Facing Life's Hurdles with Literary Escapes

Good morning, my fellow book enthusiasts! 

I’ll be frank: life has thrown a few curveballs my way lately. My mother is ill, and with each passing day, my responsibilities seem to multiply like rabbits in spring. She has a “procedure” coming up soon—fingers crossed it’s just that and not an operation, but we’ll find out more at the end of October when we meet the specialist. Just this week, we had another little escapade to the ER for an overnight stay. More meds have been prescribed to help manage her blood pressure and keep those pesky “events” at bay. If you could spare a prayer or two, I’d really appreciate it.

I had intended to keep all this under wraps until my Sunday Post, but I figured the wonderful friends in the Friday 56 community deserved a heads-up in case I go radio silent for a week or two. I’m holding onto hope that that won’t happen, but just in case, I might schedule some posts in advance. Expect a mix of horror and thrillers from my upcoming "31 Reads of Terror," or perhaps a sprinkle of Westerns.

'The Friday 56' is hosted by My Head is Full of Books.

Now, onto my Friday 56 picks this week: After Midnight by Daphne du Maurier, hitting the shelves on September 30th. I’ve been slowly reading the ARC I received, reading it bit by bit between other books—kind of like nibbling on Halloween candy when you really should be saving it for trick-or-treaters. All the stories in this collection have graced previous releases, but I fell head over heels for Du Maurier’s writing after indulging in the remake of Rebecca. The snippet I chose is from the short story “Don't Look Now.”

"Well's that's final," said John. "I'm psychic, am I? Fine. My psychic intuition tells me to get out of this restaurant now, at once, and we can decide what we do about leaving Venice when we are back at the hotel."

— Du Maurier, Daphne. "Don't Look Now." After Midnight, Scribner, 2025, p. 56.

But enough about me—what are you all reading these days? I’d love to hear your recommendations!

〜B.J. Burgess