5 Things I'm Loving This Week

Hello all!

I hope your week has been filled with inspiration and good vibes. It’s been a busy, but good week here at The Literary Assistant. We had a cozy mystery book launch on Tuesday (check out Lucy’s series), a new client sign on for TikTok video creation, and if you are reading this, you know that we moved our website over to Substack. Yay! I’m looking forward to this space providing a chance for us to get to know each other a little better.

I don’t know if you remember back in the early YouTube days, creators used to film “5 things I’m loving this week” videos. I occasionally still see them pop up on various social media platforms, and I would like to start my own version over here.

My 5 things won’t be all book related so stay tuned for an eclectic mix of “stuff”. Feel free to leave what you are loving in the comments.

Are you ready… here we go!

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#5 - Library book sales! I had a quick trip back home to Michigan and was able to score a small stack of kids books for my niece and nephew, a few middle grade books for my son, one for my husband, and one for me. I also found a few books to swap our for our neighborhood Little Free Library. Can you guess how much all that cost? $4!!!! Fill a bag for $2? SIGN ME UP!!!

Our neighborhood Little Free Library

#4 - If you hang out here long enough, you’ll quickly discover my love for romance novels. This week, I read an ARC (advanced reader copy) of The Truth According to Ember. It was fantastic! I’m really looking forward to more releases from Danica Naya.

Here’s the blurb - A Chickasaw woman who can’t catch a break serves up a little white lie that snowballs into much more in this witty and irresistible rom-com by debut author Danica Nava.

Ember Lee Cardinal has not always been a liar—well, not for anything that counted at least. But her job search is not going well and when her resumé is rejected for the thirty-seventh time, she takes matters into her own hands. She gets “creative” listing her qualifications and answers the ethnicity question on applications with a lie—a half-lie, technically. No one wanted Native American Ember, but white Ember has just landed her dream accounting job on Park Avenue (Oklahoma City, that is).

Accountant Ember thrives in corporate life—and her love life seems to be looking up too: Danuwoa Colson, the IT guy and fellow Native who caught her eye on her first day, seems to actually be interested in her too. Despite her unease over the no-dating policy at work, they start to see each other secretly, which somehow makes it even hotter? But when they're caught in a compromising position on a work trip, a scheming colleague blackmails Ember, threatening to expose their relationship. As the manipulation continues to grow, so do Ember’s lies. She must make the hard decision to either stay silent or finally tell the truth, which could cost her everything.

#3 - One of the reasons I love reading historical fiction is it introduces me to women who’s lives are often quietly forgotten by history. My exciting find at the library sale this week was The Grand Design: A Novel of Dorothy Draper. I didn’t know much about Ms. Draper, but after a few internet searches, I’m very much looking forward to learning more about her life. I’ll be moving this book up my TBR list!

"Never look back, except for an occasional glance, look ahead and plan for the future. Success is not built on past laurels, but rather on a continuous activity. Keep busy searching out new ideas and, experimentally, keep ahead of the times, or at least up with them." Dorothy Draper

#2 - Our community over at the Jane Austen Literacy Foundation. This week we are helping to name the chickens that Jane Austen’s sixth-great niece will be raising on the property of Chawton House. (Chawton House was owned by Jane Austen’s brother, Edward Knight.)

If you love reading, talking about books, drinking tea, and hanging out with other readers, I have the place for you. The Jane Austen Literacy Foundation Community has all that and more! Join us, along with Jane Austen’s family, as we work together to give children an opportunity to change their lives through literacy. Your membership to the community helps support literacy programs around the world. From free to $10 (USD) we have a tier for everyone.

#1 - Sunshine. Yes, just sunshine. When you live in the dreary midwest, those first slightly warm days that give you hope that Spring might be around the corner are priceless.

Photo by Diego PH on Unsplash

What have you been loving this week? I would love to know in the comments.

P.S. Before I even had a chance to schedule this post I had two more books added to my NetGalley shelf and a surprise box of three ARC’s show up on my porch. Pretty much a book lover’s dream day! I’ll be sharing those books with you soon. :)

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