I just returned home from a long weekend in Charleston, South Carolina, with my daughters and daughter-in-law—Leah, Chloe, and Maddie. It was our first-ever girls’ trip (and likely not our last!). I hope to share a little more about the sights, sounds, and delicious tastes of Charleston in a future post, but for now, let me tell you about our first day.
Saturday, April 25, was Independent Bookstore Day, so my daughter, Chloe—librarian, turned founder of the Read & Roam Collective (Madison, WI)—suggested we check out several indie bookstores. We headed first to King Street, the well-known Charleston shopping hub, where we perused the shelves of Ladybird Books, Sweeter Than Fiction, and Buxton Books.
Although we had intended to only hit up the bookstores, we were enticed by several other boutiques and specialty shops, our eyes feasting on the springtime colors that surrounded us in the stores and also on the fashionable Southern shoppers . Tip: If you’re going to Charleston, don’t neglect to pack your shopping dress! A delicate floral print will suffice. Who knew?
We eventually left King Street, and headed to Mount Pleasant, where we found The Village Bookseller. Each of the four stores we visited had special activities, treats and prizes to celebrate their day. I actually won a copy of The Correspondent (Deluxe Edition), from Buxton’s! 📔 🎉 We loved each shop for its own unique flavor, making it hard to pick a favorite!
Before I get into my March-April Bookstack (the bi-monthly list of books I’ve read, rated, and reviewed), I have to mention one more indie bookstore. If you love books and are local to the Michiana area—i.e. the Michigan-Indiana border near South Bend, Mishawaka, Niles, Edwardsburg, Elkhart, Goshen, etc.—you have to check out Fables Books in Goshen (IN). They’ve got something for everyone, offering a feast for book lovers!
And this Friday, May 1st, from 6:00-8:00 p.m., would be the perfect time to visit! I am honored to be participating in Fables’ “Author Meet and Greet,” as part of the Goshen First Fridays Event. If you’re around, I’d love to sign a book for you, or simply chat face-to-face!
Please come, and bring a friend!
And now, on to the reviews.
*BookStack, vol. 14, March-April, 2026.
Note: Books marked with *FFW were chosen, in part, because the author was speaking at the Festival of Faith and Writing I attended in April at Calvin University.
The Frozen River (Ariel Lawhon) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Highly Recommend. Based on the real life of 18th-century midwife Martha Ballard, The Frozen River is a story of courage and determination. Although Ariel Lawhon has added fictional embellishments, many of the facts were drawn from Martha Ballard's life as recorded in her journals.
When two men in the community are accused of raping a pastor's wife, Martha finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation, as one of the accused is found dead in the frozen river, and she is called to examine the body. The other accused man is the town's only judge. During the trials that ensue, we see the discrimination of women in a male-dominated society, where unfair legal systems punish only women—not men—for sexual sins and crimes. Echoes of the past remain today.
I was not only drawn to the suspense and mystery woven throughout the story, but was gripped by descriptions of the everyday hardships of 18th-century life. I could relate to Martha's midlife mindset—having a loving husband and teen/young adult children with their own life and relationship issues—as well as her passion for writing. Her diligence in recording the details of every birth, death, and house call she attended eventually brought some measure of justice and gave us the story of Martha Ballard over 200 years later. I'm sure this will be one of my top reads for the year. (Audiobook, *FFW) P.S. Loved Ariel Lawhon’s talk at the Festival of Faith and Writing!
The Book of (More) Delights (Ross Gay) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Recommend. It took me several essays to get into Ross Gay's meandering style of poetic prose. His sentences are often long, with tangential thoughts that wander and branch out, eventually working back to his original thread. It takes a moment (or a second or third read) for my brain to catch up.
So, although some of his essays left me confused and thinking "huh?", others had me smiling, laughing out loud, or feeling a sense of peace. Ross Gay's superpower is his attention to the world around him—the natural world, people, relationships, technology, literally, any detail—and his ability to turn these daily observations and experiences into delights. (Paperback, *FFW)
Holy Envy: Finding God in the Faith of Others (Barbara Brown Taylor) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Recommend. Holy Envy was an enlightening journey, exploring the major world religions of Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity. Barbara Brown Taylor's own beliefs and practices were forever changed when she began teaching Religion 101 (an introduction to world religions) at Piedmont College in rural Georgia. She shares what she learned from her experiences—like class field trips to temples, mosques, and churches—as well as from her students' reactions and feedback.
While Taylor doesn't delve deeply into each religion's beliefs (it would take much more than a 7-hour audiobook to do that), it does describe similarities and differences each religion has with Christianity, and points out admirable qualities and practices of each.
In a world where countries still go to war over religion, and even Christians are deeply divided, this book is invaluable. Taylor stresses learning from and being open to others' beliefs before judging, valuing all people as created in God's image, and being more thoughtful about our own religious beliefs and practices. Like several introductory college courses I've taken, this book opened my eyes, made me think, and left me wanting to know more. (Audiobook, *FFW)
The Correspondent (Virginia Evans) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Highly Recommend. Through her daily habit of letter-writing (and Virginia Evans’ epistolary narrative form), Sybil Van Antwerp tells the story of her life during her seventh decade. She describes the present moments of her daily activities—sharing books she's read (which made my TBR list grow!), auditing college courses, mentoring a young man through his difficult teenage years, assisting a Syrian immigrant she meets through a customer service call, and—most surprisingly to Sybil, discovering romance, love, and new family revelations.
Her letters also unveil the deep pain of her past and the reasons for severed ties with her daughter. She pens regrets over decisions made during her law career. And she finally reveals long-held secrets and a confession of guilt and shame that has plagued her for years. Whether her confession led to any self-forgiveness and ultimate healing, the reader is left to wonder. I appreciated the author's perspective that aging doesn't have to be stagnant, but rather can offer new experiences and adventures, and time to reflect on and make amends for one's life decisions. (Audiobook)
A Place to Hang the Moon (Kate Albus) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Highly Recommend. Sometimes, it’s nice to dive into a middle-grade book. And when the story is told by Kate Albus, you’ll often forget it was written for kids. I was immersed into the story of Anna, Edmund and William—9-, 11-, and 12-year-old orphan siblings—who are evacuated during World War II in the hopes they’ll find their forever family.
Albus’s characters are realistic and complex. The more I came to know the children, the more I cared about them. I was alarmed at the pain they had to suffer, and relieved when they found adults who truly cared about them. But would they find their forever home? You’ll have to read the book to find out!
This book stayed on my mind for days after I read it, one of my criteria for a really good read! (Audiobook, *FFW)
Ordinary Time: Lessons Learned While Staying Put (Annie B. Jones) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Recommend. I was not familiar with Annie B. Jones and her popular "From the Front Porch" podcast before picking up this book. But it didn't take long for me to get pulled into her story—one of staying put in a small town as friends move on, of owning a bookshop (what reader/writer doesn't imagine some form of that dream?), and of feeling somewhat out of place in a new town.
Although I didn't find every chapter/essay deeply meaningful, there were several that I could relate to and draw life lessons from. She describes relationships with the church, her husband, and others. I found her chapter on the older-sister/younger-brother bond to be sweet and one that is rarely described in literature. I enjoyed Jones' honest vulnerability and down-to-earth style, and believe if we lived in the same small town, she'd be my friend and favorite bookseller. (Audiobook)
Joyride: A Memoir (Susan Orlean) ⭐️⭐️⭐️
You might like it, but it wasn’t my favorite. Susan Orlean’s award-wining memoir, Joyride, was released just five months after my book, Empty-Nest Joyride, so I was curious to see if there were any other similarities besides our titles. The answer was “no.”
Orlean has been a longtime writer for The New Yorker, and has penned several books. Her process of forming and pitching ideas, researching every possible angle of her topic, and completing her projects was eye-opening. However, I often found myself disengaged by the detail with which she expounded on the countless stories she had written, and I was mildly annoyed by her frequent name-dropping (many of which were names I didn’t recognize). The early part of the book was a slog, with more interesting, personal stories in the later chapters. (Hardcover)
Daughters of Palestine: A Memoir in Five Generations (Leyla K. King) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Recommend. Leyla K. King, grew up looking white. But in time, she realized her family was different. Her curiosity and desire to know more of her family history drove her to interview her grandmother, Bahi, who immigrated to the United States in the 1970s from the war-torn Middle East.
Bahi’s stories of her large family of Palestinian Christians are beautifully captured by King in this multigenerational memoir. Although the timelines are a bit confusing as the stories jump up and down the generations, I was moved by the family’s resilience, strength, and faith during trials and hardships I’ll likely never have to endure. The history and lessons conveyed are good reminders to recognize the humanity of all persons, and to avoid dehumanizing others based on perceived differences, religion, or nationality. (eBook, *FFW)
And…that’s the stack!
Let me know if you’ve read or plan to read any of these books! Or, just let me know you were here by “hitting the 🖤.”
As if I needed more books to read. Thanks for the recommendations!
Loved The Frozen River. Liked Holy Envy, listened to it but dosed off and got lost. The Correspondent was sweet. I heard Albus talk so want to get that one, also Ross G. I got lost when he talked. Entertaining but my thinking speed is slower than his speaking speed!