What We're Reading, Listening to, and Watching This Week (7/26/2026)
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 workdays. 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:
Crafting: I’ve been crafting a lot lately! I made myself a junk journal from scratch to keep quotes in, made a sticker book using parchment paper, and did a Stitch People project. Stitch People is a cross-stitch brand that gives you the tools to create your very own “stitch people.” I designed myself and my husband and had a blast. Can’t wait to design everyone I know!
Watching: My cats play hardcore with a large scratch pole that ran from floor to ceiling, but it fell (gently—no one got hurt) to the floor, and the cats apparently prefer the floor version.
Update from Summer Camp: This week, I finished all the crafts I listed above, and all of those were new for me! I also watched Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, a movie from the ’80s that I hadn’t seen in a very long time but that holds up fairly well, probably because it’s so weird and silly.
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 doubleheader.
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 just finished two amazing early reads—Alyssa Cole’s It Takes a Village, a thriller in the same universe as another favorite of mine, and Taylor Jenkins Reid’s Last Days of Vic & Coco. Both five-star reads.
Listening: Some true-crime podcasts to get in the mood for my NVNR panel! Watching: I finished the trash fire that was the new season of The Ultimatum, and I will talk about it to anyone who stands still long enough.