Happy for Now List #14

Cross-country moves, classic lit, and great TV shows based on books

Jul 13, 2026

Hydrangeas are blooming everywhere here!

The move is complete! I have left the blazing heat of North Texas for the much milder temps of the South Shore of Massachusetts, and I’m finally starting to feel somewhat settled again.

Well, as settled as I can be in a whole new part of the country that I’ve never lived in.

It’s beautiful here, though, and despite reports to the contrary about New Englanders, the people have been really nice. The pizza and seafood have been top-notch as well.

It’s weird (but awesome) to be both 10 minutes from beaches AND forests.

Moving across the country in the second half of my 40s was not on my bingo card, but I’m finding it to be a nice injection of fresh energy, especially when this place is so new to me. I’ve never not lived in the South. I’ve never lived somewhere that has all four seasons. I’ve never lived in the Eastern time zone. (The news comes on at 11pm! So weird.) But despite having a personality that really loves stability and predictability, that tendency of mine can also lead to stagnation. It’s easy to get into routines that can become ruts when you stay in one place a long time.

So moving here and starting anew is giving me the opportunity to have fresh eyes for everything again—new places, new routines, new rhythms, new people. I’m hoping it leads to fresh creativity as well because the last year of transition—my husband commuting across country for his new job, my son graduating, me packing up our house alone, etc.—has required all of my focus and energy.

If I needed confirmation of that, I can look at my June reading log. I read NOTHING in June. (!) However, since we’ve settled into our new place, I’m getting back on track with that. I also have been watching a number of excellent shows. So, I thought I would share some of those recs today.

Reading a classic

I’m not sure what made this urge pop up—maybe it was because I kept picking up new releases and couldn’t get into any of them or maybe all the AI bombardment made me want real human thoughts and stories that have survived the test of time—but I got this sudden desire to read a big, fat classic novel.

I’m not generally a classics reader. (Pride and Prejudice being the one exception I can think of.) Like many of us, I got scared away from them during school. (The quickest way to make me NOT want to read a book, classic or not, is to tell me I HAVE to read it.) But over the last month, I’ve been feeling this bone-deep need to dive into the Great Books. Maybe it’s age, but I no longer want to be left out of knowing what the famous writers throughout history have had to say about life, love, humanity, all of it.

Reading old books feels like an antidote to all the constantly scrolling short-form content that is invading every aspect of our lives. Maybe it’s my version of what the kids call slowmaxxing.

So I now have a big ol’ TBR of classics I want to read, but I’ve started with a doorstop of one—The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas.

I had girded my loins for a tough read. It’s a 1200-page novel from 1844 translated from French, but turns out, I shouldn’t have worried. This book is a total page-turner! I’m 300 pages in, and there’s been wrongful imprisonment, romance, daring escape, great side characters, treasure hunting, and soon, epic revenge. The Penguin translation has been easy to read, and I am already deeply attached to the main character.

Also, this book has turned out to be just what I needed right now. I kept picking up newer novels with main characters who were unlikable or super cynical or just hard to be with. I can sometimes read those kinds of characters, but to get back into the flow of reading, I needed a character I could root for. And I also needed a book where things work out. Yes, bad things happen, but good things happen to the good guys too. It’s not endless misery. It’s been weirdly cozy, even though this isn’t a cozy kind of book. I’m only 300 pages in, so maybe it all goes to hell, but for now, I’m loving it!

I can’t wait to watch the TV adaptation once I’m done.

Binge-Worthy Shows Based on Books*

The Other Bennet Sister (Brit Box/Amazon Prime)

Speaking of classics, this delightful show (based on a book by the same name) gives Mary, the bookish sister from Pride and Prejudice, her own story.

I love when a side character you thought you knew gets their own story and rearranges how you feel about them.

Mary is surrounded by beautiful sisters who get married off one by one, and she remains behind with an overbearing mother who is dead set on also getting her married. She’s smart and shy and painfully awkward, but from the beginning, you’re cheering for her. She’s kind, genuine, and smart, and watching her become her own woman is a great journey.

I watched this one when they were releasing episodes weekly, and I couldn’t wait for each episode to drop.

The Five-Star Weekend (Peacock)

This just released and is based on the book of the same name by Elin Hildebrand. The premise is a great one. A woman loses her husband and, six months later, to distract herself from her grieving, she invites five friends from different stages in her life to spend the weekend with her at her Nantucket home. Each woman has their own difficult thing going on, and one has a big secret. The messiness of friendship ensues.

Each character in this ensemble cast was wonderful. Sometimes when there are so many characters, their stories can feel diluted or distracting, but I felt like they gave each thread its proper time.

I love a story of women supporting women. This one had real substance to it. Plus, it was a bonus to see Nantucket as a setting since now I’m only a ferry ride away from the island!

And if you need any additional endorsement, my husband and son were out of town this weekend, so I was left to my own devices. I watched 7 of the 8 episodes Saturday night and stayed up way past my bedtime. It was that good!

The Four Seasons - Season 2 (Netflix)

*Okay, this one is not based on a book, but it is based on an old movie.

I think I recommended this one when I watched the first season, but I’m happy to report the second season was a great watch too.

I love the idea of couples friends that get together once each season throughout their adult lives. The writing in this show is great, and the conflicts feel realistic while still providing some humor. There is real warmth here between the characters and that feeling that no matter how much they annoy each other sometimes, these friendships won’t break.

Both my husband and I loved this one.

Every Year After - Série TV 2026 - AlloCiné

Every Year After (Prime)

I love a teen summer romance. This filled my The Summer I Turned Pretty hole in my heart. This is based on the Carley Fortune novel Every Summer After, which I also loved.

There’s just something about the second-chance trope of two people knowing each other since they were kids and then falling in love as teens (and breaking up) and then getting another chance when they get older.

The only thing I didn’t love about this one was that I wanted a little more from the end. There’s a cliffhanger involved for a secondary character’s future story, which is fine, but I wanted a little more time with the happy ending for the main couple. Despite that, this was another one I binged quickly.