Welcome to Quick Lit, where I share short and sweet reviews of what I’ve been reading lately on (or around) the 15th of the month, and invite you to do the same.
Last month I read three gigantic books, which resulted in an uncharacteristically low number of total books read. In comparison, this month I feel like I’ve been flying through the titles—easy to do when you’re reading 300-page books instead of 1300-page ones.
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the depth and breadth of my recent reads. The Modern Mrs Darcy Book Club has been a bigger-than-usual factor in my reading this month, as I revisited our October and November titles in quick succession. (November’s Birnam Wood is not accounted for below, but now I’m second-guessing that decision because holy bookshelves, was it good on a re-read. I included my re-read of October’s The Correspondent.) But further than that, I’m currently scouting for spring titles to read together and have read a vast array of old and new novels looking for our perfect group reads. (I’ve made some very fun headway, most of which is not included below.)
I’ve also read a lovely number of just for fun, just because, just for me reads: old and new, fiction and nonfiction, books that capture my interest for the subject matter or simply seem they could be a good story, well told.
I hope you enjoy the variety of this month’s selections, and that you find something that looks intriguing for your TBR here (and in these comments). and I look forward to browsing your recent reads below. Thanks in advance for sharing your short and sweet book reviews with us!
Welcome to November Quick Lit
I revisited this epistolary novel on audio in advance of our MMD Book Club conversation about it with author Virginia Evans, which is now in the past tense and was a complete delight. Our narrator is seventy-something Sybil Van Antwerp, whose letter writing routine defines her life: the book is told through those letters, written to friends, family, customer service reps, authors she admires, and more. Sybil believes in writing as a way to preserve civility and document her life, one that we see has held a good amount of heartbreak that she is still working through. Even as she uses her writing to make sense of the past, her letters introduce new possibilities for her future as she corresponds with old colleagues and strangers, family members she never knew existed, and even would-be suitors. I loved this one so much, and it was every bit as good—if not even better—on the re-read.
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If I was to award superlatives for this edition of Quick Lit, this book wins “most likely to come up in conversation with friends.” Low is a Wharton economist who writes here about the data of women’s lives and how women can maximize their lives’ overall “utility”—that is, how they might make decisions that lead to satisfaction and contentment because they’re in line with their values and priorities. (What counts as “utility” is highly individual, as are the constraints we experience along the way.) I appreciated this book not for any answers it might seek to provide but for the questions it raises, and the language Low put to phenomenons I’ve experienced in my own life, like “the squeeze.” I also loved her metaphor of thinking of your life as “a book with many chapters” (because of course I did). I happened to watch Celine Song’s
Materialists (seriously underbaked but also highly discussable) and this was such a serendipitous pairing—the book and movie have a lot to say to each other about value, utility, and partnership.
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I’m sorry to say my cousin—a reader with great taste—has been telling me to read this series for over ten years, but it wasn’t until Will and I started watching the Apple TV series that I actually did. The series is now nine books strong, and I decided to start at the beginning with
Slow Horses. Slough House isn’t a house, and it’s not in Slough, but it’s so far away from MI5 headquarters it might as well be. It’s where MI5 rejects (known as “slow horses”) get sent instead of being fired—not out of any sense of mercy, but because legal proceedings are a real hassle; the hope is they’ll find Slough House so unpleasant they’ll quit. Season 1 of the Apple TV series is based on this book about an MI5 black op: because I was familiar with the loose outline of the plot, I could focus on Herron’s excellent writing, particularly the greater internality of the characters, the heightened nuances of their relationships, and the greater depth to their backstories. I’m not sure if I’ll read the series in order or jump around, but I definitely want to read more.
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This beautiful new cookbook caught my eye because of the fun cover, and also because we consistently love Dan Pelosi’s recipes on
NYT Cooking, which I use heavily. I enjoyed reading this start to finish in one sitting, and now that I’m done my first must-try recipe is the Peppermint Pattie Cookies, which feel like a delightful twist on
Bogel family favorite Andes Mint Cookies. (Honestly, the chances of this new recipe unseating our family classic are slim to none, but the whole family is nevertheless going to give it a shot.) My next priority is every single recipe in his Breakfast for Dinner chapter (Maple Bacon Brussels Sprouts, Scallion Cheddar Hash Brown Patties, virgin mimosas, and more). And then the huge Caesar salad and adorable lasagnetta in the chapter where he encourages you to roll up your sleeves and channel the energy of an Italian American grandmother. I enjoyed Pelosi’s fun approach and can-do spirit, and this mix of recipes hit a pleasing balance of accessible and aspirational.
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I loved Jennifer Latham’s 2017 book
Dreamland Burning, and was drawn to this newer release (just out in March 2025) because it also focuses on the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, a violent two-day event that destroyed thirty-five square city blocks in Tulsa’s Greenwood neighborhood, a prosperous and thriving Black community often referred to as “Black Wall Street.” Miller’s novel centers sisters Margaret and Evelyn Justice, who lose their community and many loved ones in the Race Massacre and flee down the road we’ll come to know as Route 66 to seek refuge at the (historically real) Threatt Filling Station, a known safe haven for Black travelers. They’re so grateful to discover places like Threatt and its proprietors exist, but ultimately their time there gives them the strength to head back to Greenwood to rebuild their lives and their community. I enjoyed sinking into this story on audio, as narrated by Angel Pean.
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Author of the Dial A for Aunties and Vera Wong series Sutanto demonstrates her range in this new bittersweet love story that feels very different in tone and structure from her previous works—more wistful, vastly less zany, and unfolding as a long conversation between a grandmother and her teenage granddaughter. The story begins at a fancy family dinner: teenage Izzy has always felt out of place in her highly traditional Indonesian family of origin—but then her beloved grandmother shocks them all when she walks in with a woman on her arm, and stuns Izzy with an astonishing story about the love of her life. I was hanging on every word of the narrative—and was also struck by the tender and real intergenerational dynamics. I especially loved looking over Izzy’s shoulder as she slowly took in the love and loss her grandmother experienced long before Izzy entered the picture.
Next Time Will Be Our Turn was just published on November 11 and was featured in
our 2025 Fall Book Preview. This was wonderful on audio, as narrated by Louisa Zhu and
fan favorite Emily Woo Zeller.
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What have YOU been reading lately? Tell us about your recent reads—or share the link to a blog or instagram post about them—in comments.
The post What I’ve been reading lately: the new and the notable appeared first on Modern Mrs Darcy.
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