■ Atomic Habits (James Clear; 2018) 
The instructor of a body mapping class I took through the Chicago Flute Club recommended this. If the topic of habits — how they are developed, how they are reformed or changed — interests you, Charles Duhigg’s The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business (2012) is a much better choice.

■ Strangers to Ourselves: Unsettled Minds and the Stories That Make Us (Rachel Aviv; 2022) 
I am not sure what prompted me to pull this down; it has been on the shelves since it was first published. What a compelling read, though. Review here.

■ Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay (Elena Ferrante; 2013) 
As I’ve mentioned, a reading friend and I are making our way through the Neapolitan novels. So. Much. Drama.

■ A Lost Lady (Willa Cather; 1923)  
This was a reread and so far the weakest entry in my Cather project. That is not to say it wasn’t worthwhile — just not as good as, say, My Ántonia. Next up is The Professor’s House.

■ A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1595) 
With half the year behind me and only about a month of summer remaining (most of my activities follow an academic year calendar), I must work out a new plan for completing my Shakespeare in a Year project. Until then… I paired my reread of Dream with the Bridge Theatre production streaming on National Theatre at Home. Good stuff.

■ Georgia O’Keeffe: A Life (Roxana Robinson; 1989) 
This is a dense but readable biography. I am looking forward to seeing Georgia O’Keeffe: “My New Yorks” next month.

■ Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit (Jeanette Winterson; 1985)
Read with my daughter, who now shares my affection for Winterson’s wordsmithery.

■ The Magician’s Elephant (Kate DiCamillo; 2009) 
Recommended by a friend.

■ Endgame (Samuel Beckett; 1957) 
In June, we scored tickets to see Michael Shannon in Turret. (Reviews here and here.) Of course, he delivered a riveting performance, as did Lawrence Grimm and Travis Knight. But the play, written and directed by A Red Orchid ensemble member Levi Holloway, attempted to say and do so much, too much, and resolved nothing. Even the absurd should make a sort of sense, right? Turret really did not. Realizing that Beckett’s play was the inspiration, I picked up the script and followed my reading with the production featuring Michael Gambon and David Thewlis (streaming on YouTube). I would have loved to see Shannon, Grimm, and Knight in a production of Endgame.

■ The Hearing Trumpet (Leonora Carrington; 1974)
Last September I fell in love with the work of Remedios Varo. In October while at MoMa, I was struck by similarities in work by Carrington. A friend sent me this book, which strikes me as the novel version of her art — surreal, complex, mythic but also oddly familiar. Recommended.

■ A Deadly Wandering (Matt Richtel; 2014) 
The dangers of texting while driving are no longer news, of course, but this excellent book provides a compelling exploration of attention, justice, and trauma.

■ Liliana’s Invincible Summer: A Sister’s Search for Justice (Cristina Rivera Garza; 2023)
At first the lyrical writing of this account of a thirty-year-old murder jarred me. Eventually, though, the contrast of style and content knocked me out.