Might read some poems

Including: 2025 bests, books, Hamnet, poetry

Jan 02, 2026

Hi readers! Happy 2026!

Well, the holidays are winding down (cue the emotional hangover!), and I hope you had a nice time. We visited my mother-in-law in Connecticut at the beginning of the holidays and celebrated her 75th birthday with a party and a trip to Wachusett for “night skiing” (sounded ominous but was very pretty). I’m not a skier, so I nursed a beer and a cider doughnut and snapped pics. We flew back to Austin on Christmas Eve. George (almost 14) was worried about this itinerary, saying “Mom, that’s how every Christmas movie begins!” but everything was okay. This week I have been at the hospital, on a team where I am paired with just one resident. She and I have been doing ‘poetry on rounds’ (where we start rounds with a poem) which has been dreamy. Here is one of the poems we read.

I have enjoyed reviewing various best of 2025 lists, so I thought I would round up a smattering of bests.

Best Unexpected Moment During Endless Chauffeuring of Tweens

I spent a lot of time this year in various carpools--middle school, soccer, basketball, camps--and even though I dislike driving, I have enjoyed all of the random conversations. Crush reveals! Interesting musical requests! Workshopping of new slang expressions! But the most lovely moment was a couple months ago when I had 3 ten year old boys in the car and the classic country song “She Don’t Know She’s Beautiful” came on the radio and all three exuberantly sang the chorus. Ah, to be serenaded by three ten year olds! What an unexpected moment of joy.

Best recipe

My friend Sara introduced me to the New York Times Charlie Bird’s Farro Salad at the end of 2024, but I think I made it more than twenty times this year. I have spent a lot of time wondering if it is more of a fall recipe (apple cider is involved) or spring (surely the radishes belong to spring), but I guess the answer is it’s a year-round delight. I find it really pleasant to assemble also, since it doesn’t involve any weird kitchen machinery that I don’t have, or any esoteric ingredients. It goes without saying that the kids don’t eat it. No matter!

Best basketball hoop encountered whilst on vacation

We visited a lot of nice basketball hoops in different places this year, but the prettiest one was probably in Stinson Beach, California.

Best carsickness episode

Speaking of California, we went to the Bay Area and Marin in August for a long weekend, and I had heard so many great things about the drive to Hog Island Oyster Co. I was so excited! Unfortunately, though, this route is really twisty (the area that you drive through is the same scenery that’s in the Hitchcock movie The Birds if you need a mental image) and by the time we arrived at the restaurant--very beautiful, very trendy--all I could possibly stomach was a baggie of crackers. My husband took this photo. The rest of my family enjoyed the food!

Best literary moment

In December the fifth grade put on a ‘poetry slam’ in the elementary school library. The 42 fifth graders each read a poem from their collections that they had been working on. Some read haikus, some read couplets and some read “I am” poems where they repeated statements about themselves. “I am a daughter, I am a good friend, I dream of the day when my little sister and I drive around to get ice cream.” Sitting in the school library, hearing about the inner lives and dreams of the ten year old was so moving. Everyone was teary. What a beautiful way to end the semester.

Best literary fiction theme

Millennial and Gen X marriage novels! I love The Ten Year Affair, Seduction Theory, Colored Television, Hazel Says No, Consider Yourself Kissed and, more recently, The Tokyo Suite.

Best movie to fill the void left by Shakespeare In Love

I saw Hamnet this week and I’m still emotionally devastated! Proceed with caution! Who do you prefer as your William Shakespeare? Joseph Fiennes or Paul Mescal? There are no wrong answers!

Best moments in my year of reading

So many highlights! The comedy in Fundamentally, the swoony book boyfriend in Along Came Amor, the mushroom in The Ten Year Affair, the prickly mom in The Tokyo Suite, the shockingly relevant narrator inEx-Wife (published in 1929), and so many new-to-me authors. Full list below:

Best opportunity to mention my new picture book

It’s time for me to talk IN ALL CAPS about MY CHILDREN’S BOOK that comes out TUESDAY! Have I mentioned it? It’s called More than a Million! I’m super excited to go to my children’s elementary school to read it, and then to go to my alma mater (Zilker!)! And I’ll be doing a storytime at Book People Sunday Jan. 11, 2026 at 10:30am. I hope you will grab a copy for the little ones in your life! In this book there are: grandparents, babysitters, teachers, dense urban housing, parents wearing scrubs, healthcare workers, libraries, soccer practice, bedtimes, jokes, insects, playgrounds, crayons, dinosaurs, yoga, grilled cheese and more!