Tales by the Tide

 We’re well into July now — the kind of soft, golden stretch where time feels drowsy around the edges. I’ve read some truly memorable books already this month (you can find my midmonth reflections here), but I wanted to take a quiet moment to look at what’s still waiting on the stack.

Not everything on my original list has made it into my hands yet — and honestly, some books have started singing a little louder than others. Here’s what’s still calling me most clearly, and what I might swap in depending on where the mood takes me.

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📚 Still on the Stack
(in no particular order — just as they tug at me)

🌸 I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
A sun-dappled reread I’ve been saving for exactly this sort of summer. There’s something about the charm and longing of Cassandra’s world that always calls me back — crumbling castles, diary entries, growing pains, and that aching sense of becoming. I can already smell the wildflowers.

🔎 The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
This one feels like a perfect weekend choice — light but clever, funny but full of heart. I’ve been meaning to finally meet this crew of unlikely detectives, and I think I’m ready for something that blends mystery with warmth.

🎨 Still Life by Sarah Winman
This has been waiting patiently for just the right moment. It’s lush and sprawling, full of art and olive trees, Florence and found family. It's the sort of book to get lost in slowly, so I may save it for the end of the month when I can read without rushing.

🎻 Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki
A wild card that keeps calling louder and louder. Queer found family, a violin prodigy, intergalactic deals, and a donut shop — it sounds like nothing I’ve read before, and everything I might love. If I need something both tender and cosmic, this will be it.

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✨ Might-Swap-In
Depending on the mood (or the weather), I might find myself reaching for:

The Summer Book by Tove Jansson – for its quiet, briny beauty and gentle rhythm of days
Foster by Claire Keegan – if I want something brief but deep, like a held breath
The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki – if I’m craving something big, strange, and lyrical

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What’s still waiting on your July stack? And what’s calling you most as the month begins its slow slide toward August?

 

Let me know below — I love hearing what people are reading, and even more, what they’re saving for the right moment.

 “Words can wound and words can heal. I love you is the root of all battle.”

Reading This Is How You Lose the Time War feels a little like wandering into a half-remembered dream — vivid and poetic, but with moments where you’re not quite sure where you are or what it all means. And yet, that’s part of what makes it so special.

This novella follows two rival agents, Red and Blue, as they leave secret letters for one another across the strands of time. What begins as taunting and tension becomes something intimate and tender, tangled with longing, wit, and eventual rebellion. Their love grows in stolen words, in coded messages, in the cracks between timelines.

The prose is lush, experimental, sometimes bordering on opaque — but often achingly beautiful. At its best, it reads like a love poem disguised as science fiction. I adored the sharpness of the voices, the elegance of the metaphors, and the sheer feeling it managed to evoke through language alone. There were lines I reread just to feel them again.

That said, it’s a book that asks for a lot of trust. There were moments I felt unmoored, wishing for a little more grounding in the plot or world-building. But perhaps that’s not the point — this isn’t a book about systems or settings; it’s about connection. About language as an act of love. About finding your person even in the unlikeliest timeline.

This isn’t quite a forever favourite, but it is unforgettable. A book I’d recommend to anyone who finds magic in words, who’s ever wanted to fall in love through letters, or who’s drawn to stories that feel like puzzles and poetry all at once.

Favourite quote:
“I want to meet you in every place I ever loved. Listen. Listen: Time is not a river. Time is a tree. We climb it together.”

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐¾ (3.75 stars)
A strange and stunning novella — not always easy, but utterly worthwhile.