Books, Bikes and Babies

It’s been two months since I sent out a Reading Club, a fact that was likely unnoticed by anyone but myself.

Still, the ever-present Midwesterner within me needs to offer you an excuse and her knuckles for a sound rapping: I have been depressed. Not the regular ennui that I entered this world with, but a new kind, a super-charged variety potentially fueled by the hormonal changes of perimenopause (my least favorite word, just call it pre-menopause, please) and exacerbated by whatever fresh horrors this administration can deliver on a daily basis.

I am crawling my way out of the Pit of Despair, and it takes several weeks for the birth control and sertraline to fully work their magic, but something *is *happening.

Yesterday, I brought back Office Hours and spent a chaotic 90 minutes with some of the most lovely people in the world (you! I’m parasocially attached to you!), talking about Italian and skincare and inflation and the mysterious case of Q’s Missing Marker.

Did my first attempt at using the livestream feature on Substack work? I’ll let you be the judge.

Anyway, we did figure it out and when it was over I rode my bike around my city on a gloriously cloudy day (these are rare in Phoenix) and felt for the first time in a long time like I could see. The bougainvillea spilling over concrete walls, little dogs bounding across their front yards to bark at me for daring to roll down their street, babies waving to each other like long lost friends and a packed parking lot at Changing Hands Phoenix for Indie Bookstore Day.

I popped in and treated myself to the new Maria Semple, knowing absolutely nothing about it (and, as usual, not reading the flap copy) but knowing that should she ever choose to publish her to-do list I will buy it, full-price and in hardcover.

To further stimulate the local economy (and address the 3rd Grade Marker Burglary addressed in Office Hours), we took Q to Arizona Art Supply and I said “yes, let’s get it!” to everything his little artistic heart desired, which was mostly a giant Caboodle to organize his art supplies…and several markers to replace the one that was pilfered from his backpack the one day he didn’t bring the briefcase to school!

Slowly, slowly, slowly, the color is coming back to the world.

Okay, enough of that, here’s what I read.

** Love, Finally by Geneen Roth** was so beautiful and perfect I had to have her

The Wedding People by Allison Espach sure looks like a romcom and I did laugh out loud several times and there certainly is romance, but it is shockingly unexpected in its delivery. Phoebe is the only person at a fancy Rhode Island hotel who isn’t in the wedding party; she’s there for one last hurrah after being dumped by her husband, who was having an affair with their colleague. She’s roped into all of the wedding drama anyway, and she and the bride become unexpected confidants. Borrowed it from the library and then promptly bought it.

** Gulf of Lions by Caitlin Shetterly **follows Alice, a travel blogger recovering from breast cancer (and her husband’s affair), who takes her two young daughters on a camping trip through the South of France. I have never done such a trip, but it felt vivid and lush, and I love a story about a middle-aged breakdown/breakthrough. That said, the point of view shifts (which I normally love) didn’t work for me (first person for the mom, third person for the daughters?).

** Nobody’s Girl by Virginia Giuffre** was not a good book for a depressed person to read!!!! Every man who ever breathed the same air as Jeffrey Epstein deserves a fate worse than death, and I am filled with the rage of 1,000,000 suns on their behalf. Virginia deserved a different life, as do all of their victims.

** Famesick by Lena Dunham** sold 60,000 copies in its first week, and I’m so glad that I was one of them. The sickness Lena suffered from wasn’t just the physical torment of chronic pain and endometriosis but fame itself (no duh, you say, I can see the title right there), which even in small and niche doses can and does change your brain chemistry, your relationships, the way you think and act. The book is dishy (name drops include the Safdie brothers and Greta Gerwig, to name a few) and a reminder that Lena can fucking

Yours in earnestness and imperfection,

️ ⚡ Ziip heads: Right now, code NORAZIIP gets you 25% off gels (this is a huge deal!!!). That same code will always get you 10% off a Halo 2.

❤️ Highly recommend the Medik8 vitamin C serum (I use every morning), the peptide cream (I use at night), and the peptide serum (morning and night). Expensive but makes my skin feel and look great.

❤️ Dr. Brandt makes one of my favorite sunscreens and I’m in love with this gentle exfoliator. Code NORA20 gets you 20% off!

❤️ 4/16 is the last day of the Ruggable spring sale (why do I always gravitate towards rugs that are technically meant for kids’ rooms?) If you miss the 20% off, code NORA15 still works.

⚡ A valet where you can drop your keys and wallet and charge your phone? It’s gotta be by twelvesouth, maker of some of my favorite gadgets. This was intended for Matthew but was co-opted by Ralph, which makes more sense because Matthew has never once lost his wallet or keys.

❤️ It’s Going To Be OK is back! Apple | Spotify

You can join me for a Bad Vibes Only book club with the Society of Working Moms on June 14th!I looooove speaking about mental health, grief and other hilarious topics. You can email

bkane@apbspeakers.orgif you want to bring me to your event or organization.