What We're Reading, Listening to, and Watching This Week (7/12/2026)
Linda-Marie Barrett / Executive Director:
Reading: Just finished The Vagabond by Colette for my book club. Perfect choice for our discussion, and a reminder to all of us why Colette is considered one of France’s greatest writers. Read her! About to start Olga Dies Dreaming by Xóchitl González for my book club’s July discussion. Excited to dive in!
Listening: To bird song, the rustling sounds of a young bear who regularly passes beneath my office window, and lawn equipment. Summertime!
Watching: Now that the new seasons of Sullivan’s Crossing and Virgin River are available, we are enjoying evening soap operas accompanied by homemade ice cream (I’m making variations of plant-based ice creams). A perfect way to end my work days!
Candice Huber / Membership:
Crocheting: I'm currently working on a wall hanger to go next to my bed to hold my phone, book, and anything else I need. I'm using colors that evoke the ocean.
Upcycling: I've been really enjoying visiting a local store here in Cleveland called "Upcycle," where you can dig through donated goodies for crafting gems. There's fabric, stamps, scrapbooking items, old photos, postcards, and so much more. It's really great just to go and explore and get ideas for things to make!
Update from Summer Camp: So far, I have played Cozy Stickerville (a board game that I mentioned last week) and another game called Bookshelf, which is a very small stacking game similar to Jenga where you try to build a bookshelf without letting it topple. Week One was crochet week, so I worked on several crochet projects, and I had two big field trips - one to the downtown library, which is AMAZING (it has a Superman museum inside!), and one to see author Chuck Tingle at our local library, who is always delightful. I earned the "Johnny 5" (a reference to the 1980s movie Short Circuit), "All Wound Up," (achievement in yarn) and "Did My Best" (tried and failed) badges. Looking forward to Painting Week next week!
Nicki Leone / Communications:
Reading: Still Maggie O'Farrell's Land and Steppe by Oksana Vasyakina. The truth is, as NVNR gets closer, the time I have to read gets vanishingly small. I start listening to audiobooks...
Listening: ...so I've started on all the Octavia Butler audiobooks I scarfed up from Libro.fm's July "Advance Listening Copy" list. Beginning with Patternmaster.
Watching: I'll admit, I hadn't realized how much TV time in this house was eaten up by Major League Baseball until it stopped happening during the All-Star Games and the Home Run Derby. The latter, at least, did not compel me to watch, but it did compel me to look up the origin of the word "Derby" as in "competition." It wasn't what I thought.
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 and starring the odd and wonderful John Early and inspired by everything from Lifetime movies to John Waters to Todd Haynes to Douglas Sirk 1950s melodramas. How could I not watch?
Andrea Richardson / Sales:
Reading: A short story collection by Nat Cassidy, I Know A Place. The first story (Rest Stop) was so creepy and amazing!
Listening: Thanks to TikTok, I've been taking it back to middle school with a playlist of hits from 1991. Watching: The Love Island finale, of course! Trinity + Bryce 4ever.