Formerly known as The Literary Lifestyle. We are rebranding! Hi Reader, I hope you're having a good Fourth of July weekend if you're in the U.S.A. We had a few lovely, relaxing cookouts and some tolerable summer weather here in historic Philadelphia, so it was very nice! The holiday got me thinking about my Read the U.S.A. challenge to read a book from each of the 50 states. I'm almost done with just three more to go! It's one of my goals to complete it this year. I love the fact that it...
1 day ago • 3 min read
Formerly known as The Literary Lifestyle. We are rebranding! Hi Reader, I just unboxed my latest ThriftBooks order and was shocked at all I got for $16. (And the quality!) In case you aren't familiar, ThriftBooks is the world’s largest online independent used book seller. I worked with ThriftBooks on the blog today, where you'll unbox my book haul with me and learn my top hacks for scoring big deals on new and used books at ThriftBooks since 2018. If you're doing the Rory Gilmore Reading...
7 days ago • 1 min read
Formerly known as The Literary Lifestyle. We are in the middle of rebranding! Hi Reader, One of bestselling author Jo Piazza’s biggest interests is trad (traditional) wives, which is the subject of her newest release, Everyone Is Lying To You. (In case you aren’t familiar with trad wives, it’s a social media community of women who embrace traditional gender roles in marriage. They focus on sharing domestic duties, such as cooking, cleaning, and child-rearing, and a 1950s-style ideal of a more...
8 days ago • 1 min read
Formerly known as The Literary Lifestyle. We are rebranding! Hi Reader, June is Audiobook Month, and I haven't yet talked to you about audiobooks, so let's do it! Audiobooks are what got me back into reading about ten years ago. I was spending a lot of time in the car and just wasn't getting enough stimulation from the radio or podcasts. Since then, I have read around 50 audiobooks per year. They accompany me on ALL mind-numbing tasks, from folding laundry to putting away dishes. They also...
11 days ago • 2 min read
Formerly known as The Literary Lifestyle. We are rebranding! Hi Reader, The halfway point of the year is when "best books of the year, so far" lists are revealed, so here are mine! The numbers: I have read 55 books so far in 2025. This list includes only books published in 2025, but I've added my backlist picks from 2025 at the end as a bonus, so keep scrolling! Sponsored by: 1440 News. Without Motives. That’s 1440 Over 4 million readers rely on our 5-minute newsletter for a clear, fact-based...
12 days ago • 2 min read
formerly known as The Literary Lifestyle-- we are currently rebranding! Hi Reader, Before Pride Month comes to a close, I wanted to share my all-time favorite LGBTQ+ books with you. Nearly all were five-star reads for me, and they all remain very memorable to this day. With these fiction and nonfiction picks, you’ll truly walk a mile in someone else’s shoes. They showcase characters often silenced in books, doing so in unforgettable ways. Let's explore this reading rainbow! 🌈 Sponsored by:...
14 days ago • 3 min read
Formerly known as The Literary Lifestyle. We are rebranding! Hi Reader, This month, our Gilmore Girls-inspired book club is reading required reads from the list of 500+ books referenced on the show. Since summer is a time when kids and students are working on their required reading for school, it's the perfect time for us to read the books that are most often taught in school curricula. If you're still on the hunt for required reading that's the opposite of a slog, here are five excellent...
20 days ago • 2 min read
Formerly known as The Literary Lifestyle. We are rebranding! Hi Reader, Let's talk about L-O-V-E! Readers crave summer romances at this time of year, but it can be tough to choose which ones to spend your fleeting sunny days on --especially here in Philly, where it's been cold and rainy! My guide to books about summer love is here to help! It includes my personally read and approved books about finding a passionate romance during the season of fun and seeing whether it can survive by fall....
21 days ago • 3 min read
Hi Reader, In case you missed it, I am currently rebranding both my broad book blog, The Literary Lifestyle, and my niche book club, The Rory Gilmore Book Club, into a single, combined brand: Friday Night Readers. It will be fully inspired by the books on Gilmore Girls and related topics, like the cozy Stars Hollow aesthetic. It's a slight pivot with a far greater focus for my most engaged readers who love Gilmore Girls. More to come soon. In the meantime, Father's Day is this weekend, and if...
25 days ago • 2 min read