Three Books I'm Reading Now, 6/16/25 Edition

The Books I'm Reading Now

I'm reading Molly Jong-Fast's memoir about her tumultuous relationship with her mother and other challenges, How to Lose Your Mother; I'm listening to Lyla Sage's Western rom-com, the first in a series, Done and Dusted; and I'm reading Elspeth Barker's modern literary fiction classic, O Caledonia.

What are you reading, bookworms?

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01 How to Lose Your Mother: A Daughter's Memoir by Molly Jong-Fast

Molly Jong-Fast is a podcaster and political writer--and the only child of the feminist icon Erica Jong. Molly found herself yearning for more time with her busy, glamorous mother. Erica was focused on basking in the success of her book Fear of Flying, and Molly spied her mother in magazines, on TV, but rarely at their home.

In 2023, Erica was diagnosed with dementia, and Molly's husband was diagnosed with a rare cancer.

How to Lose Your Mother is a poignant, sharp, darkly funny memoir of a challenging, volatile relationship, and when faced with loss, accepting other's limitations and facing what feels like the impossible: letting go.

I received a prepublication version of this book courtesy of NetGalley and Viking Books.

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02 Done and Dusted (Rebel Blue Ranch #1) by Lyla Sage

In the first book in Lyla Sage's modern-day Western romance series, Clementine "Emmy" Ryder is the golden girl of Meadowlark, Wyoming. Her unexpected return to her hometown delights her sassy best friend, protective older brothers, grizzled and loving father, and the rest of the town.

But Emmy hasn't told anyone that her ADHD impulsiveness led her to pack up and leave her barrel-racing career after a bad fall that shook her confidence and made her question everything in her life--except her home, Meadowlark.

Luke Brooks is a bar owner, womanizer, Emmy's brother's longtime best friend, and an honorary member of the Ryder family. But Luke and Emmy are older and wiser than when they last saw each other--and Luke and his muscles seem to be cropping up everywhere these days. Can Luke help Emmy overcome her fears of riding and get back to her love of horses again? And in the meantime, can he help get her mind off her troubles with his handsome face and irresistible bad-boy attitude?

I'm reading Done and Dusted as an audiobook. There are three more books in this series.

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03 O Caledonia by Elspeth Barker

I bought O Caledonia at Powell's Books the last time I visited my best friend in Oregon and am finally reading this modern classic.

Barker's novel features Janet, a misunderstood, mocked, badly treated young woman coming of age in a family of obtuse, rigid, unkind members living in a gothic, ramshackle castle in Scotland.

Janet's only ally is her eccentric old Aunt Lila, who is herself powerless and in danger of being thrust from the family. Boarding school leads to further ostracization and irritating demands upon her time, when she'd prefer to lose herself in literature and avoid social interaction altogether.

This is darkly funny, with a surprisingly startling and tragic setup and an immersive, atmospheric story that follows.