When you think of a witch, do visions of the movie Wicked come to mind or a witch from the Grimm fairytales darkening your mind’s eye? Of course, it does. We have been programed. However, there are gentler witches, and the following review is about one such witch.
When powerful witch, Sera Swan, loses her magic, how does she gain it back? This is the theme of A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna. This book was recommended to me by a couple of my book-loving friends – always the best recommendations! So, I wanted to share it with you.
There is The Inn aptly named Batty Hole, and it is a character on to itself. It keeps bad guests away and causes flowers to grow in the teacups. There is a cast of quirky characters that include Great-Auntie Jasmine, who raised Sera; a talking fox named Clemmie -I want to meet this fox; Nicolas, a knight; Matilda, a geriatric oddball; and young cousin Theo who is a budding witch. Of course, all stories must have a villain and Magical Innkeeping is no exception. Albert Grey of the British Guide of Sorcery and a powerful witch is Sera’s nemesis and has tried for years to understand her powers. And if you have a bad guy, you must have an equally good guy. – somewhat like a Hallmark movie! Hence, Luke Larsen, a handsome academically focused witch, enters the mix with his little sister, Posy.
This enchanting “family” joins Sera on her quest to regain her magic. It has it challenges as all quests do, but will it have its rewards in the end? You will have to read to find out and what a fun read! I just downloaded A Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches – a romantic cozy fantasy, another book by Sangu Mandanna. I am hoping it will be again a sweet story full of whimsy and magic. However, I have been contemplating – what is an irregular witch? I guess I will have to read and find out!
When my book club selected this book for our June discussion, I was delighted to know we would be reading a … well … “beach read.” You know the genre. Easy, light-hearted. The kind of book you just enjoy reading without thinking too much. I should have known it would be more than that, since Ms. Kelly also wrote *Lilac Girls*, a historical novel set in World War II.
The Martha’s Vineyard Beach and Book Club also is set in World War II. The story centers around two sisters – Briar and Cadence Smith – who create a book club to cope with the war and with their station in life.
The girls become entangled with romance and espionage, with community and family issues, all while living on Martha’s Vineyard. Cadence is hopeful she can break free of the island and make her way in New York City. Briar, on the other hand, longs for the past and a simpler time.
Martha’s Vineyard Beach and Book Club is a story drawn from Ms. Kelly’s family history and uses little known information about Martha’s Vineyard’s part in World War II. Themes focus on family, female friendships, the power of literature, and ways to find a sense of “normal” during wartime.
I read the book in two days; thus it *was* an easy read. I was struck by the reference to so many other books that I began to jot down the titles when I ran across them — 39 if I got them all! Most of the titles or authors I recognized, but a few sent me searching for more information. Always on the lookout for books to read, I was intrigued by the extensive list, which did not detract from the story line.
As with many books of late, the author includes a bit of modern intrigue with a little twist at the end. Although I anticipated the outcome, Kelly included an unanticipated detail, making for a happy ending.
The book was enjoyable while informative. Historical fiction is my favorite genre. I like to learn about aspects of the past that may be applied to today. It is said that history repeats itself. Hopefully we can use historical facts to inform decisions today. If not, at least we can enjoy a good story.
I would like to introduce you to author Marc Levy. If this were a true introduction, he would say “Bonjour.” Marc Levy is the number one best-selling author in France of 26 books. The 50 million copies of his books have been translated in 50 languages. He is an international literary superstar.
His first book, If Only It Were True, was made into a Steven Spielberg movie, Just Like Heaven, with Reese Witherspoon and Mike Ruffalo. What a way to begin a career!
I discovered Marc Levy’s books from one of the ads that are page savers on your Kindle. I was hooked after reading the summary and since then, I have read three of his books. The stories are just charming with lively dialogue and interesting characters. It is a pleasure to get lost in the plots, and it is sad when the stories come to an end. If I could read French, there would be more stories to read. However, there are still a few US editions I have yet to read, and I look forward to checking them out.
Amazon offers both English and French editions and a few in other languages as well. So, you can get started enjoying his books. I might suggest The Heart of Everything – a humorous story of a father-son relationship with interesting plot twists. All Those Things We Never Said is another charming story of an estranged father and his daughter who are making up for lost time learning life lessons along the way. P.S. From Paris is a love story set in City of Lights with actress Mia meeting writer Paul and how their relationship unfolds in a lovely ooh-la-la fashion! These stories would all make great films – Hey, Netflix, it is time to take a look.
Lately, the world has been rather dark and gloomy. Marc Levy’s books are wonderful ways to escapes it all with funny, interesting plots and appealing characters who will be like old friends by the last page. That is why I wanted you to meet this clever author and discover his enchanting stories. His newest book is, The Bookshop of Forbidden Books – Not all heroes wear capes. Some carry books. Doesn’t that sound enticing? The US edition will be released later in 2026. Meanwhile, check out his other books that I mentioned, and then you can introduce Mark Levy to others! Bonne Lecture! – Good Reading!
It’s been a while since I read a book that I could not wait to read. This Book Made Me Think of You by Libby Page is one of those books. If it were a movie – and I hope it becomes one – it would be in the “chic flick” genre. It is a “feel good” book about love, loss, resilience, and adventure.
The book appears on several of the book list feeds I receive weekly. It sounded like something my sister might enjoy, so when perusing Square Books, a small, local book store during a visit in Oxford, Mississippi, I ran across this one, I suggested she try it. I picked up a copy, also, as we live in different states. Frankly, I needed something easy-to-read that would be entertaining and positive.
The story tells about a woman who fell deeply in love with a man, only to learn a few months after their marriage that he was dying from cancer. Previously, she was a voracious reader and an energetic, creative woman. Throughout his treatments and after his passing, she became a shell of herself. Then, on her birthday she received a seemingly random phone call from a local book shop keeper.
That call changed the trajectory of her life going forward. She embarked on adventures she never would have imagined taking. She met people who supported her along the way. She tried new things and stepped out of her comfort zone. I wondered as I read each section whether I would be brave enough to try some of the things she did.
At the beginning of each section, the “book seller” lists four books that are indicative of the section’s theme, so to speak. Several of the books listed I have read and others I recognize as books I want to read. Those lists provided an added bonus, in my humble opinion.
In fact, my sister and I both exclaimed reading this book inspired us! Without giving away too much, my sister has selected this book for her May book club. She is including an activity by purchasing a set of books (all different), wrapping each of them in brown paper and tying a colorful ribbon around the package. She will offer each of her book club members to select a package. What a fun and creative idea!
As for me, I am stepping outside of my comfort zone to visit a few places on my own. I will start with some museums that I haven’t seen for a while, perusing the collections without worrying how a companion might be enjoying the time spent.
This is one book I may read again, which I rarely do. The missive reminds us that grief has its place yet the living must continue not only to live but to thrive. Are you in need of a light-hearted book to take to the beach? Would you like just a little inspiration? This Book Made Me Think of You may be just the jolt you need to cheer you up and to give you a renewed outlook on life.
When I was in 9th grade, we read Shakespeare’s As You Like It. We had to recite the famous speech, All the World’s A Stage, in front of the class. It was a piece that took an individual through the various stages of life comparing it to a play. For the most part, I didn’t get it. If you hadn’t lived a particular stage, you couldn’t identify with it. And what in the world did sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything mean?
Well, as one ages, the various stages begin to make sense, and now, that I am in the final stage of the speech, I know what sans, French for without, means and indeed it is true. I always thought that there should be a T-shirt that says, “Aging is Not for Sissies.” You must be tough to grow old. There is a challenge around every corner, a surprise just awaiting you.
Aging is full of aches and pains. You discover body parts you didn’t know existed. You develop health conditions like hypertension, cholesterol, or diabetes. Your body does not want to do what your head tells it to do. You can’t open the peanut butter jar. It is hard to go up the steps or getting out of a chair. You can’t see as well as when you were young. You can’t hear either, so you say what a lot. You forget names, and words just sit on the tip of your tongue. There are lots of thingmajigs or whatchacallits in your vocabulary now. You have many senior moments. The list could go on and on, and it keeps growing with the passing years. Mark Nepo has said, “The terrain of aging is steeper the longer we go.” Amen!
As challenging as aging is, there are many good things that can only be acquired with growing older. There are lessons to be learned with the passage of time. With aging you gain wisdom and experience. Life is always teaching you a lesson. You gain understanding and patience from those lessons. You grow to appreciate stillness and the peace that it brings. You begin to understand that taking the time to smell the roses is what life is all about. You embrace the life you have and live acceptance. You discover your inner light and let it shine.
We know that change is inevitable. It is one thing that you can count on. Yet, it is still hard to embrace as you grow older. The changing is getting us ready for the final journey whatever it will be. Again, I quote poet Mark Nepo whose beautiful words explains the coming adventure. “It’s as if my body is a nest and my soul is a bird who has waited a lifetime for the moment it can fly away.” Aging prepares us for that final flight.
I wrote this essay for the journaling group that I recently joined. The topic was aging, and I based some of it on the work of Mark Nepo. He is a poet and spiritual writer who I just discovered. His prose is lyrical and so deep that you pause after many of his sentences to ponder the wisdom that Nepo imparts. His most recent work is The Fifth Season, Creativity in the Second Half of Life. Nepo is now in his seventies, and this book echoes his many years of a reflective life. My friend Lisa and I read the book as part of our nonfiction book club. After the first section, we decided to do a slow read of this book. Each section has four or five chapters that each end with a journal prompt and a discussion question about the reading. This was a great jumping off point for Lisa and me to discuss the reading. We decided to read one section a week and then take a second week to reflect on what we read. That is how rich the readings were. I took notes throughout the various sections, and we reviewed our thoughts when we finished the book. I don’t believe I have ever put that much energy into reading a book. However, it was worth every minute. Since both Nepo and I are in our fifth season, I could recognize myself throughout the book. We are all traveling on the same path but in our own unique way. I am thankful I got to join him on his.
Lisa and I would highly recommend this book, but it is not a quick read even though the book is only 200 pages. You need to take your time and digest Nepo’s beautiful words. It is nourishment for the soul. It is a book to return to again and again gaining insights into one’s inner life. I am also reading Nepo’s bestselling book, The Book of Awakening, that is a year’s worth of daily readings. He wrote it 20 years ago, and it is still very relevant. Many people read it year after year. I think I will too. Each day is ended with mediations to reflect upon the wise words Nepo shares. If you would like to hear more about Mark Nepo and his books listen to Mel Robbins’ Podcast from November 16, 2025 – The Exact Words You Need to Hear Today If It Feels like Nothing’s Working. Mel is a big fan of Mark. I hope that you will join his fan club along with me!
As you know, the Silver Sage Sisters have written frequently about life in retirement and growing older. We have tried to share with you good books and ideas to help you ease into this chapter of your lives. I have recently come across a book that I think you would like. It is Joyspan – The Art and Science of Thriving in Life’s Second Half and is written by Dr. Kerry Burnight who is known as America’s Gerontologist. She believes in optimizing dignity, health, and joy with aging.
Burnight defines joyspan as the experience of well-being and satisfaction in longevity. She states further that joyspan requires knowledge, intention, and effort and is achievable regardless of where you are starting out today. Thriving in old age means to live a fulfilling, purposeful, and satisfying life despite the challenges that accompany aging. You must maximize physical health, cognitive function, emotional well-being, social connections, and sense of meaning.
In Joyspan Burnight determined four essential elements about aging that include the following:
Grow: Continue to explore and expand
Connect: Put time into new and existing relationships
Adapt: Adjust to changing and challenging situation
Give: Share themselves
As you grow through the second half of your life, focusing on these four tenants will help you find meaning. The book goes into great detail about all of them. There are excellent surveys to help you determine where you are with them and great examples of each in action.
Joyspan is written by a gerontologist who understands aging, not just the medical aspect. Dr. Burnight does not dismiss you because you are older. She respects you and that is often rare in the medical field. It is a special doctor who takes time to listen to you and is willing to work with you. Aging is a partnership between the doctors and the patients.
As you know, my friend Lisa and I have had a non-fiction book club for the last six years, and Joyspan has been one of our favorite books. I have given it to several friends to help them figure out their journey with aging. Lisa and I have read numerous books on every aspect of aging, and Joyspan tells the good, the bad, and ugly of it all. It is full of relatable information that everyone in their golden years can use. Joyspan is a book that I will return to again and again. I hope that you will find it a treasure as well and will help you age with grace.
In the past I was always trying new things. I took classes, seminars, and lots of certifications, many of which were not at all closely related to my profession. One such certification was Laughter Yoga. I had so much fun learning about the value of laughing.
Your body does not know the difference between contrived laughs and laughs generated from humor. The physiological mechanisms such as inhaling, exhaling, and muscle movement are the same. So creating laughter is easy and anyone can do it. Laughter yoga is particularly effective for people who might not feel like laughing. People who struggle with depression, cancer patients, etc. can be taught to simulate laughter.
Dr. Michael Miller, a cardiologist and medical professor at the University of Pennsylvania posits a hearty laugh is good for your heart, immune system, and additional health benefits. Even from the time of ancient Greeks to the present people have studied the use of laughter. Gelotology, the modern study of laughter, began emerging in the 1960s when many of us were mere children, who laughed spontaneously. Why as adults did we lose the ability to laugh easily? Jenny Rosendhal, a senior researcher of medical psychology at Jena University in Germany found that laughter-inducing therapies decreased glucose levels, as well as cortisol and chronic pain. Now that’s something for us to consider as we begin experiencing the aches and pains of aging!
While it feels a bit awkward at first, you will find that when you start with saying “hee hee ho ho ha ha ha” repeatedly your mouth begins to turn up and before you know it you are in a full belly laugh. (I know you are trying it right now as you read this post!).
One way to laugh more is to get with another person. Look into each other’s eyes and repeatedly say “ha ha” for at least a minute. Before you know it, you will laugh aloud. Of course there are additional techniques that stem from laughter yoga classes. Yet the decision to laugh is contagious, even if it is just for yourself. Look into a mirror and make faces while making laughing sounds. If those don’t work, try calling a friend. Tell “dad” jokes. Agree to laugh.
Make laughter a part of your daily routine. The more you laugh, the lighter you will feel. And with that big smile across your face, people will wonder what you are up to!
Have you discovered the Adrianna Trigiani universe of books? If you have, you know her wonderful stories and are probably like me waiting for her next book. If you do not know this author, you are about to make a new friend with Adrianna. I envy you a bit to have the opportunity to discover this masterful storyteller’s tales.
Adrianna Trigiani is an author who writes about her Italian heritage from Big Stone Gap in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia to Greenwich Village in New York City to New Jersey and Italy. The heroine of her books are often women finding themselves and are on the verge of blooming into the strong women they were meant to be. Their journeys unfold in small towns to big cities, and Trigiani will frequently tell the stories in trilogies, so you really get to know the characters well. You kind of grow with them too. If you know Italian families, you will appreciate the dialog and biting humor of the families. Trigiani captures it all in her novels.
Since 2000, she has written 19 books – mostly fiction but she does do some nonfiction. Her most recent book from 2025 is The View from Lake Como, the Jersey version, not the Italian lake; however, Italy becomes a main character in this story. Giuseppina (Jess) Capodimonte Baratta, the heroine, is a woman who is finding herself. Jess has endured several hardships with a death of a beloved uncle, a divorce, a controlling family, an unfulfilled career, and the other ups and downs of life. She wants more from her small life in Lake Como, so she goes to Italy to find herself and what a new life could bring. Jess is spreading her wings, and you get to join her on the flight! We all see ourselves in Jess’s transformation, and you may learn a little about yourself as you accompany Jess on her adventure.
I know that once you read one of Adrianna Trigiani’s stories, you will seek out her other books to be part of her one big Italian family throughout the world. More importantly, you will be part of her big literary family as well enjoying her tales that are full of heart and soul!
“JUNIE,” by Erin Crosby Eckstine, is a compelling literary work of historical fiction that delves into the complexities of family ties, personal identity, and the enduring spirit of its protagonist. With a narrative that is both heartfelt and evocative, Eckstine creates a world that is at once intimate and universally relatable, drawing readers into the emotional journey of Junie herself.
The story centers around Junie, a young woman navigating the turbulent waters of slavery, adolescence, and early adulthood. Set primarily on a struggling plantation, the novel explores themes of belonging and alienation as Junie grapples with family secrets, shifting relationships, and the challenges of self-discovery. Eckstine masterfully weaves together past and present, allowing readers to uncover layers of Junie’s history and the factors that have shaped her worldview.
Eckstine excels in this novel with her character development. Junie is portrayed with remarkable depth, her vulnerabilities and strengths both realistic and endearing. Supporting characters—family members, friends, and romantic relationships —are equally well-drawn, each contributing to Junie’s growth in meaningful ways. Eckstine’s empathetic approach ensures that even secondary characters feel authentic, their interactions with Junie serving as catalysts for pivotal moments in the narrative.
Eckstine’s prose is lyrical yet accessible, balancing poetic descriptions with straightforward dialogue. Some reviews felt the first of the novel moved too slowly, however, the novel’s pacing allows for reflection, giving readers space to consider the emotional weight of Junie’s experiences. The pacing allows for deeper characterization. Central themes include the search for identity, the importance of forgiveness, and the resilience required to overcome adversity. Eckstine also touches on issues such as generational trauma and the power dynamics within families, offering thoughtful commentary without becoming didactic.
The book excels in its emotional resonance and authenticity. I found myself rooting for Junie, invested in her struggles and triumphs. Eckstine’s ability to evoke empathy is notable, making the narrative both moving and memorable.
Overall, “JUNIE” by Erin Crosby Eckstine stands out as a beautifully rendered exploration of family, identity, and resilience. The novel’s introspective tone, strong character work, and nuanced handling of difficult themes make it a rewarding read for those who appreciate literary historical fiction with heart and substance. Eckstine’s debut marks her as a promising voice, and “JUNIE” is certain to resonate with readers long after the final page is turned.
It is that time of year when we hear Oscar Buzz, and this year is no exception. Hollywood saves the best for last with films debuting at the end of the year and the beginning of the next. The holiday audiences boost sales, and the films get lots of exposure. Whispers of excellence, however, began to stir in November about a movie with a rather odd name, Hamnet. Did they misspell Hamlet? Kind of….
As I began to read more about it, I discovered that the movie is adapted from a novel by Maggie O’Farrell, so I hurried to read it before the movie premiered. Hamnet the book is about the early life of William Shakespeare and his love story with Agnes Hathaway. The story doesn’t tell you that it is Shakespeare, but you know, and Agnes is not a new character because you know her as Anne. The tale is based on facts, but as with all historical fiction, the imagination weaves the possible dialogue and circumstances. The book is a fast read, and you intimately experiences all the emotions (lots of ups and downs) the characters experience as they live life. I think Shakespeare would approve how the story unfolds.
The hardest part of writing reviews is that you don’t want to tell too much of the story to ruin it for the reader and not telling enough to dull interest to read or to see the movie or whatever. So, I was ready when the advertisements began for Hamnet. The trailers tease and then you want, you must see the movie!
Hamnet the movie, is just, in a word, beautiful. The sets, the scenery, the engaging and attractive actors, the charming children, and on and on. It all sets the stage for a story of love and loss and eventually healing. The movie is true to the book. Hamnet didn’t last very long in the theaters. Most films don’t run long anymore unless it is a blockbuster with dinosaurs or a slice of the Marvel Universe. Eventually, Hamnet will come to one of the streaming services, or it may have a relaunch should it get an Academy Awards nomination. Regardless, both the book and the movie are worth your time. It is literature and film at its best. Enjoy!
Silver Sage Sisters 