My Reading Terrain This Spring
My eclectic mix features interior and physical landscapes with richly drawn characters and nuanced relationships.
Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent by Judi Dench (April 23, 2024) From the publisher: “For the very first time, Judi opens up about every Shakespearean role she has played throughout her seven-decade career, from Lady Macbeth and Titania to Ophelia and Cleopatra. In a series of intimate conversations with actor & director Brendan O’Hea, she guides us through Shakespeare’s plays with incisive clarity, revealing the secrets of her rehearsal process and inviting us to share in her triumphs, disasters, and backstage shenanigans.”
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Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke (April 7, 2026) From the publisher: “A traditional American woman, a ‘tradwife’ influencer, suddenly awakens in the brutal reality of 1855 — where she must unravel whether this living nightmare is an elaborate hoax, a twisted reality show, or something far more sinister in this sensational debut novel.”
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The Academy by Elin Hilderbrand and Shelby Cunningham (September 16, 2025) From the publisher: “It’s move-in day at Tiffin Academy and amidst the happy chaos of friends reuniting, selfies uploading, and cars unloading, shocking news arrives: America Today just ranked Tiffin the number two boarding school in the country. It’s a seventeen-spot jump — was there a typo? The dorms need to be renovated, their sports teams always come in last place, and let’s just say Tiffin students are known for being more social than academic. On the other hand, the campus is exquisite, class sizes are small, and the dining hall is run by an acclaimed New York chef. And they do have fun — lots of parties and school dances, and a piano man plays in the student lounge every Monday night.
“But just as the rarefied air of Tiffin is suffused with self-congratulation, the wheels begin to turn — and then they fall off the bus.”
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Our Perfect Storm by Carley Fortune (May 5, 2026) From the publisher: “Best friends have one week in paradise to fix their friendship or fall apart in this heart-stopping, utterly romantic new novel….”
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The Life Impossible by Matt Haig (September 3, 2024) From the publisher: “When retired math teacher Grace Winters is left a run-down house on a Mediterranean island by a long-lost friend, curiosity gets the better of her. She arrives in Ibiza with a one-way ticket, no guidebook and no plan…. Filled with wonder and wild adventure, this is a story of hope and the life-changing power of a new beginning.”
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Last Summer at Maine Chance by Jessica Everett (May 12, 2026) From the publisher: “With a pinch of J. Courtney Sullivan's Maine and a dash of Lessons in Chemistry, Last Summer at Maine Chance transports readers to 1950s Maine, where one summer working at Elizabeth Arden's spa will teach a young economics student more than any classroom ever could.”