■ Henry VI, Part 2  
■ Henry VI, Part 3 
■ Julius Caesar 
■ The Comedy of Errors 
Keeping up with my “Shakespeare a in Year” plans.

■ Poverty, By America (Matthew Desmond; 2023. Non-fiction.)
Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City (2016) was more penetrating, but this is an excellent primer. 

■ Such a Fun Age (2019) 
■ Come and Get It (2024)
Both of these novels by Kiley Reid are compulsively readable. 

■ The Guest Cat (Takashi Hiraide; 2001/2014. Fiction) 
What a quiet and poignant exploration of loss, grief, and marriage.

■ Girl in the Blue Coat (Monica Hesse; 2016. Fiction.)
Last month, a friend observed, “You have not said a word about the book, which perhaps is saying plenty.” It is.

■ The Song of the Lark (Willa Cather; 1915) 
Fred? Why? This among other head-scratchers, including the the depiction of Thea’s professional development through the eyes of the men in her life rather than her experience. Still, my Cather project is delighting me.

■ My Brilliant Friend (Elena Ferrante; 2012) 
Speaking of delight, I am reading the Neapolitan novels with a friend. These are the sort of books that define why I love to read — to learn, to discover, yes, but sometimes simply to become absorbed, even a bit lost in another place, other lives. 

■ A Streetcar Named Desire (Tennessee Williams; 1951) 
Read in anticipation of seeing this excellent production.

■ Beowulf: A New Translation (Maria Dahvana Headley; 2021)
I’m with this reviewer: Read it now.