currently reading: I’m listening to Acts of Violet by Margarita Montimore. It is mesmerizing. Violet is a magician who disappeared from her show one night. She had worked hard all her life to build her skills and to get into the boys’ club of professional magicians. She finally made it, with television specials and a show running in Las Vegas. And then she went missing. She was supposed to disappear from the stage and reappear in the balcony. She disappeared, but when the lights appeared on the balcony, there was no one there. The entire theater was searched and there were no traces of her. Now we’re coming up on the ten year anniversary of her disappearance, and the media is gearing up. There is a documentary, books, and (of course) a podcast. Meanwhile, Violet’s sister, who had to deal with the disappearance of her sister for ten years, is growing anxious as the date draws closer. There are rumors Violet might reappear. But what would it mean if she came back? And what would it mean if she doesn’t? This book is intense and beautiful, and I can’t wait to finish listening to it.

up next: this is a big week. Tuesday is the release date for the new Ruth Ware, The It Girl, which you know will be big. But it’s also the release of the new Blake Crouch, Upgrade, which has been getting tons of buzz. I’m hoping to read them both this week, which means I should go now and get busy reading. But I am also grateful for Grand Central Publishing for sending me a copy of this one, which I am really looking forward to. It’s about a woman with agoraphobia, and it’s getting lots of good reviews already (it’s already out in the UK). But I am grateful, as it always perks me up to see bookmail, and I can’t wait to dive in and read the whole story.