Put dinner in the crock, open a bottle of Middle Sister wine, then sit and read a book. Serve dinner and take credit for being productive all day making a brilliant meal. 😉

From Angeles (Organizer extrordinaire):

“We Have Always Lived in the Castle” by Shirley Jackson.

Suggested wine pairing: Wild One Malbec

Summary from Amazon: Merricat Blackwood lives on the family estate with her sister Constance and her uncle Julian. Not long ago there were seven Blackwoods—until a fatal dose of arsenic found its way into the sugar bowl one terrible night. Acquitted of the murders, Constance has returned home, where Merricat protects her from the curiousity and hostility of the villagers. Their days pass in happy isolation until cousin Charles appears. Only Merricat can see the danger, and she must act swiftly to keep Constance from his grasp.

From Mav (The boss of us)

“Difficult Women” – Roxane Gay

Suggested wine pairing: Drama Queen

Summary from Elle: “…The women in this short story collection range from a wife who pretends not to notice when her husband and his twin brother switch places, to two sisters abducted as children, and a Black engineer navigating her white male-dominated field, and promises to be a “wry, beautiful, haunting vision of modern America.”

From Natalie (Sales, strategy, well, everything)

“Swimming Lessons” – Claire Fuller

Suggested wine pairing: Sweet & Sassy

Summary from Elle: “In Fuller’s second novel, when Ingrid wants to tell her husband, Gil, something, she writes him letters and hides them in his vast book collection. Then, one day, she disappears. Twelve years later, Gil thinks he sees Ingrid—by then presumed drowned— from his window, prompting their daughter’s journey to uncover the secrets of her parents’ marriage, and what really happened to her mother.

From Chelsea (Social media maven):

“The Tiger’s Wife” by Tea Obreht

Pair with: Smarty Pants

Summary from Amazon: “In a Balkan country mending from war, Natalia, a young doctor, is compelled to unravel the mysterious circumstances surrounding her beloved grandfather’s recent death. Searching for clues, she turns to his worn copy of The Jungle Book and the stories he told her of his encounters over the years with “the deathless man.” But most extraordinary of all is the story her grandfather never told her—the legend of the tiger’s wife.

 From Erica (Analytics – brainy stuff)

 “Sisters One, Two Three” – Nancy Star

Suggested wine pairing: Rebel Red

Summary from Amazon: “After a tragic accident on Martha’s Vineyard, keeping secrets becomes a way of life for the Tangle family. With memories locked away, the sisters take divergent paths. Callie disappears, Mimi keeps so busy she has no time to think, and Ginger develops a lifelong aversion to risk that threatens the relationships she holds most dear. At turns heartbreaking, humorous, and hopeful, Sisters One, Two, Three explores not only the consequences of secrets—even secrets kept out of love—but also the courage it takes to speak the truth, to forgive, and to let go.”

From Sue (Creative – artsy stuff)

“Sonora” – Hannah Lillith Assadi

Suggested wine pairing: Mischief Maker

Summary from Amazon: Ahlam, the daughter of a Palestinian refugee and his Israeli wife, grows up in the arid lands of desert suburbia outside of Phoenix. In a stark landscape where coyotes prowl and mysterious lights occasionally pass through the nighttime sky, Ahlam’s imagination reigns. She battles chronic fever dreams and isolation. When she meets her tempestuous counterpart Laura, the two fall into infatuated partnership, experimenting with drugs and sex, and watching helplessly as a series of mysterious deaths claim high school classmates.