Unraveled, Week 16/2026

We've made it to the midpoint of the week -- it feels like it's been a long one, even though things have been relatively calm. There is no official link-up this week because Kat is taking a break from blogging for a bit, but I like a routine, so here I am with an Unraveled Wednesday post.

While slow and steady progress continues on my sweater, there has been much more made on my sister-in-law's socks:

All that's left between me and another finished pair of socks is a foot and a toe. Even with a larger-than-normal stitch count, shortie socks are pretty darn fast, especially when you have a good book to read and a cute puppy curled up next to you. I'm fairly confident that these will be done by the end of the week, well ahead of my self-imposed deadline to have them done by Mother's Day. 

Speaking of reading, it's been another good week of it.

I got lucky on the draw when my library (via Libby) notified me that it now had Kate Bowler's newest book, Joyful Anyway, available and was the first person to borrow the audio version. I'd enjoyed listening to her read her memoir the previous week and was looking forward to spending more time with her in my ears. This new work is a bit different; though parts of it do draw on her own experiences, it's a bit more academic in looking at joy and how it can exist at the same time as sadness or grief or other negative emotions. Given the author's experience with Stage 4 cancer (she's now in remission), it makes sense as a topic she'd be interested in exploring. I loved listening to her but found the narrative to be a bit harder to follow than the previous book. I gave it 3 stars.

I think I'm probably one of the last people in the world to read The Personal Librarian; it was everywhere a few years ago. I heard about it enough times on podcasts that I decided it was time to finally read. This is a fictionalized account of a very real person's story. Belle da Costa Green, who was for many years the personal librarian to financier J.P. Morgan and later directed the Pierpont Morgan Library, was famous in the art world in her time and was well known for her intellect and her boldness in matters of business. But what few people knew was that she was actually a Black woman, the daughter of the first Black man to graduate from Harvard, who was passing for white in order to avoid the rampant racism and discrimination in the country. She was a fascinating woman and I really enjoyed learning about her, but what I didn't much care for was the focus on her romantic relationships. I think I might have preferred a straight-up biography more than this fictionalized account, though I'll admit there was some value to me in getting what might have been her thoughts about passing and her precarious situation. I gave it 3 stars.

Rounding out the week's reading was the highlight: Enormous Wings by Laurie Frankel. Pepper Mills (all too aware of her unfortunate name) is a 77-year-old grandmother in Texas who finds herself newly unable to make her own decisions about her life and its course. After a minor fender bender, her children decide it's best if she moves into a retirement community, sans her driver's license. She doesn't like this much but tries to make the most of it, making new friends and even forming a new romantic relationship. But then things get even stranger and more out of control when improbably, impossibly, irrationally she finds herself pregnant. And because she's in Texas, she finds herself forced to carry the baby to term, even though no one knows if she'll be able to do so or what consequences it will have for her. Yes, you need to suspend your disbelief a bit to accept this state of affairs, and yes, the novel does take a pretty strong stance on the issue of abortion and choice, but it's about much more than that. What Pepper realizes throughout this journey is that there are so many ways in which our choices are taken away from us throughout our lives and that, in a sense, it's ridiculous to have any sort of standard for anything because everyone's circumstances are different and unique to them. What really shines in this novel is the characters. They are so incredibly well written, not to mention funny, that you can't help but love them. Pepper is especially wonderful. She's a sassy Jewish grandmother originally from Brooklyn. She's a retired English teacher who frequently corrects others' grammar. She's fiercely loyal to her kids and grandkids and works out her frustrations by washing cars. How could I not love her? The book is humorous and poignant and touching, and it's one that will make you think hard in a good way (and it's also excellent on audio!). I gave it 5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for providing me with an advanced audio copy of this book in return for an honest review. This book will be published May 5, 2026.

What are you making and reading this week?