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Jane Eyre's England
Well! Roaming the moors of Yorkshire in search of Jane Eyre's England intrigued you as much as it inspires me. Thank you for such an enthusiastic response!
The sparkling new itinerary is up & ready to go.
https://www.sirensojourns.com/england
Two notes about this one: Our group will, by necessity, be limited to thirteen women (I'll be the 14th) which means I'll have less flexibility for cancellations. Please see the details on the itinerary.
And, I try hard to keep costs reasonable so my adventurous book expeditions are available to everyone. But the travel outfitters are in the UK and the exchange rate between the dollar and the sterling pound is gob-smacking. Thus, the fee for this adventure is a wee bit higher than usual.
Books We Love: An Adventurous List
On a late-May Siren romp into the exquisite mountains and leafy valleys of Slovenia and Italy's Dolomites, talk turned to the books we'd press into a friend's hands and exhort, "You must read this!"
Some of the books are classics: me, "Jane Eyre." Some are world-building or contemplative, eye-opening, inspiring, provocative, escapist and entertaining.
Karen Swallow Prior, author of "On Reading Well," writes in that book, "Certainly, reading great books is not the only way to cultivate virtue and achieve the good life. But literature has a particular power in forming our visions of the good life."
Wine and savory nibbles and dark chocolate accompanied the conversation. We were, indeed, living the good life!
Here now is that list: "All the Light We Cannot See," "Behind the Beautiful Forevers," "How the Word is Passed," "Independent People," "Into the Beautiful North," "The Covenant of Water," "The Boys," "The Art of Hearing Heartbeats," "Dream State," "True Grit," "Born a Crime," "Broken Horses," "Braiding Sweet grass," "Stories I Only Tell My Friends," "Whiskey When We're Dry."
Jane Austen's Delicious Imagination
And while we're lingering in Jane-Land, did you read this excellent story by Sarah Lyall in the Times about the Jane Austen exhibit at the Morgan Library?
I savored every morsel. I think you will too.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/11/arts/design/jane-austen-show-morgan-library.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
A Novel Pairing
I read a lot of books simultaneously. Partly because I'm always staying ahead of the MPR book schedule.
But also because I have two Kindles full of great novels I'm reading just for fun. So I often have six or seven books in progress at the same time.
Every now and then, though, serendipity strikes and two novels dovetail in the most delicious way.
That's what happened when "All the Other Mothers Hate Me" and "Deep Cuts" showed up in my library queue on the same day.
Both books have a post-"Daisy Jones and the Six" vibe to them with lots of behind-the-music insider stuff but with enough differences to make them feel fresh and fun.
"All the Other Mothers Hate Me" by Sarah Harman tells the story of 31 year old Florence Grimes, who was kicked out of a girl-band and is raising her son at the dingy edge of the poshiest of posh London. When a classmate at her son's tony school (paid for by his rich dad) goes missing, clues point to her son's involvement, which is when Flo decides to solve the crime herself.
I could take or leave the Momzilla satire but Florence's endless f---ups and loneliness made her surprisingly sympathetic.
Which is also what appealed to me about "Deep Cuts" by Holly Brickley.
Percy Marks is an odd, music-obsessed, lonely college student when she falls under the spell of Joe, a singer/songwriter and his charismatic girlfriend.
Percy may not be a musician herself but it turns out that she knows exactly how to make Joe's songs better and the novel is at its best when we're eavesdropping as they write music together.
And yet, there's a star-crossed quality to Joe and Percy's relationship: the allure of fame, the prospect of other shiny people, the conviction that falling in love might just ruin the chemistry that propels their creative partnership.
And one other thing that made this an especially fun summer pairing? Each novel name-drops a lot of great songs and I cued them up as I read.
Stuff I Never Leave at Home
I showed up for a two week trip to Europe years ago with all of my hair tools....and no underwear.
Since then, I've developed a nifty never-fail packing system that might work for you too on a long-ish trip. Here are the things I never leave home without:
Soft-sided packing cubes. A friend gifted me a set in a beautiful, satiny burgundy and, along with my pale pink set, I color-code my packing.
Several weeks before an epic trip, I lay the cubes side by side on the bedroom floor and methodically fold and roll clothes into them until they're comfortably full.
Then as the trip wears on, I use one large cube for the sweaty, must-wash items that pile up, sequestering them from my clean clothes.
DREAME Pocket Hair Dryer. Too many hotels and rented houses have let me down with broken or half-assed hair dryers so I bring my own. And if I don't have to use it, I just fold it away. The Dreame is not inexpensive but it's lightweight and comes with some cool attachments.
Cordless Hair Iron Brush: And while we're talking hair tools, my cordless curling iron brush has saved me from bed head more times than I can count, including on a couple of camping trips to the Boundary Waters. I recharged it from my solar charger and it was good to go the next morning.
Crossbody Water Bottle Bag: If you don't mind a 40 lb backpack dangling off your shoulders, then you're set.
When I'm ascending a mountain trail or following a guide into the rain forest, I like to keep it light, even if I'm carrying 32 ounces of water with me.
I've become quite partial to a crossbody hydro bag that will also let me carry my phone and lip balm and even a few snacks.
My newest favorite? Lululemon's Water Bottle Crossbody with a Front Pocket in a gorgeous citrus green.
Morfone 16 Pack Travel Bottle Set: TSA-approved and great for carrying your favorite shampoos, conditioners and moisturizers. Comes in great colors so you can color-code your cosmetics.