Summer Reading 2026

BOOKS FOR SUMMER For some years now, I’ve been in the habit of drawing up a list of books I hope to read over the summer.  Some are long hardbacks or biographies I have put off, others are just fun mysteries or beach reads, and one or two might be titles for my book club.  It’s a …

Maine Moments: Berries & Jewels, Page & Screen

SUMMER READING: SHARING IN NATURE The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World by Robin Wall Kimmerer In this small volume, Native American plant ecologist Robin Wall Kimmerer uses the serviceberry bush as a way to riff on the concept of a gift economy.  Also known as Juneberry, Saskatoon, or Shadbush, the serviceberry has small white flowers and …

Carolina Capers: Drama, Book, & TV

FUN MUSICAL FOR A SUMMER NIGHT Some Like It Hot (DPAC, Durham) This past week the Chief Penguin and I went to our first performance at DPAC (Durham Performing Arts Center) in downtown Durham.  We went with a group and transportation was provided to and from.  It’s amazing how stress-free this makes the logistics.  (Confession: we used to chuckle …

Maine Time: Reading Nonfiction & A Mystery

THREE RECENT READS In this post, I offer three books I’ve read recently. One is Doris Kearns Goodwin’s conversational inside scoop on the 1960’s as experienced by her and by her spouse, Richard Goodwin, politico, speechwriter, and occasional sounding board for both John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson. Judith Jones was a book editor who …