💬 Friday Thread: My July reads, highlights of meeting three favorite authors, favorite product & movie

What Are Your Favorite Reads, TV Shows/Movies, Products, etc of July?

Hello!

July flew by in the blink of an eye for me. I discovered something I suspected last summer and which was confirmed this month—July is my slowest reading month. Not sure why and also, I’m not mad about it. I read less books, but the ones I finished I really enjoyed. July was also a month of watching some great tv, going to the movies, enjoying time in nature, and getting a chance to meet three of my very favorite authors in person! I’ll share some pics and highlights below…

My July Highlights

I think the biggest highlight of July was attending two days of the Columbus Book Festival (with my friend and fellow book nerd Heather:) and getting to hear three of my favorite authors speak and then getting to actually meet and talk with all of them! Gregg Hurwitz, who writes the Orphan X thriller series (I’ve read every book!) was on a thriller panel with Joseph Finder, author of my top thriller of the year The Oligarch’s Daughter. They talked about the vast amount of research they do in order to write such compelling, yet realistic thrillers. Gregg Hurwitz also let everyone know he plans on continuing the Orphan X series (no plans as of now for any standalones) and his next book in the series, Antihero, will be published next February. Can’t wait!

We got to then meet and chat with both Gregg Hurwitz and Joseph Finder and I have to tell you, I was star struck haha. I chatted with Gregg about my love for the Orphan X series, which book has been my very favorite (Dark Horse), and he let me know that there will be a return of one of the characters from Dark Horse in an upcoming book…how fun to get the inside scoop!

I then talked with Joseph Finder about his books I’ve loved - Judgement, Suspicion, and The Oligarch’s Daughter. We also chatted about Substack and the book community here. I encouraged him to drop by and check it out so who knows, maybe we’ll see Joseph Finder popping into the comments:)

Then it was on to see Wally Lamb who was Saturday’s headliner. I had just read and loved The River is Waiting in June so this was an extra treat. He was asked about being chosen for the third time by Oprah for her book club and was very humble in saying he was appreciative and how floored he was to get the call from her all three times. He shared that when she called him many years ago (for She’s come Undone and I Know This Much Is True) she said it was Oprah and asked what he was doing and he said he didn’t believe it was her but answered “laundry” and then when she called him recently for The River Is Waiting she said “Hi Wally it’s Oprah are you still doing laundry?” He got a kick out of that as did the audience.

Something that stood out to me was to hear Wally Lamb (really all the authors) talk about how when they sit down to write each new book, fear shows up and they think they won’t be able to do it again. Wally Lamb said he keeps a stack of each of his books on a shelf behind his writing desk and when the doubts about writing creep in, he turns around and looks at them and says look you did it before you can do it again. I think we readers probably don’t realize just how much doubt and uncertainty our favorite authors have when it comes to doing the work of bringing us stories!

My friend and I then got to meet Wally during the book signings and he chatted with us for several minutes. We talked about how fantastic the audio narrator was (Wally said he (Jeremy Sisto) was his first choice, and we talked about that ending- he laughed when I said I needed many many tissues.

Of note: each of these authors were so nice, very generous with their time, humble, and very appreciative of readers. AND they each wrote nice messages with legible signatures in my books which are now treasures:)

On the left, my friend Heather, Gregg Hurwitz and me. On the right, Wally Lamb

Books Read

In order of enjoyment

• Just a Little Dinner by Cecile Tlili (translated by Katherine Gregor) Review here

• Heart the Lover by Lily King (out Sept 30) - King’s new novel is a story set over many years and is about friends and lovers who meet in college and what transpires as the years go on. It’s a deep dive into the lasting impact of first loves, it’s a friendship story, a love story, and a story about finding oneself along the way. I was lucky to get an advanced copy (thank you Grove Press) because this was my most anticipated fall release. I’m going to keep my review very general because I know this is on many of your fall tbr’s . First, I went into this story with super high expectations (even though I know I shouldn’t) because I read Father of the Rain last year and it was my number two book of the year, plus I also loved Writers & Lovers when it came out.

  And I’ll say, King’s writing is as good in this new book as the others! I’m all about a complicated love story and she delivered that as well. For me, it took about 30% until I felt the pace shift and the story start to zing. It’s not that I didn’t like the first 30%, I did, but she takes her time setting up situations and allowing us to get to know the characters. I can tend to be a reader who needs some plot—for something to happen—so you might not feel the same. But when it picked up, I couldn’t stop reading. I stayed up late and was all in on finding out how the tory would unfold. I did love this! However, there was something plot wise that happened along the way that keeps this from being a 5 star read for me. But, that’s just me. I think this will make a great fall read and for those of you who love Lily King’s writing, I feel confident in saying you won’t be disappointed.

• Backlist book reviewed in The Book Reveal #2

• Open City by Teju Cole - reviewed here

• Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid - my biggest disappointment of the summer. While I appreciated the themes, loved Joan’s character, and TJR’s exploration of women in NASA, I didn’t enjoy the structure and many parts felt over written.

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Favorite Movie of the Month

F1: The Movie - I’m not into Brad Pitt these days, but this movie was very entertaining. My husband and one of my sons said it was their favorite of the year so far. My other son and I both agreed it didn’t quite beat the new Mission Impossible

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Favorite TV Show

Stick (Apple TV) - I love Owen Wilson (Wedding Crashers is an all time favorite movie) and he was fantastic in this series. We’ve finished all episodes and I’m sad that it ended. The entire cast was so good. I loved the found family aspects, the young love, parenting, loss, friendship, all centering around golf but you can easily enjoy this show and not care about golf at all. And good news- it’s been renewed for season two coming in 2026!!

Favorite Product of the Month

Eminence Organics Apricot Body Oil (not sponsored or an affiliate link) - I bought this on a whim because I don’t like lotions and I’m loving it. The scent is very light, fades fairly quickly and it’s super moisturizing without feeling heavy. It’s very absorbing and a little goes a long way.

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Question Time

The questions I ask in weekly threads are meant to be fun and help us connect, so please know you don’t have to answer each question, if you only have the time/desire to answer one, great! Please put book titles IN ALL CAPS for easy reading:)

1. What Are Your Favorite Reads, TV Shows/Movies, Products, delights, etc of July?

2. What are you reading now?

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Have a great weekend!