetime movies to John Waters to Todd Haynes to Douglas Sirk's 1950s melodramas. How could I not watch?
Andrea Richardson / Sales:
Reading: I'm diving into my digital ARCs for the true crime panel I am moderating at NVNR!
Listening: The AT40 from July 1984 was a bangin' soundtrack for yesterday's small road trip.
Watching: The new season of The Ultimatum has dropped and they have truly found the most garbage men they could this time around.